The first time I started blogging was nearly a decade ago on a platform owned by Google called Blogspot, now known as Blogger. It is a free platform where anyone can start a blog from scratch. The user interface is very intuitive and easy to use and there is no need to be familiar with coding html.
All you need is a Gmail account. The free blog will be on a sub-domain like Steemit but in this case you get your blog name as yourblog.blogspot.com. On Steemit it is a different type of sub-domain where for example, my blog is on steemit.com/@maxabit.
On the other hand you can also pay for your domain and not be on a free Google or Steemit domain at all. In which case your blog will be yourblogname.com or.net or whatever you have chosen as your top level domain.
So Which Is Better? A free website on Google, or on Steemit, or Your Own Website on a paid domain?
Firstly, there is no no doubt that a free site in Blogger or Steemit is the best as far as money goes. A domain and hosting will set you back by at least a few dollars every month. Money saved is money earned!
Although you can post content on any topic on a free Blogger blog or your own domain, most bloggers choose a niche. The reason is that you have to build an audience which has a related interest as the topic of the blog. Moreover the search engines are trained to spot content on tightly focused blogs and not so much on general blogs.
This means that if you spread your blog over a multitude of topics it will not be found easily in the search results.
This is where Steemit has a distinct advantage. Although it does make sense to write in a few niches you can also go ahead and write on anything you want. The reason being that you only have to apply relevant tags and your blog post will be found in that category.
For example you may be a cryptocurrency writer but if you write a post on homesteading and put the relevant tag i.e. homesteading, your post will appear in that category.
I feel the biggest advantage of Steemit is that you start earning from the day you have an account. Even if it takes you to a few days to create your first post, your first useful comment on another's blog will earn you money. On the other hand if it is your own blog or a Blogger blog it could take you weeks or months to see any money coming in.
As you would aware on Steemit your Steem Power plays a large role in deciding what you earn. The higher your SP the more your upvote is worth and consequently the larger your number of followers. Your followers, among others, tend to upvote you as soon as they see your content in their feed which makes your post on the hot and trending pages.
So if you decide to invest in SP from your own pocket it will be highly beneficial for you. The equivalent on Blogger or your own domain is to spend on advertising though there is no guarantee that it will bring in money, maybe not even too many visitors.
As far as control goes you have the least amount of control on Blogger. Google has been known to shut down accounts with no reason. Your own site could have more control but if you don't renew your domain or hosting your content will disappear. On Steemit your content stays on the blockchain forever and decentralization means that no single authority can ever close your account.
What is common to all platforms is that content is king and if you have high quality content it will be rewarded either through upvotes on Steemit or sales conversions on your own domain.
To conclude Steemit has a tremendous advantage in the form of a captive audience that is ready to see any high quality content that you publish and reward you for it. It is also free and easy to use, with an increasing amount of associated tools and features. Best of all your account can never get shut down and your content can never be deleted.
Would you please UPVOTE and RESTEEM this post so that it can reach others too? Also do FOLLOW me for more useful and interesting posts.
Images: Pixabay, Giphy, Canva
A Few Of My Previous Posts You Will Enjoy Reading!
Water Fasting - A Day WITHOUT Food
Wish For Something Else, Not Money