Part 2: Getting your Domain and the Tech Stuff Done Easily

Before we jump into how to find and buy the right domain, I should clarify one assumption I’m making in this post: I’m assuming that you’re starting your own blog on a blog platform that you’ll own and run — your own website.

My ambition is to have my own Customers >> Cashflow website which will, one day, have all of my content on it and be properly SEO enabled (hopefully not jumping the gun there). I am, of course, taking this exercise, step by step.

The decision I took was to take massive action - which meant scheduling time in my diary to start writing and sharing stuff immediately… No excuses, just committing to the action! So, the best way to start a blog is by using Medium, LinkedIn (if business related) or Facebook.

As I’ve said in my first post, think about the type of thing you are focusing your blog on (See Part 1 here) and pick a blog platform which matches your audiences, preferences and tastes.

If the aspiration is to have a site to showcase your personal brand, services or products, you are going to need your own blog site.

I have done this already and selected Medium for my blog and this is about tackling the next step in my evolution as a blogger and letting the market decide if there is value in my content ;-)

This is like a cooking recipe, a “how to” guide, a process… not too onerous or complex so, no excuses if you are ready to do this!

First four steps:

1. Select a domain. This is for the URL of your website. The “www”. Think of it as the address for your business. You’ll need to buy your domain, something that matches your name or linked to what you are going to focus on. I chose customersandcashflow.com. 10 minutes DONE with www.GoDaddy.com. Also, some useful extras like SEO, insurances and Google ratings would be good.
2. Find a domain registrar. This company will store and hold your domain. They won’t host it just point traffic to it. As above, GoDaddy. Simple, intuitive, non-complex. No excuses for admitting defeat or getting distracted! Get it done!
3. Choose a web host. Your website site will be hosted on its servers. I am looking for something that has good ratings, is easy to use and linked to a well known web building tool or templates. You can search online where there are loads of review and comparison sites but I went with BlueHost.
4. The site building tool. This is another very definite freak-out moment, and my recommendation at this point is to speak to someone who has done it before. There are loads of templates out there with some excellent content generation tools and frames to add photos and images. Wordpress seems to be the most popular. If you have the money, and unless you are great with tech and have loads of time on your hands, I recommend getting someone to set you up. They can configure your site and you can use a content management system to publish your blog posts.

You don’t want to be changing your domain again in the future so don’t be overly specific or too zeitgeist about it. Keep it related to something that won’t change and will stand the test of time. You might be blogging loads about Brexit or Twitter but they won’t always be the most relevant thing and you will probably move on too. Some people will just use their own name which is cool, authentic and if you opt for it, gives you unlimited future scope to blog about what you want!

That said, personal domains have some downsides; it will limit options to how other writers will support the growth of your blog and will be harder to sell if your blog becomes your business and you can cash in, in the future.

LAST TAKEAWAY. If you are serious about this and it excites you inside, just do it. Keep it simple, go for tried and tested routes and don’t over extend yourself if you aren’t comfortable and don’t have the time to do it. Investing now in something that will give you great satisfaction and provide value to your readers is well worth it. What would you be spending the money on otherwise?!

Next Up… How you create your site!

Cheers,
Rob