BlogCastGirl

Comparing Blog Platforme #9: Pros And Cons Of TypePad (For Now)

This post lists four pros and four cons.

Reasons to Choose to TypePad (Today)

1. Can Experiment With Adsense.  I want to experiment with monetizing, and Wordpress.com doesn't allow ads or affiliate marketing.  To Monetize on Wordpress, you have to implement Wordpress.org.  And, last but not least, my Google Adsense approval came through today on blogcastgirl.com, and I want to see how it works.

Comparing Blog Platforms #8: Domain Mapping Is Easy On TypePad

See the 2008 Blog Comparison Challenge posts #1 to #7 here.

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Well, it's official:  you can now find this blog on www.blogcastgirl.com.  I now have my own domain...and therefore my own "brand."

It was a pretty easy process.  The TypePad Knowledge Base had some great screenshots that walked me through the domain mapping process at GoDaddy.com.  I bought the domain before I started the BlogCastGirl Challenge, it just took me a while before I decided which platform to map to.

After considerable hemming and hawing, I decided to map to the TypePad site instead of Wordpress.com site for several of reasons.  I'll post those reasons separately.

Comparing Blog Platforms #5: TypePad Leading By a Nose

The 2008 BlogCastGirl Blog Platform Challenge continues in my quest to find the system that anyone can understand.

So far, I've built blogs on Wordpress.com, TypePad.com and Squarespace.com.  <<And yes, it is getting a little wacky working in three editors.  I don't plan to continue this much longer.>>

Blog Platform Challenge So Far:  Typepad Leading

Here is a summary of the results so far.  TypePad is in the lead for general useability and promotional support.  The next test is building ads and affiliate programs into the blog (Wordpress.com excluded), and after that I'm going to check out how much support each platform has for customizing pages.

• Part #1:  Wordpress.com
• Part #2:  Wordpress.com v. Typepad
• Part #3:  More Wordpress.com v. Typepad
• Part #4:  Squarespace v. Wordpress.com & TypePad

Comparing Blog Platforms #3: Typepad v. Wordpress.com

Welcome to my big experiment comparing blog platforms to find the one that anyone can understand.  I started this blog over on Wordpress.com, and you can see Part #1 and Part #2 at www.blogcastgirl.wordpress.com. 

Today, I built my first blog on Typepad.com.  Here is a five-point comparison of the two platforms.

FIVE POINTS OF COMPARISON

1. Free Wordpress.com v. Pay Typepad
2. Time to First Blog:  10 Minutes on Typepad v. 1 Hour on Wordpress.com
3. Editing Interface Is Similar; Publishing Differs; No Emoticons or Undo Button on Typepad
4. Help and FAQ:  Typepad Wins By a Nose
5. Domain Mapping:  Available With Both Platforms

1.  Free Wordpress.com v. Pay Typepad

Wordpress.com is a free blog, while Typepad.com charges a monthly or annual fee.  I'm trying Typepad on its "14-day free trial" basis.  I chose the Plus $8.95 service (second from the bottom) so that I could have multiple blogs, advertising, and domain mapping.

>>Why pay?  Both the free and pay services include the web ware, hosting, and support required to maintain a blog online.  There is one big difference:  advertising.

If you want to monetize your blog--run ads or affiliate programs--Wordpress.com doesn't allow it.  This information isn't in any obvious location on their site, but it is very clear in their FAQs that they don't cotton to blatant commercialism.  They target business and personal users who are using the blog to deliver information to their readers, not advertising and products.

2.  Time to First Blog:  10 Minutes on Typepad v. 1 Hour on Wordpress.com

My first metric of comparison is how long it takes to get to the first blog.  In my mind, time-to-first-blog is composed of four steps.

1. Creating an account
2. Choosing a blog title
3. Choosing a theme or template
4. Starting (not finishing) my first post