For some people, publishing a blog isn't a lot of work, whether they use a “free” blogging platform or they set up a WordPress server in the cloud. However, both of these options may be more work than you want to take on just to see if sharing your thoughts and opinions and news is something you want to do. So we're suggesting you try publishing on Notd first – you don't have to set up anything, and you can start posting within minutes. Here are some of the reasons you should at least check us out:

1. No setup required – just create a Transact account or log in to Notd if you already have one, and click on “New Note” (https://notd.io/n/CreatingYourFirstStream)

2. It's free to publish. And,

3. You can monetize it (set your own subscription price) or anyone can subscribe for 1 cent per month or 10 cents per year (that's what pays for the servers and bandwidth). Even almost free will keep most trolls and hate away. You can allow up to 25% of your posts to be free to read for non-subscribers.

4. Your publisher profile can be anonymous or you can use your real name.

5. Like a blog published on any other platform, you can edit it. You can also create a thread of related or updated notes. This sounds basic, but you can not do this on a newsletter or famous short messaging platforms, which limit you to 280 characters.

6. You can enable or disable comments.

7. You can publish multiple streams, for different topics and different audiences.

8. You can make a community stream (a group blog), where anyone who subscribes can also post or respond to posts, instead of just commenting. You can let anyone join a community stream or decide who gets to join.

9. You can invite people to debate you on your stream, without having to thread 280 character responses.

10. Subscribers can choose to have every post emailed to them (yes, like a newsletter, but newsletters are just one small feature of Notd). And even if all you want is to publish a newsletter, you don't have to charge $5 per month for it.

11. Unlike newsletters or stand-alone blogs, your Notd stream is part of a network of other streams. We make it easy for Notd readers to discover new content without looking on search engines that include a bunch of ads.

12. You can post hi-resolution photos.

13. You can annotate your posts, like this.

14. Subscribers see notifications that can be headlines or excerpts of new notes.

15. You can offer audio versions (podcasts) of new notes. subscribers can choose the format they prefer if you offer both.

16. There are no ads on Notd.

17. You can create a shortened, custom URL for both your streams and all of your notes.

We provide some tips for publishing on Notd at https://notd.io/n/PublishingTips and talk about why Notd is unique at https://notd.io/n/NotdIsUnique.