You might have thought about starting a blog, or maybe you even have one set up for personal use. Blogs are a great way to let your friends and family know what is going on with you, but they are also an excellent way to earn money . . . if you know what you´re doing!
You don´t need to pay anything to set up a blog, but you might find it easier to do so if you want to put up ads. Sites like WordPress that offer free blogs also tend to be rather picky about what you put on them! Make sure that you read the fine print very carefully before signing up for a free blog host, to make sure you know what you are allowed to put on it and what is forbidden. Blogger is one of the few that still allows paid reviews and Adsense.
If you decide to go the route of a paid blog host, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, if you aren´t terribly tech-savvy, it might be a good idea to find a place where they offer free uploading of popular blog software.
Living Dot is one that features free uploading of two major blogging software programs, WordPress and Movable Type. This eliminates trying to figure out how to download the software and then transfer it to your new host and can be very handy.
Depending on your budget, you will want to look for pretty low monthly prices. For me, the host also has to accept PayPal since I don´t use a credit card, which is another consideration when you are looking for a blog host. Here is a list of blog hosts that accept PayPal as payment.
You might also want to consider a site that either offers a free demo or allows you to pay by the month. This is important if you aren´t sure about the host. That way if things don´t work out, you don´t lose a year´s investment and can easily move on. The ability to import and export your blog is a valuable option, since it means you can switch from host to host without losing all that hard work!
Once again,
Living Dot is recommended for all of the above reasons! I plan to move this blog over to
Living Dot within a month or two. Which brings me to another point. You will want to invest in a domain name, so when you switch hosts, you don´t lose all your visitors, they can still use the same domain name and it will lead them to your new blog! You can get good deals on domain names at
GoDaddy where they are actually having a big sale on .info names, just .99 cents each. A regular .com name will run you about $8.95, but if you do a search for coupon codes ahead of time, you can get a discount.
With these tips in mind, you should be able to find a decent blog host in a relatively short amount of time and have your blog up and running in no time at all! Stay tuned for my article on how to earn money with your blog.
