How To: Become a four figure blogger, Part 3

May 14th, 2006 10 Comments

This is part 3 of a series called How To: Become a four figure blogger. If you haven’t, read Part 1 and Part 2.

Sorry that it’s taken a little while to get to part 3 of the “Becoming a four figure blogger” series, things have gotten a little busy around here.

So what are we talking about today? I’ve already covered AdSense and affiliate marketing, so today I’m going to talk about moving away from the hosted blogging options like Blogger, TypePad, and whatever Microsoft calls their hosted blog solution (I think it’s MSN spaces or something like that). Also - if your primary blog is on MySpace, I think you’re reading the wrong article…

I’m assuming that if you’re willing to work towards becoming a four figure blogger that you understand basic HTML, can login to an FTP program, and can run a Google search to understand anything that might seem foreign (i.e. chmodding a file to 666).

You need your own domain

If you want to have any credibility you need, at the very least, your own domain. Even with your own domain you can integrate Google’s Blogger service or TypePad, though I don’t recommend it. Domains let people know you’re serious. It helps them remember your website’s name. It helps them return easily.

Your own domain will also allow you to manage your own MySQL databases, install an application like WordPress(.org) and have much more control over the monetization of your blog.

Domain’s cost money, right? Yes, they do. They cost $8.95. There is absolutely no excuse to not buy a domain. Buy ten or twenty if you’re not sure what you want the name of your website to be. Hosting is cheap as well, I believe I’m paying about $7 a month for 100GB of bandwidth and 2GB of webspace. It’s so cheap and since you’re planning on becoming a four figure blogger anyway, it’s an investment that you’re going to recoup in no time.

Why can’t I use Blogger, WordPress.com, TypePad or [whatever]?

There a lots of reasons why using a hosted blogging solution is “bad.” A few of the most important ones are

They don’t allow enough control over the content to optimize advertisements effectively
You don’t have control over the databases - backing up your blogs on a regular basis should become a habit.
Your credibility drops quite a bit when someone sees one of the standard Blogger templates or “name.blogspot.com” in your URL.

Hosted solutions work fine when you’re writing a diary for family and friends, but if you’re looking to write a blog and make money you need to invest some money into it. A domain is the first step.

The extra control also extends to your design. You’ll be able to play around with the sidebar elements, add your own header images, tinker with fonts, colors, etc. Essentially, you’ll be able to make the blog unique and make it stand out from the rest of the pack. If you want to get really serious you could even hire a professional blog designer (like me!) to create a custom design for you.

Did you order your domain yet?

If you haven’t already done so, go order your domain. Come up with something catchy, something people will remember. If your last name is hard to spell, don’t use it. If you think everything in your industry is taken, think again. Be creative, be funny. Do not be boring.

In Part 4 I will start talking about how to establish credibility with your readers on their first visit to your website and how to keep them coming back.

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How To: Become a four figure blogger, Part 3

Nathan Waters | May 14, 2006

Definitely agree, a domain and self-hosted blog is a must if you want to do the whole blogging thing professionally.

I recently wrote a post on How to Find That Perfect Domain Name, which a few people might be interested in: http://www.nathanwaters.com/archives/how-to-find-that-perfect-domain-name

cheers
nathan

Dennis | May 14, 2006

What about domain names with three or more words, do you think those are worth it?

Derek Punsalan | May 14, 2006

I would have to agree with the domain name being an influential factor of a websites seriousness and validity. I often stumble upon hosted pages which seem to showcase excellent content. Oftentimes, rather than concentrating on the content, I begin to wonder why the author does not invest in his/ her own domain.

If anything, bloggers who yearn for a decent and reputable track record online should invest in a domain and dedicated hosting. You can never trust a site hosted for “free” on someone else’s dime.

Nick | May 14, 2006

I think one of the best things is that many hosts will provide you with a free domain if you prepay for a year of hosting. Because making money from blogging requires a commitment to the long-haul, this isn’t such a bad idea.

Also, some hosts give radical discounts for prepaying. When I bought my first hosting service, I paid 9.89 for a year of hosting, and that wasn’t with no slouching stats either. It was for some astounding amount of storage and bandwidth. I got the domain and hosting for the same price that some people pay for just the domain.

Finally, having your own domain allows you to throw a couple of keywords into it. In the long run, this will help with the search engines and be more recognizable to people around the web, resulting in more type-ins.

Great series, and I’m looking forward to part 4.

Julien | May 14, 2006

Hey Ben, I’ve really enjoyed this so far… I had forgotten about your tips I had previously read until today, but ended up making about 10 times my usual affiliate amts this month through one of your ideas, so thanks!

In case anyone who ends up reading this is interested in purchasing a domain, I have some coupon codes that work with GoDaddy domain registration which you can pick up here (they’re valid til the end of June).

Thanks again.

Tony | May 15, 2006

Ben, I don’t know if you’ve covered this in your Four-Figure series, but it gets easier if you create some sort of movtivation to go along with money.

On my blog, I explained my goal, how I’ll get there, and what I’ll do to reach my goal.

Basically, I shaved my head and will not cut my hair again until I’ve reached my four-figure goal =).

Vlad | May 16, 2006

Grest read, also have a link to boost traffic to your blog http://theblogjoint.com/?p=39

Vlad | May 16, 2006

meant to say great read, sorry

pixelfreak | May 25, 2006

Ben, thank you very much for your series! I ll do my best to reach that goal

Entrepreneurship, blogging, and college - » Blog Archive » Mining Text Link Ads For Hidden Gold - College-Startup.com | September 14, 2006

[…] These days, it isn’t unusual for TLA revenue to outstrip AdSense revenue. Grab a few PR5 and PR6 blogs, sell 10 ads per site and you’re looking at four figures per month. While Ben’s Four Figure series was mostly focused on how to nail 4 figures per year from a single blog, you can certainly use his principles across several blogs to get to the $1000 mark much sooner. […]