Q: Where is the best place to go to start up a new affiliate blog?
A: My favorite content management system to power blogs is WordPress.
There are a variety of options out there, including hosted options like Blogger, TypePad, and WordPress.com, as well as software you can install on your server, such as MovableType and WordPress.
I’ve used many of the available solutions over the years, and I’ve settled on WordPress installed on my server as my favorite.
My copies of WordPress are all hosted at WP Engine, where they will install and update it for you at no extra cost.
The cost there is $9 or $10 a month and they provide excellent support.
Anyhow, some things I like about WordPress include the ability to easily set up a template, known as a “theme” in WordPress. There are lots of free themes, and then some paid themes, like Revolution, which are sharp looking.
The themes can be customized, and more recent versions include “widget” functionality, where you can drag and drop elements in your blog layout.
Also, plugins enable WordPress users to add all sorts of functionality to the blogs. There is basically a plugin for anything you want to do with your blog, including podcast streaming, stat reporting, spam filtering, and SEO tools.
Best of all, WordPress is free.