I’ve got a friend who runs a youtube channel that reviews [product category] and also owns a retail operation that sells products related to the category.
Currently there’s a blog ON the store’s site which works nicely, but she wants one outside of the site so that people will be more comfortable linking to the blog entries.
Effectively, establish a presence as an expert on the category and separate it from the retail operation.
It’ll still turn into sales, but it moves things one click away from the retail side of the house.
So… hosted WordPress?
Squarespace?