Top blogging tips / info websites?

28 replies
Gonna start a blog soon and was wondering if you guys could throw me on some great websites rich with info blogging in general from webhosting, content, themes, wordpress, etc.

Thanks
#blogging #info #tips #top #websites
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  • Profile picture of the author TheTravelVice
    I can assure you, you will not be seeing any self promotion here from me.

    Do not even have anything to self promote. Long ways away from that.

    Just looking for great blogging sites and resources.
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  • Profile picture of the author alvinhy
    There are a lot of information out there. You can just google it and tons of results will come out.

    webhosting - You can use, Godaddy, Arvixe, Bluehost, WP Engine etc...
    content - Copyblogger is a good place to find info about writing good content
    themes - Elegant themes, Themeforest, Woothemes...
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    • Profile picture of the author TheTravelVice
      Originally Posted by alvinhy View Post

      There are a lot of information out there. You can just google it and tons of results will come out.

      webhosting - You can use, Godaddy, Arvixe, Bluehost, WP Engine etc...
      content - Copyblogger is a good place to find info about writing good content
      themes - Elegant themes, Themeforest, Woothemes...
      Thanks, I googled blogging tips but found that to be rather lacking.

      I am thinking about going with bluehost, seems pretty user friendly.

      Found some nice themes on themeforest.

      Cheers
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  • Profile picture of the author TheTravelVice
    Which would be better as far as domains go.

    Use a - in between say two words to have the .com

    Or no - and simply have it .net

    For example

    miami-living.com

    miamiliving.net
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    • Profile picture of the author Miguelito203
      Originally Posted by TheTravelVice View Post

      Which would be better as far as domains go.

      Use a - in between say two words to have the .com

      Or no - and simply have it .net

      For example

      miami-living.com

      miamiliving.net
      I personally prefer using .coms with no hyphens. I think it looks more professional and is easier to remember. It's something you should think about. If your goal is to build a larger niche site, some of your visitors will visit your site directly via the url (once you start to develop a following and brand yourself).

      Joey
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      • Profile picture of the author Uu
        Originally Posted by Miguelito203 View Post

        I personally prefer using .coms with no hyphens. I think it looks more professional and is easier to remember. It's something you should think about. If your goal is to build a larger niche site, some of your visitors will visit your site directly via the url (once you start to develop a following and brand yourself).

        Joey
        I agree with Joey. I have actually heard that you should try to avoid hyphenated domains. Anyone correct me if I'm wrong.
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Uu View Post

          I have actually heard that you should try to avoid hyphenated domains. Anyone correct me if I'm wrong.
          You're wrong.

          It's actually not quite as simple as that.

          You might normally want to avoid running a business on the hyphenated .com version of a domain-name of which the unhyphenated .com domain already belongs to someone else, but that's a little different from what you said (and it's not for any SEO-related reasons).

          For some words/word-combinations/url's, the hyphenated version is clearly going to be easier to read and make sense of than the unhyphenated version (though you might also want to register and own the unhyphenated version, just "protectively").

          There's one of those little Google videos floating around here somewhere (I can't find a link to it, at the moment, but will come back and edit this post, if I find it later ) in which Matt Cutts explains some of the myths about domain-name hyphenation, in an attempt to reassure people that hyphenation isn't a "negative" at all, and sometimes it's an advantage. (As the owners of the celebrated Mole Station Nursery, and businesses like Pen Island found out ).

          Originally Posted by TheTravelVice View Post

          I cant use .com as it is taken.

          guess .net will just have to do.
          If you really don't mind running a business on a domain of which the .com variant already belongs to someone else!?

          That's all downside: yours doesn't look as good; you lose traffic to the owner of the .com; you have no resale value to speak of.

          .
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          • Profile picture of the author TheTravelVice
            Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

            You're wrong.

            It's actually not quite as simple as that.

            You might normally want to avoid running a business on the hyphenated .com version of a domain-name of which the unhyphenated .com domain already belongs to someone else, but that's a little different from what you said (and it's not for any SEO-related reasons).

            For some words/word-combinations/url's, the hyphenated version is clearly going to be easier to read and make sense of than the unhyphenated version (though you might also want to register and own the unhyphenated version, just "protectively").

            There's one of those little Google videos floating around here somewhere (I can't find a link to it, at the moment, but will come back and edit this post, if I find it later ) in which Matt Cutts explains some of the myths about domain-name hyphenation, in an attempt to reassure people that hyphenation isn't a "negative" at all, and sometimes it's an advantage. (As the owners of the celebrated Mole Station Nursery, and businesses like Pen Island found out ).



            If you really don't mind running a business on a domain of which the .com variant already belongs to soemone else!?

            That's all downside: yours doesn't look as good; you lose traffic to the owner of the .com; you have no resale value to speak of.

            .
            I dont really mind running my blog on a name that already belongs to someone as it is a little different angle and theme and the other site not being that good of a website to begin with.

            So I should not go with bluehost for hosting? I am looking for a clean, reliable, user friendly experience for a good value.
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            • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
              Banned
              Originally Posted by TheTravelVice View Post

              I dont really mind running my blog on a name that already belongs to someone as it is a little different angle and theme and the other site not being that good of a website to begin with.
              You're not worried about the potential to lose traffic to him because he has the .com and you don't, then? Fair enough ...

              Originally Posted by TheTravelVice View Post

              So I should not go with bluehost for hosting?
              I wouldn't, myself. They're now owned by the Endurance International Group, all of whose hosting companies seem to be causing quite a lot of complaints and apparently to have deteriorating service and customer service, too. I'd stay away, myself. I'd also stay away from GoDaddy because they're obnoxious scumbags and horrible hosts, and from 1and1 because they're downright nasty to do business with, but that's only my opinion (and maybe the opinion of a few hundred other people around here.) Have you looked at "Arvixe"?

              (Seriously, you might want to check, before buying hosting anywhere, that it isn't a company that's owned by EIG. Doing that probably reduces the chances of future problems/difficulties.)

              .
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  • Profile picture of the author TheTravelVice
    I cant use .com as it is taken.

    guess .net will just have to do.
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  • Profile picture of the author seobro
    TIPS

    1. OK so put in a lot of pics. [FLICK RIVER]
    2. Add some movies. [YOU TUBE]
    3. Make social media your friend, not your enemy. [TWITTER]
    BTW, I live in miami. Problems with cops. They do not like me taking picture of buildings in down town and I was given a warning. Hey, word to the wise.....
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  • I am baffled that nobody has asked the main question when it comes to blogging: do you actually have the insight and knowledge on any specific topic to write truly valuable content on a recurrent basis, so real humans (not Google bots) look forward your posts?

    Without that, you wont make money blogging.
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  • Profile picture of the author bones46
    Instead of spending a lot of money doing something that you are not sure will work - look for free or open resources to get started. Then when you start to earn some revenue take that money and reinvest in improving your operations - like a more dedicated hosting, paid themes, content, etc. Not only will it pay for itself but you will have a better idea of what you need and who can better provide it.

    IMO, forget bluehost - too much down time. Stick with the big guys (go daddy, 1&1) this way you will get what you pay for.
    Signature

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  • Profile picture of the author Stuart Walker
    Some advice from me -

    Hosting: Go with a good host from the start and not cheap shared hosting as it will be a nightmare later. I use WPEngine. They aren't ideal but they are OK. Other choices are SiteGround and Traffic Planet Hosting.

    Domain: Pick a memorable and catchy domain and not a keyword based one.

    Theme: Get a self hosted WP blog and a premium theme. The Studiopress themes are good and Thesis is well recommended.

    Content: Make it the best it possibly can be. Better than all your competitors. Use related forums to find common questions and answer them.

    Email List: Build your from day 1 and don't delay it, biggest mistake you can make. Use Aweber.

    Traffic: Go where your target audience is and get your content in front of them + network like crazy with others in your niche will help you get traffic, links and social shares.

    Some further reading:

    How I Built A Top 100 Blog In 12 Months & How You Can Do It Too!

    The Ultimate Guide To Blogging: How To Start A Blog That's Epic - NicheHacks : NicheHacks

    How We Grew a Blog to $6 Million+ in 12 Months
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  • Profile picture of the author Ripster
    Here are some great blogs that can help you out when just getting started!

    PiggyMyBank.com
    JohnChow.com
    2createawebsite.com

    Good luck, OP, if you have any questions, let me know!
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  • Profile picture of the author TheTravelVice
    my site wouldnt be very big the first couple of years. how much outages and downtime do bluehost people actual experience?
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    • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
      Hi TV,

      Secret tip - and no, I'm not an affiliate - but a very pleased customer of this hosting company

      Go with Kyrstal. UK based company, their support staff is excellent, and my site stays up like 99.9% of the time. They're a relative unknown but gem of gems. You'll pay a few more bucks each month but I highly recommend them if you want to start off blogging on the right foot.

      All the best.

      Ryan
      Signature
      Ryan Biddulph helps you to be a successful blogger with his courses, manuals and blog at Blogging From Paradise
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
    Hi TravelVice,

    Congrats!

    Problogger and Copyblogger rock, as does DailyBlogTips.

    Umm....are you a travel blogger, or traveler? Someone I know just opened up a really neat blog with in-depth posts last week....Blogging From Paradise

    In all seriousness, not a ton of content yet but it could be right up your alley.

    Definitely subscribe to the blogs above, they're winners. Key point though;read, study like you're in school, take notes, memorize, then put the information immediately into action, like, right away. These habits keep your success momentum going, so you can simply rock it out more quickly.

    Patience rules though. It takes time, persistence, and a willingness to create and connect over the long haul, as well as an intelligent start, to cut your learning curve from decades to months.....it can be done, but overall, focus less on time frames and more on starting super intelligently.

    Like, identify your target reader, and pick a URL that totally vibes with your target reader. Gotta be easy to remember. Then, from your URL down through your blog title, tagline, posts, ads, images, etc, etc.....the theme should stay aligned.

    I was uber blessed that bloggingfromparadise was not taken as of last week. Stunned actually, but I guess I was aligned with it, because that's what I do, and that was my path all along. Either way,really drill down your target reader and create all posts catering to that specific reader, and you'll be well on your way to succeeding.

    Darren Rowse - Problogger - is a great guy to get to know. Send him some tweets, chat and connect with dudes like him to become friends with authorities in the blogging niche, and you'll be building your outreach campaign on a solid foundation.

    All the best. If you do have any questions, please send them my way TV.

    Goodnight from Fiji!

    Ryan Biddulph
    Signature
    Ryan Biddulph helps you to be a successful blogger with his courses, manuals and blog at Blogging From Paradise
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  • Profile picture of the author TheTravelVice
    thanks for the info guys.

    keep the great sites and tips coming!
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  • Profile picture of the author Samuel Adams
    What do you know about SEO and webmastery? If you are just starting out, then you will want to read the Google webmaster help blog. This blog contains a lot of really good info that will help you optimize your blog to make it appear higher in Google search.
    Official Google Webmaster Central Blog
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    Would you like to learn how I make $2000/month from a super easy listbuilding system?

    Click here to get my listbuilding report for FREE!

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  • Profile picture of the author TheTravelVice
    Guys,

    What is your opinion on large posts / image vs medium posts / image for blogs?

    I think I prefer medium as you dont have to scroll down to see every post/article.

    Opinions....
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  • Profile picture of the author avowzone
    Banned
    avowzone.com is one of my favorite site. You can check it for your required information.
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  • Profile picture of the author razorz18
    There are few that great blog you could follow:
    1) Quicksprout by Neil Patel
    2) Backlinko by Bryan Dean
    3) Matthew Woordward
    4) Problogger
    5) Moz
    6) DigitalMarketer by Ryan Diess and co.

    These are my recommendation only. There are many more great blogs.
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