10 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
10 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

To All You Newbies Who Might Be Tempted to.....

by Steve Faber
8 replies
To all you newbies who might be tempted to base your business on a free platform on which you have no control, please listen to the advice of more experienced marketers and save yourself plenty of (at the minimum) headaches.

I do not do this, but I do have some web 2.0 sites I've used for links and traffic generation. Most of these have plenty of good, valuable content, much of it original. After a 9 month absence from Squidoo, I logged in today, only to find that one of my lenses had been taken down by Squidoo for some unknown violation.

The lens's subject was elliptical trainers, not anything that anyone would find in any distasteful. I was very large and full of original content. Of course it contained links to some of my blog posts, but the blog is health and fitness related, and I'd think fine as well, since it is linked to by respected sites and is listed in Alltop.

The moral of the story: Use these sites, but do not waste too much time on them or, heaven forbid, base your business on them. It could evaporate at the whim of some unknown individual or algorithm.
#business #newbies #tempted #web 2.0
  • Profile picture of the author satrap
    I agree completely. It just doesn't make sense to build your business on someone else's ground.

    Think about it, if you were going to build a store offline and run a business from your store, and somebody came along and said "hey you can build your store on my land for free, but at any time I want I can bring your store down for whatever reason and you cant do anything about it". Would you accept that deal?....
    Signature
    60 Awesome Ways to Make Money Without a Job
    .................................
    Check out my blog Survey Satrap featuring honest reviews of paid survey sites.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5168911].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author SuppaDave21
    I use to use wordpress.com and my sites used to get banned all the time....I learned the hard way as well not to use free sources for my main income sources.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5170954].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author barbling
    Excellent advice!!

    Always own your own space (ie, domain etc.) so you're not dependent upon others.

    With that being said, always remember too when your domain comes up for renewal, so you don't get up the proverbial paddle without a creek when someone steals your expired domain!

    Domain Monitor | Track the Status of Domains | DomainTools

    is one helpful tool for that.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5170983].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Mitja Drame
    I agree with that. It's important that you have control over your website. I started with Squidoo, because it was free. I learned lots of things there. I still use it, because I can earn decent money on Squidoo. But having own domain, list, etc. is more important if you want to have serious business. Up to date Squidoo locked 10 of my lenses I think in 2 years. They're changing their policy quite often.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5172001].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author LilBlackDress
    Yes, many of these sites have changed the rules. Buzzle stripped articles of links, Squidoo took down many lenses, eHow closed their writers compensation plan, Bukiska stopped paying for referrals, SheToldMe now charges a fee to post etc. etc.

    All good reasons to use these types of sites as a side tool, but to recognize the rules can change at any time and not depend on them.
    Signature

    Pen Name + 8 eBooks + social media sites 4 SALE - PM me (evergreen beauty niche)

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5172280].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author absolutelee
    Great point. You need to totally own your money site. If you're using Web 2.0 sites for backlinks, that's fine. If one gets taken down, you can always replace it. If that's your money site, you're setting yourself up for failure.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5172328].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author winsenken
    I agree with you. With you own domain, you can do anything you want. If you want to save cost, this isn't the way. =)
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5172334].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Tom Ryan
      Definitely do not build your business on these free platforms. They do have their uses, but you do not want to waste your time and energy just to have all your hard work taken away. Spend the money on your own domain and hosting, and if you do not have the money right now figure away to earn it.
      Signature


      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5172462].message }}

Trending Topics