After you've got a gameplan together for your new blog, then you'll need a place on the Internet to publish your blog, so that people can access it. A "host" or "provider" fulfills this need by storing your material on the web and providing a place where people may come to read it. Many hosting options are available, both for free and paid services. If you have a little web design experience or feel that you're up to the challenge, you may also even set up your own website to host your blog.

Before signing up with a provider, there's a few drawbacks to free blog hosts that you might want to consider...

• Some directories will not list URLs from free providers.
1. Solution -- use other directories to promote your blog
• If your free blog account includes an e-mail account, it might be blocked or classified as "junk mail" by your recipients' e-mail providers.
1. Solution -- warn visitors of this and ask them to include you in their "white list"
2. Solution -- use a different e-mail account when e-mailing visitors
• Your URL will be longer for visitors to remember and type in.
1. Solution -- always provide a link when referring visitors
2. Solution -- keep the main page URL as simple as possible
3. Solution -- use a "gateway" site with a memorable domain name to redirect visitors to your blog
• You are limited by your blog host's capabilities & stuff that they support.
• You are bound by your blog provider's rules, regulations, and Terms of Service (TOS) agreement.
• You have no control over the advertising that they might put on your site.
• You may not have access to all of your website's files.

On the other hand, there are a few things in favor of using a free blog hosting service that you should take into consideration...

• It's free.
• Established free blog hosts will often have a large user base (and "community"), with lots of user-based support.
• Many will have "blog surfing" systems in place, which might direct to you free (but untargeted) traffic and promotion.
• Each blog hosting service offers its own features and services, some of which may be unique to that provider.
• Most will offer free, knowledgeable tech support.
• If the blog hosting service is well-established, your site might be included in the search engines a little faster.
• Some providers will offer free server-side blog editing programs or downloadable software to make creating your blog easier.

Each blog hosting service or blog provider is different, with different features, giving you many options to choose from. Get an idea of the features that you're looking for in a host and shop around before you sign up with one.

Blog Help offers an extensive list (170+) of blog hosts and providers. Check it out at Blog Help's List of Blog Hosts

James Bradley's latest Internet project is a tutorial/how-to blog that teaches others to start and monetize blogs.

Thanks for taking the time to read this article. To learn how to create a blog, find out more about making money on the Internet, or just for the heck of it, visit his blog at Blog Help.