Comments on: VistaPrint Syndrome aka Stop Using Blogger

By: MikeB

MikeB — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 21:26:18 +0000

i agree, i can’t stand vistaprint. they have horrible customer service and their cards aren’t anything i couldn’t make myself. I decided to switch to http://www.printsmadeeasy.com a long time ago and the results have been great, they even gave me a 15% off code, CLC5123 if anyone wants to use it

By: 公司法

公司法 — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 14:32:53 +0000

(If you’re referring to my own blog you’ll see I’ve actually done quite a few tweaks to the templates both in the PHP templates and in Fireworks. Maybe I’m reading too much into it.)

By: Millionaire Richard Quick, Esq.

Millionaire Richard Quick, Esq. — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 22:25:29 +0000

I am a self-made multimillionaire who can afford to start or buy an entire blogging company, much less a blogging account, if I wish. I use the free Blogger service for my Get Rich Quick! website. I love it. I get great satisfaction at the hundreds of attacks from minimum wage morons who think they’re something because they pay for something I use for free (And they’re on MY site, ranting). Whenever they rant “If you’re a millionaire, how come you use a crappy free blog?” I take a sip of cognac, ask my supermodel masseuse to rub a bit lower, and think “Why do you think I’m a millionaire and you’re not, loser?”

Millionaire Richard Quick, Esq.

By: Chas Boodro

Chas Boodro — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 03:17:48 +0000

Vistaprint’s idea may seem “half assed” to you but if you look under VPRT on the American Stock Exchange you” see VistaPrint selling at $30 - up from a $12 or so IPO less than six months ago.And those cards are printed on a high volume printer that cost millions t

By: groovy

groovy — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 10:06:31 +0000

how do you map a domain name to a blog in BlogSpot without doing a redirect? Unless I’m wrong, don’t think its possible?

By: Educational Technology and Life » Blog Archive » VistaPrint Syndrome aka Stop Using Blogger : Business Blog Consulting

Mon, 13 Feb 2006 01:55:37 +0000

[...] VistaPrint Syndrome aka Stop Using Blogger : Business Blog Consulting (Via Easy Bake Weblogs.) Andy Wibbels: “Using Blogger and the free Blog*Spot hosting is basically telling the rest of the world that you’re too cheap to spend a few dollars for a halfway decent blog for your business.” Not that I’m in business for myself (just yet), but this is sure making me feel good about my move to Wordpress. The analogy with VistaPrint is worth a quick read. [...]

By: Andy Wibbels

Andy Wibbels — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 03:19:22 +0000

Is that a snark?

I’d rather have someone using Kubrick default in WordPress with their own domain than be at blogspot.com. But it’s all relative…

(If you’re referring to my own blog you’ll see I’ve actually done quite a few tweaks to the templates both in the PHP templates and in Fireworks. Maybe I’m reading too much into it.)

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 03:13:25 +0000

Andy,

You are absolutely right.

If someone can’t afford the $9.20 for a domain, they should just ask their mommy for a bigger allowance.

And if they have a WP blog with no header and no mods to the theme, maybe their mommy should give them an even bigger allowance.

By: Tris Hussey

Tris Hussey — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 19:21:03 +0000

I agree with Andy completely (boy am I late in the game here). I also started my blog with Blogger and moved to a Blogware-powered blog (BlogHarbor is a reseller) (Disclosure: My personal blog is sponsored by Blogware).

The other thing to consider is portability. Even with my own domain, I’m stuck with Blogware. I really like Blogware but I also like Wordpress. Consider the whole permalink issue. Blogware-blogs can be imported into WP (I’ve done it and it doesn’t hurt too, too much), but the permalinks can’t be redirected so even with your own domain, all your old links and Google juice are gonzo.

I recommend to clients to spend the few bucks ($10 for the domain, $5-10 a month for hosting) to have something of their own. If they want to go hosted … I like wordpress.com … of course it’s portability remains uncertain.

By: Peter T Davis

Peter T Davis — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 16:39:53 +0000

Actually, your post reads like a rant against Blogger, not against hosted blogs.

By: Andy Wibbels

Andy Wibbels — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 16:19:48 +0000

This is about ‘business blogs’ not everybody else ergo ‘businesss blog consulting’. If a business already has a domain then this article doesn’t even apply.

A blog is about the blogger - once they get to your blog. But if they can’t find your blog easily with a memorable domain then the efforts are pretty pointless.

Re: hosting at your own domain with Blogger - you’ll see I mention that above.

There are very few ‘right answers’ when it comes to business blogs but owning your links and the domain they point from is primary.

By: Peter T Davis

Peter T Davis — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 15:55:18 +0000

It’s wrong to make sweeping comments like this when there are so many factors that determine the correct solution for the millions of people who blog. Heck, I’d even venture to say that for 90% of all blogs it doesn’t matter squat whether their url is their own domain or subdomain.blogspot.com or whatever. For the most part, a blog is about you, the blogger, not about the url.

Having said that, I presume that you’re speaking primarily to people who use a blog as a marketing outreach tool for their business to communicate with its customers. I would say that for the most part, those cases would fit into the 10% of people who shouldn’t use a blogspot subdomain. However, I wouldn’t suggest they not use Blogger at all, as Blogger can as easily be hosted on your own domain as on a blogspot subdomain.

I would aslo presume that a business would already have a website, so instead of buying a stand-alone domain for a blog, a subdomain of their business website would work best. So, I really don’t think telling people that they’re cheap if they don’t buy their own domain is the best of advice either.

By: Don’t Use Blogger

Don’t Use Blogger — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 14:02:48 +0000

[...] My cross-post from Biz Blog Consulting: VistaPrint Syndrome aka Stop Using Blogger Track this topic on other blogs: blogger, blogging, marketing, business [...]

By: Harish Keshwani

Harish Keshwani — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 15:12:54 +0000

Excellent point Andy! As a business blog consultant, I have preached to my prospective clients to embed their business blog within their business website. Apart from not appearing “cheap”, the business can benefit in terms of search engine ranking, keeping propective clients (who are reading the blog) in close vicinity of products or services, contact information and client profiles.

If a business owner is not web-savvy and wants a business blog then he/she should be willing to pay a few hundred dollars to get a business blog setup within the website. It is worth it.

I have included an example of a business blog embedded within the business website. This was done for one of my clients whom I managed to convince that embedding a business blog within the website is a good practise http://www.marysladekinsurance.com .

By: Rich Brooks

Rich Brooks — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 14:41:08 +0000

Andy,

You’re exactly right. But it’s not just blogspot, it’s ANY blog that becomes chained to its platform or hosting because of its domain name.

I made the mistake originally when I started with a default design and the Typepad-esque url of http://flyte.blogs.com. Now I own my own domain and have redesigned my blog to complement the rest of my marketing material.

The first two steps any BUSINESS blogger should take is to get a domain name you can take with you and get some design (even just a header) that separates you from those who blog about their pets.

By: Steve Mertz

Steve Mertz — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 00:01:03 +0000

Andy-You’re gonna make me tear up. It was so easy to start with blogger and I learned a ton but you are right and changes are in the air. The good news was the chep blog got my speaking website recognized by the search engines in short order!