Blogger Basics: Why You Shouldn`t Use It For Business
To start off our very first lesson in the Blogger Basics series, I want to talk to you about the reasons NOT to use Blogger for business.
That might sound a little insane, but the truth is, you are far better off getting your own server and hosting your own blog. You can do this for as little as $4.95 a month for hosting, plus a domain name which will cost around $8-10 per year. So, before we actually start looking at how to make Blogger work as a business tool, you should be aware of a few things.
- Blogger can terminate you at any point. Well, your blog, at least. You`ve worked very hard to set up a blog, write the content, customize it . . . what are you going to do if all that just up and vanishes? It does happen and it has happened to people who never even knew WHY their blog was deleted. You have no choice in the matter and often there is no warning. Consider carefully before relying on someone else to host your content.
- It`s just not professional. The .blogspot.com at the end of your blog URL is an instant tip-off to anyone reading it that you don`t want to invest anything into your business. That being said, you can buy a domain name and point it at your Blogger blog which solves this particular issue and which I highly recommend.
- You`re limited in options. Blogger is a popular blogging platform, but since it`s not self-hosted, there are some limitations to it. I`ll be looking at how to get around a lot of these as we go through this Blogger Basics series, but you`re still going to run into a brick wall for some things.
Now that you`ve been warned . . . there are also some good reasons to use Blogger. It is pretty cheap to buy a domain name and I know that some people simply cannot afford monthly hosting until their blog is bringing in some cash. That`s fine, that`s a good reason to go with a free platform. If you have no or very limited resources, Blogger is one of the best ways to go because they allow ads and monetization, plus Google indexes these blogs rather quickly.
If you`ve decided to go with a Blogger blog, then stay tuned. Tomorrow we`ll start with the first real lesson and I`ll be showing you how to tweak your blog to make it look like something totally independent and unique, as well as how to set it up so you can get the most from it. I`ll actually be building a blog from scratch and documenting it so you can see exactly what it takes. Please feel free to ask any questions you have so I can add them to the list.
I’ve used blogger for almost two years now and I’m pretty happy with it. I did switch to my own domain after a little while though.
Self hosted blogs are the way to go if you are entering this arena with a business plan in mind.
I started like most people using a blog service but quickly realised the limitations.
Self hosted blogs are your own world where you set the rules and make the decisions on whats acceptable and whats not. That way you remain in control.
So if you can do it yourself.
Thanks for sharing
Kevin