Why blogs are best for artists and hand makers

A blog beats a website hands down for handmakers. Websites are often created and abandoned, for simple want of the skills to edit them. They get out of date so quickly, fail to showcase your latest work and become stale. Check around - most artisans' websites describes what they were up to 12 months or more ago.

Blogs truly democratize the web, because blogs make editing easy. With a blog, virtually anyone with basic computer skills can manage their own web presence. Free accounts like Blogger take a few minutes to set-up. A little IT assistance may be required if you want to deviate from the standard templates, but it's a one time job. Once you've got the template right, adding content and editing your blog is very straightforward.

Another benefit is that blogs are easier to promote on a small budget and with less time. You have tools like Technorati Profile to help. But, more than that, the whole concept of the blogosphere is on your side too. It's more difficult for big business to drown out the little folks with their big budgets. That's because blogs are all about promotion through interaction. Blogs are designed to illicit conversations (you should always turn the 'comments' facility on). Commenting on other people's blogs - relevant ones - and comments left at your blog help to get the word around about your blog and, more importantly, work. Your biggest challenge is to make your blog interesting.

Making it interesting comes easier with a blog too. Because blogs are not designed to be brochures. It is more naked than that. More warts and all. They are typified by an honesty that shuns hype and excessive garnish and gloss. Instead of spending hours trying to craft perfect advertising copy, you will soon find yourself 'keeping it real' and waxing lyrically, chatting or even ranting away to your heart's content. The point is, because the philosophy is to be yourself, producing the content is less fraught for most people. And, it's an ongoing process - your ability, style and speed will develop along with your blog.

So, ditch that latest project to revamp your website. Instead, get your web guy to fix up a blog template and hosting for you. Trust me, you won't regret it.