Most of these products or services let you customize the appearance of your blog, moderate comments, add widgets and do other bloggish things.

They're appealing because they make you feel like a pro -- you're managing a brand. You're "curating" content. You're "designing" a website. It feels like your own personal publishing empire.

The problem is that bells and whistles can distract you from the reason you're blogging in the first place. In fact, they can get in the way, creating a psychological wall of separation between you and your readers, and preventing you from growing your audience as big as you could.

There are all kinds of reasons to blog: To share your thoughts and opinions with anyone who might be interested, to get feedback on those ideas, to influence people, to cultivate a community, to start interesting conversations, to practice writing and to teach, learn and grow.