#RandomRambling · EmmaTheLittleBookworm

#RandomRant (insert angry face) My blog isn’t attractive to those of stature as it’s a free site

Creating Perfection

So, I’m having a random RANT right now. I’m really angry and quite upset and want to know what everyone else thinks of this.

Recently, my editing and publicity business has really taken off. I have been helping some amazing authors spread the word about their books and Bloodhound Books and my lovely independent authors are keeping me very busy in terms of editing.

I’m loving it.

I am, however, loosing reading time and as such, I have had to really reduce the number of reviews I am doing and I am slowly making my way through my TBR commitments, but it’s a slow task at the moment. No one is complaining about that, I am taking part in publisher organised blog tours, mainly with content posts and reviews where I can.

I started feeling really guilty about this, for no other reason than I want my blog to be sharing more book love than I can do myself.

So, yesterday, I decided to offer authors guest post spaces on my blog. They can write about anything they want (nothing too gruesome and no overly gratuitous erotica) and I will post it and share it around for them.

I personally thought that was quite a nice thing to do.

I woke up this morning to find that in one of the groups, someone has commented telling me that ‘it will be to my advantage to move to a self-hosted website as people won’t want to appear on my free blog’.

Why is a self-hosted blog any better or worse than mine?

Does this actually matter to people?

I’m pretty annoyed right now. My blog is my baby, I have spent hours and hours working on it, promoting authors on it and helping spread the book love.

Is it all pointless as my opinion on things isn’t valid because I don’t pay for my site?

Does anyone actually read what I write or is it all just ignored because my address contains .wordpress.????

Shall I just shut it down now??

Feeling very despondent about my poor blog right now.

 

79 thoughts on “#RandomRant (insert angry face) My blog isn’t attractive to those of stature as it’s a free site”

  1. Have to say that self-hosted websites probably look more ‘professional’, but I can’t say I’ve ever thought about it other than from the point of view that self-hosting is safer in terms of security.

    Otherwise, it’s down to the integrity of the blogger and from what I’ve seen, you’re doing a damn fine job. If anyone complains, I’d tell them to feck off.

    Carry on the good work.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  2. So is mine any better because it doesn’t have wordpress in the address. I can tell you know that it’s not self hosted, I just pay for the premium WordPress hosting. Can’t see the difference myself. That seems a very childish way of looking at things and as we offer a completely free service, why in the heck should anyone be expected to pay for hosting etc? That is personal choice.

    Your site looks way better than my ‘paid for’ one as quite honestly I suck at graphics and have far too little time to spend hours making it look uber professional. But it’s mine and I’m happy how it is. If they feel like that hun, sod em. they’re not worth the worry.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. I would have thought anyone would be glad of the free promotion whether posted on a free blog or not! I only have a free WordPress blog, but it generates a fair amount of traffic with everyone’s shares. I don’t personally see what difference it makes if we’re happy to take the time to spread the word for people. I can totally understand your frustration, but please don’t shut your blog down. I’m sure most authors/publishers don’t care either way. Xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. Ok hope it’s out of your system and you had a nice coffee! First things first: I haven’t got a free site (.net) only because I couldn’t find ‘my’ blog and I have whizkid to help me out if needed (lately I’ve asked too much, apparently so I’ve been ‘put on hold’ lol). I haven’t that many visitors nor followers but I keep struggling on for the love of reading and books. When I post a review every other day it gets more noticed than when I post less frequently. Simple as that. I think saying ‘your blog is not self-hosted’ is just someone else’s rant nowhere near the truth. I feel most people are simply struggling with time and it’s that keeping others from responding. Plus, as I have experienced myself lately, sometimes you simply do not get responses if asked generally – try the personal touch … Do NOT give up on reading & reviewing – remember why you started in the first place (bibliophile!) – take a deep breath and get on! You rock so does your blog xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Ignore them Emma. I’ve spent my whole career working in online marketing and while there are pros to self hosted sites, visually there is hardly any difference and as far as traffic goes you can get still completely kick butt with a free WordPress site. Self Hosted sites are great but they do come with a host of their own issues, not least the cost. If you are happy with your site and you have decent traffic then I say don’t listen to interfering busy bodies.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. You shouldn’t feel despondent or disappointed about your blog. It’s lovely. And you do a great job with organising the blog tours too. Carry on just as you are. x

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. Ignore and carry on Emma, nothing wrong with your site. We’re blogging for the love of books, for free and many of us have free sites. If you went self hosted tomorrow your blog would be the same, same content, same look (unless you decided to fiddle with it). If someone is only interested in interacting with bloggers on non free sites it says more about them than it does about free sites. I’d be surprised and saddened if that was really how most authors felt. Chin up and carry on, it’s them NOT you xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. Whether a site is free or paid for is beside the point. Content and quality of presentation are what I look for and your site seems fine to me. I would pay more attention to visitor stats. If they’re plugging along nicely then your website is doing its job.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. I’m sure that most authors will be more than happy to appear on your blog, Emma. It shouldn’t matter that it’s a free site. Don’t close down your blog. You do an amazing job.

    Sonya xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. I personally think that’s absolute bullcrap. As is quite evident from the people who are willing to work with you. Those who matter know how hard you work and they appreciate it. Don’t let this one person ruin it for you. It doesn’t matter one jot what they think, nor does it matter that your blog is free. It’s doing what it’s supposed to do : promoting books and authors.

    So don’t you dare consider, even for one second, to shut this thing down! Keep doing what you’re doing, keep doing it as well as you have been, keep spreading the book love! There will always be those wanting to tear people down but they’re not worth your time or energy.

    xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. Absolute bullshit! They are ones that will loose out and to be honest, I’d like to know exactly who they are.
    My blog is a free blog, on Blogger. It’s interesting that the biggest publishers work with me, and oh yes, I was a finalist at the UK Blog Awards – a top award in the Industry.
    Tell them to shove it.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  14. I personally don’t see why that makes any difference and I think this (shortsighted) opinion is a rare exception! I think you can be taken as seriously with a wordpress address as a self-hosting url and once the requests from authors start rolling in you’ll forget about this one stupid remark. Don’t worry about it is my advice.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. I have a free WordPress blog and I’ve sometimes, no often, wondered the same thing. It’s parallel with not paying for Facebook boosts, amazon promotions etc. There are an awful lot of us out there jostling for space, which helps in that people now know what bloggers do, and doesn’t help because of, well, the sheer numbers. But in your case, you say your business is off to a good start. You had loads of positive offers of guest posts and (I’m guessing) just the one negative comment. Easier said than done, but try to go with all the positives here, keep the free site (which to me looks good and must to others since you had offers yesterday) for a while and maybe take stock in nine months / a year / whenever you have a breathing space and are in the mood. Negative thinking sucks energy, try not to let one comment push you into it! Good luck! Xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks Jessica, I don’t think I’ll ever pay for a website as long as this one is available to me. I don’t see any difference in what I have and paid for ones, other than the added word in the name, which I actually like to be honest!

      I have complete control over my content and pretty much 24/7 support if needed.

      Now I’ve had a decent amount of coffee and thought about it, if the likes of Peter James, Louise Jensen, Angela Marsons and Conrad Jones are happy to be featured and interviewed on my blog, I think I must be doing something right!

      xx

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  16. I wouldn’t worry about it. You’ve got so much on that if people self-exclude then they’re doing you a favour! Getting a domain and transferring things isn’t trivial. It usually requires research, money, creating new accounts, asking for help when things go wrong, having new things to check and update and pay for annually, and many more. If someone wants to do all that, fine. If they don’t, fine. I went through the process last year and would never tell anyone else it’s something they need to do, for the reasons I quoted.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  17. Do you know what Emma, that sounds like a spammer! No-one distinguishes between the blog types. If it was me I would write “thank you for your thoughtful advice – smiley face” and leave it at that. Don’t let it get to you…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  18. The person obviously has no idea what they are talking about as I know any author would love to be featured on a blog regardless of whether its a free or paid for site. All exposure is good. Just because you pay for a site doesnt mean you get anymore views or visitors than someone whos site was a free one. Annoyed for you. x

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. It upsets me a little bit that this has happened.

    Just because your blog has .wordpress in it – doesn’t make it any less as amazing as someone who has paid for a full self-hosted website!

    I would like to think that authors would jump at the chance to get their works marketed in this way. Any negative response like the one you had says more about them chuck.

    Keep doing what you do. I for one (and won’t be the only one!) that is envious of the amazing work you do! Please don’t shut down 😦 xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  21. what a daft comment by that person! I’m sure no-one thinks any less of a blog because it has .wordpress.com in it. A lot of my favourite blogs are on there, or on blogspot. It’s the content which matters!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  22. Stuff and nonsense, it’s about what’s in the blog not whether you are paying pennies for it. People can be so hideously elitist sometimes but remember that’s their problem not yours, plus you don’t have to go self-hosted to get rid of the .wordpress you just need to pay for a domain which isn’t as much as self hosting but you don’t really need it unless you want it 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  24. I have a free blog with blogspot in my address. I feel the same as you. Why should it matter whether I pay for my site or not? It has no impact on the quality of my blog posts or the quality of the books I write.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  26. Ignore completely – if anyone doesn’t want to appear on your (fabulous) blog, that’s their loss. Who cares if a site is self-hosted or not? It’s what you read there that matters. Hugs. xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  27. Wow! Really? What downer was this person on? I don’t see how a free WordPress site is relevant to helping someone promote their work! they should appreciate the good will!! Ugh..some people don’t know a good thing when they have it.
    keep up the great work Emma (that’s my baby’s name) fabulous name 😁

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  28. I think the number of comments above gives you all the answer you need, Emma. You provide a great service. My advice is to simply ignore it. As an author one sometimes gets a one-star review which is far from constructive. I ignore them, totally. If that was all I received, then I might listen, thankfully, this is far from the case. Whoever made those comments of your blog is probably a literary snob anyway, so an insular narcissist.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  30. I wouldn’t know the difference between self-hosted or not just by looking. I pay a wee bit to have the wordpress part taken out my blog name but only because it looks tidier. Can’t believe some people are sniffy about it. You have a fabulous blog and have been doing publicity work.

    Like

    Reply

  31. I think that you have every right to rant and be p#ssed off especially as you offered the chances in a group and to put it bluntly got sh#t on by someone.
    I guess that not having wordpress.com does make the site address more professional but does it really matter? To me, no, it’s irrelevant, I guess if people have the money to pay for self hosted or paid wordpress then it’s upto them but not all of us want to likewise some perhaps aren’t tech savvy enough to want or feel comfortable with a self hosted site.
    Lots of paid sites look unprofessional anyway (just saying, not having a go at anyone) while lots of wordpress.com sites look professional and at the end of the day, your blog is your blog, you design it and have it look how you want, f#ck them I say! 🙂
    One last thing, if you/we as bloggers offer our blog for guest posts, etc then we are giving up our free time to then draft and promote that blog post on our blog, we are helping someone for free yet some are saying that we need a paid for site when we offer our blogs for free, heck no, if someone thinks a blog isn’t good enough just because it’s free then sod them the blogger and the blog are far more important than if it’s a free site or paid, can you tell I like ranting!lol and if they can’t see behind the ‘free’ site then as I wrote earlier f#ck them.
    Final thought, the fact that you are prepared to help and promote people on your blog for free and then someone pulls out the it’s a ‘free’ site guff just goes to show how ungrateful some people are and makes them look bad, some people are just sad and will pick fault with anything.
    Nice rant by the way, just needs more sarcasm and swearing in it! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Drew, I love this! I could have gone to town on the swearing this morning to be honest but my mum reads this and she’ll try grounding me again (ingot told off for saying f**king in my Head Said She Said review)!

      Thank you for your kind words and yes, I am now in the fook em frame of mind! Thankfully!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  33. You were on my TBD list for please, please may I be a guest; the only reason you haven’t got it yet is because I was up all night writing it. As for the person who left the comment, ignore them, or post photos of them at the supermarket with their BOGOF offer. 😀 They would be funny if they weren’t so sad, but don’t you dare think of abandoning your poor little blog. (I’d send a blogger hug emoji if there was such a thing.) LoL.

    Like

    Reply

  36. The only question that matters is: do you provide quality content? Since you clearly do, and they can’t tell the difference, perhaps they aren’t good enough to be featured?

    Like

    Reply

  37. Who-ever it is needs a slap to bring them into reality! I write crime and have a crime blog on Word Press (geezers2016) and even with it being specialised and FREE I get 600 hits a week from all types of ppl interested in crime….even Courts and solicitors….I have had to temporarily take down a section on one particular UK crime family because one of them is in court today and next week and my blog might effect a fair trial. Would I have more ppl if it was a paid for blog…of course not, blogs appeal to those who are interested in their contents not whether its paid for or not. And that’s why I follow your blog Emma.

    Like

    Reply

  38. I don’t believe in this. Being self-hosted or not has nothing to do with it. If I knew how to write nice guest posts and had seen your request, I would have loved to help 🙂 Your blog is great, you don’t need to spend lots of money and stuff to make your corner of Internet an interesting place and I always enjoy visiting it! Forget this bullshit! 🙂 xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  40. What a load of rubbish the only thing I pay for is to not have the WP bit in my web address and it certainly hasn’t had a negative effect on my blog. Keep doing what you are doing you run an awesome blog and if people don’t like it being “free” tell them to jog on 😘

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  41. I would just ignore that silly comment. I never look at blogs and think less of it it’s not self-hosted. Keep on spreading the book love!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  42. Some people just like stirring don’t they? I’ve never even thought my site might not be as desirable just because it’s a free WordPress one!! Your blog is great the way it is and surely it’s the content that attracts people!! Glad you had your #randomrant xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  43. Emma, you have a right to rant. I’m not sure about the whole self-hosting thing, but the person’s gripe about a “free blog” is ridiculous. I’m guessing he/she isn’t familiar with the way guest blog posting works, especially among self-published authors. We help one another. If an author offers other authors a spot on their blog, it’s a great opportunity to get their ideas and themselves to different audiences. It’s a privilege and no one expects payment. That’s not how it works. Someone obviously needs to do their research about guest blog posting.

    Tam

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  44. Hi Emma, great post. When I first started my blog I was unsure of using a paid host or free WordPress. The only thing that swung it for me is apparently WordPress can removed your blog at anytime. They don’t even need to give an explanation so you could lose years of blogging. Other than that I read loads of WordPress blogs and it’s no different to a paid one. Keep up the good work. The person who said it was probably just jealous x

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  45. That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard! I never look at anyone’s blog to see if they’re self-hosted or using a free WordPress URL. Who cares? I have to wonder if this person who made the “helpful suggestion” is a website designer or has some other financial interest in pushing you to change your site. I think you have a wonderful blog, for what it’s worth.

    Like

    Reply

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below :-)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.