Well it seems I’ve come full circle. To some I’m sure I appear to be scatter brained or indecisive. To others, downright crazy and throwing away all I have done to grow my business to this point. And maybe all those things are true but I am thrilled with my decision. I am relaxed and happy to claim this new, and hopefully final, home of my blog back on the WordPress dot com platform.
I have to admit that I got caught up in the business of blogging. I went with the flow. You must go self-hosted. You must make money by monetizing your site, sharing affiliate links, providing services and creating products. I blindly followed suit. I never really thought about why or if it was in line with my personal life goals. I just did it. And as time went by, I became increasingly unhappy and less productive in all aspects of my life.
In October, I went to Florida for 3 weeks and literally fell off the edge of the planet. I had no reliable internet connection. At first I freaked out but guess what, I survived and dare say, I flourished.
That time away from social media and everything blogging brought everything together for me. It was finally abundantly clear to me what I wanted but especially what I didn’t want. I didn’t want to be chained down to a business, even if it was my own and successful.
Didn’t I leave the corporate world years ago because of all the feelings I am having now? Why the hell did I put myself right back there again?
The direction I had put myself on was making me miserable and I needed to own that and change it, no matter how ridiculous I looked. I also had to let go of the thoughts that held me back and told me I was throwing away all I had built up to this point. Seriously? You are going to start at square one again?! I finally embraced the answer, yes. Yes, I am.
5 Reasons I Went Back To WordPress Dot Com
1. The Maintenance
I am so sick of keeping up with all the updates, changes, my site going down, needing to get expert advice with problems and dealing with hackers trying to access my site. Done. D O N E. Done. I just don’t want to deal with any of that crap anymore. Maybe I will flip again and want the challenge but for now, I just want to write and share. And that is after my real life. Not the other way around.
Related Post: 7 Scary Truths About Going Self-Hosted
2. The Choices
I should have known that more choices for me is not necessarily a good thing. Self-Hosted blogs have endless possibilities and new tools and processes are constantly being introduced. I was on the “I have to have the latest and be on top of what everyone else is using” bandwagon. I’m getting off. Simple is better for so many reasons.
3. The Money
Eek! I don’t even know how much I was spending monthly on my blog. (Don’t tell my husband!) And while yes, I was making more than enough to cover my expenses, those costs are what kept me on the track I was on for so long. I had no choice but to continue so that I could pay those bills. By eliminating the outflow of cash, I can now decide how I want to go forward without the pressure. I can still make money on this platform through ads, affiliate links, services and courses but it will be all profit. (minus time of course)
Related Post: How To Make Money On A WordPress Dot Com Blog
4. The Business
Can I admit I feel dirty by the whole business of blogging as a business? It seems like people are always trying to sell me stuff. Enough already. It is time to take back my social media feeds and use them as they were originally intended, social. Besides, I don’t actually have to sell on my blog. I still have profitable courses available on Teachable about how to use Pinterest. If people are interested, they can go there. I don’t need to flog on my blog. (That sounds bad but I am leaving it.)
However, it is good to know that I can sell on my blog using Paypal buttons or upgrade to include a proper store front if I wanted to. WordPress dot com has more features than people think and can suit most bloggers’ needs nicely.
5. The Environment
When I originally started on the WordPress dot com platform, I really enjoyed blogging. I also made a lot of really good blogging friends that I am still connected with today.
Unfortunately, I must admit that I have neglected some of them. Entirely my fault and I will also admit that I was one of those snobs who looked down their nose at anyone who wasn’t self-hosted. I’m sorry about that.
Turns out, you were the smart ones who kept it real. I want back into the gang. Back into connecting through the wonderful WordPress Reader. Finding, exploring and enjoying new blogs and bloggers just for the sake of reading. That’s the environment I want back.
Am I little upset about seeing my traffic count that was over 300,000 start at zero again? Yes. But I also know that I need to let go of statistic stalking and focus on what makes me happy. And that is connecting with others and reading for the sake of entertainment, not business. I love to learn new things and teach others what I have figured out thus far, both as a midlife woman and as a blogger.
I can do that here, in my new home. And guess what? Just over my one year in and I am back up over 300,000 views!
Have you ever made any drastic changes in your blogging life? I would love to hear about it.
Testamonial from my bloggy friend Terri Webster Schrandt of Second Wind Leisure who also went back to WordPress dot com:
We must have drank the same water, as I am in process of going back to WordPress dot com as well.
I love photography and photo challenges. When I went to self hosting, my site was not secure and my posts would not show up in the community thumbnails.
When I started this 2 years ago, I can easily attribute over 800 followers alone to the weekly challenge. Photography is a fun, creative hobby, and adding leisure education to the posts is the best thing I’ve done.
Teaching is a demanding job, which I love, and I don’t want the constant threat of figuring out my next blog post looming over me. Plus I love to write and ebooks are what I like to create…once again, on my own schedule. Thanks, my friend, for this wonderfully validating post. Best of luck…to us !
24 comments
Thank you so much for that post! Long story short, I am going to go for the Premium plan of WordPress dot com (once more, oops) as I have had to stop it all because of college. I was considering going self hosted instead but it feels wring and I thought something was “wrong” with me. Thank you for showing me that blogging can still exist as merely blogging and making connections with people and not as a full-business-related thing. 🙂
And this is why I moved back to wordpress.com. I’m so tired of all the maintenance and insecurities and yes, the limitless plugins! I like the maintenance free aspect and still be able to monetize using wp.com? Huge benefit! Btw, which plan are you using?
Welcome back! I’m using the middle plan. Business one too pricey IMO.
Thanks, gf! That’s what I chose!
Holy Cow!! I thought I was the only blogger out there who wasn’t self hosted, didn’t want to spend heaps of money, didn’t want the hassle, didn’t want to be a “business” and sell my soul to sponsors! I feel so validated right now and I hope you’re happy being back in the blogging for fun world Elena (even if you change your mind again later!) Lets have fun and enjoy the process just for the pleasure of writing what we like rather than what other people think we should write xxx
We must hava drunk all the same water, as I am in process of going back to wordpress dot com. I love photography and photo challenges. When I went to self hosting, my site was not secure and my posts would not show up in the community thumbnails. When I started this 2 years ago, I can easily attribute over 800 followers alone to just the weekly challenge. Photography is a fun, creative hobby, and adding leisure education to the posts is the best things I’ve done. Teaching is a demanding job, which I love, and I don’t want the constant threat of figuring out my next blog post looming over me. Plus I love to write and ebooks are what I like to create…once again, on my own schedule. Thanks, my friend, for this wonderfully validating post. Beat of luck…to us !
How awesome is that! We were both thinking the same thing. I look forward to being able to join you and participate in weekly challenges and will definitely be re-blogging you often.
Back at cha, babe!!
Good for you! I am disenchanted with the blogging thing, too, except as a means of personal expression. My new website will be for the business I am most passionate about & won’t have a blog. I’ll still keep my other site because it’s my true love, but the business is on the new website and it isn’t a blogging business. So, you go, girl!
Thanks Carol! What a great idea to keep your two projects separate. I love your blog and wish you the. best of luck with your new venture!
I am now on my second blog. My first one was approached by me in a very different manner and it was far more stress than it was worth…all the fun was sucked out. This blog is much more laid back. I post when I want. I don’t give a thought to how many followers I have from a statistically point of view…my only view is connecting with them, not collecting them!
I have a Twitter account but, unlike my last one of thousands of followers, I use this one sparingly and, again, calmly. I do not look at it 50 times a day 😉
Statistics for my new blog? No idea. Couldn’t tell you! Joy and satisfaction from my new blog? Every day and priceless! Sharing the knowledge and being social is more important than anything ele to me. Keeping it real, indeed.
I wish you a marvellous day!
Omg! Thank you so much for sharing! I know exactly how you feel and it sounds like we are kindred spirits! I am so thrilled to bring back the joy of blogging back into my life and I hope that we both inspire others to find their own way and not bow to the pressure of marketing. Thank you for connecting and I look forward to reading your posts.
Blogging is a constantly evolving enterprise isn’t it?
Yes it is! It’s really hard not to get caught up in the hype and stick to your original mission. Thank you so much for dropping by!
Welcome back and thanks for following jamoroki. I nearly went down the same road but just avoided in in time. Keep visiting. James
Thank you back! So glad to connect.
Wow. I understand these reasons. Particularly as I am trying to port my blog. I’m sure you will let us know how it goes!
What’s port?
Welcome back! And you appear in my reader! Yay!
Yay! And I love that I can comment and create posts through the phone app again! You know how much I love my phone. lol
Thank you so much for the mention! Now let’s get back to enjoying blogging.