Tips for Newbie Bloggers: Sharing My Experience Using Free Tools for Blogging

This is my advice for newbie bloggers or beginners.  You have to start somewhere so start using free tools.  That way you test yourself and see if you really want to pursue this endeavor.  Been at this for over 10 years and I can tell you from experience, that consistent and persistent blogging is not for the faint of heart.

I'm cheating a little with this post.  Via Quora (a Q&A platform where I am an active member) there was a published post generated by an AI bot titled "Which are the best free tools for blogging? - Quora".  

I went through the list and I can comment on most of them because I have tried them.  I am publishing this content on Blogspot (aka Blogger) - owned by Google - because quite frankly, I think this is the best blogging platform for newbies.  The Quora post listed 8 platforms and I am sharing my thoughts and experience with some additional thoughts for the platforms that were not mentioned.

Image credit

1. WordPress.com

The free tier is nice but I could not monetize my content.
Last blog post: Creating Real Worlds in Fantasy and Fiction

2. Blogger

A simple blogging platform owned by Google.

Easy and free. Was approved for Ad Sense but that was ages ago, Not sure if new users can get approved.

I have several blogs.  View my Blogger profile.

3. Medium

Affiliate links are permitted but not encouraged. They don't want the site to become a spam magnet.  Super easy to publish and has a lively community that interacts with the writer. The Partner Program helps you monetize content but don't expect money to come rolling in. The PRO is the ability to create your own publication (kind of like a magazine).  

View my Medium publications:  Express Yourself! and Nothing but Love for Korean Drama.

The CON is that if you are not a member you can only read 3 free posts each month.  The way the monetization program is set up, external visits don't count.  Only visits to your articles by other members are used in the algorithm.  Even so ... it's one of the best platforms.  They accept original and republished content and Medium links often get found by the search engine.

View my Medium writer's profile.

4. Wix
5. Weebly

Tried them but did not like it. Just my preference.

6. Ghost (Self-Hosted)

Never heard of it!

7. Substack

Tried it. Liked it. But it didn't work for me. It was just extra work with no profitability. But others have reported a different experience. So don't take my word for it.

8. Tumblr

They offered a way to monetize and then they discontinued the program. Nevertheless, it's a fun platform for social sharing or for bookmarking.  Take your links from your other blogs and share them via Tumblr ... BUT! ... 

"Tumblr backlinks can help you increase traffic, but they won't be as effective as backlinks earned on another blogging platform. This is due to the fact that Tumblr pages are considered subdomains. And they carry less weight as a source of backlinks. You should also include images in your blog posts."  (Per Tumblr SEO Best Practices & Tips | Tactica)

View my Tumblr blogs.

CONCLUSION: 

Two Platforms Not Mentioned:  Quora and Vocal.Media

(1)  Interestingly, the AI-generated post was published on Quora and it did not mention Quora! {Maybe it's not "the best". (O.o) }Quora offers a free blogging platform. I have used and it's been an off-and-on relationship. At present, I am turned OFF! Quora had a program that would allow bloggers to monetize their content and now they don't. That was the reason I tried so hard. I was trying to earn money. But now that they don't have the revenue-sharing programs anymore, so I said “Bye Bye!”

(2) The post also did not mention Vocal.Media.

Easy to publish. Republished content accepted. Free account (upgrade offered). Earn $3.80 per 1000 unique views.

View my Vocal.Media profile.


Hope these tips help.

Home and Garden: Ideas For Improving Your Quality of Life

Your home is your castle and you should make it a living space that you would be willing to live in for forever!  But how do you do that?  Below are a few ideas.  I recommend:  bath salts, aromatherapy, feng shui, and pomegranates.

The combination use of bath salts with aromatherapy can change a mood from anxiety and distress to an experience of comfort and serenity. ...

• Dead Sea Bath Salts (and Other Relaxation Products)

The principles of Feng Shui worked 6000 years ago and still work today! Feng shui products are designed to create a truly calm, stress-free, relaxing environment and bring serenity, i.e. harmony and balance into any environment - be it your home or where you work. ...

• Feng Shui Products Make Great Gifts For the Home or Office

The invincible pomegranate has earned its distinction as a super fruit. But there's more! ...

• Exotic Fruit: Pomegranates

How Often Do You Update Your Blog Content?

Blogging Advice and Tips: My Pain, Your Gain: Newbie bloggers should always try to benefit from the blogging experiences of others. That's what I did! How often do you update your blog content?

Once upon a time, a long long time ago (or at least it sure feels that way) … I learned that great sites DIE! Many of the online writing communities that approve me as a contributor no longer exist. Fortunately, I saved backup copies of my work and simply republished the content elsewhere. Wonderful platforms like Medium.com accept both original and republished writing. Whew! That's a relief! Even so, because of my prior experience, I don't put all of my apples in one basket. That means that I know one morning I might wake up and find that Medium has disappeared. Hey! It could happen! But I hope it won't.

Meanwhile, after trying out different blogging platforms (Blogspot, WordPress, Tumblr, Wix, Webs, etc.), I finaly settled on using the Blogger (or Blogspot) platform for publishing my stand-alone blogs. WHY? Blogger is owned by Google and my blogs were approved for Google Ad Sense. The whole purpose for blogging is to monetize my content and earn supplemental income. Because I used the free plan instead of paid services, the other blogging platforms did not make it easy for me to monetize my content. Blogger was super simple and the regular send me eMails when they make significant changes as to how they place ads on your site, etc.

August 20, 2024, Google sent an eMail about “New ad intent chips format: Automatic enrollment ...” I am not really a tech savvy person. So when I get these kinds of messages all I want to know if: Do I have to do anything? Fortunately, Google uses says no action is required because of their commitment to “seamless transition”. And when I read those words, a hallelujah chorus followed and I start doing the happy dance in my seat. LOL.

Anyway! Enough of my babbling. Currently I am publishing six blogs that have been approved for Ad Sense. Getting traffic to the blogs is not a walk in the park and it gets worst when Google does these “updates”. There's no point whining or complaining about the traffic fluctuations because when Google moves you just have to follow along. That's why, I persevere. How Google's Algorithm Updates Affect Your Website's Traffic | LinkedIn

If I were to give advice and tips to newbie bloggers I would tell them to one thing they must always remember: Your blog posts are NOT written in stone. That means you need to constantly revisit your content, check for broken links, check for outdated information, etc.

Review, revise, and even re-purpose your blog posts. Repurpose? You may have initially written the post to cover one topic but so much changed you had to discuss another topic. In other words: That was THEN; This is Now. Another reason I like the Blogger platform is that after my posts have been refreshed, I can re-date them. That's right. Change the date, especially of your changes were significant, so that when visitors drop by they will see current content. If you change the date of a previously published, before hitting the publish button with the new date, check the Permalink. This is the URL that is automatically generated. Depending on the type of template you use, check to see if there is a “Title Link”. If there is, then copy and paste the Permalink into the blank space, then hit publish. Your old URL (i.e. the Permalink) has likely been indexed by the search engines. By attaching that link to your title, when the the search engine crawls, it will pick up the same URL linked to content your updated and redated. Website Crawling: The What, Why & How To Optimize | Search Engine Journal

Since you realize that your have to continuously revisit your content, you might ask: How often must my blog content be updated? (That's what I asked.)

Once upon a time, a long long time ago (or at least it sure feels that way) … I learned that great social media communities DIE! Do you remember Google Plus? I thought the platform would upend Facebook and they probably thought so too. But that didn't happen so they scrapped the project. But when it was active, I used to follow Mike Allton, a blogging and social media expert. He said bloggers should update and/or recycle or "revive" their content regularly, and recommended that you "... invest your time in past posts that you have actual reason and evidence to support the renewed interest." Besides that, links get outdated and it affects your rankings in the search engine. Bad links = Poor quality content. That makes sense!

Another cool feature of Blogspot? When you go into the dashboard to view your listing of posts, some numbers represent the view count. Isn't that awesome? At a glance you can tell that one post was viewed 10 times while another may have viewed 100 times. So which post would you pick to “revive”. Likely the one that seems to be “surviving”, i.e. the one with the most views. This is not always the case. View count is a good rule of thumb. But not a fast and hard rule.

EXAMPLE: Some of my posts date back to 2014. That's 10 years. Some of the information is useless now, even if it shows the post had 1000 views. The content may be time-sensitive, i.e. it was a hot topic THEN, but it isn't NOW. So don't bother making changes. But if your content is “evergreen”, i.e. NOT time-sensitive, that means that something you wrote a decade ago, might still be relevant today.

You should always take heed to good advice. Mr. Allton offered good advice, so I took heed. If you're a newbie blogger, so should you. In fact, here is a link to an article published by Mr. Allton in 2014 and most of it is still applicable today. How To Revive Old Blog Content | Blogging Brute

Thanks for reading.

MEI in Silicon Valley is a Step in the Right Direction

As a member of the Medium.com writing community (view my writer's profile), not only do I enjoy writing content but I also enjoy reading and commenting on the articles of my fellow writers.

Yash Bansal published an article titled "Silicon Valley leaders are labeling ‘DEI’ as harmful and ‘meritocracy’ as ideal". It is an excellent read. After reading, I left comments.  On Medium, responses to comments appear on your profile but they are not counted in your list of stories.  I often re-share my comments with readers who visit my blog.  The comments below are my thoughts.

This is an excerpt from the article that inspired my comments:

“Scale is a meritocracy, and we must always remain one,” Wang proclaimed. “Every decision to bring someone on board is crucial and has never been influenced by current trend…

The reality remains. If you were running a business would you not want to hire the best talent? That's just common sense. But you know what they say. Common sense ain't all that common.

It's marvelous TO SAY we hire for MEI, merit, excellence, and intelligence. But saying it and doing it are two different things.

Had “all things been equal”, there would be no need for discussions like this. But there are still people doing stupid stuff. Can I provide an example? Uhh … yeah. Kamala Harris. What was the first thing Trump and his team jumped on when they realized he was going to run against her? DEI and a question about her racial identity/ WHY? Because they could not think of anything to say to prove she was not qualified. Such as ... she's a convicted felon or .... She grabbed men's crotches BECAUSE SHE COULD! Etc. They had to do something to cast a shadow.

I applaud businesses that say they recruit based on MEI. That type of hiring should have been in place all along. It's a way of moving forward.

HOWEVER, it won't erase DIE (Discrimination, Inequality, and Exclusion) that's been going on FOR CENTURIES.

Just look at all the laws America had to pass to try to fix this CRAP!! The Emancipation Proclamation, The Indian Citizenship Act, the Repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act, and on and on and on. What was the purpose of those laws? Official oppression for specific groups of citizens, human beings, that other citizens, human beings WANT TO KEEP DOWN! 

Anyway! Keep on pushing, Mr. Wang.

The judge ruled?
DEI will never erase DIE (Discrimination, Inequality, and Exclusion) that's been going on FOR CENTURIES.
How about AS OF TODAY, we ALL apply the self-evident Truth that ALL are created equal & then move on?
Can we do this? YES WE CAN!
(If we really want to.) 🇺🇸 https://t.co/eN0qUV9EYM

— Treathyl Fox (aka cmoneyspinner) ~ #Freelancer (@cmoneyspinner) August 12, 2024

(Original Source)

Who Decided This Nonsense About Royalty and Royal Blood? Why Did We Agree?

As a member of the Medium.com writing community (view my writer's profile), not only do I enjoy writing content but I also enjoy reading and commenting on the articles of my fellow writers.

Maximus Aurelius published an article titled "The Origins of Royalty: A Simple Explanation". It is an excellent read. After reading, I left comments.  On Medium, responses to comments appear on your profile but they are not counted in your list of stories.  I often re-share my comments with readers who visit my blog.  The comments below are my thoughts.

There is a scripture that says “It's not within man to direct his own steps.”

I read that and thought: “Uuuhhh … so?? … we're stupid?” (O.o)

When you read the history of humanity whether you call the people in charge kings, czars, emperors, etc. … don't you ask yourself: 'When did God die and leave them in charge?'

I mean … did it happen that on one day, the human race thought about and decided:

Wait! You want us to take one person, along with their family, and put them over all the rest of us. We even have to kneel down to them? When they eat and sleep, poop and piss, and die just like we do.

OK! I'm excited about this plan. LET'S DO THIS!!

*** (O.o)

Regardless of the origin of royalty … no matter what anybody says … I think civilizations would be better off without them.

If royals were so important to the survival of human life … why is that some countries that used to have kings and queens, but they don't have them anymore.

The fact is: One or more humans are the ones who made up something called “royalty” and then expected all the other humans to be on board with it! But as time passed, other humans thought to themselves: WHY DO WE HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS? OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!

(Just my comical take on the history of mankind. Great article.)

Original source

American Politics and Religion in 2024: Separation of Church and State is Still aYAY or NAY!

Do Souls Exists?

AreYou Ready to Trust Dr. AI?

Are the Kids Labeled as Gen Z Hopeless?

Racism in the 21st Century. Uuhh ... WHY??

Thoughts About Euthanasia, Abortions, and Botched Executions

American Politics and Religion in 2024: Separation of Church and State is Still a YAY or NAY!

As a member of the Medium.com writing community (view my writer's profile).  Not only do I enjoy writing content but I also enjoy reading and commenting on the articles of my fellow writers.

Pills for Thoughts published an article titled "In the Shadow of the Guillotine". It is an excellent read and he shares many informational links in his article for further exploration. After reading, I left comments.  On Medium, responses to comments appear on your profile but they are not counted in your list of stories.  I often re-share my comments with readers who visit my blog.  The article includes these statements:

"Along with the decline of democratic institutions, the interplay between religion and politics also continues to significantly shape global socio-political landscapes, even in countries that proclaim to have a clear separation between religion and state."

The comments below are my thoughts.

The GOP is trying HARD to UN-separate religion and politics. Is it because they are devoted believers? NO! It's because they need to create a DISTRACTION to cause DIVISION.

That's how religion is used in the USA. Republicans use religion to get VOTES for themselves or steal votes by making people become UNDECIDED.

BY CONTRAST, Putin uses the church as a HAMMER!! If he can't get the citizenry to submit to his will, he uses "the Lord" to beat them into submission. People who are religious fear God more than they fear man. So he just gets somebody in the church to tell them they need to obey him because his will is God's will.

Yes, I'm pointing a finger at Republicans. I'm not calling the Democrats heathens. They just don't use religion that way. This is an important distinction in today's American political arena.

I can't speak for other faiths, but in the Christian scriptures, the Apostle Peter talks about people who "wrestle with scriptures".. That's what the GOP does. It's a wrestling match because they are trying to get the scripture to FIT their political agenda,

It wearies me to watch Speaker Mike Johnson and the rest of the GOP carrying on like that. Seriously! I get exhausted watching them act up! But hey! This is America.

Original source

Do Souls Exists?

AreYou Ready to Trust Dr. AI?

Are the Kids Labeled as Gen Z Hopeless?

Racismin the 21st Century. Uuhh ... WHY??

Thoughts About Euthanasia, Abortions, and Botched Executions

Sites That Accept Republished Content (UPDATED)

In November 2015, I was on the hunt for information about reputable sites that accept republished content.  I did find a list of sites; however, that list has become unpublished.  No matter as the list did not include these two sites:

Niume and Medium.

Sign up for Medium.                         Sign up for Niume.

And then there was one.  2018 UPDATE:  

• The site owner for Niume passed away and nobody wanted to grab the torch and carry on this good work.  Writers were told to export their content and find a new home for their work.  Then the site closed its doors.

Image credit: Premium Bamboo Laptop Lap Desk of Extra Large Size. 100% Natural Bamboo Lapdesk Surface with Cushion and Handle. Can Be Used As a Mobile Desk, Bed Tray, Book and Writing Table.

Medium was launched in 2012 by two of the founders of Twitter.

Started republishing my previously published articles and blog posts at Medium about 3 years ago.  Both sites Medium and Niume) are respected and enjoy a good online reputation.  It is a good way to make your work more visible to the search engines and build your online reputation.


What I like about Medium is that the republishing process is simplified.  You simply import your content, do a bit of editing and hit the publish button.  You can introduce your content to a new audience and connect your social media accounts for simplified sharing as well. 

"If you're not publishing on Medium, you're missing out on a huge potential audience for very little extra work."

(Quote source: 10 Insanely Good Reasons You Should Publish On Medium) 

Below is an alphabetical list of my articles and blog posts republished at Medium with minimal effort.

● A Nation in Decline
● Aesop: unclear biography, unwritten fables, timeless morals
● Ancient History: Kingdoms : Lydia and Persia
● Balsam: For Priests, Kings and Everyday People
● Bringing White Feather From the Mountain
● Countries Most Worried About the Future (Their Future)
● Cyber Security to Protect Our Digital World
● Dating Sites — Tips on How to Score!
● Foreign Investors Buying U.S. Real Estate
● Genealogy : Modern Day Arabs and Their Father Abraham
● Go Your Own Way : Step by Step
● Illegal Immigration in the USA: A Proposed Solution
● Knight Life by Peter David
● My Dysfunctional Family
● Read a Self Help Book For a U.S. History Perspective
● Riddle Me This. Why Do Most People Search for Atlantis and not Ophir?
● Searching for Chinese Treasures
● Searching for the Truth?
● Smart Homes Get My Thumbs Up
● Society and Culture : Veiled Women
● Successful People Who Studied Abroad
● Syrian Refugees Go Home! (An Opinion Piece)
● The Color Blue (Humor)
● The Right to a Fair Trial / myLot
● Valentine’s Day Around the World
● We Live in a Digital World, Not a Yellow Submarine
● What is the Capital of Turkey?

♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦

The owner of this site passed away and nobody wanted to continue the work.

Niume is based in the UK, was founded in 2012, and launched as an open platform in July 2014.

Initiated my republishing efforts at Niume in 2017. My work efforts at this site were mentioned briefly in another post - Work at Home ~ Home Biz Projects : Another Weekend! - UPDATE #1.  But that was in February 2017.  Here it is just two months later (April) and not only is my previously published content considered acceptable for publication but they have also allowed me to publish some original content.  In addition, several of my posts have been featured; what they refer to as "Staff Picked".  This goes far beyond what I expected.  Below is a quick list of my content chosen to be featured by the moderators at Niume.

• Health : Women in Medicine : Florence Nightingale
• Celebrities : In Memory Of : Maureen O'Hara (1920 – 2015)
• Herb and Spice Spotlight : Capsicum (Red Pepper)
• Women in Business: Who Invented Monopoly?
• The Candle Was Invented When?
• The Evolution of Tea

 

♦  If you are looking for a new home for old content, you might consider giving these sites a try.

My Medium Publications ~ The Year 2023 in Review

Medium publications give your content more exposure and help you meet and collaborate with fellow writers on the platform. In my opinion, publications are one of Medium's best features.  

I began publishing content on Medium.com back in 2014, initially because this platform accepted republished content. But as my following grew I began to publish both original and republished content, and in 2019, started creating Medium publications. 

As of 2024, I am publishing 4 different Medium publications: one for general discussion topics, one for foodies, one for Korean historical period dramas, and one for non-historical Korean dramas. Below are the links to articles that recap activity for the year 2023.

♦ Express Yourself! ~ Top 20 Articles of 2023

There are 10 articles listed. My favorite article on this list is the one about King David and Bathsheba.

♦ My Foodie Luv ~ Top Stories for the Year 2023

A varied selection of topics: fruits, cakes, world cuisine/food history, and cooking terms explained for newbies in the kitchen.

♦ My Sageuk Addiction ~ Top 10 Stories for 2023

I am very much enjoying streaming historical period Korean dramas. Viki, Netflix, Tubi, and YouTube have quite a selection to choose from. One tip if you plan to watch K-dramas: make sure that all of the episodes are available. It is so frustrating to get wrapped up in a series only to realize that you may have to wait several weeks until all of the episodes have been uploaded and are fully translated with English subtitles.

♦ Nothing But Love for Korean Dramas ~ Top 10 Stories for 2023 

I love all Korean dramas, but this publication is for non-historical K-dramas and includes news about popular actors and actresses contributed by Kpoppost.

♦♦

FINAL NOTE:

If you are also a Medium contributor OR you plan to become one and you are interested in sharing your content via my Medium publications, simply comment at this post OR at one of the Medium articles OR contact me via Twitter (@cmoneyspinner).

That’s it for 2023. It’s 2024. Wishing you a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!

Only One Day Left: What’s your Final Answer?

This is a common question asked to provoke thought and/or make people appreciate their lives more.

This is my answer.  What's yours?

My Medium Progress Report ~ As of March 2019

A couple of years ago, I shared a post at this blog about my experience with Medium.com. (“My Medium Round Up ~ Article Contributions”) The main attraction of this site was the fact that it accepts republished content. It's now 2019 and nothing has changed in this regard. The site still accepts republished content. The change is that the site has implemented a Partner Program. The goal of this program is to allow the writers to earn some revenue for their contributions to Medium. 

With the exception of one article that was republished after the implementation of the program, all of my articles are not available for the paywall. The article that I republished was dated March 9, 2019, “The Origin of Brutal Regimes” and is “eligible to be part of the metered paywall”. I opted in to allow that. An article contributor can opt out. Even though I opted in, I realized after reading the additional details that can only earn money if I am in the Medium Partner Program. 

Guess what? I JOINED!! 
Hope the MPP proves to be a consistent income stream.

Question on @Quora: Is the Medium Partner Program worth it? https://t.co/RbUipeoaqg #articlewriters #freelancewriters

— My Fox Nooze (@FoxMarks_ATX) March 30, 2019

The Partner Program has potential — but suffers many of the same pitfalls for authors as the free platform. ... "I just made $76 writing for Medium members. Here’s what I learned…" by @hiatuscc https://t.co/MHs5d6LAfD #articlewriters #freelancewriters

— My Fox Nooze (@FoxMarks_ATX) March 30, 2019

My Medium Profile ~ Treathyl Fox ("cmoneyspinner") ~ https://t.co/okLrSj8esl ~ Just joined the #MediumPartnerProgram. ~ Accepts original and #republishedcontent. #publishingplatform #bloggingplatform #articlewriters #articlesbycmoneyspinner #freelancewriters pic.twitter.com/XSvE4tnXsT

— My Fox Nooze (@FoxMarks_ATX) March 30, 2019

You Can Earn Income From Writing

I am active in various Facebook Groups and Google Plus communities which share blogging and writing tips and tricks, work at home advice, etc.

One question that pops up consistently is:

• What are the best sites to earn from your writing?

The question would be a lot easier to answer if everybody agreed on one uniform definition for “best”.

My idea of “best” might be another person's idea of “mediocre” because the particular sites that I think are terrific don't really suit the other person's criteria for making money consistently and achieving their financial goals.

So the “best” that I can do is say the best sites that have worked for me.

perfect gift for teacher, students, professor, business man, writer, blogger 

♦ Forum Coin, Postloop, and MyLot are social sites and/or forums that have paid me consistently.  The easiest way to earn at these sites is to just be active.  If you are active on social media and earn nothing; then you can be socially active at these sites and get paid for it.

♦ My HUBs or articles published at HUBPages generate income.  As do my pages and posts at Wizzley, Writedge, and Daily Two Cents.  The income is earned mainly via a Google Ad Sense revenue-share plan.  Publish evergreen content at these sites and then let the content generate residual income, while you work on other writing and blogging projects. 

♦ Medium is a site I use mainly to share republished content and redirect traffic to my primary income-earning websites. However, if you are a good writer you might be able to make good money if you sign up for their Medium Partner Program. I have not signed up as yet, but here is what someone else has said about their experience.

• A Look At My Earnings Through Medium’s Partner Program by Stella J. McKenna

♦ Listverse is another writing opportunity: Write & Get Paid $100. Sound too good to be true? It's true! I checked.

However, at this point, Medium and Listverse are on my To Do List.  I need to work up the courage up to submit my work. The competition is overwhelming and I'm terrified of rejection. I just need to get over it!

Anyway! Don't let my fear hold you back! If you've got the confidence and the skills ... Go for it!

♦ Another potential income opportunity that I have yet to embrace is selling articles. I am at SEOClerks (a forum I joined via Postloop) where I see people selling their articles. I haven't tried it, but if they can make money from selling articles, why not me?  This is an income-avenue to be explored in the future.

FINAL POINT:

♦ There are all kinds of writing opportunities out there and newsletters or blogs one can subscribe to for opportunities. I subscribe to Freedom With Writing. Check out this post: 38 Blogs that Pay Writers $50+ for Guest Posts.

Hope you found this post informative.

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