by Robert Morgen Once of the places where I always see people getting scammed is with the creation of websites. This article is going to have a certain amount of jargon in it. Take the time to look up the terms that you don't understand because the links you find will teach you a lot.
If you are a sub-micro entrepreneur and have a seriously tight budget then there are 3 points that I want to make right up front about websites;
1. Domain Registry should cost less than $10
2. There are tons of Web Hosting Plans for less than $5 a month
3. There are a wide variety of free website builder software programs that let you build a simple and useful website quickly and easily.
If you absolutely have to have a website then keep those factors in mind.
However, my question these days is 'Why would you want a website in the first place?'
You MUST have a web presence. That's a given. If you want to start taking advantage of e-Commerce and developing multiple streams of passive income then you absolutely must have a web presence. However, websites are far from the best way to do that.
Blogs
Blogs, or weblogs, started out a few years ago as a version of online journals. They had some qualities that didn't exist (and still don't) for most websites;
1. They are wonderfully user-friendly. Very little or no HTML needed in most cases.
2. Consistent look or 'theme' throughout the entire site.
3. Easy to add pages and posts.
4. Easy to build traffic.
5. Huge support systems around the internet for promoting your blog and finding tools and accessories, usually called plugins.
I started using WordPress in 2006 simply because a friend referred me to it. There are other blog systems that will most likely work equally well so pick what you like.
I host my WordPress blogs on my own hosting account. You should be able to get a decent web hosting account for $50 to $100 per year, so DO NOT get caught up in the $29.95 a month scams that exist on the web.
Without getting too deeply into Search Engine Optimization (SEO) I just want to say that if possible get the keywords for whatever you do in the URL and avoid the .info and .biz domains. Some SEO pro's will tell you that those domains have been abused by web scammers to the point where Google and the other search engines will react negatively to them.
Having said that, you'll see that my primary URL is http://SpiritualEntrepreneur.biz. To me it was more important to get the keywords than to avoid the .biz. You'll also notice that my URL leads to a blog.
One of the advantages to the blog system is that people can subscribe to it and have updates delivered directly to their email, phone, PDA or the chip in their head (coming soon). In many cases people will subscribe to your blog through a Really Simply Syndication (RSS) Feed and never actually come to your URL!
Installing and Using your Blog
Installing a WordPress blog literally takes less than 10 minutes (less than 5 if you know what you're doing). You'll need to know how to create a database and a few other techy things, but there are great step by step tutorials on the WordPress.ORG site that will help you do this.
My advice is to take the time to learn to install WordPress because you'll then be able to install the myriad other PHP based programs that you'll find useful.
The forums and tutorials at WordPress.ORG (notice that I keep stressing the .ORG) will walk you quickly and easily through almost anything that you'd want to do with your blog. Be sure to search the forums before you write a post looking for help. I assure you that the answer you need is probably already there.
One note about the forums - DO NOT write a post with something like "Need Help" or "Stuck and need answers" or "AAAAAAAAH!" or something equally idiotic in the subject line. When you do that it keeps the people who might help you from being able to see what the problem is!
Put the 'error message' that your blog gives you in the subject line, or at least a description of the problem.
Updating your Blog
There's a simple equation to blogging;
Frequent updates = more readers
Updating your blog doesn't mean writing a new article everyday. There are hundreds of Article Directories online where you can get good content. I like GoArticles.com and everything I write gets published there. Go to the search box in the upper right hand corner, do an Author Name Search for Robert Morgen and you'll find a list of my articles that you can use on your blog.
I generally only right about 20% of the articles that I post on my blogs and newsletters. The rest come from the article directories.
Syndication
Get the word out about your blog! I like FeedBurner.com because they give you a lot of tools to optimize your feed and your blog and make it easy for people to get you content.
Take some time and explore the different ways that you can use FeedBurner. It's a great tool that I recommend wholeheartedly.
Plugins
There are literally thousands of Plugins available for blog systems. I use plugins for Google Adsense (creates a passive income stream from Google), YouTube, Search Engine Optimization and Social Bookmarking.
Content is King!
One last note. It doesn't matter how much you promote your blog if you have lousy content. While Britney Spears may be able to take bad PR to the bank, you probably don't have that ability.
Find GOOD articles to put on your blog. If you can create a blog that has good, helpful content then you'll find that people will not only read and subscribe to your blog, they'll refer their friends to it (Viral Marketing) and that is the best advertising you can get.
At this point you should have enough information to start getting the answers you need to set up your blog. If you started reading this article looking for a comparison of blogs v. websites you'll notice that I didn't waste time telling you the difference between the 2.
If you don't know that already then save yourself a LOT of time, hassle, inefficiency and money and get your BLOG going asap.
© 2008 by Robert Morgen. This article may be used anywhere by anyone as long as the authors links and bio remain intact with the article.
About the Author
Robert Morgen experienced a near-death kundalini awakening in 1992.
He's the author of 'Kundalini Awakening for Personal Mastery 2nd Edition' and 'The Spiritual Entrepreneur'.
The Spiritual Entrepreneur is now available at Amazon.com!
