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The explosive growth of the blogosphere remains more than impressive. BlogPulse estimates that there are currently over 126 million blogs, with over 42,000 new blogs added to the mix each day.
Most blogs are hosted with a sub-domain address like MyBlog.blogspot.com or MyBlog.wordpress.com. But more people are recognizing that to stay above the fray, to take advantage of SEO opportunities, and to build an online community presence that can be enhanced it may be advisable to transfer content from the free blog hosting services (like Typepad, Blogger, or WordPress.com) to a self-hosted Web site.
Recently I considered making the switch from a free blog to a dedicated Web site that would host my blog. I gathered my research and came up with my pros and cons. I hope these notes are helpful for you.
Pros for transferring my blog to a Web site:
1. I Can Prepare Myself for Expansion
On a self-hosted Web site, my blog can be one tab amongst a number of tabs that my reader can find. I can even post to different tabs, based on the content of the post, as another way of presenting my content and of keeping my reader on my site.
I will be able to add an unlimited number of tabs to pages with elements like forums, a store, a photo archive, a speaking engagements calendar, audio and video promotional tools, online small group studies and more, all aimed at broadening my exposure to my reader and improving on their experience.
2. The Respect Factor
My own dedicated Web site address immediately adds credibility to what I am doing. It is like the difference between having an office and working out of my home.
3. Email Address Link
Every email I send out will carry the URL of my site in its address. If someone gets an email from me and wants to know a little more, they can easily find my Web site. They are less likely to follow a link to a free-hosted blog because they already know what they will find – a blog! But the Web site address holds some mystique that might be sufficient to get them to see what I am all about.
4. Free Ads
Some Web site host companies give credits for advertising through Google Adwords and others. This allows me to promote my site in exchange for contracting with the host. This exposure will increase my presence on the Web.
5. SEO
This industry buzzphrase is the key to making my site more visible through search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc). There are plenty of SEO plug-ins available, particularly for WordPress Themes, that will increase my visibility in cyberspace and will drive interested readers to my site.
6. Ownership
If at some point I build up a good amount of traffic but want to move on to something else, my Web site domain address will actually have a monetary value. It’s like the difference between owning and renting. I own it, so I can sell it.
7. Design
Free and low-cost template designs are available. The ones I am familiar with are through WordPress.org. These can be personalized rather effectively into a fully-functional website at a fraction of the cost of a site from scratch, and they are built with bloggers in mind. I will have much greater control over HTML and CSS through a self-hosted Web site.
8. Monetization
There are a multitude of ways to profit from drawing traffic to my Web site and then letting folks click through to view something else or to make a purchase.
Cons for converting to a Self-Hosted blog or Web site:
1. Learning Curve
Although WordPress.org provides content management software (CMS) for websites, including the familiar blog interface that is on their free side (WordPress.com), I will want some pizzazz on the new site. Dealing with flash, banners, widgets, plug-ins, etc. can be time-consuming if I want to supercharge my site and take advantage of the enhanced possibilities. Do I have the time to do this?
Unless I am willing to get experience with HTML and CSS I should probably hire a professional to help set up my blog on my site. BloggingBistro.com can be a great partner in getting me going.
2. Cost
In addition to optional design fees, there are annual domain registration fees and monthly web hosting fees.
In case you are wondering, I determined that the promise of greater SEO, enhancements, and design possibilities was worth it, but a big risk that I still had to consider had to do with my archived content, my base of current loyal readers and SEO, each of which I had been developing over time.
Fortunately, WordPress allowed me to import all of my postings from Blogger, and the Theme program (I use Thesis, which is not free, but offers lots of options and built-in SEO) allowed me to post the entire blog to my new Web site easily.
But what about my established readers? I addressed this by continuing to post to my Blogger site at the same time that I post to my self-hosted site. On Blogger I post only a little of the post, usually the first sentence or two, then I provide a link to “read more” that takes my reader to the new site.
My new site is still under development, as some pages are being withheld as I wait to contract for the publication of my first book (this book project is the reason I needed to consider the switch in the first place), but I am already seeing the daily readership catch up to my Blogger site and I look forward to seeing it grow into the vibrant community I envisioned.
Mark T. Hancock, MA spent 15 years as Founder and President of Mark One Advertising. He also was in private practice as a Mental Health Therapist, traveled internationally as a Global Event Director, teaches college, runs a small finance company and manages a portfolio of investment properties with his wife, Michaell. He has two boys and lives in Port Orange, Florida, patiently waiting the publication of his first book. Visit Mark at www.LeaveTheGate.com and at Facebook: www.facebook.com/MarkTHancock
