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What If You're Not A Social Media Wizard?

Part 2: Got Knowledge To Share?

If you’ve got a lot of expertise to share then there are plenty of web sites to suit your need for a podium! Whether you’re planning on writing a blog, your journal, or articles, here is a range of web sites you can use.

Note: be aware that posting the same article everywhere is not recommended. Search engines recognise duplicate articles and may penalise links that lead to exactly the same essay. In short, if you want to post something long, you may be better off posting it in just one place. With that said, each platform has its own focus so you may want to post similar information to each, presented from a different angle.

I’ll judge each platform by whether they:

⭐️ encourage individual commissions
⭐️ are reputable enough to encourage corporate commissions
⭐️ are free to post on
⭐️ are attractively presented
⭐️ make a good place to get feedback
💩 present no hurdles to overcome prior to posting
💩 present high potential for a toxic community (somewhat subjective; humour me)


Artstation

3/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
1/2 💩

This site is the LinkedIn for the art world and has a blog facility. Note that there is a monthly or annual charge for using the blog service. Click here for their tariffs page.

Example


Buzzly

4/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

An exciting new web site that’s still in its beta version at the time of writing. It has a blog facility, and the newest posts are shown on the front page. This site is shaping up to be more art-oriented than writing-oriented, so at the time of blog entries and polls aren’t shown on the front page but on the Feed page instead.

Note: if you want to make a blog post with text formatted to a link, you’ll need to post it on another platform and copy-paste it to Buzzly as, at the time of writing, Buzzly doesn’t offer link formatting for blog posts. It’s an easy workaround, though.

Example

//Several issues with Buzzly's leadership led to a mass-exodus in March 2022. The site may continue but at the time of writing its future is uncertain.//


Inkyblot

?/5

I don't currently know whether Inkyblot has a blog or journal system but will check it out and review it soon. The site only opens up to new members occasionally so I will sign up when it's next open, which is supposed to be on the 1st of April.

No example currently


DeviantArt

3/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
1/2 💩

DeviantArt has a wide range of functionality but has fallen into disrepair over the past couple of years. Despite this, it has existed for decades and has been the go-to web site for artists for much of that time so has a huge user-base.

There are a few downsides to DeviantArt. Its sheer size can make it feel unwieldy, and its neglected condition and the large quantity of fetish material contribute to make it one of the less reputable sites to be hosted on.

Overall, its age and size mean that the site has excellent “web authority” - meaning that any articles you post here will show up high on a Google search, so this site presents a gutsy mix of pros and cons.

Example


Elliquiy

3/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Elliquiy is run for roleplayers and is better designed for helping people connect than for hosting art or stories, but it does have a blog feature.

Example


Facebook

3/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I’ll admit I don’t use Facebook, but if you want to write a detailed post you can absolutely do so here. Personally I think that blog posts on Facebook – well, the whole of Facebook itself – looks ugly, but it’s there and it’s the perfect place to generate footfall.

Example


Furaffinity

4/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

A specialist web site for the furry community. It has a journal feature which can certainly be used to write articles, but your efforts may not be best-used here. Firstly, Furaffinity journal pages don’t show up on search engine results, and Furaffinity itself lacks the functionality to allow its users to search or view journals. Anything you post here will be for your existing audience-base only.

With that said, you can make a Feature of any one journal entry, meaning that it’s shown on your profile page regardless of how many more entries you make after it. This means that you can expose everyone who clicks onto your profile to that one specific journal entry. That’s helpful if you want to deliver one specific message to everyone.

Example


Furry Network

3/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Another furry-orientated site. You can post journal entries here, although the site is not particularly well designed for this. The font sizes feel over-sized, you cannot format links, and the extra details on the blog page make the page look busy and ugly. If you do want to write here however, then you can. If you’re struggling to post one, click on Manage Submissions > Add Content and click the Add journals option.

Example


Friends, Family, and Clients

2/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ (although this may vary)

Some of your audience members may have their own web sites, so you might want to make yourself aware of who has their own domain and whether they’re happy to host an article from you. Incorrigible Author did this for me by writing a blog entry about me and showcasing the long-form written work we did together – who in your audience might do the same for you?

Example


Ko-fi

4/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

This site is designed to accept monthly donations from your audience, so as such you may want to hold off on uploading here until you have an audience of a certain size. The site offers you the opportunity to post blog entries so you can bring your audience up to speed, which is a nice touch.

Example


LinkedIn

4/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

LinkedIn allows users to publish articles, so why not show off your knowledge to industry professionals? I’d say that LinkedIn will suit you better if you’re looking to get business-to-business or corporate clients. If you’re looking for art-loving funsters, perhaps less so.

Quick note: LinkedIn doesn’t permit links in its posts, so if you want to post something to LinkedIn you’ll need to post the actual content, not just a link to it.

Example


Medium

5/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

There are several web sites around that provide a platform for people to post articles on any and every subject; Medium.com is one of them. I’d say that this web site suits academic work and other serious, informational pieces rather than vent journals or fiction, and the higher quality an article is, the better. Consider using Medium if a serious approach suits your project.

Example


Paperdemon

4/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Paperdemon is designed around showcasing fictional characters, but offers more than that. You can do worse than post a blog entry or two here!

Example


Patreon

3/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Similar to Ko-fi, although the emphasis is slightly more in favour of posting content than keeping up with your audience.

Example


Quora

3/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
1/2 💩

People routinely ask questions on Quora which often require detailed answers, and those answers have good web authority in search engine results, so perhaps you’d like to seek out some questions that you can use your expertise to answer. Quora has a bad reputation for lacking credibility, but it has a large and active user-base, so if being seen is more important to you than developing professional credibility, this may be the site for you.

You can post questions or posts of your own in addition to answering other peoples’ questions.

Example


Reddit

2/5 ⭐️ ⭐️
1/2 💩

Another very busy site, and one that’s so large that you can find a sub-section of the site (called ‘subreddits’) on any subject you can imagine. Different subreddits have different cultures, and some are friendlier than others. I recommend you pick a few that look promising, and watch how the people in the comments threads treat each other before becoming active.

Example


SoFurry

3/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Another furry site. Blog posts can show up on the front page, but you are likely to need to build an audience here in order to get your blog posts seen.

Also, formatting issues can make posting here rather untidy. You won’t be able to post emojis, and if you want to include links to other web pages, you’ll need to post them into the profile ready-formatted from elsewhere as in the below example.

Example


Toughnickel

2/5 ⭐️ ⭐️

Another site similar to Medium.com, except that Toughnickel specialises in articles about running small businesses and things to do with finance. This is a good place to talk about things like your insights in the entertainment and arts industry.

I’d personally say the presentation isn’t great due to the large number of ads that show up on individual article pages, but you may find it worthwhile, so I’ll keep it on this list.

Example


Toyhou.se

3/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Toyhouse has a functionality called ‘bulletins’. These serve as blog posts. I’d say they don’t make the prettiest blog posts, but they’re functional.

In order to sign up on Toyhouse you’ll need an invitation code, which you can only get from someone who already has a paid-for account.

Example


Tumblr

4/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

It is absolutely possible to post long text-based posts on this art site, but note that the average tumblr user is in their teenage years, so you may struggle to keep peoples’ attention for longer pieces. That said, if what you have to say resonates with people they will respond to it really well!

Example


TwitchTV

3/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

So far I’ve talked about written long-form posts, but you can also use the video format to deliver your longer works vocally to a live audience. Why not try running a Twitch account where you discuss your thoughts or insights on your topic of choice? If you can include visuals such as drawing or writing while you talk, that’ll be ideal!

You’ll need to prepare your videos and decide what looks good and what doesn’t in order to have a pretty stream, and the site itself is a bit too busy for some peoples’ tastes, but it’s definitely worth a look.

Example


Weasyl

3/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

You guessed it! This is another furry site, and similar to Furry Network in its functionality. Written uploads aren’t showcased by the site itself well enough to make this a great place for uploading your best written work, though. They’re also generally rather ugly and lack formatting options.

Example


Wikifur

3/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Yep, a furry site again! This one’s a wiki, so why not try making an entry or two?

Example


Wordpress

5/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Wordpress has excellent web authority and provides a free platform for blog posts. Why not throw a few onto here?

Example


Writing Cooperative

5/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
1/2 💩

Another site similar to Medium where you can post about any subject you like. You have to go through a vetting process in order to get your work posted, but so long as you’re happy to take the time to do that, this may be a worthwhile platform for you.

On the downside, you may find you have to apply for the right to post articles here. The process can be a bit drawn-out, but once you're on their list, you're on!

Example


Your own web site

5/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

If it’s your own web site you can write whatever you like in whatever way you like (legally permitting, of course), so perhaps hosting your own blog is the right path for you.


Youtube

5/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

And finally, let’s end with a huge platform where you can talk about your subject of choice for as long as you like and leave your discussions up as videos for people to find in their own time.

One of the benefits of Youtube is that, because you would be using the spoken rather than the written word, people can absorb what you’re telling them while doing other things. For example, I routinely listen to Youtube while cooking. Because of this, you may not even have to film yourself talking, so if you’d rather put up a title image or a few slides and never show your face, you have the option!

Example


Read part 3: Keeping It Short And Sweet

Credits

Title image by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels and used with their kind permission.