Blogging on iCraft vs. on your own Blog

Some of you asked what's better - to open a Blog on iCraft or to open a Blog somewhere else, like Blogger or Wordpress.
I can't really say that one is better than the other. It's really a matter of preferences and depends on which one is easier for you maintain. Ideally - I'd have both, if you have the time.

However, I'll highlight a few differences between the 2 options, so then you can decide for yourself.

Using iCraft Blog:

If you don't have a Blog yet, it's pretty easy to setup a Blog on iCraft. It should take you less than 2 mins to setup your Blog Profile. Just follow our instructions Blogging: how to get started.
It's Free and any iCraft member can submit a blog post on our site.
We try to maintain high standards for our Blog, so we review all submitted posts and approve only those that comply with our Blogging Guidelines.
Because our Blog is integrated into the main site, you can use optimized anchor text on your product links to promote your product pages within your post, instead of full URLs, to make your links look natural. Read more about Backlinks.
iCraft Blog probably gets more and different visitors than your personal Blog
We promote all new Blog posts through our social media channels.
You can personalize your blog with your photo and your banner, and mention your social media sites. Example: Blog by Maple Leaf

Using your own Blog:

You have more options to customize the look and feel of your Blog.
You decide what and when to publish.
You can have your own domain for your Blog, which some prefer.
Links to your iCraft store and product pages from your external Blog count as external Backlinks, which is good, though they all will be bundled under the same domain.
Your anchor text on your links would have to vary a bit more to look more natural. So sometimes you'd have to link to your pages using full URL of your store or your product pages and maybe even phrases, like "click here", instead of your optimized Key Phrases.

As I said, if you can, use both blogging platforms to gain links to your pages.