Why Businesses Should Avoid Free Blogging Services
Whether a beginning blogger or a seasoned expert there is one thing every blogger will need, a blog platform. When determining where to host a blog many individuals immediately turn to free services such as Blogger or LiveJournal. While the easy setup and lack of price tag may make these services an easy sell initially you may find that you get what you pay for in the long run.
Free blogging services can greatly benefit those who are just starting out who aren’t certain they are ready to make an investment. However, those aiming to turn a profit or who are looking to create a truly professional blog will quickly discover the biggest missing piece… control.
Big Brother is Watching
Numerous accounts surfaced last week accusing Google’s platform, Blogger, of removing music related posts thought to infringe on copyright laws; all with no notification to the blog owner. At first glance you might find it easy to ignore this, especially if your blog doesn’t involve the music industry. However, this practice is an excellent reminder of how little control you have over your intellectual property. Free blogging platforms can enforce their user agreements as they see fit with most offering little in the way of disputing erroneous claims or blanket decisions. Unfortunately, you can lose a post or even your entire blog for something as simple as an automated system confusing your blog as spam.
Limited Design Possibilities
While many free services offer a host of templates and visual customizations these options are still extremely limited. It is difficult to achieve a truly professional looking blog through most traditional options. It is nearly impossible to match the design of your blog to that of an existing website which can be a critical need for businesses that already have a strong brand.
Limited Technologies
As with design, free hosted services have severe limitations on the technologies and additional components that be used on your blog. If your needs include highly specialized technical requirements or specific third party functionality, you will most likely be blocked from including these enhancements on a free service.
Restricted Revenue Steam
Bear in mind that although the platform may be free, the time required to create and manage blog content is not. As your time investment increases, earning income from your effort will become essential. While some free blog services provide options for turning a profit, these options are always severely limited, with most offering little control over the advertisements displayed. Since the blogging service acts as a middle man they will take a significant portion of earnings as well. When hosting your own blog your options to montetise are limitless and all profits are recovered by you. You may find that a for-pay blog quickly surpasses the revenue of a free blog service, even after factoring in all related costs.
