What are the essential features to look for in a blogging tool?

In addition to ‘ease of use’ how does it serve your team? Is it easy enough for you and your team to collaborate? Is it easy to learn to work together inside of the dashboard?

You'll also want to consider the availability of plugins and widgets. These are small programs that can add functionality to your blog, such as social media sharing buttons, email newsletter signups, or comment sections. Look for platforms that have a wide variety of plugins and widgets available, or that allow you to easily add your own.

A good blogging platform should have a variety of options, ranging from minimalist designs to more complex ones, so that you can find a design that suits your blog's needs. Another important feature to look for is customisation options. You want a platform that allows you to easily customise the design of your blog to fit your unique style and preferences. Look for platforms that offer a user-friendly interface that allows you to make changes to your blog's design without requiring any coding skills.

How easy it to run reports to share with clients? The SEO and analytics should be made available in a shareable format to share with your team and stakeholders.

An important feature to look for is the ability to customise your URLs and permalinks. This allows you to create user-friendly and SEO-friendly URLs that accurately reflect the content of your blog posts. In terms of analytics, it's important to look for a platform that offers built-in analytics tools or easy integration with third-party analytics services like Google Analytics. This allows you to track important metrics like pageviews, bounce rate, and referral sources, which can help you make informed decisions about the content and marketing of your blog.

One additional feature to look for is the ability for internal linking. That gives the reader additional content to read. Internal linking suggestions is a bonus for content and audience building.

An important feature to look for is the ability to categorise and tag your content. This allows you to organise your content and make it easier for your audience to find the topics that interest them. It also makes it easier for search engines to understand the content of your blog and rank it accordingly. When it comes to audience, it's important to look for a platform that allows you to engage with your audience in a variety of ways. This can include features like comment sections, social media sharing buttons, and email newsletter signups. Look for a platform that makes it easy for your audience to connect with you and share your content with their networks.

Remember that a tool is only going to be as good as you use it. Meaning: the best tool is the one you will actually use! Consider your tool purchase wisely and make sure it is the tool that had the features that will move the needle for your brand.

Blogging has changed entirely in just two months. Enter ChatGPT and A.I. The early days of research, writing, editing, and then publishing an article are over. ChatGPT and other A.I. tools can do that for you. Granted, A.I. does not offer tone and voice. That is indeed something I would recommend that you should polish before ever publishing an article solely crafted by A.I. The context of your article has to coincide with your brand's tone and voice. A.I. tools such as ChatGPT merely provide quicker access and speed to give you the ability to craft content faster.

Here are A few other thoughts that are important to consider include: I learned a long time ago not to create my own list of topics, but rather, to listen to my audience and write about topics important to them. Don't blog every day, unless you have the bandwidth to do so with content meaningful and interesting to your audience. Never miss a meaningful, relevant, and interesting blog post you commit to writing. Twice I called my friend Nigel when I did not see his weekly post. Why, because I expected and enjoyed what he shared. One more idea: No one wants to read blog posts about your business, products, services, etc. They want blog posts that excite, entertain, or educate them in real ways. It's not all about you and/or your business.

It’s important to look for features that can help you grow your blog and reach your goals. This can include features like social media integration, email marketing tools, and search engine optimisation tools. Additionally, consider the availability of support resources like documentation, tutorials, and customer support. A platform that offers support resources. It's also important to consider the scalability of the platform. If you're just starting out, a basic platform may be all you need. However, if you plan to grow your blog over time, you'll want to choose a platform that offers the flexibility and functionality to accommodate your growth