So let’s say you ONLY HAVE TIME to invest, or at this time you want to begin PROGGING for FREE—then you need to develop a blog for FREE. Progging.net at the very least highly recommends purchasing and utilizing an appropriate “globally recognized” domain name (.com, .tv, .net, .org, .info) for your blog, but you do not need to buy a domain name to create a blog. Believe it or not, there are many FREE blogging platforms. Many of these platforms provide a web address/subdomain for you.
When developing your blog for free, know that all free and open source platforms are not created equal. Do your homework! Be aware of the PROS and CONS when utilizing a free platform. Understand how you can evolve your blog and platform as it begins to generate revenue. Your progging success largely relies on: 1.) your ability to engage readers, 2.) your ability to create Search Engine Optimized content daily; 3.) and expand your blogs product offerings and/or affiliate relationships.
Progging is a business. You can start by creating a blog for FREE with free hosting services, or you can begin by investing some money hosting and developing your blog. You can treat your blog as a fun and leisurely activity, or it can be 24/7 and all consuming. You can be successful whether you invest money and time, or only time. But make no mistake, progging is a business and you will get out of it, what you put into it. If you expect to get thousands of hits and make thousands of dollars from day one with a free blog stop reading now. We are not saying you will not make money in the first month, week, or even day one of your “launch,” but realize creating your blog is really just step one and not the “secret to Internet millions.” If you want to just test the “product blogging waters” and develop a free blog, you can begin supplementing your income or corporation’s bottom line substantially. Down the road when your blog is established and already generating hundreds/thousands of dollars; it might be a good idea to begin re-investing some of that money into your blog. Expanding and upgrading your blog platform is a down the road consideration you must think about now! Even if you use a free platform today, in the future you might want to “upgrade” a free platform or develop something unique. Transferring your previous content and audience, as well as providing updated functionalities/features will be of pinnacle importance.
If Product Blogging Network is going to assist you in becoming an effective Product Blogger, we cannot make all the decisions and do all the work.
We want you to empower you, provide you will expert technical information, point you in the right directions,but ultimately you have to decide what is best for you and your budget. Explore this information, find out more, share with us your feedback/experiences, and run with it. Right now, this informational site utilizes a free Blogger.com platform and a “.net” domain purchased at The Engine That Can for $6.49 (and coming with over $163 of FREE extras). So to accomplish what we have so far is a few hours of time, planned research, content creation, and action. When Progging.net aggressively begins progging on this site, you will know how to product blog and might even have your product blog established.
When considering all the free blogging platforms, Progging.net believes WordPress.com and Blogger are the very best. Why? If you currently do not have website or blog, and you are not very technologically savvy, these two platforms are the most user friendly. When adding content and new posts you will see familiar icons and symbols, you will quickly know how to upload pictures, embed video, and even paste HTML code.
Both the WordPress.com and Blogger platforms are sophisticated Content Management Systems (CMS) designed specifically for only blogging. If utilized correctly both platforms function very well when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Many popular and successful blogs today and “product bloggers” utilize various versions of these platforms. Both platforms are RELIABLE, meaning your free blog will always be up and running. Both platforms have stellar help resources, tutorials, technical support, communities of users, are updated frequently, and are extremely “flexible.” (NOTE: Wordpress.com does not allow you to monetize their free platform, you must upgrade to Wordpress.org )
So then, what are some of the cons regarding free blog platforms? In many ways you do not have “complete” control over your blog. Although they have a variety of design templates and options, there are some design and aesthetic limitations. Although you will begin progging products and links of your own choosing, you will not have complete control over all the advertisements and links appearing on your site. When you utilize a subdomain, this means your site is being hosted on their servers. Subdomains are often substantially longer and lack an heir of professionalism. Also, the content you create for your product blog and the affiliate relationships you develop are your most valuable assets. Because you do not “own” the platform you are utilizing, and because you are not “hosting” your content, questions can arise as to the ownership of that “content.”
Product Blogging wants to remind you that using any free platform is a privilege; WordPress.com and Blogger have the ability to terminate your account at any time. From our research and experience, WordPress.com will terminate your account on a whim and Blogger does not terminate accounts all that frequently. If you follow the guidelines, play by the rules, do not use copy written and trademarked content, follow all affiliate program rules, and respect these free blogging platforms, you should have no problems and be successful. Once again, if you built a successful progging site utilizing a free platform, free subdomain, and free hosting; you do not have a tangible progging site and you are not increasing the value of a tangible site you completely own and control.
Progging.net encourages you to explore WordPress.com and Blogger more on your own. Below you will find some informational links. Eventually you must make a decision, take the first step, set up an account, and begin creating your blog. When developing your blog, adding content, and working out all the kinks, check out the “search engine” and “privacy settings.” The Product Blogging Network recommends you keep your blog private while it is a “work in progress” and do not submit links to search engines until you are ready for your “true launch.” In the next post to appear on this site “Paying for your Blog,” we will discuss the pro’s and con’s to spending a little money, upgrading free platforms (specifically WordPress.com), developing a CMS with open source software, paying for development, and hosting your own Blog.
WORDPRESS INFO AND LINKS
***WordPress was born out of a desire for an elegant, well-architectured personal publishing system with developmental roots going back to 2001. Built on PHP and MySQL and licensed under the GPL WordPress is the largest self hosting blogging tool in the world with hundreds of thousands of sites utilizing its platform. To read more about WordPress go to “About WordPress.”
***In an effort to create a true Global Web Presence and better assist WordPress users, WordPress TV officially launched January 17, 2009. Since that time, WordPress.tv has become a wonderful library of video content with a wealth of information allowing individuals to really maximize their usage and understand the various WordPress platform options and features. This amazing resource has truly allowed WordPress to set a new benchmark in blogging platform standards.
***If you want to get started, sign up, and begin creating a WordPress.com blog, go to “Get your own WordPress Account in Seconds.”
***WordPress.org/support has a number of resources to help you get the most out of WordPress. This Forum information regarding everything from Installation, Themes and Plugins, to Troubleshooting and writing posts.
***Many FREE Templates not available on WordPress.com exist and can be implemented. For those who are a little more technological savy, check out the Freelance Folder’s “15 Incredible WordPress Theme Customizations” and begin searching for “Free WordPress Templates.” (PLEASE REMEBER Wordpress.com DOES NOT allow you to monetize their free platform)
BLOGGER INFO AND LINKS
***Blogger was started by a tiny company in San Francisco called Pyra Labs in August of 1999. In 2002 Google bought Blogger. To read more about Blogger go to “The Story of Blogger.”***Blogger doesn’t have a unique Dot TV Channel, but they do have a Youtube Blogger Channel with a nice library of informational videos. Progging.net encourages you to check out “How to create a blog with blogger” and see just how easy it is to set up a free blog.
***Blogger’s Blog, The Buzz, is the Blogger Platforms official blog with the most current news and information regarding Blogger.
***Many FREE Templates exist for Blogger’s platform as well and you can search for and explore “Free Blogger Templates.” This site bTemplates.com also seems to have a few nice examples.
***If you want to get started, sign up, and begin creating a blog with Blogger.com, go to “Create a blog, it’s free.”
