WordPress has become one of the largest blog platforms. WordPress.org allows bloggers to download WordPress and use it at their hosting account. WordPress.com is the service that allows bloggers to create blogs and have WordPress.com host them. Is WordPress.com affiliate marketer friendly?
Brucesmoneyrants.com is the second incarnation of my making money blog. My first attempt was hosted at WordPress.com. I chose WordPress.com because of my past dealings with the WordPress software. I had tried out software from Blogger.com and several other sites. WordPress has several features that drew me in. WordPress allows users to easily extend their blog’s functionality through widgets and plugins.
WordPress.com shares the same creators as the WordPress blogging platform (WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org, n.d.). Several features of WordPress.com invited me to choose their hosting.
1. I already had experience with the WordPress software
2. WordPress.com advertised the availability of over 70 templates
3. I could add widgets and plug-ins
4. Ability to track daily stats from your main dashboard
5. Having a blog that was “xxxx.wordpress.com”
At first, I was enjoying WordPress.com. I created “emergencymgmt.wordpress.com”, “lifeofreedom.wordpress.com”, and “brucesmoneyrants.wordpress.com”. My main blog was on money making. My plan was to develop the other two later. My first surprise came when I chose a template. I had about 12 templates available. You had to pay to access the 70 templates. Next, I found out you cannot upload external templates.
I also was limited in the widgets available. WordPress.com does not allow external widgets to be uploaded. They do offer some widgets. Users also are not allowed to add java script to their widgets. Java script is required to monetize your blog through Google Adsense or Amazon.com.
WordPress.com does allow some monetization. Small banner ads can be utilized by placing HTML into widgets. There are some downsides. Changing the ads requires manually changing the code. Not a deal breaker for me. I loved the ease of WordPress that much.
I created my main blog. I could not get the exact look I wanted, however, it was acceptable and looked good. My plan was to get the blog generating an income and then add WordPress.com’s pay services. Allowing my blog to be self sustaining. I began advertising by placing links and posting everyday. I began seeing some success.
I began focusing on writing posts to assist readers in making money online. I wrote about making money blogs and resources that I found useful (i.e. ZacJohnson.com and e-books). I also wrote about products, courses, etc. that had helped me learn about internet marketing.
My knowledge was growing along with my readers. My next step was to continue advertising. I obtained the addresses for 50 blog directories. Over the next two days, I registered with these directories.
Doomsday soon came. I signed up with a internet marketing course called Blogging for Dollars. In my view, this course offered some very useful tips. I believed readers would find it helpful. I wrote a review post about my experience and posted it.
I woke up Thursday morning and checked my blog’s stats. The blog was gone. My screen now stated that “This blog has been archived or suspended for a violation of our Terms of Service”. I was still able to sign in to my account and view my emergencymgmgt.wordpress.com blog. I also could still view stats for my World’s Dumbest Criminals blog that was not hosted with WordPress.com but used their statistics widget.
My mind whirled with potential explanations. Did I plagiarize? No, I was extremely careful to cite each and every one of my sources. I had not posted anything vulgar. Well, there was only one place to look….WordPress.com’s Terms of Service. I found a few lines that offered some insight:
1. “the downloading, copying and use of the Content will not infringe the proprietary rights, including but not limited to the copyright, patent, trademark or trade secret rights, of any third party”
2. “you have fully complied with any third-party licenses relating to the Content, and have done all things necessary to successfully pass through to end users any required terms”
3. “the Content is not spam, is not machine- or randomly-generated, and does not contain unethical or unwanted commercial content designed to drive traffic to third party sites or boost the search engine rankings of third party sites, or to further unlawful acts (such as phishing) or mislead recipients as to the source of the material (such as spoofing)”
4. “your blog is not named in a manner that misleads your readers into thinking that you are another person or company. For example, your blogs URL or name is not the name of a person other than yourself or company other than your own”
There was the culprit. I had included affiliate links in my reviews. So I could tell people about products, whether or not I had used the product, as long as I was not an affiliate. It did not matter that I had bought the product, offered proof of the purchase, and had found it useful.
Every story has two sides. I e-mailed Wodpress’s customer service. I wanted to hear their side of the story. I was hoping that it was a simple misunderstanding. A misunderstanding that could be worked out. I was very polite in the email. WordPress has the right to refuse service. It is their business. I waited for a response.
As of that evening, I had not received a response. I checked my spam filter. I tried to login to my other two blogs. WordPress.com would not even let me login. Well, there was my answer. Do not offer any explanation, just shut the whole account off. Again, it is their business and they are free to do as they wish. But, is this really good business.
This article is not an attempt at revenge. Just as my blog, I want to provide useful information to other affiliate marketers. Maybe someone can avoid the frustration I have been through. If by some chance, WordPress.com’s technical support sees this article, I would love an explanation. You can reach me at Bruce’s Money Rants.
You can find out how to earn money blogging for less than $2. Visit blogging for dollars to learn the tools necessary to explode your income. You can get a unique content version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.