Solo Practice

I apparently ruffled some feathers with my last post advising those who are serious about their web marketing presence to not use Blogger or Blogspot as their main blogging platform.   What some commenters failed to take into account, in their comments and via e-mail when challenging my opinion on using these platforms for marketing their business, is I am giving my advice as a consultant to new bloggers. I am paid to advise current solo practitioners or those who are going to start their own practice what tools or platforms will work best for them based upon today's options.  I have an affirmative duty to advise them as to what will satisfy their short and long term web marketing goals while working within their current budget and technological skills.

There are several legal bloggers who are held in high regard who use Blogger and Blogspot.  But ironically, it is generally not their main web presence geared towards bringing in paying clients.  And if it is, then I would question how long they have been blogging and whether or not they would make the same choice today? 

You have to understand, regardless the platform, if you have been writing great content, are linked to in great numbers and by influential thought leaders, chances are you have created Google roots and it would not be wise to disturb that root system.  I cannot begin to tell you the number of bloggers who are well known who realize, much to their dismay, changing platforms now to something more robust and with greater flexibility would be too costly in terms of their hard-won Google rankings and links.   Those who were ill-advised and did make the transition have deeply regretted their choice precisely for this reason.

My comments are not an attack on others.  It is advice for the new solo practitioner to heed....or not.  I am paid to think both in the present and future in terms of cost-effectiveness and ease of growth as well as to stay abreast of technologies and to advise accordingly.

So, my position stands.  If you are a new blogger who is currently a solo or going solo I would strongly advise against using Blogger or Blogspot to build your professional web marketing presence and I would definitely discourage the use of any advertising on your site if it is your main marketing vehicle for your services.