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.
I started looking for a hosted Wordpress solution. Wordpress.com was built by the same people who worked on the Wordpress software (WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org, n.d). Wordpress.com offered many inviting features including:
1. Built on the Wordpress software that I already liked
2. Wordpress.com advertised the availability of over 70 templates
3. Ability to add widgets and plug ins
4. Ability to track daily stats from your main dashboard
5. Having an address of “xxxx.wordpress.com”
The relationship started out well. I signed up three blogs “emergencymgmt.wordpress.com”, “lifeofreedom.wordpress.com”, and “brucesmoneyrants.wordpress.com”. I focused on brucesmoneyrants.wordpress.com. I began looking for an appropriate template. When I went to the available templates, I found approximate a dozen templates. Access to the 70 plus templates requires payment. Not a problem, there were many free templates available online. I went and found one I really liked, only to find out that you cannot upload external templates. No problem, they had one I liked.
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 reached a point where I was happy with my blog’s look. It was not perfect but was the best I could reach without paying Wordpress.com extra money. I was not trying to get something for free. I was more than happy to pay for Wordpress.com’s extra services. I just wanted the blog to be self sustaining. I began posting links in different blog directories and posting everyday. Within a week, I was seeing some results. My Wordpress.com blog had a high day of 12 unique visitors and was already indexed in Google.com. I was pretty pleased.
My posts focused on resources to help readers make money. I only wrote about things that I had found useful or resources that were helping me (i.e. e-books, Zac Johnson.com, etc.). I included reviews of products or courses that had helped me.
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.
The post that brought the blog down. I posted about Blogging for Dollars. A internet marketing course that provided ways to make money blogging. I had signed up with their affiliate program. I did this only after personally using the product.
The next morning, I woke up and tried to check my blog’s statistics. It was a surprise to find out, there was no blog. There was only a Wordpress.com error message stating “This blog has been archived or suspended for a violation of our Terms of Service”. No explanation, no notification to me, no warning, just gone.
I did not write anything bad. Every time I quoted someone else, I stated the author, site I quoted, and linked to the source. I reviewed Wordpress.com’s Terms of Service. Of course, Wordpress.com’s Terms of Service is a couple of pages long. I was looking for restrictions that could be relevant to the posts I had made. Here are the ones I found:
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”
The previous four bullet points are quotes from Wordpress.com’s Terms of Service. The only potential issue I saw was my posting about products that people might find useful because I had included affiliate links, however, even this was a manner of point of view. I had recommended products but only because I had purchased them and found them useful. I had offered to provide proof that I used the product and had offered links to similar products that I was not an affiliate for.
I believe there are two sides to every story. I sent Wordpress.com’s support an e-mail asking for an explanation of how I violated Wordpress.com’s Terms of Service. I did not request nor expect the decision to be reversed. After all, it is their site. They have the right to refuse service to anyone. I respect their rights. I just wanted to know why and maybe offer an explanation. After sending the ad, I had to go to work. I recieve my e-mail on my Blackberry and waited for a response.
Throughout the day, no answer from Wordpress.com came. It was not in my spam filter. Nope, no answer there. In checking my other two Wordpress blogs, I realized that my login was now suspended. Well, I guess Wordpress does not believe in customer service. Just shutoff your account with no explanation. They have this right but a little customer service might avoid articles like this.
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.
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