Free blog providers can be a great way to introduce oneself to blogging and to learn a little bit about the process. However, they are a poor choice for those hoping to generate significant blogging profits. There are simply too many pitfalls associated with their use.
Initially, many free blogs hamstring the user’s ability to utilize one of the most effective ways of generating a profit via blogging, Adsense. Some free blog providers offer the free blog and server space in exchange for the display of their own Adsense ads. The terms of service directly prohibit the user from displaying any additional contextual advertising. This is how the free services generate their revenue, and the prohibition makes perfect sense. However, it takes the most powerful tool away from the blogger’s moneymaking arsenal.
Second, whenever one uses a free service they lack control over their site. This is not simply a matter of advertising or content restrictions within one may be able to generate a profit. The lack of control is far more serious. Blogger.com, for instance, is known to regularly freeze and/or delete blogs outright for unexplained reasons. Those blogs simply disappear and a great deal of work vanishes with them. Other lesser-known services may be undercapitalized or lack profitability and may simply go under--taking the blogs right down the drain with them.
Third, there is the issue of credibility. Whether it’s right or wrong, surfers tend to bestow a greater degree of credibility to (and are thus more likely to visit) sites that have their own URLs. A blog that is an obvious sub domain at a free host can make potential visitors and customers wary of a blog’s legitimacy and can have a negative impact on profitability.
Finally, there is the matter of flexibility. Some free blog services limit your options in terms of appearance and may use platforms that lack some features that can really aid in profitability. For instance, the blogs at Blogger.com lack the categories found in their Wordpress counterparts. Other free services may offer only a few templates that can only be tweaked ever so slightly. In order to perform optimally, one should be able to make any and all desired changes to their moneymaking blog.
You can find a variety of powerful blogging platforms that won’t cost you a dime. The competitive fields of hosting and domain registration make owning your own chunk of cyberspace surprisingly affordable. Within the current context, using a free blogging service as means to launch part of your online business simply does not make sense. The minimal outlay required to own and control your own site is a definite bargain when one considers the pitfalls associated with the alternative.