Free Blogging Sites - Top 5 Catastrophic Mistakes To Avoid

One of the first techniques a new internet entrepreneur uses is trying to harness the power of free blogging sites.
There are a number of free blogging sites to choose from, and some provide great functionality and ease of use. Here is a quick description of the main contenders.
WordPress.com - This is the number one free blogging site for one main reason, it allows you to run your blog free of advertisements. You can also have full control of the design, layout and choose from a variety of themes.
Blogger - This is easy to use as it has simple tools and guidelines. A very popular platform.
Livejournal - This is a great blogging service for those that have a gift of writing. A tried and tested route for many new authors.
Tumblr - A common platform with good capability for adding media, such as images and video.
Weebly - This site allows you to create a free blog, with free hosting and access to many design variations.
Now, lets discuss some of the top mistakes to avoid when writing your blog.

• Do not randomly guess what your readers are interested in, make sure you perform keyword research diligently, to make sure your post will be of use. Your writing may be world-class, but if it is of no interest, it's going to be left unread.
• Make sure not to over stuff your blog with images, video and fancy themes. - Although it should be pleasing to the eye, heavy use of images, graphics and animations will slow your website down and will detract from the content. Your readers will leave even before the page loads!
• Do not copy or steal other peoples work and pass it off as your own. Google and other search engines have clever software to detect duplicate content, and your blog will drop from the rankings like a stone. (A very stony one!)
• Do not self promote in your blogging posts, only ever offer clear and valuable information. If you are giving your readers what they are looking for, they will look for your products like a heat seeking missile.
• Do not neglect your blog. This is a crime on the web! A blog that is rarely updated is a lonely place to be, and your readers will leave in droves, that's if they remember who you are! Whether you decide to update your blog weekly, or every other day, you need to be consistent.

Free blogging sites are an amazing resource that many people use as they set a foot hold in the world-wide web. And I have used them in the past with varying levels of success. However over the years as I have gained experience, I found there is a real danger with only ever using free resources.
You do not own your own content!
Blogger or WordPress.com can take down your blog whenever they want, and there is nothing you can do about it. All it takes is for somebody to pull the plug, and you fledgling blogging career is down the pan.
If you are business minded and wish to be an internet entrepreneur, you need to think bigger, and start 'owning' your own business.
For this I recommend WordPress.org (notice the difference - org not com)
Now you will need to purchase a domain name, and have hosting for it, but this can be done for just a few dollars.
Here are my reasons why you must own your own work by using WordPress.org

• Google loves WordPress, and with the right content, you can optimise your blog to be found on the first pages of Google within weeks. This means lots of traffic.
• The ease of use and functionality is legendary, and there are many support forums to help if you get stuck.
• It is easy to monetize. You can integrate WordPress with auto-responders so you can easily keep in touch with your readers, and this builds the friendship and level of trust. This is when you can introduce them to your products or services, and because people only tend to buy from people that they trust or believe in, you often make a sale!

Using free blogging sites will give you experience creating content to produce for the web, however as you progress, do not make the mistake of putting all your eggs in the one basket. You need to begin to 'own' your own work, and crucially to then monetize it by grabbing subscribers, and selling your products and services.

Click Here To Use Your Blog To:- Get Leads - Make Sales - Make Money
free blogging sites

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