This past February Weebly shut down my blog. I had started it in 2009. Everything was going really well. I had written a substantial amount of blog posts. So, you can imagine how I felt when I logged into my Weebly account and I couldn't access it. I frantically contacted Weebly. They reopened it. I was elated. However, this happened several times. Each time it happened they said it was a mistake and it wouldn't happen again. Finally, the last time they told me that they would not be reopening my blog because it was deemed as one of those free money making sites. Anyone could clearly see that my site had lots of quality content. I had spent lots of time on my blog. I did have quite a few advertisements which I had planned to take down anyway if Weebly would have given me the chance. I was furious as anyone would be. I almost lost all of my hard work If it wasn't for me adding my blog to this one blog directory (which I will be writing about in a next blog post). I would of lost everything. Weebly did give me some of my pages back but none of my blog posts. I am a blogger/affiliate marketer I did have some affiliate links in my blog post but it wasn't used overly too much. There were not affiliate links in every blog post that I wrote. I would of thought that Weebly would know what an affiliate marketer was as they have their own affiliate program.
I thought it was very unprofessional of Weebly just to shut down my blog like that and not even give me a heads up or allow me to make the necessary adjustments. When I had contacted Weebly they told me to read their TOS rules. In them they basically said that you can't refer any companies that you will be using an referral link and they basically ruled out all network marketing companies. I felt that was very harsh, because all network marketing companies are not scam and all companies who have a referral link are not scam either. To me, they basically have limited their clientele. It makes it very hard for you to write about anything on your blog especially if you are a network or affiliate marketer. I have seen sites that don't have quality content and they only have advertisements but my blog was not one of them. My plan was to move to wordpress, but since I had started my blog on Weebly and I liked them. I was planning just to upgrade with them. Boy, would I have been furious if they would of shut down my blog and I was paying! Anyone could clearly see that my blog was not a spam blog as I had written a blog post on what a spam blog was and how to avoid writing one.
Some people look down on using free sites, but I don't because many free sites do allow you to upgrade. Thus, given you the opportunity to have a professional looking site. Many people start out free and than they choose to upgrade later on. Weebly not only lost out on a great blogger:) but future money as well. I don't write this blog post to be vindictive as I really liked Weebly but I think people need to know what could happen to them if they choose to use their blogging service. What I went through with Weebly I wouldn't wish on anyone else. The frustration and continual writing of emails to them about my situation was nonetheless a constant headache. It practically drove me crazy to have to check my blog everyday just to make sure they hadn't shut it down. Which in the long run they did anyway. Well, I've moved on and I must say I am a lot happier and my nerves are much better. So, if you are doing affiliate or network marketing I suggest you do not use Weebly as your blog platform of choice. At least I have given you the heads up that Weebly never gave me.
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If you are in the blogging world you no doubt know about Wordpress. It's one of the most talked about and recommended blogging platforms, because it has so many features. I also think that it is a good blogging platform. The software is free, but you have to pay for hosting. It's not a lot of money, but if you are in debt (such as myself) you still might find that you don't want an extra bill to pay. So, I am using Ucoz. I have used Blogger, Weebly, and Blinkweb in the past. Blogger and Weebly shutdown my blogs. They had an epiphany that my blogs were spam blogs which was not the case. (You can read about my experience with Weebly in a later blog post) Blinkweb had some issues and I contacted support about them and they never solved the issues. Also, it is for a beginner and I wanted more features and they didn't have them. Blinkweb has other business tools such as a sales page and website. If you want to get online quick you might find the sales page or website useful. However, I wasn't impressed with the blogging platform. Which is the service I used. I felt that they needed to do some upgrading. I don't know if they will or not but I couldn't stay around and wait for them. Also, the site would be down and my blog/site wouldn't be displaying. Which I found to be very unprofessional.
I had did some searching because I was looking for another home for my blog. I had looked at Ucoz, but I didn't look at it thoroughly. One of my favorite blog authors Lynn Terry did a blog post about them. After, I read her blog post I decided to take another look at them. I liked what I saw so I immediately started moving my blog over to them. You can build a website for free and they also give you the option of upgrading. If you would like to do that later on. You can also get a domain name too. So, you have all the makings for a professional looking site! Their customer service is absolutely excellent! Ucoz is for the novice as well as the newbie. Whether you know html or don't you can still utilize this website/blog service. I am loving it! So far so good! It's something for everyone! You can really make your blog/site your own! I was able to use Disqus commenting system which I wasn't able to use with Weebly or Blinkweb because they didn't allow you to edit the blogging templates. (Weebly only allows you to edit the website template)
There are many blogging platforms you can use. You can do an online search and find one that will fit you.I know sometimes things can be tight financially, but you don't have to let that stop you from blogging.If you want to have a professional looking site that allows you to get a site up quick and gives you a lot of control. I highly recommend Ucoz.
I know there is so much you can be worried about online. I know sometimes it can worry people because they hear so many things online and they really don't know which direction to take. The direction to take is what works best for you right now. Stop worrying and start blogging. You'll blog much better too! That is exactly what I did!
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I read lots of blogs and I am a member of a lot of social media sites. I am baffled when I see that people don't allow others' to contact them. I follow this one particular blogger on twitter and I was going to send him a message because I liked a particular blog post and I couldn't send him a message. I was shocked. I think it is very important for people to be able to contact you. What if they want to ask you a question or just want to to tell you they liked a particular blog post. I've also seen that some people have that you have to ask your question publicly. Instead of it being sent to the reader. Everyone can read it. I didn't like that option either.
It is very unprofessional when people can't contact you. It looks shady too. The people who usually have no way for you to contact them are usually involved in scams. Who wants to be associated with those kind of people? I know you are probably saying to yourself," I am protecting myself from spammers". You might be protecting yourself from spammers but in doing so you are missing out on comments, friends, customers and constructional criticism. That's a big price to pay to keep the spammers away. It's ways you can keep the spammers away without not letting people contact you. If someone spams you give them a warning and if they keep doing it then you can always block them. The majority of social media and email have spam control.
Let people contact you on your blogs, websites, and all of your social media accounts because if you make it hard for people to contact you, you make it hard for people to connect and do business with you. If people have to jump hurdles to contact and connect with you they won't. If you are that popular maybe they will but chances are they won't.
So, before you finish reading this blog post. Go to your blog and add a contact me form if you don't already have one, and go to all of your social media accounts and make sure that people can send you a message.
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 A spam blog is a blog or splog is a blog that has copies of the same message over and over again. It is usually blogs that are written specifically for advertising products for get rich programs. These blogs are usually used to increase page rank or get ad impressions. They offer no written value whatsoever. They are also filled with links to other so called money making programs. Here are some tips that will help you avoid writing a spam blog:
1. Write content don't just put up ads.
2. Don't repeat the same message over and over again.
3. Don't advertise get rich programs. If it's too good to be true then it probably is.
4. Don't continually bombard people with your blog at discussion boards or groups.
5. Write content that will be helpful to your readers.
6. Do not use automatic blog posting software.
7. Do not create articles only for the search engines.
The bottom line is no one likes spam, and if people even think that your blog consist of it, they won't read it nor, will they refer it to other's. Your blog will become a vacant blog, and no one wants that. So, if you are thinking about starting a blog, or if you already have one, you should go over the splog checklist above to make sure you are not going or heading in that direction . If you still or not sure if your is a spam blog, just ask some bloggers, because people can smell splog miles and miles away. I like reading blogs, and I know you do too. Write something that you would want to read. No one just wants to read a bunch of advertisements, and even worse are advertisements for programs that are get rich quick schemes or not legitimate. Don't write a spam blog. Remember, no one likes spam and no one pays any attention to it.
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People here that you can make decent blogging. How can I get started ? Everyone wants to know. No one really asks themselves if they will really like blogging. The number one question is,"Is blogging for you?" Just because everyone else is doing it doesn't mean that you should too. Before you get a blog of your own there are a few questions you should ask yourself. They are below:
1. Do you like to write?
If you don't like to write it will be very hard for you to have a blog, because writing and expressing oneself are the key components of blogging.
2. Do you have something to say?
If you don't have anything to say than what is the point of starting a blog? People come to blogs to find out information. If you have nothing to tell them there's no reason for you to be blogging.
3. What topics will you be writing about?
You should have a topic for your blog, because it will help you keep your focus, and also help people who are looking for your topic find you. Also, you won't be going around in circles wondering what to write for your readers.
4. Will you only be blogging for the money?
If the only reason you are blogging is to make money you won't be blogging long. It's not about the money it's about doing something that you like to do. Many people start a blog to make money, and their blogs reflect that. They have only ads and no valuable content.
5. Are you an extremely private person?
While, I don't recommend you tell your readers every little thing that you do for online safety reasons. I do think that you should share somethings about yourself, because your readers want to know somethings about you.
6. Do you have goals planned out for your blog?
Having goals mapped out for your blog helps you to constantly stay motivated. When you set goals and achieve them that is encouraging, and we all need that.
7. Do you enjoy finding and sharing information?
If you don't like searching or looking for information than blogging is not for you, because it helps you provide your readers with fresh content.
8. Do you mind answering questions?
If answering questions bothers you than blogging is definitely not for you, because your readers will ask questions, especially if you are blogging about a particular topic.
9. Does people not agreeing with you bother you?
People will disagree with you, and they will let you know by leaving comments, and if you are a person that can't handle rejection than blogging is not for you.
10. Do you lack patience?
It may take sometime before your blog gets discovered, and get many readers. If you are impatient you will quit before your blog can attain them.
These are just some questions to ask yourself before you decide to start blogging. If you answered yes to these questions than blogging is more than likely for you. However, if you answered no to these questions then if you still want to start a blog you should have someone else do it for you.
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It's very important to maintain your blog. If you have links and banners on
your blog and they are not working anymore you should fix or remove
them. It makes your blog look very unattractive and it is very
irritating when someone goes to click on a link only to find that it
doesn't work anymore. I have seen many
blogs that don't keep up the maintenance of their blogs. If you have
started blogging and have found out that it's really not for you than
you should delete it. Don't keep it up and don't do anything with it.
Who wants to keep visiting a blog that has been abandoned long ago?
Sometimes sites that we have joined go out of business.
It happens sometimes, but if they do, remove or replace the links. You
should periodically check your links just to make sure they are working.
When people click on your links you want them to be able to go to the
website that they are interested in. If your links don't work than that
could be a possible customer that you are missing out on. Only because
your link is not working.
Also,
when you put up links back track and see if the link is working. I
always back track. What I mean by backtracking is after you put up the
links go click on them yourself to see if they are working properly. I
have found on many occasions that links that I thought were working were
not because I made a mistake and didn't type the correct html and thus,
rendering the link unclickable. Mistakes happen, and that's okay. It's
just nice to catch mistakes so they don't end up costing you visitors
and possibly customers. People won't continue visiting your blog if
everytime they click on links they don't work.
Keeping
the maintenance up on your blog is very important. If something is not
working make sure you fix it. You wouldn't leave something on your car that isn't working. You would fix it. You should do the same with your blog.
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