25,000 Members Strong - EST 2007 - Work With Mom Influencers

Wordpress vs Blogger

I use Wordpress for my blog but I have found that when I go to follow people many more on on the Blogger format. Is there a reason more of you choose Blogger? I have found Wordpress to be very easy to use but it seems that it is easier to get followers if you use Blogger. I also think that it is easier to make money using Blogger because they have the Adsense program. Is this why more people choose Blogger?

Also, I have noticed when reading blogs to follow that many are not really blogs but look more like commercials with review after review. I am assuming that these bloggers are writing reviews because they are paid to do so. But you know what they say about assuming? So would that be a correct assumption? If so, how do these blogger get followers? I can't imagine that someone would want to read reviews all the time.

I suppose I am like every other blogger who want tons and tons of followers however, I want followers who are actually interested in the information I post. I want readers rather than followers. Is there a way that I could find people who are interested in living frugally, saving money, and couponing since those are my main topics?

Thanks for any insight you may have to offer.

1 member likes this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Angie on July 26, 2012 at 8:41pm

More and more bloggers are moving over to Wordpress (.org, self hosted not .com) because it's a much better platform. With Blogger you do not own your blog like you do with WP. Adsense can be successful on any platform.

A lot of bloggers are doing these reviews for free product only, a very small amount are getting paid for those. I think everyone should charge what they are worth. I don't do a lot of free stuff anymore BUT I do some. It really just depends.

The best way to get traffic is to get out there on social media. Use hashtags on Twitter, have a Facebook page, connect with others in your niche (there is no such things as competition....embrace it!), do guest blogging and just make sure to optimize every post/page on your blog.

Hope this helps!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by CalleLillyCafe on July 27, 2012 at 12:29am

I have paid for my .com & haven't made the switch to WP. I even renewed in June. I'm still on Blogger. I want to makeover my blog w/out spending so much $$. I have tried WP & didn't have the time to play w/it & make it work yet. Still no time to do this but I'd love to switch sooner than later.

Any suggestions to make a smooth switch? I'm not looking forward to starting 'over' either & losing my entire blog at Blogger.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Thrifty Livin on July 27, 2012 at 10:32am

I really like Wordpress. I am by no means a veteran but I would be glad to help you if you have any questions. The widgets are great over there and there are many more choices of themes. They are limited on the changes that can be made on the free themes though.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Nicole Zawidski on July 28, 2012 at 9:32pm

I used blogger because I already had a gmail account. I wonder if Wordpress is better. I downloaded the app for my phone and when I post, my pictured look like I took them through a screen or something. Blogger seems to be convienent because I use google email and stuff, but I see a lot more people using wordpress and they have awesome looking blogs... but they might be spending money where I am not.

I know what you mean about wanting readers rather than followers. I have the same issue. I want my blog to grow, but I want people actually reading it and responding to it. I am not doing this just for fun for me to read, I want others to get something out of it. It is about life with my toddler and the different activities we do (http://justtoddlingalong.blogspot.com)

Not much insight to offer, just my opinion!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Angie on July 28, 2012 at 11:42pm

Yes Wordpress is better. I use Google for all my email accounts but it doesn't have anything to do with Blogger. There is a Wordpress app too for blogging on the go.

As for spending money it's a business expense which is totally worth it (that is if you are looking to monetize your blog instead of making it a hobby).

Just some thoughts.

Nicole Zawidski said:

I used blogger because I already had a gmail account. I wonder if Wordpress is better. I downloaded the app for my phone and when I post, my pictured look like I took them through a screen or something. Blogger seems to be convienent because I use google email and stuff, but I see a lot more people using wordpress and they have awesome looking blogs... but they might be spending money where I am not.

I know what you mean about wanting readers rather than followers. I have the same issue. I want my blog to grow, but I want people actually reading it and responding to it. I am not doing this just for fun for me to read, I want others to get something out of it. It is about life with my toddler and the different activities we do (http://justtoddlingalong.blogspot.com)

Not much insight to offer, just my opinion!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Lateesha Coleman on August 2, 2012 at 1:41am

I'm also on Wordpress which I love! I'm new to blogging but was able to setup my blog without any issues. I'm also a graphic designer which also helped. I think there's more flexibility with Wordpress than Blogger:) The amounts of plugins that you can take advantage of is awesome!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Emma @ Outmumbered on August 2, 2012 at 1:24pm

I find it harder to find regular readers on Wordpress than on Blogger but I am not sure why this is....

I much much much prefer Wordpress since moving over recently. I'm going to self host in a couple weeks... I went to.com first of all to see if I liked wordpress. Hubby is technologically minded so will do the changeover for me :)

I use twitter A LOT and find a lot of my traffic comes from there :)

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Thrifty Livin on August 2, 2012 at 1:36pm

I agree that it is harder to find readers on Wordpress. I added the Linky followers and that has helped. I find that lots of my readers come from Facebook, StumbleUpon, and Twitter. I still am not listed on Google. No idea why. And I still have no ads despite signing up long ago.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Judi Moore on August 6, 2012 at 11:08am

I think you should always own your own site, which means buy and renew your own domain name and pay for your own hosting package. Creating your work on a site you don't own (Blogger and the like) means you could wake up tomorrow and it could be gone!

One form of Wordpress (the .com) is almost like Blogger. You create there and the rules are made by them. Certain forms of advertising are discouraged. The other Wordpress (the .org) is a software blogging platform that you use on your own site. It is fabulous and easy and highly customizable. I know I sound like a commercial for it, but I discovered it in 2005 when I was trying to figure out how to blog instead of building html pages by hand for my business.

I've been using it exclusively ever since, even though I have tried a few other things for a minute and always come back. If you were to get into the marketing of products and merchants via affiliate marketing instead of just reviewing for brands, you can find plugins for Wordpress that make it easy for beginners.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Angie on August 8, 2012 at 6:59pm

Everyone is different however when it comes to my business, I would not want to personally take the chance of having my blog shut down for no reason (I make my living online so it's not an option). I'm sure if you did a search on Google you could find many instances of it happening. If it's a hobby blog and you're not worried about the rare chance of it happening then sure Blogger might be fine to use.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Gabrielle Fitzgerald Chipeur on August 23, 2012 at 12:07am

I'm a bit biased towards WordPress since I've been building websites with it for over 6 years now but I think the main reason there are more bloggers that are higher profile on Blogger is because it is technically 'older' than WordPress in its hosted form.

Blogger as a service started way before WordPress.com so it had many more users to start with and as with all blogging - the more you stick to it, the more followers and readers you have down the line.

So I don't think it's a matter of easier to get followers while using Blogger over WordPress but rather the blogs themselves being exceptional.

I agree with the comment that came before - there are plenty of easy plugins to use to integrate Adsense or another advertising platform into a WordPress site (my favourites are wp125 if you want to run the ads yourself or Google Adsense Plugin if you want to use Adsense).

Nowadays I don't think the platform really has much to do with getting followers as much as the content. Write great content, continue to be active in places like this where your target readers are hanging out and try to utilize facebook and twitter as much as you can to also spread the word.

Best of luck to you!

If you want to get more info on using WordPress and manuals, videos, etc you can check out my website - The Wordpress Mom

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Lea on August 23, 2012 at 5:50pm

I have always used Wordpress because it is just ... awesome ... all the way around, but I use blogger at times, too. I think that Blogger will improve in time as Google is continuing with their changes. It is not as SEO friendly for those who want to tweak and manipulate for rankings, though if left alone (code not tampered with for ranks) and just simple design and post changes to use basic on-site seo are implemented, a Blogger can be quite powerful. 1st choice is still Wordpress for more aggressive projects.