With the wind blowing and a view above my cursor, I write to you today. I am going to show you how I went from homeless couch-surfer to young entrepreneur doing something I love: blogging. If you’d rather just skip to how to setup a blog or my demo video on YouTube, that is totally fine, no worries. I know you have a busy life just like me.
There are just so many blasé guides out there on “how to start a blog” that I thought it would really help to show you all the good that can happen when you actually take action and start up, the right way. After my story of course, we’ll setup a blog.
Day 1 of Blogging
On day 1 of blogging, I was homeless. I had just had another unsuccessful interview in midtown Manhattan. I was 22 and sleeping on my friend’s couch.
In need of a pick me up, I roamed to the local Barnes and Nobles. I was down and out, $35 bucks left in my wallet. Always drawn to the “computer programming” section, I picked out the “WordPress for Dummies” book.
I sat in the cafe reading with a coffee, now just $31 to my name. The words were alive. Blogging, publishing, building an audience. I flipped through the pages furiously, like in those cartoons, and my coffee spilled everywhere.
Guilty of my clumsiness, I ended up buying “WordPress for Dummies,” net wealth now $11. I spent my last money on a train ride, and read the whole way. That night, I started my first blog. The rest, well, I guess it’s history.
The Front Page of the Web
Before I continue, you’re probably wondering where I started my blog. I actually borrowed a few bucks from my friend who had a full-time job and setup WordPress.org on a domain and hosting plan from HostGator. I had heard WordPress.org was the holy grail and I was so excited about blogging that I wanted to do it the right way. Been with them ever since.
“I like having a service I can pay for, because when you buy something, you’re the customer, not the product.” – Seth Godin
My blog was an advice community for university students. It covered everything from how to ace the final to how to find cheap housing, and it did alright. I managed to get about 10 guest contributors writing under me and even started an internship for younger students. Traffic was nothing to brag about but I was happy.
Then, suddenly, everything changed. I received a call, must have been a groggy Saturday morning, from a journalist at Huffington Post who want to feature my blog. Two weeks later and I had a quoted feature of my own on the web’s hottest newspaper. I think I jumped from 200 visits a week to 20,000.
It wasn’t the front page of the web, but it sure felt like it.
A Trip to San Fran
My blog continued to grow after that feature, with my interns churning out content around the clock from around the globe. Word to the wise, if you ever want to build a following online, on Facebook, or wherever, start your own internship program.
In the meanwhile I was working for a major PR firm that connected me with cool brands like Adobe and Sony. It was Summer of 2012, and they decide to fly me and 15 other up and coming bloggers out to San Francisco to thank us for our hard work writing reviews.
One of them, Thomas Frank, even dropped by for this post:
@gregnarayan out of every platform out there, WordPress has the best combo of ease of learning, control and flexibility, and community.
— Thomas Frank (@TomFrankly) May 24, 2013
San Fran was a game-changer for me. I learned that other bloggers we doing way bigger things than me. I received my own free copy of Creative Suite 6, which helped me design the logos and graphics you see here. Above all, this trip taught me I could do blogging for my job. The feeling was insane.
New Design
When I landed in New York, refreshed from sun and margaritas, I went straight to work. I uploaded a new theme from Theme-Junkie to my blog, and emailed all my interns with a long note that basically said “On the double, folks!”
The new design meant a lot for me. Finally, my blog looked like a legitimate, trusted website. I was able to actually pull in advertisers who wanted to submit reviews and post ads on my site. Of course, I couldn’t accept everyone. But I was ecstatic at my progress.
I continued this university blog for a couple more months before I had another idea.
Thanks for Your Business
Around Summer of 2012, it occurred to me that another opportunity existed for a blog concept. I had just executed a rigorous case study, and really needed a platform to share it with people. My bud Ramsay always says that successful online business men need a current project and a future project or two in their back pocket, and it was time to pave my own path. Again.
I told most of my advertisers I could no longer work with them, keeping a select few.
Then, over the course of 14 long nights, I drew up the blueprint for a “Blogging Answers Community” that still needed a name. Boy, was choosing the domain name tough. I wanted an authority name that also conveyed “community” and “home”.
The premise was simple (though executing an idea never is) and I knew the new site would serve to answer blogging questions in a convenient way for readers.
In the September of 2012, DearBlogger.org was born. It wasn’t easy getting the ball rolling, but as the traction and comments started to flow, I was a bit more reassured. Now, I spend most of my time here. I manage a few other blogs, but devote most of my efforts to answering the high volumes of blog questions that pour in here, on Twitter, and on Google Plus.
Blogging saved my life. It allowed me to carve out my own niche. It helps me helps others which I think is the most fulfilling thing of all. And, it’s pretty fun to chat about at the dinner table.
How to Setup Your Own Blog
Of course, given my successful experience with self-hosted WordPress, I recommend all new bloggers start this way too. If you can afford it – it’s as expensive as one cup of coffee per month – you can get a dependable, professional blog or simple website ideal for creating your online success.
To make this whole story complete, I outline exact steps to setting up self-hosted WordPress below. Enjoy, and don’t hesitate to shoot me an email if you get stuck! No question is stupid!
(greg AT dearblogger DOT org)
Oh yeah, and before I forget, I worked out a long-time costumer deal with HostGator to get you a discount:
Just plugin in “dearblogger25″ or try “HG30″ (if you sign up in June 2013 only) and you will get a great discount on domain name and hosting.
Start to Finish WordPress Setup (Setup time ~ 10 minutes)
To start off, click my HostGator affiliate link, then click on the “View Web Hosting Plans” button in the center of your screen. Step 1, done!
You need to choose a plan here, and the best value is Hatchling for 1 year. It’s a great option and you really don’t need anything more at this point.
After you select a plan, you’ll be taken to the HostGator Order Wizard where you enter your domain name, create your HostGator Username and Pin, and make your payment.
First, tell HostGator what domain you’d like to use. It has to be available, and you can’t use mine!
Scrolling down, create your HostGator Username and Pin. You should write these down on a piece of paper or a Google Doc, though you won’t really need to use them later on.
Now, it’s time to make your payment. I recommend buying domain and hosting for 1 year upfront, so you can blog and not worry about anything expiring. Either way, it’s up to you. This is a lot like any other online payment you’d make and it should go pretty quickly. By the way, this payment gets you a ton of features from HostGator like private email setup, unlimited bandwidth, SEO tools, and of course the WordPress installation. You can browse fun tools later on.
The next step takes place in your inbox. After 2-5 minutes, HostGator will send you an email titled “Your Account Info.” This email contains a new username and password to login to HostGator’s control panel, where you will install WordPress in the next steps.
The link you need to click to continue your setup is titled “Your Control Panel.”
Plugin in the username and password from the Your Account Info HostGator email, and you will enter the HostGator control panel or “cPanel” for short. Close any pop ups that appear and take a few minutes to get comfortable with the layout.
Now scroll down to the section called “Software/Services” and you’ll see a blue smiley face called “Fantastic Deluxe”. This little guy is a powerful WordPress 1-click installer we will use to setup your new blog.
There are a couple other services here that act as backups to Fantastico, but as far as I know Fantastic is the best route and he’s what I used to install my WordPress.org blog right here.
Click on that Fantastico, and you are now inside the WordPress installer. Find WordPress in the left hand column, and click on the word WordPress itself. You must click on the word itself. Then click New Installation.
Your blog is already in the making, and it will be ready in a moment. Right now, create your WordPress username and password. You’ll be using these a lot more than the HostGator login credentials so better make them good, and easy to remember.
Once you’ve got ‘em, click on the button that says Install WordPress about as long as it takes for an average Google Search, HostGator creates your new blog.
You’re all set. Click Finish Installation and get ready to blog.
Click the link with “Bookmark this!” right before it. As a best practice, I would bookmark this login link on your web browser to make logging in easy as you go forward. Then enter your WordPress username and password and go check out your brand new blog.
Your blog looks pretty awesome, but it is brand new. There are several WordPress premade features like a new post, even a new comment, and you can delete these straight away if you want.
Click around a bit and get a feel for WordPress. It’s one of the most intuitive softwares to learn, but don’t worry if it feels clunky at first.
Now it’s time to write a new post. In the setup video below at around 6:00, we login to WordPress and do a bunch of stuff like change the theme, publish a post with an image, and even install a plugin. You should definitely check that out.
Have fun, you now have your own WordPress.org blog. You are in good company, and can now learn the software that the biggest names in blogging (Darren Rowse, John Chow, Glen Allsop) use. It’s all done at WordPress.org.
Video Guide to WordPress.org
Some folks just prefer video. I hear ya.
So I made a 10 minute video that covers the same steps as the manual guide. Using HostGator as our web host, we do it all, and setup a real, live demo blog.
Feel free to view the resulting blog in advance, and better grab a coffee. You might be up for a while, especially if you’re a perfectionist.
Good reads after you launch
Whether you choose free blogging or self-hosted blogging, here are three good posts to get you on your way.
- 10 Things To Do After Your Blog Goes Live
A list of 10 to-dos to ensure you make a good first impression on readers. - Why Blogs Fail to Get Traffic
2 problems I see with getting traffic, and 20 different solutions. - Success: What Bloggers Must Do
A working blueprint for blogging success. Very popular with the Community.
These posts are some of the hottest ones on the blog right now. I really hope they work for you too.
Alternative Blog Choices
To be 100% fair, here are several other places you might want to know about for starting a blog or simple website.
Quora
Quora’s blogging platform was just launched this year (2013). Previously, the site was mainly a question and answer community, where user’s could post questions on a topic or an entire topic itself. Interacts occurred as responses to a topic, similar to what you might see on Reddit or Digg. The company was founded by 2 former Facebook employees and has about 500,000 registered users to date.
Joomla
Joomla is estimated to actually be the second most used Content Management Software (CMS) on the web after WordPress. It is a free-open source blogging software that allows thousands of extensions to change different aspects and features on a blog. It’s written in PHP from mySQL databases, making it a bit more tricky to edit that a tradition Blogger blog (HTML and CSS) or a WordPress blog (HTML, CSS, and simple PHP).
Drupal
Drupal is a content management framework written in PHP that provides back-end usage for around 2.1% of the websites on the entire web. It’s used by everything from blogs to corporate sites and massive government websites like whitehouse.gov and data.gov.uk. The coolest thing about Drupal may be that it is a full web application framwork – one can build apps on it and write the code to what could become the next amazing thing.
Typepad
Typepad launched October 2003, was popular at the start of the millennium.
Pros: User-friendly, large community, three different start up plans
Cons: Outdated software, pay for each plan
Weebly
Weebly launched privately in September 2006 and was made public in early 2007.
Pros: Good for non-techie users
Cons: Less customization than Blogger and Tumblr, pay for upgrades and new features
Signing off
If you used this guide to start your blog feel free to comment below using Facebook or WordPress comments.
I want to end by saying that blogging has opening countless doors for me, and still continues to amazing me each day. If your blog ever feels small, don’t worry. You’ll grow. Your blog has unlimited potential. Our favorite blogs all started somewhere.
To Great Blogging,
aka “The Blogger”
p.s. If you used this guide, please hit LIKE so a few more people can benefit!
Hi Greg, i am sorry, may be it’s a stupid question, but is word.press and hostgator providing the same services? do i need hostgator or can i do everything i neen on word.press? i am confused. What is what? Is the blog on word.press self-hosted or not?
Hey Karina,
Those are great questions – I guess I should add those answers in.
In order to use WordPress.org, the full version with all the good stuff listed above, you need to setup a domain and hosting on HostGator first.
So setup starts at HostGator, and ends at WordPress. When you get a domain name and hosting, you are “self-hosting” by definition.
Does that make sense??
Greg
Yes, thank you very much! Now it all makes sence.
I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own blog and was curious what all is required to get setup? I’m
assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty penny?
I’m not very internet savvy so I’m not 100% certain. Any tips or
advice would be greatly appreciated. Appreciate it
To run this blog Andreas? Not much, domain and hosting are about the cost of one Subway sandwich per month.
If you’re not internet savvy, this guide should be perfect.
Use our coupon, dearblogger25, to reduce price.
Well Greg I really like your blog. I have bookmarked it and put it in my speed dial of my opera browser as number 1 page
Well anyway I have recently started my blog about architecture 
It has great design and is easy to manage. Now I have made around 20 posts by now. And I did my keyword resarch. And I have put most searched words in my post titles 
For example keyword “Gothic architecture” has around 1000 searches on google. And I made a post about it and I did it 20 times like that. My blog has around 50000 words. Now my blog looks nice, has good content but NO TRAFFIC 
I get around 3-4 visitors per day from google, yahoo
But I do get visitors from keywords which I used to make titles of posts so my keyword search helped 
I get about 7-9 visitors from fb ir google +
So total 20-25 visits a day
Can you tell me what am I doing wrong? 
This is really sad 
I wish to have 300-400 page views a day 
How to achive that it seems impossible 
Will you try to help me? I have read most of your work on your blog but it seems to me that I did most of that 
Also my blog url if you want to check.
http://architecture-hall.blogspot.com
I post words/picture posts. Words post are usually about history or architectual style.
Ok, hey again.
Firstly, skim this post on traffic strategies.
Your best bet sounds like guest posting on architecture niche blogs.
This would get your instant traffic through click thrus, and longer term traffic from Google organic search as you build a few backlinks. The organic process is obviously a bit more complicated, but basically try to get a few “SEO optimized” links in your guest posts. You want relevant keywords on the links, instead of just a link saying “click here” or something boring.
I’ll be releasing a major guide to organic traffic soon
It’s really that important to our success as bloggers.
If you landed 3-5 guest posts I can easily see you hitting that goal of 300-400 visits a day.
Have you tried sharing your blog among friends & family? These folks might be the first to comment and share your work. I know it sounds boring, but friends & family are huge for feedback and initial growth.
What else am I missing…?
Hi Greg again
I lije your idea about Seo links in “so called spaming other blogs” I will “spam” in other blogs but I will not post bad messages like check my blog. I am architect so when I see a house I can write big review about it so I will “spam” like that
I will write 100 words comment and I will find some nice way to post my linkvin those comments
Thank you Greg I cant wait for your post about Seo optimised links
Oh and one more thing Greg. You are right my friends are helping me to share the content
They are my motivation for now as they are the only ones who comment on my stuff
Good good, get them working for you. And commenting is a great habit on big blogs, better than most people even know!
Yeah I think it’ll be a Blueprint to Organic SEO: How to Get Google on Your Team or something along those lines!
Yes.
I cant whait for your post about Seo
Thanks for the tips Greg. I was able to start out my own site. I was also getting interested about SEO, can you please give me a list of SEO blogs that are good to follow? Thanks!
Hey John.
DailyBlogTips is great, as is ViperChill. I’d give each of those a few days of your time to browse through the archives! I’ll publish a post soon on dominating organic SEO, so stay tuned.
Thanks for commenting,
Greg
Awesome! I will start with with those 2. Okay, I will be back for more. Thanks so much! Sorry for the late reply.
Greetings, Greg! Your ‘start a blog in ten minutes’ has given me a starting point, but I’ve hit something of a snafoo post-installation. Fantastico claims I have a current installation, but when I try to open my admin page, each time I am told that the “server cannot be found.” I contemplated removing the current installation reinstalling, but I chickened out when it said something to the effect of “all will be lost!” Please share any wisdom, as I’m in dire need of guidance at this point.
Hey Laura,
Did you register your domain with HostGator or another provider?
Could take a bit longer for things to settle in if not with HostGator, but either way give it a few minutes and all should be OK. Keep me updated!
Greg
So prompt! To clarify, is registering the same as obtaining a hosting plan with Host Gator? I received the e-mail that includes my account info, and I can access my control panel. Is there an additional registration process?
Great! There’s no additional process. Just as simple as the Quick Guide illustrates.
Did you login to your cPanel and install WordPress?
I had installed WordPress before my initial posting, and it seems I should have taken your word, regarding giving it a little time. The site is there this morning!
Greg, you have aided in my entering a new world here. Any chance you can give direction on how one can select/customize their avatar/profile picture? For example, yours hosts a photograph of yourself. I cannot seem to find where I might change mine from the generated image…
Welcome to WordPress Laura, and glad I could help!
For the pic: Go to en.gravatar.com and put in your email, then upload a picture. The photo will automatically start appearing wherever you comment.
So I guess we’ll see that above whenever you do so
Thank you for sharing this great information. as a newbies it is really resourceful for me. i appreciate for sharing this pest post.
No problem Myhox! Great to see you commenting.
I’ve been surfing online more than 3 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It is pretty worth enough for me. In my opinion, if all webmasters and bloggers made good content as you did, the net will be much more useful than ever before.
Thanks for the praise, Louanne!
A Long, long but informative post. As many others have said, it is a good guide for newbie which i am not but still i liked it.
I’ll visit your blog in future. Good luck.
Well this guide is for the up and coming bloggers, newbies included.
Come back soon Arslan, great to see a comment from ya.
You could certainly see your skills within the work you write. The world hopes for even more passionate writers such as you who are not afraid to mention how they believe. At all times follow your heart.
Always be bold Fred.
Great guide for blogging!
Glad you used it Zenee!
Best of luck on your blog.
I have recently started a website, the information you offer on this website has helped me tremendously. Thank you for all of your time & work.
Glad this helped Deidre. Good luck!
I’ve been meaning to ask… Do you recommend that I use two separate twitter accounts for separate blogs? Or should I use my same Twitter account to promote both blogs?
Hey Sarah! If the subject matter is similar between blogs I’d just use one. it’s a lot easier to maintain a consistent stream of though, and followers, using one. That’s what I’ve found. Hope the blogs are growing!
What about when it comes to Google Plus? Right now, my Google Plus profile showcases my current writing role–both the company I write for and the topics I write about. But my “brand” is bigger than that. I know in the future I’ll write in different topic areas.
I’m afraid that if I grow my circles to focus on my current role and writing topic I’ll limit myself in the future. And I’ve been hesitant to grow my Google Plus profile because I don’t know to tackle this. So should my profile be more generic without a focus on my current role? Am I reading too much into this?
Firstly, make your posts public. This will really help get you more followers (if you want em).
Just add the green public “box” into +add more people.
I think branding is a bigger discussion though. I like keeping my G+ all about me and my blog and just managing one profile per network. So that’d be my advice.
But what is your goal long-term? How many brands? This should be fun to discuss actually
Make posts public, got it. One profile per network, I agree. Life is already too complicated as is.
And my brands? My long-term goal? I think you found the root of the problem. Because I have no answer! I have a background and education in technical writing, ended up by accident in instructional design, and now I do web and blog writing. My experiences are really scattered, and I haven’t found my niche yet. I love web and blog writing more than the others–it’s just so…alive, for lack of better words. But I don’t have a blog of my own yet because I don’t know what area of interest I want to invest in long term. Does this make sense?
Seriously, this is my current life dilemma in a nutshell. I want to write and pay the bills, but also I want to love what I write about. And I love a lot of things–I feel like I need to focus on just one.
This is becoming about so much more than Google Plus, hah!
Greg, The popularity of your popular guide is increasing everyday – A lot has improved since I last visited.
Keep rocking my friend.
I love it. Ya know, I think you posted comment #1 here.
How’s the weather over there at G & N?
Yeah, but why my first comment went down instead of being at the top of all?
GAN is doing great, but I’m writing less these days. Seems I’d also have to start updating my blog daily for sometime? Should I?
I made most recent at the top, thoughts on that? Sry
Yeah I would seriously try it. And obv tweet, share a ton about what you’re planning to do.
Posting everyday brought in a handful of new and curious readers, and it sort of cleared out the idea closet a bit, ya know?
Hi Greg,
Hats off for providing such valuable, straight to the point content! I’m now regularly re-visiting your blog as a continuing point of reference.
I know you posted about how you secured a PR3 in only 3 months but I would really like your strategy on how you landed such great guest posts on those huge authority sites and what are your best tips for me doing the same?
Thanks in advance!
Finally, a comment from Shola
Anyways hey. I think it’s all about the intro email. I get a lot of spammy emails regarding guest blogging, so I know exactly what DOESN’T work when contacting someone.
If you can 1) highlight your work, 2) show genuine interest, then 3) deliver premium content, landing a guest post is closer than you think.
Above all, be a human! There’s also a social media site of it which I can explain if you want.
Yep. I finally got around to it
I’ll definitely be using those tips in my guest posting strategy combined with the ones you already revealed in your post.
I’d like to take you up on the offer of explaining the social media side too…
Hello Greg! This post couldn’t be written any better. Reading this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He always kept talking about starting a blog, but never got around to it. I will forward this post to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for sharing Dear Blogger Donnetta!
You are amazing
Well, http://www.pluckedstringedinstruments.com is my product, but I don’t really know what it is, or how to “promote” it. After looking a little at your site, it seems that you might be the best person to as a couple questions.
1. Should I treat this site as a “blog”? I update it as I go, so it could have a lag of a month or so between posts. Since I have it categorized by every way, but the date, it’s not chronological, as you can see.
2. I have redacted a lot of the names of the luthiers I have dealt with. My reasoning is because I may want to do business with them again, and I don’t want to give them a hard time in the public. Well, my parents seem to think it would be better with their real names, and that the luthiers would see it as publicity. What do you think? It would be tough to go back and contact them all. (I have others completed not published yet.)
3. How would you go about promoting the site? I have went to a couple forums sites, but I have already have had my hand slapped for self promotion. I am not sure how that’s possible when I am not selling or promoting anything there. It’s basically just a bunch of text and pictures. Also, I will never sell anything on it. It’s not there for school, money, just educating the music lovers like myself. There is nothing like it out there, but I know it’s a small niche audience.
Hey Jason,
Soo…great questions. Here’s what I got:
1) Yes. Update it, if possible, once a week. Even shorter posts, images of guitars, or real photographs would keep visitors interested.
2) I love openness, and any publicity online is (often) good publicity, so go for the names.
3) Guest post! Contact major hubs in your niche with consistent readership and write free, awesome articles for them. I’d only use forums to learn and ask questions for your own knowledge.
What do you think? Sounds indeed like you have a unique niche opportunity here.
You need to be a part of a contest for one of the most useful sites on the net. I will recommend this website!
Whoa thx Marcia! I’m always up for a contest…
This is great – especially good for new and upcoming bloggers these days. Maybe, possibly, I would add one or two WordPress plugins (there are so many) but one of those plugins that would automatically tweet the post to your twitter or FB, when you make a new post on your blog.
Hey Jatin!
Yep, this IS great for new bloggers! Glad you think so too.
Good suggestion, though that video above shows how to add the TF social share plugin…
Guess we thought along the same lines
WordPress is definitely a good place to do it, since you can create pretty much anything you want but in the end it just depends on the content of what you write rather than where you write it.
Well said!
Some of the great stuff that I’ve seen in recent times. My blog is suffering from low readership. I will consider the suggestions given by you and hope it will back to normal soon. Do you also offer SEO consultancy?
Hey there Rinkesh,
Totally thought you said “Do I run an SEO consultancy” like a whole business!
Maybe I’ll start one…
Yes, I offer lots of SEO help, what’s up?
Thanks for the great tips, Greg!
I’m going to go the WordPress.org route. I already bought my domain – http://www.passthegoldfish.com. I know it’s not an SEO hero, but I think many moms (target audience for this one) would see “goldfish,” think “toddler,” and be curious, which is what I want! Plus, I’ve got ideas for expanding the brand.
I’m hoping to build from this domain and expand into different topics – Places where my readers can find advice and tips packaged in stories that make learning more fun. I’ve used my domain “formula” to come up with unique ideas for tips on military life, public speaking, writing, career goals, health, beauty, philanthropy, and more. I think it could grow!
So here are my Qs:
1. If I don’t want “mom” to be in the title, is it helpful to include it in the tagline and this, metatags (or whatever ends up in the Google snippet)?
2. Am I crazy, or is it smart to do this since it’s for future branding?
You mentioned you’re not a fan of blog transferring, but I’ve written some signature “flagship” content back on my storiesfromascreensaver.blogspot.com blog.
3. How can I incorporate those posts into my new domain?
4. What’s the best way to introduce the .com to my current readers?
5. Is it possible to have 150 questions in just one comment?
Thanks so much for your help. I can’t wait to get started!
Actually can’t wait to respond Nikki. I gotta catch a train home now but I’ll add more to this comment tonight!
Perfect! Looking forward to it
Ok, I’m just gonna jump in, seems like you’re pretty eager
First, I’d set up a Gravatar for sake of comments. That’ll appear everywhere you comment.
Aright! Domain sounds good. And alright again! I love your ideas for expansion. Corner that niche.
Once your in HostGator, fill in your domain under “I Currently Have a Domain Name” before continuing to step 2. This is also where the coupon code goes in.
Did you buy the domain with GoDaddy? You’re going to log in to GoDaddy and set nameservers to point to HostGator. I can help…or Google it, super easy.
Don’t stress meta tags. Google dropped meta tag importance out of the formulas a while back because people attempted to rig them. Instead, focus on permalinks. That’s what I always tell people. Write posts like: passthegoldfish.com/mom’s-guide-to-post-labor-beauty (just an example) but see how that link has keywords in it.
Smart permalinks can help hundreds more people find you…
Yeah no, you’re smart
You should reference your old posts on a “Popular” or “Best I’ve Written” page on your new blog. Get the backlink juice flowing.
As for introducing the new one, be really creative. This intro is a moment you can only use once (per person). What are your ideas so far?
Hey, anything is possible, especially in blogging.
Eager is the word! Nailed it
Based on my week of obsessive reading and research, I’m aware of the permalink tip. Used it for today’s post, actually! http://storiesfromascreensaver.blogspot.com/2013/02/raising-a-mamas-boy.html
I am so ready to make the move, but want to ensure it’s as strategic as possible, without getting too stuck on perfection.
Since my readers to-date have mostly been family and friends, I’m thinking of involving them in the process. I may even write a post about my new venture asking for ideas and support (shares) when the time comes. They’re the ones who will help get the word out!
I want them to know I’m about to start taking our fun site a bit more (yet not TOO) seriously. I need to change the mindset – i.e. comments are best IN the blog itself, make it a habit to share it if it resonates with you, etc.
Before I start dreaming of the big premiere, though, I need to figure out the best way to organize it.
1. If I’ll be talking about mostly mom stuff on this one, should I keep it simple like a basic blog, OR should I go ahead and right off the bat include with “tabs” to categorize and plant the seeds for my other “Pass the” areas?
2. Think I should ask graphic design friends to help create a brandable “Pass the…” logo that could be used across multiple sites one day?
Dreaming big is fun
Thanks again, again!
I’m loving your approach! You’re gonna launch like 10x stronger than I did!
Yeah, let folks know you’re serious. I think just being on WordPress.org, maybe starting an email list, will send signals that you mean business.
Or tell them
Go in super focused and mommy-status!
Most bloggers I see who err fail, start too big, cover too much, and spread themselves thin.
Definitely write a welcome post incl your mission statement. From there, I’d go for 2-3 other exhaustive posts that hit mom topics in ways NO ONE has seen before.
Let people absorb and connect. It’s always tempting to hyper publish but trust me, the result is frustration.
I explained the DB launch here.
Yep, get a logo. This was hard for me. Shoot for a motif, ya know? A theme that will constantly come up and is loosely related to your mission.
This is fun
Makes sense to me! I want to be sustainable, but not too limited. Still, a focused approach will help build a little tribe, then I can start presenting the other facets
Should my mission statement include my eventual goals, or be specific to http://www.PasstheGoldfish.com and the content I’ll cover there?
Think I should buy a few of my other favorite domain names?
The design part should be fun too! Just gotta find the friends to help
Totally fell asleep at the keyboard Nikki.
Umm, I’d shoot for immediate to 6 month goals. Specifics!
Yeah you could snap up a few domains, if they seem competitive.
The “Baby” plan (middle option) at HostGator lets you host multiple domains fyi. That’s the plan I use!
Good to know!
Still feeling comfy with the domain name and full-mom-ahead approach! Still asking around to see who may be able to help with a logo and header.
“Worst” case, would you recommend just moving forward with the best I can find in WordPress then adding a logo later, or wait until I’ve got the perfect logo to launch? Again, I’m not in a rush, just want it to be right!
Also – where can you point me for ideas on monetization? I realize with an audience of mostly moms and those who love them, the opportunities for “product” sales are not as obvious as most other niches. As of now, I imagine that my “products” will be helpful and entertaining books that make their lives easier (and more enjoyable!). Not sure yet if they’ll be ebooks, self-published, or traditionally published, but that’s another topic altogether!
The goal isn’t just to make money, of course, but I do want to build a successful business that helps people in the long run!
Most of what I have found in my research are examples of less personal (building a business, making $ online, selling specific products and courses) blogs or all-personal (mom blogs that talk about their families, do product reviews, and make $ from ads). I’m hoping to bridge the gap and do both – provide useful info and solutions packaged in a family and personal context, both on the blog and in eventual published works. I’m just having a tough time finding examples of folks who have done that!
Look forward to finding out if you know a secret I don’t
I’d wait, get the logo on-point then launch.
But you could still quietly start the blog and get used to things pre-launch. That’s my fav approach.
I’ll be honest, you won’t make any money….at first. Do you have an immediate way of sustaining income?
You have to build a loyal audience, and have given to them enough that you can ask for small favors (like clicking your affiliate links) in return.
But it sounds like your determination WILL get you there. Just don’t rush the $$.
One of my first posts might help: dearblogger.org/how-to-blog-for-money
Established mommy blogs make a ton (silly right?). Don’t know any yet? Really, just go meet some. Shamelessly intro yourself. They’re out there…
hey,
thank you once again for responding to my queries and helping through the process. Would you mind giving brief explanation on that “outbound links” thing that you mentioned in the last line of your previous comment. I didn’t get it. Hope I am not eating your head by asking silly questions, sorry if I have done that (unintentionally). Thanks….
Ha ha no worries, love the queries keep em coming
Outbound links go from (for example) my blog to your blog.
The way Google designed PageRank, sites have high PR when lots of links go towards them (inbound).
And, in the olden days, having outbound links helped a site’s PR too! But that changed…
Now the consensus is to have fewer outbound links so as to preserve your own PR…
So when a site does link to you, it’s an awesome favor.
I’m going to plug in Ehsan and see his thoughts bc I know I’m missin something…
If the number of outbound links are higher than the inbound ones, than It will lower your PR – But It’s okay If the outbound links are Nofollow.
Outbound links are the links pointing to other domain from your website or blog are outbound links
You’ve to have more links from high PR websites coming to you, which will eventually help you in increasing the inbound links, but you should also consider opting an outbound link strategy to make sure your blog is never devalued. It plays a big role in SEO purpose and lets the search engines know about your specific niche.
Overdoing it will affect your ranking, so avoid too many and irrelevant outbound links.
Hope that helps – Thanks Greg for letting me know.
I think the reason you’re not using CommentLuv plugin on Dear Blogger is because there will be too many outbound links, isn’t it?
Thanks for the awesome insight Ehsan.
Hope that made sense Tribikram.
No no Ehsan! That link feature is cool. I just love the standard comments, they’re so classic, so WordPress.
hello Greg,
thanks a lot for all these advice, of course I am gonna use those shortly.I one more thing, I want to ask you. Page ranking of site is depended on back links generated/referrals or the traffic/number of audience you are getting, like how many folks are hitting like and making comments?And does this page ranking matter as long as earning from sites/getting ads or other kind of monetizing is concerned or it is mainly to give your site huge popularity?
Glad my advice helped!
So…PageRanks depends on credible backlinks and inbound links you create. # of comments and Likes definitely is a factor in Search ranking, but probably won’t increase PR as a number.
With higher PR more ways to monetize will open up…that’s one way to put it at least.
If you have too many ads with outbounds links that could very well lower your PR. Keep that in mind.
Hi Greg
Thanks so much for answering my question regarding getting a logo for my blog.
I need your advice on something, i have just about finished my first e book titled “Give Me My Visa” which is a book that focuses on the dreaded F1 visa interview which is the interview that foreign students need to pass before they can come to America to study. Not to praise myself here but the book is actually quite good and will really help anyone who reads it.
My question is, do i give this book out for free in an effort to attract more people to my blog or do I actually sell it (thinking of $10)? I see lots of bloggers who give out free ebooks (you included) and I was wondering if that’s something you might advise that i do too.
I love it Alexander. Sounds like niche-narrow, high demand content.
I think the question of selling is one of audience. If you already have a big audience who trusts you, go for the sell.
If you’re building a new audience, free eBooks can attract new fans and convince them you know what you’re doing.
Just my 2 cents
But awesome comment, hope to chat with you more around here.
Thanks Greg.
Hi Greg,
great article indeed. very useful for the starters. I found it very inspiring the way you have come along with your journey from a starter to a very successful blogger and founder of Dear blogger. Actually I am about to start my blog (which is about my profession as well as passion). I am looking to network with a pretty large community of peers, and professionals who belong to same field, through this during the course of time. I am very serious about it, and want to motivate considerable time from my daily schedule. I have planning for this blog to start for last couple of months but could not execute due lack of proper blogging knowledge and resources to publicize it to fullest. Can you kindly give me one suggestion.Should I start my new journey of blogging on WordPress.com or WordPress.org ?Which one you think is suitable for me?Better to start with the free one then eventually switching to the paid hosting services for better maintenance may be after a month or so? It will be great if you can give some fruitful advice about how to publicize it in a bigger scale while launching for the first time. Looking forward to follow your blogging tips in your blogs and learn some useful skills.I am a researcher and my blog is going to be regarding new concepts, and innovative activities, research. Thank you very much in advance. It will be great If I can have your email and connect with you through social networking medias.
Hey Tribikram,
First off, happy to help you through the process. It’s exciting starting up! Ahh, reminiscing…
Based on your needs (serious blogger, large community, bigger scale) WordPress.org is a really good choice. You’ll enjoy the designs, plugins, and even ad options.
You could start on .com, but that transfer is rough and you’ll actually work/pay a lot more starting .com and transferring later.
That’s sort of why I made the video, to get folks setup the RIGHT way at FIRST. Then you’re done! You can sit back and just blog which is awesome.
I’m at greg@dearblogger.org for any really sensitive questions, but comments right here would probably work better
Really good blog, thank you very much for your time in writing the posts.
Yes this did take time Angel
Always happy to help.
Greg, believe me or not, I’ve always thought like, ‘Oh ok, I’ll get my free WP blog to advanced level’. But seriously I have never determined to do it. But after reading your this post, I’m totally in magical sensations. I have resolution to share and it’s “I will follow the stuff you have written here in this post and I will take my blog to the next level. I will also get rid of free WP blog.”
thank you so very much Greg for such an inspirational post.
One question; Will I lose my current (FreeWP’s) readership/subscribers/AlexaRank if I get to WordPress Org like Pro?
Hey Abdul!
You’re welcome, super glad I’ve inspired you
What’s your current blog URL?
Here’s a tip: I feel pretty strongly bloggers should just start fresh instead of transferring work from blog to blog. It’s just awesome having two (or more) blogs to link back and forth from, and readers will respect you a bit more when you talk about your blogs, rather than “blog”. From experience it’s a really awesome refresh, as opposed to a headache tracking down and re-editing old content.
But stats you’ll keep, whether you keep the old blog, or do a transfer.
Let me know how else I can help!
Hye Greg,
Thanks for the very warm welcome. I am honored.
My blog is abdolrauf.wordpress.com I have no big number of readers, I know but I wanted to keep my name as brand, haha.
But deeplying listening to your tip regarding transfer; I agree to what you say. I will definitely follow to what you have said. I’d love to start from the scratch.
And I have really no words to thank you for future help. I will catch you whenever I struck on the way to blogging. You are my guru from now and onwards.
Thanks again.
Proud to be your guru Abdul
Hi Greg, thanks for taking a look at my blog and for replying to my email quickly. I am not sure if you noticed but i dont have any logo for my blog. How important do you think it is to have a logo for your blog?
No problem, had fun responding.
It’s very important, but DON’T RUSH IT. You’re better off waiting, developing content, then putting one up, than putting up a half-assed logo straight away.
Don’t want to confuse people.
Ok man. Thanks for the advice. Guess I am gonna focus more on content for now.
Just bought a blog WPBlogTips.com. I have been looking to start a new blog for a long time. But I am so lazy. So I changed my mind and bought a blog.
To buy a blog, most of the people search only at Flippa.com. But for me, bidding is frustrating. Follow these steps to buy a blog outside Flippa.
Use Google efficiently for acquisition: Search with the phrase like “blog for sale”, “site for sale”, ” website for sale”, i.e. including the double quotes. Thousands of blogs may be kept for sale without listing on any sites like flippa.
Chances are high that you can buy one in your loving niche without the pain of bidding.
THIS IS AWESOME Shahzad! (congrats btw)
Readers – Does anyone else have experience buying/selling a blog??
Greg, I think you should make systematic arrangement here like discussion board/forums, if you really love to see big discussion to be going here on any topic.
I don’t believe that most of the readers will see or read carefully till the end of the comments. Test some simple plugins like bbPress or something else if you want to make Dear Blogger, a real blogging answers community.
Awesome idea Shahzad, that could be the next thing here…
Congrats Shahzad, I don’t have experience with buying/selling blogs and never did it.
No problem man!!
I am coming with BIG gift for you that you will definitely like.
A free ebook: How to Buy Sell Websites
http://www.wpblogtips.com/buy-sell-websites/
Nice Shahzad! What type of websites? Blog help ones?
Hey Greg, Shahzad did a guest post on my blog on this topic where I plugged in Daniel Scocco to share the knowledge, here’s what he says regarding buying a blog and starting a blog.
Elance is for content writing projects and the rates aren’t good at all. And the thing is that you have to compete will a lot of people to get a project. And I never got reply from any pro blogger job board’s advertisers. Bad Luck
It’s competitive…but TLA? They may have advertisers in camera-related industries who are interested.
TLA?
Text-Link-Ads. I explain them in this guide
They aren’t replying :/ no response and i told you about my blog. I am searching for good writing work now and I can cover any kind of topic e.g web design, technology, gadgets, if anyone knows here about some good blogs, please help
Hey greg please make a post on this content thing please. How frequently one should post, how many words each post should have, what about quality, how to manage time. I will be waiting. Thanks
In the back of my mind Arfa, will get that one going…
Hello Greg, hop you are doing fine. As a writer I am searching for some blogs that pay good (it would be fine if they pay just ok). Let me know if you know some. Thanks
Hey Arfa,
I’m doing well. I’d try Elance and the ProBlogger job board. Elance has been profitable for my friends in blogging.
Oh, and I also like Text-Link-Ads, did you already try them?
Let me know what you find!
Hi Greg!
I’m striving with my blog, because I launched it, but it seems dead: no readers comments,
no interest on social media I have….
I think I’m doing omething wrong…
What could I do to solve?
Thank you!
Ago
Hey Ago…oh man, the million dollar questions.
It’s key to have visitors who are REALLY interested in what you’re offering.
Have you guest-posted on musical blogs?
Not yet, because it’s hard to find musical blog on my nich (play popular songs on piano).
I thinked to do piano cover collaborations on youtube to drive traffic on my blog.
Do you think it could help Greg?
Yes great idea, YouTube it Ago! That could be your goldmine…
Well I’ll do, thanks so much Greg!
Hey, Greg–What do you think about overviews to blog posts? I’ve been asked to include them at the top of my posts in the form of a 3-point bulleted list, but our articles are pretty short (300-600 words). My thought is that if my bloggers and I are using effective headings to guide readers, then readers shouldn’t need an overview for our short posts. But I might be wrong. Thoughts?
Hi Sarah,
Well, what is the goal/purpose of the overviews?
Headings can do a lot…or labels…
Greg
Great question–the overview is meant to provide the reader a summary of what the post contains. They can choose to continue reading or move on. This is why my thought is that the headings should be enough since they, themselves, are kind of like an outline of the post. Readers should be able to determine what they read in the article based on the headings, right?
Way I see it headings keep a reader on the post, but titles, hook, strong copy in the intro will get them to read.
Problem with overviews is they’re just hard to style attractively. Unless you have a way….
Do you have a web designer that could make labels? Hongkiat puts tiny labels before first word of each post… “WEB DESIGN” or “TOOLS”…that may be a cleaner solution.
No, our overviews aren’t very attractive–this is a big reason I advocate that we do away with them. Great suggestions, I like the label idea. Thanks for the help, Greg.
Greg, I couldn’t have found your article at a better time. I’m really trying to better understand the process and find my niche. I even participated in Darren Rowse’s webinar this past Tuesday – super helpful for me. My concern is whether I’ve made the best choice in using Weebly. It is simple to use, but now I find I want to do more than it allows. Is it possible to take my domain elsewhere and transfer my blog to WordPress? I would hate to lose everything I’ve done this far.
Hey Des,
Good to see ya here. My first q is who is your blog host? I think your priority is keeping the domain, but transferring all content can be a mess.
Do you pay for Weebly?
Greg
Well, Weebly is the host. I paid for my domain, but there isn’t a monthly fee. I can upgrade for more features, which would cost about $4.50 per month for the shortest term.
My domain expires in April of next year and will cost another $40 at that time.
It sounds like you really have to switch to WordPress
Are you against starting a new domain/blog? Could be a good way of showing off what you learned.
I’d definitely like to keep my domain name. I’m just not sure what my “thing” is yet, and I’m still in the infancy process of blogging (I think). Maybe the problem is I don’t want to stick to one thing to write about? I really don’t want to leave everything I’ve done behind and hoped WordPress would allow for a transfer. You know, when you change relationships, you still get to keep your stuff, right?
Haha great analogy!!
Can you send me the link to your weebly blog?
Being specific and targeting one niche is crucial for building a following…but maybe you just want to write?
FYI I have a few blogs, and leverage them together for more traffic, it’s really helpful.
Okay, here it is. Remember I’m a newbie, so be kind.
http://www.desireegonzalez.com/
I could see maybe two types of blogs, but not confident enough to take that leap yet. But you’re right, I kind of just want to write about any little ol’ thing that pops in my head. Very much appreciate your input! Thanks.
Des, it’s awesome:
1) Love how the pages “pop out”
2) The photo reels…nice!
3) Buttons, links, tabs all feel clickable
4) Amazon ads….solid choice, hope they’re working
5) Content…is this a dieting blog? Because it could be!
6) You should move to WP.org if you need more. I have a guide here and recommend Theme Junkie for layout/premium theme – the support forum is seriously amazing and their admins would help you design a new blog just like your current one.
All I got for now! More questions welcome though.
You are quite amazing to have an taken the time to do this and I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am. It’s very encouraging for a newbie like me to know I’m on the right track. I have to say I did apply some of the advice I gained from the webinar last week, and will continue to do so.
It really isn’t a dieting blog as I honestly do believe being on a diet is self-afflicting pain. I have a hodge-podge of topics on the site, but I do like to cook…I’ll figure it out.
WordPress does seem like it’s in my future as I do need more (especially after an hour’s worth of work being wiped out as I went to publish last night). I will review what you have provided me and feed off your encouragement. =)
Thanks again!
Great post Greg! A couple days ago, before this post I bought a domain name, and hosting. I already have wordpress installed, and already have made a couple of posts.
I am currently trying to figure out how to get readers and make friends with other bloggers. I am having trouble figuring out how to find readers, because, I intend to have my posts based on life views/observations. So there will be a wide variety of posts.
I already have started a twitter account for my blog, and am going to start a facebook account.
I also am going to try and get my google adsense account approved, because I would eventually like to make a bit of an income off of my blog.
I am definitely going to search throughout your blog for more tips.
Thanks =D
Sounds like you’ve been hard at work Ryley. Yep, you’ll find a lot here…
Make sure to do these things asap:
1) Submit blog to Google
2) Setup Analytics account
3) Get a Gravatar image and keep commenting on cool blogs
I’d do those even before the social media.
Happy to help more,
Greg
Hey thanks for the tips. I just finished doing everything you suggested. So hopefully when I leave this reply my gravatar shows up.
I was wondering if you could suggest some interesting/cool blogs that I could check out.
Thanks, and I appreciate all of your help.
Hmm, the gravatar isn’t showing up, and I put in the write email address. Does it take a while?
Gravatar should be instant, but make sure you’ve actually confirmed the image (click on it once uploaded).
No prob…oh man there are lots of cool blogs to follow. What niche?
I did confirm the image, so I am not sure why it isn’t showing up.
I am interested in technology, so if you know any good blogs.
Oh and if you know of any humorous blogs also!
For tech – try Mashable and Gizmodo. Have you read either?
For humor – try HyperboleAndAHalf…that’s one of my favs
Gravatar image is workin’!
I have heard of both of them, but haven’t read them as far a I know.
I will definitely check out all three of them.
Thanks so much for all of your help so far. I have learned so much in the past few days =D
A layman is someone that has little or no idea of something, or let’s just say a novice
Great word Lakotai.
Great guide greg, one thing this guide is different from other bloggers Is because its very easy for a layman to understand
What’s a layman…?
Seriously, this is some great stuff. I’m brand new to the whole deal, and have been researching and confusing/overwhelming myself for days. This and some other of your posts (“How Playboy Can Help Your Blog,” namely,) are really helpful. I think it has something to do with the concise-ness and readability of your work. You make learning fun! Yay!
Keep blogging Kevin! And keep commenting here
Really glad I’ve made the learning fun!
The Blogger
I’m impressed by your writing. Are you a professional or just very knowledgeable?
Definitely the second, Andres. I love my line of work and it inspires me to become more of an “expert” every day.
Great guide on starting a blog for newbies, I also have a complete series of not only starting a blog, but also take it to the next level on my blog.
What do you mean by “next level?”