How to Create a Niche Blog
How often do you post to your blog?
Well more often than I have lately. But this post isn’t about that. This post is about why I haven’t been posting as much on this blog.
I decided to dabble in creating a small niche blog. I wanted to do this for several reasons. Some of the reasons included experimenting with different plug-ins, using Google Adsense, and playing around with affiliate links. Yes, I could have used this blog to experiment with stuff, but honestly I didn’t want to tamper with the style that I have created on this blog and I just wanted to start from scratch with a specific niche domain name and everything. I have to say it’s a cool learning experience. So here is what I did.
Find your Passion
The first thing I did was I thought about something that interests me. I mean you have to do that first. Anyone that has been blogging for a while knows that you need to pick a subject of interest because that’s what keeps the juices flowing. So I picked a topic of interest and wrote out a small plan on how I wanted the site to look like.
Picking a Domain Name
Then I thought about Domain Names. The best place that I have found to get domain names pretty cheap is GoDaddy. What I like about them, I know other sites do it as well, is that if you search for a Domain Name and that particular Domain Name is taken GoDaddy will give you a list of available Domain names that are similar to the one you are looking for. So after a few rounds of searching, probably more like several hours, I found a domain name I really liked. Now you might want to sit down for this. Well you probably are if you are at your computer. Well I paid 89¢ for the Domain Name. Yes, I said 89¢. Ok I didn’t pay 89¢ I paid $1.98 for 2 years. I thought for 89¢ I can splurge on 2 years. Now I want you to know that the Domain Name isn’t a (.com) name or even a (.net) name, it was actually a (.info) name. I don’t know how much it matters, but for 89c a year I was sold on it. I figure what have a got to loose. You can’t even buy a gallon of gas for $1.98. Well not in my town anyways.
Find Webhosting
So there I was with an 89¢ Domain Name, but then I needed Web Hosting. Well given the fact that I already have this blog I have Web Hosting. The Webhosting I use for this blog is BlueHost. There are a lot of Webhosting services out there, but I have like BlueHost. They have served me well and there customer service is great. Ok I will get off my soap box and continue. So with the account that I have with BlueHost I can have Unlimited Domain Names. That’s not just one or 2 Domain Names that’s like higher than I can count with all my fingers and toes. But the question is how do I get my new Domain Name on my account at BlueHost? Well it’s not that hard, but I have to admit I was a little afraid because I hadn’t done this before.
Well here is what I needed to do. I needed to point the servers to the BlueHost servers. It sounds scary, but really it isn’t that bad so don’t get scared. I logged onto my BlueHost Account and in the cPanel under the Domains section I went to Domain Manager. From there I clicked on my Primary Domain Name to find the BlueHost Server Names. Then I went to my GoDaddy account and changed the servers to the BlueHost servers. This was actually the first time trying to do this for me. Honestly, I was nervous, but it wasn’t that hard. I knew if I had trouble I could call GoDaddy or even BlueHost and they would help. Well I got them pointing correctly so now when I went to my BlueHost account I was then able to see the Domain Name.
Now if you don’t already have Webhosting you will have to get Webhosting. If you need to get Webhosting I would recommend BlueHost or HostGator. I have used them both and both are very easy to use, their cPanels are similar, and the customer service has been good too.
Installing WordPress
So then from there I installed the best Blogging software in the world, WordPress, onto my New Domain Name. The process of installing WordPress is a little different with WebHosting Companies, but I think they are similar. Since I have BlueHost as my Webhosting Company I will explain BlueHost.
1. Logged into my BlueHost account.
2. Then went to the Software / Services section of my cPanel and double clicked on WordPress.
3. Clicked on Install
4. Then it asks “Where would you like WordPress installed?” I then selected my new Domain Name from the pull down list and hit Complete.
5. Wordpress installed and I was in business.
But there I was again. I was sitting in front of a blank blog with no posts. Ok one post that said “Hello World”. I stared at that for a minute thinking “I haven’t seen that in a while”. So now starting from scratch with a blank blog can be a bit intimidating, but it can be fun at the same time. So don’t get scared.
Find a WordPress Theme
Then I needed a WordPress Theme so I started searching for one that went well with my niche. Like I said about WordPress before they have a ton of Free WordPress Themes right at WordPress and I did take a look at a few, but I was looking for a WordPress Theme that was unique and that matched my so called niche. So what else was there to do but jump on Google and do a search for WordPress Themes.
Well it didn’t take too long when I found a theme that I really liked and the best part about it was that it was Free also. So there you go not only are there great free themes at WordPress, but there are some really great free WordPress Themes out there on the Internet.
Installing Some Necessary Plug-Ins
With my WordPress Theme installed I then started by installing the necessary plug-ins as I talked about in one of my previous post on plug-ins.
So let’s add up what I have spent so far. Let’s see it was 89¢ well $1.98 for the Domain Name. Was there anything else? Nope. I used my existing Webhosting (BlueHost) and my WordPress Theme was free also. Sure there is time and well if you didn’t have Webhosting you would have to pay, but since I have unlimited Domain Names at BlueHost I was all set.
So, just to recap the steps on what to do to create a Niche Website
1. Find Your Passion. Think about something you are interested in.
2. Picking a Domain Name. Check out GoDaddy
3. Find Webhosting. Check out BlueHost. HostGator is great too.
4. Transfer Domain Name to your Webhosting. Don’t worry its not too hard.
5. Install WordPress
6. Find a WordPress Theme. Look at WordPress or Search the Internet for one.
7. Install some necessary Plug-ins
Bingo! Your blog is ready to go…….
There is a bit more to the story with this niche blog I created with regards to in bedded text ads, Google Adsense and generating traffic. I will explain future posts. So Stay tuned……..
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pratish @ free
Florence Mills
Louise
Hi Jim
This is great, the way you have decribed it is simple and easy. And yes it is as simple as you describe but scary the first time you do it.
Like you I use bluehost. They are brillant I recommend them to friends and anybody willing to listen (some who are not).
Cheers
Kerie
Kerie Hinchliffe´s last blog ..Need Help Starting Your Blog?
[Reply]
Jim Hardin Reply:
December 9th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
Hi Kerie!
Definately for not that much money a blog can be set up. It sure can be scary the first time you do it, but once you do it its not that bad. I know I was leery at first when I first started blogging. But I am having fun experimenting with different things.
I like BlueHost. I have called them for help one of the first times I was transferring a domain name and they responded right away and helped me through it. Like you I would recommend BlueHost for webhosting.
[Reply]
[...] to Add In-Text Advertising to Your BlogIn my previous post about How to Create a Niche Blog I had told you I had experimented with a few different things. One of the things I experimented [...]
Niche Blog | Blogging Tips and Tricks…
Create a niche blog to make money in your spare time and you don’t even have to spend alot to have your own blog. It really isn’t that hard just follow some simple steps and you will have your own blog….
Jim- Good job covering this topic. This is a great post for beginners as you cover all that you need to do and break it down to a point where anyone could follow. Your tip about finding your passion is the most important!!
Tycoon Blogger´s last blog ..Top 10 Twitter Follower Directories
[Reply]
Jim Hardin Reply:
December 13th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Thanks! Definately the most important thing to do is find your passion. It certainly is the key to make writing easier and to keep you interested in Blogging on your topic.
[Reply]
[...] How to create a niche blog – JimyJack.com – This is a great post for beginner bloggers from Jim Hardin. I just started following Jim’s blog and he has some great blogging tips posts. [...]
“Seasons Greetings”
Jim Hardin, and Thank You for sharing this information,
you really have the “Xmaz-Spirit”‘and because of this,
your Blog will Prosper in more ways then one.
Many will benefit from your example, as it has me,
and many more will go on to share as you have shared.
[Reply]
Jim Hardin Reply:
December 14th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Your welcome Mahaki! I hope that the steps do help you to create a blog. It is hard to capture everything in one post, but I tried to capture everything that I could in general to get people started.
If you have any questions just let me know.
Thanks
Jim
[Reply]
Bluehost sucks, they are oversellers which means they overload their servers and they are slow. Their customer support isn’t great either and I like how you picked both bluehost and hostgator and posted affiliate links. Not a real review…Bias to the extreme.
Dan´s last blog ..2009 Recap
[Reply]
Jim Hardin Reply:
December 30th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
Hi Dan!
This blog is hosted by Blue Host and they have worked out fine for me and so far no problems. I have also used Host Gator in the past on another blog that I have owned and liked them also. Sure I listed both companies in the post as recommendations as I have used them and feel in my opinion that they are good webhosting companies. Your right though this was not a real fair review of both companies, and maybe I shouldn’t have listed both companies side by side, but this post was about How to Create a Niche blog. Maybe one day I will write a fair review of them.
One thing I do need to catch up on is writing a disclosure statement. You’re right they are affiliate links and I should make people aware of them.
Thanks for dropping by I do appreciate the comment.
Jim
[Reply]
[...] in my previous post (well one of my previous posts) I talked about searching the Internet and finding some great [...]
You would not believe how long ive been googling for something like this. Browsed through 9 pages of Google results without finding anything. One search on Bing. There you are!…. Really gotta start using that more often
[Reply]