Monetize Your Blog, part 3: Get your own domain

Posted by: kimc on Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

start here:
Part 1: Don’t do it for the money
Part 2: Take your time

Well, you are sure you are passionate about blogging.  You're not just doing it for the money.

You are ready to start pumping out content - good content, on a subject you really know.  Maybe you've already started.

Now it's time to get serious.

GET YOUR OWN DOMAIN

As a serious blogger, its time to move beyond yourblog.wordpress.com or yourblog.blogspot.com.  You need to be at www.yourblog.com.  This isn't the easiest thing on the web, but it's not too hard either, and it's important if you want complete power over your blog.

Go Daddy is a popular place to buy your domain, but I don't recommend them because they are...well...less than family friendly.  Let's just say the founder would get along well with Howard Stern or Hugh Hefner.  Maybe they're already friends.

There are plenty of places on the web where you can buy your domain, and it should be less than $10/year.  Think carefully about the domain you choose.  Make it easy to remember, not too long, and don't let the price tag fool you into anything other than a .com name, because that's where people will look for you.

For the sake of simplicity, you'll probably want to the same company to host your website.  We use 1 & 1 Webhosting because it was highly recommended by many of the geeks we know and love in real life.  Hosting starts at $24/6 months, and guess what: your domain is free!

Setup isn't difficult, but you definitely have to be computer literate.  There are other options but WordPress is our platform of choice for power, customization, flexibility and advertising opportunities.  If DIY installation is beyond your abilities, there are at least 3 other ways to get a WordPress blog up and running on your own domain.

  1. One click installation. You can choose a webhost with easy one-click installation for WordPress.  Just look for Fantastico in the features. Hostgator is one well known and highly rated option with Fantastico.  Packages start at $43/6 months.  It's more than 1&1, but still very affordable as a business investment, and you'll be up and running in no time.  If you've been using a free blog already, you are tech savvy enough to handle this.
  2. Cut rate webhosts. There are cheaper webhosting options that include Fantastico's one-click installation, but be wary and check reviews.  We had a bad experience with a cut-rate webhost, and all of my blogs were down for several days through absolutely no fault of my own.  That's when I switched to 1 & 1 .
  3. Geek for hire. Here's one more option: sign up with 1 & 1 , and for $50 I will personally set up your wordpress blog for you on the domain of your choice.  It will cost you a little more up front, but your monthly savings will make it worthwhile, and you can have a blog on your own domain up and running in about 48 hours.

Want to try a platform other than WordPress?  You're on your own, but you'll be fine.  There are plenty of resources out there in the wide world of web.  Just do it!

Resources:

Want more detailed info on the whole concept of monetizing your blog?  Blueprint For How To Make Money With A Blog will save you months or years on the learning curve with its clear, concise instructions and checklists.  It's not free, but neither is your time, and you get both an ebook and an mp3 version for one low price.  At under $20, this one will pay for itself many times over in no time at all!

If you're really serious about making money from your blog, consider the $97 quick-start video course from MaxBlogPress, WordPress Wizard 2.0.  This extensive series will walk you step-by-step through every facet of creating, promoting and monetizing your new or existing WordPress blog.  Don't buy it if you just want to give blogging a try, but if you're motivated and determined, this course will help you speed straight through the learning curve.

related posts:

  1. Monetize Your Blog, part 2: Take your time start here: Monetize Your Blog, part 1: Don’t do it...
  2. Monetize Your Blog, part 4: 13 Great ways to build your traffic start here: Part 1: Don’t do it for the money...
  3. Monetize Your Blog, part 1: Don’t do it for the money When I began blogging way back in 2005, I hardly...
  4. Monetize Your Blog, part 10: Traditional advertising If you want to learn how to monetize your blog,...
  5. Monetize Your Blog, part 8: Keep an eye on traffic If you want to learn how to monetize your blog,...

Topics: make money

3 Responses to “Monetize Your Blog, part 3: Get your own domain”

Frugal Living Says:
May 4th, 2011 at 5:17 pm

I think choosing the right domain is huge to the success of monetizing your business

theresa Says:
May 11th, 2011 at 6:55 am

thanks for the helpful info and recommendations!

KH Says:
May 11th, 2011 at 7:10 am

I didn’t shop around much when I registered my domain. I can see now how important it is! Grrrr… :o )

 

Leave a Comment