Sometimes just doing a search in Google on a subject that I think I’m acquainted with can turn up a topic for discussion. In a world with millions of new blogs starting up every day is it worthwhile to consider joining a blogging site that is targeted to a specific lifestyle or audience. Of course, you’d need to be writing material geared toward that audience, but it could be work trying out. What brought up this idea? Well, I did a search on Free Blogs expecting to find the usual Word Press and Blogger information. And those did pop up. But then I noticed search results for Free Christian Blogs. So I clicked to check it out. Sure enough, there are a few companies out there that offer free blogging services for blogs oriented toward Christianity. I’ve also found sites for LGBT bloggers. For writers and artist the sites seem to be oriented more towards free portfolios or places to share your work. But they are out there.
So, what are the benefits and drawbacks of a free blog that could be right in the middle of your audience? Well, the advantage is just that — a blog with one of these sites could offer you faster connection to readers who might be interested in what you have to say. Though a drawback could be that the blog has to be connected with the service that offers it so you lose the advantage of your own domain name. Also, it could limit your audience to that audience. If you aren’t writing specifically for a Christian audience, a blog on Free Christian Blogs might turn off other readers.
Of course these blogs could be part of a larger blogging process. If you have a connection to these groups, you could keep in a secondary blog going on their sites and use it to bring people to your main site and grow your audience. It’s all a matter or managing both time and resources.