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Blogger vs. WordPress: Which is Right for You?

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Blogging is one of the most popular forms of self-employment to sweep across the world. Of course, with the increase of bloggers comes the influx of blogging websites. Needless to say, the difficulty for many bloggers today is selecting a blogging site that fits their needs. Quite a few find a home on Blogger, perhaps just as many turning to WordPress. Without a doubt, each has their advantages and disadvantages, but which blogging site is right for you?

Blogger

Blogger, owned by Google, holds the prestige of being one of the oldest publishing tools. Like others, this blogging site has a number of features, but one of the greatest benefits is Blogger is free. This makes Blogger the perfect place for anyone who is testing the waters or is strapped for cash.

Advantages of Blogger

1. Free Subscription with Benefits

  • No need for a domain name or hosting.
  • Provides wide selection of templates.
  • Available in more than 50 languages.
  • Mobile device applications available.

2. Google Support

  • Security breaches are unlikely.
  • Google servers ensure little to no downtime.
  • Time proven, reliable service.

3. User-friendly

  • Easy-to-use format perfect for beginners.
  • Simple drag-and-drop interface.
  • Support page available.

Disadvantages of Choosing Blogger

1. No Room for Growth

  • Limited design capabilities.
  • Few plugins available to improve site functionality.
  • Limited features.

2. No Ownership Rights

  • Google can use and distribute content.
  • Google will remove blogs for infractions.

WordPress

WordPress, released in 2003, is more of an Open Source Content Management System than a publishing tool. What is most noteworthy about this site is users can choose between WordPress.com, free membership, and WordPress.org, paid subscription. However, as WordPress.com is Blogger’s equivalent, we will primarily look at this version. In that sense, WordPress.com is just as welcoming to people just starting out and those unsure of blogging.

Advantages of WordPress.com

1. Free Hosting

  • Receive a domain name in the form of “yourdomain.wordpress.com”
  • Able to customize.
  • Automatic backups.
  • Wide range of plugins available.
  • Available in 70 languages.

2. User-Friendly Format

  • Free support through support forum.
  • No coding knowledge required.
  • Fast and simple set-up.

3. Room for Growth

  • Easily upgrade to WordPress.org
  • WordPress.org offers the same features as WordPress.com and far more.

Disadvantages of Choosing WordPress.com

1. WordPress.com Limitations

  • Strict about monetization.
  • Revenue strategies allowed elsewhere not permitted.
  • Not an ad-free zone
  • Restricts plugins for WordPress.com

2. Site Growth Requires Paid Subscription

  • Business growth means subscribing to WordPress.org
  • Limits on traffic and branding require successful businesses upgrade or move.

Comparing Blogger and WordPress.com comes down to a tit-for-tat argument. Each site
has its pros and cons, both serving their intended purpose. However, in the end, you must decide for yourself whether Blogger or WordPress is right for you.

How to Create a Blog Management Strategy

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Blog

Come Up With a System That Works For You

Blogs serve a multitude of purposes, and each one has a specific audience that needs to be engaged and hooked into visiting over the course of time. Managing blogs requires a lot of hands-on attention as well as a serious time commitment. Many blogs fail because they are not consistently updated, content becomes stale or advertising and marketing strategies become annoyances to the reader.

There is no single approach to managing blogs that will work for everyone, and it is important to develop a strategy that is based on your preferences and expectations. However, considering some basic principles can be very helpful as you develop a strategy that will work best for you and your overall goals.

Purpose, Focus and Consistency

Examining the purpose of any blog is the first step towards creating a personalized system that will promote success. Readers tend to visit blogs because they contain information about a particular niche. Readers tend to become followers when content is relevant, engaging, informative and interesting.

Develop a posting schedule that readers can follow. Consistent updates can add to the credibility and authority of a blog while also building a loyal following. You can write, obtain or prepare content in advance and schedule them to be posted at a particular time in the future. This will help you to manage your time effectively while also ensuring that your blog is always fresh and predictable.

Pay Attention to Stats

Statistics contain a wealth of information that can help tailor a blog to match the interests of the audience. Note the days and times when more people are visiting, and look at what posts generate more views or comments. This will help you to tailor your blog around the habits and interests of the readers.

Monitoring the performance of your blog will help you to focus your time and effort in more productive and efficient ways. Giving readers more of what they want can only serve to improve the quality and effectiveness of the blog while reducing the amount of time that you spend on preparing content.

Quality Control Is Important

Quality control is an essential component to effective blog management. Reviewing feedback, testing widgets and other extras to ensure they are not causing problems or annoying readers is essential. Blogs that are slow to load, frequently crash or overwhelm visitors with advertisements and banners can be counterproductive.

Keeping an eye on quality will help you to give the reader what they want while also serving your purposes as well. Choose extras that are easy to work with and manage, but make sure that you are incorporating features into the blog that users will appreciate and value.

Your blog must be continually nurtured and tweaked in order to give readers what they want while accomplishing your goals as well. Consistency, quality and viewer engagement are all essential components to effective blog management. Make a schedule, be organized and remember that some trial and error is necessary in order to crate the ideal system that will work for you.

Creative Ways to Improve Your Content

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If you were to ask yourself whether or not your favorite blog frequently has boring or dull content, the answer would probably be a resounding “no.” Instead, your favorite blogs are your favorites because they consistently put forth interesting and memorable content.

It may seem frustrating to be told to put forth more interesting content but not have a clear concept of how to do this. To help you improve your blog’s content – and thereby improve its readership – here are some creative ways to improve your content.

Content

Look at What’s Trending

We aren’t saying that you should steal titles and write an article that fits. In fact, this usually looks like a cheap ploy to get views, and that’s typically exactly what it is. Instead, look at trending topics on Yahoo! or Google. Without looking at what any other bloggers have chosen to write about within these topics, instead take the trending topic and create a completely and original article about it. This ensures that you are not only hitting a popular keyword and topic, but adding something completely unique and original to the overall conversation.

Relationships with Other Bloggers Matter

You might already understand that relationships with other bloggers are essential for trading links and the like, but you might not understand how relationships with other bloggers can be useful for creating creative content. One of the best ways to create unique content is to request that your blogger friends do a guest post for your blog. This is a brilliant way to add something unique – something that will be out of the ordinary for your regular readers. Naturally, it is customary to write a guest post for your friend’s blog in exchange for theirs.

Create Something Worth Sharing

Next time you’re on Facebook or Twitter, really look at the articles that your friends are sharing. The most popular articles – as in, the ones that get shared the most – are the lists and the posts that contain image macros. Don’t think that putting up a few blogs like this will turn you into a cliché. Find a unique way to make the concept of creating these lists unique. For example, if you run a website about gourmet cooking, toss up a post on the top ten non-gourmet foods that even the most snobby foodies love, accompanied by some funny pictures of kittens in a kitchen. You’ll find that people are eager to share these types of posts on Facebook and Twitter.

Take a cue from professional writers and comedians and always have a notepad with you to scribble down ideas for posts when you’re on the go. Your most inspired ideas will rarely come to you when you’re sitting down to write a new article or blog post. The most important thing to remember, besides being original, is to be consistent. Every single post you put on your blog won’t be legendary, but if you keep at it, more and more will start to be.

Guest Blogging Backlash: Why is Free Guest Post Safe?

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Yesterday we came across the article, “Google Takes Action against Major Guest Blog Network.” It states that Google’s algorithms are now penalizing guest posting networks, especially a site called My Blog Guest. All of this began with a statement from Matt Cutts that guest posting as a strategy is failing. In his words, “…stick a fork in it: guest blogging is done; it’s just gotten too spammy.”

While we disagree with Google’s approach, we can understand that this announcement, and the lowered ranking of a fellow guest posting service site, may be concerning for some bloggers. However, we don’t believe this will affect the core purpose of Free Guest Post or the safety and anonymity of its users. Here are a few reasons why:

1. We do not require any backlinks to Free Guest Post, or charge any fees.

That’s right, our service is entirely company-funded, and we aren’t in it for the rankings. We are in it for creating a platform for writers and publishers to easily engage in content marketing. This is different than some guest post networks that charge membership fees or require backlinks to their sites.

2. We provide a safe, private environment.

Unlike other publishing systems, we do not make public your email or contact info. All communication is done through the system, ensuring total privacy.

3. We ensure equality for all.

All publishers and writers have equal opportunity in our system, with absolutely no favoritism. It’s a first-come-first-served pool of content ready to enrich your site!

4. Our articles are certified unique content by Copyscape.

This ensures that publishers are receiving content that doesn’t appear anywhere else on the web, ruling out any duplicate content issues.

5. We give full control of articles written to the author.

As a writer, you have full control of who is able to publish your content. As a publisher, you get to choose which articles you feel best fill out your content portfolio, so neither party has to worry about spammy material.

6. Flagging.

Our system depends on you – our users – to help us moderate and make Free Guest Post an even better content platform for your needs. This is why we invented flagging. If you’re a writer and your piece is published in a way you are displeased with, you can flag it and we will address your concerns in a timely manner.

7. Feedback.

Because we care about our users, we are always open to feedback on how we can make the system better and easier to use.

Google strives to endorse quality, 100% original content and so do we. With the same goal in mind, we’re not worried about being negatively impacted by Google’s changes, and Matt Cutts later retracted his remarks on the death of guest posting, stating, “There are still many good reasons to do some guest blogging (exposure, branding, increased reach, community, etc.).”

Free Guest Post is committed to adding value to the Internet user’s experience. We will continue to provide tools that will help content marketers be successful online.