The Blogging Dilemma: Personal Blog vs Content Mills.  Which Will it Be? 

The Blogging DilemmaWhile it is easier than ever to publish your content online, the number of platforms you can choose to work with may be daunting. This is because each website differs one from the other in terms of quality of content and traffic. If you are just starting out in the online writing world, should you put your content on a personal blog, or on shared sites like Hubpages or Bubblews, or do both? Make your pick. 

The Case for a Personal Blog 

A personal blog always spells quality above all factors. When you create your own personal blog, you are fully in control of the content, layout and display of your blog. You will not have to worry about a quality control editor taking your content down simply because he or she does not think that the 'first person usage' is proper for a published work or because they did not like the way you cited a source. In addition, you are free to monetize your personal blog the way you choose.  You can also decide the ads you would like to share or even what related content you want featured along with your posts. With a personal blog, you portray your unique identity.  

The Case for Bubblews,  Hubpages and Content Mills

The one drawback to starting a blog is that you do not have visitors to begin with. That is, you do not have a network of people already available to you who can visit your content. On a site like Bubblews, people will connect with you within minutes and leave comments about your latest entry. This can help you build an audience and earn some instant cash. But beware, you cannot advertise your alternative sites freely on places like these and your advertisements and redirect links may be considered as spam, resulting in the termination of your account. Writers at the recently terminated content mill 'Helium' could not redirect links to personal pages outside the site. You may want to watch out for sites such as this. 

The Case for Doing Both: Personal As Well As Shared  

At first, you may want to do both. You can write as little as 100 words per post on Bubblews or take a topic that you want to flesh out first and put it on Hubpages before you post it on your blog. As you start to gain traffic and viewers on external sites, you can link back to your blog and transition from writing on other sites to writing just on your blog.  However you may want to read the fine print regarding linking back to your personal website / blog from shared sites. 

No matter what you do, the goal is always to create quality content. If you create content that people like to read, it will open up doors for you as a writer no matter where you post your work. Essentially, it all depends on how you want your identity as a writer portrayed and the content you choose to write.   

Stay Tuned…. 

Next week, I will talk a little bit about steps you can take when you are going through a blank phase. You need to tackle these stretches when your writing does not come easily to you.

Image Credit: Image by MayaSimFan at Wikimedia Commons 


 

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