Scratch most bloggers on this here Blogistan “circuit” deep enough, and they’ll have to admit: “Yeah, I wanna make some money blogging.”
Looking back many years (to 2006), I tried to figure out why I got into this blogging business. It came down to two things:
- I wanted Google Analytics on my blog rather than Sitemeter, and WordPress.com didn’t allow Google Analytics. The semester cost money for what I wanted. And WordPress.com seemed to have some “we know better than you” restrictions, always a sure way to make me contrary.
- I was running a consulting/freelance operation at the time (2006), and since I would have had to pay for WordPress anyway, I just installed it on that hosting account. I didn’t plan on making money directly then, but I wanted to keep that option open.
So, the freedom to do what I wanted, which included making some coin, led to self-hosting my WordPress blog.
Face it: if you’re self-hosting your blog, do not fool yourself:
You ARE in – or thinking about – the make-money online business.
Because there is entirely NO point in dealing with all this pain otherwise. Blogger, WordPress.com, and practically dozens of other venues offer outlets for your pure creativity unencumbered by financial concerns. I have at least a couple of blogs on WordPress.com. I don’t post on them anymore. No return on it.All these other services do offer paid upgrades for a commercial venture.
Some of these services may be a much better solution for your business. Running a full-on blog can be incredibly time-consuming. I realize I’m talking high heresy, but it’s the (Ugly) Truth.
But I’ve never seen a precise fit with paid hosting for my vision, which keeps me on a self-hosted platform.
What’s your story? Why, exactly, are you self-hosted (or not)? Tell the truth in the comments!
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