Ok, so you’re online. You have a website, a Twitter account and a Facebook profile. Now what?

Sounds like you’re ready to start blogging. A weblog is an excellent way of reaching an audience, getting new clients and visitors to your website, and – best of all – you are not limited to 140 characters. Frankly, depending on what kind of blogging platform you choose, the limits are few if any.

But where to start?

The first thing you need to do is decide whether you want a hosted blog or host it yourself. Both alternatives have pros and cons to consider.

Generally, a hosted blog (like Blogger or WordPress.com) is extremely easy to set up and manage, but not very flexible. A self-hosted blog (like WordPress.org) will give you full control over appearance, plugins, URL and much more, but it requires at least a basic knowledge of XHTML and CSS.

While most hosted blog platforms are free, a self-hosted blog is not. You will need to pay for domain name and the actual hosting of the blog. If you are not very code-savvy you might also want to hire someone to design and maintain the blog for you. However, don’t let this scare you away from the self-hosted option, which has other advantages.

For example, since you have full control of hosting and domain, you can easily make the blog a part of your website and thus making it easier for people to find it – like this: www.mywebsiteURL.com/blog. If you like, you will also be able to manage your blog’s permalinks and search engine optimization.

If you’re not sure blogging is for you, a hosted blog is an easy way to try it out and get a hang of it. But when you’re ready to take the step to becoming a full-blown blogger, a self-hosted blog will make you appear more serious about your blogging – and this will surely impress your (future) readers.