The Three Mighty (and cheap) Tools Needed To Start a Self Hosted Blog – and My Special Offer of Help

Get it...Mighty Mouse

Guess what?

It’s Tuesday!

So what about it Dickinson?

So why not get that self hosted blog that you have been talking about up and running?

Tuesday is just as good a day as any eh?

I’ve written about how to build a better blog with a “self” hosted (like wordpress.org) versus a “service” hosted (like Blogger or wordpress.com) before.

Fellow blogger, Danny Brown did the same thing in Day Four of his 5 Days To Turn Your Blog Into a Social Media Hub series.

Danny writes about the benefits of self hosted in a powerful way:

The worst thing about free blogging options is that you’re also placing all your content into the hands of a third-party. If Blogger, WordPress or any other free blogging platforms change their Terms and Conditions, you could find yourself without a blog. With a self-hosted option, all the control lies in your hands.

Self-hosted beats free hands down on many levels.

If the investment is the issue – I’m going to give you three of the most economical tools you can get right now in order to have what you need to start your blog.

3 Mighty, But Cheap, Tools Needed To Start Your Blog:

1. Domain Name.

I usually purchase all my domain names through a great little company called Namecheap where I am an affiliate. Easy to navigate and use, Namecheap is a great place to secure your domain names.

I said that I was going to give you the down and dirty cheapest ways to get your blog up and running right?

So here’s a gem that I found just the other day – 1&1.com. I am not an affiliate here – I just wanted you to see what I mean by down and dirty cheap.

Yep – you are seeing it right .com domain names for a grand total of .99 cents! That includes the private registration fee.

Here’s the thing: I’m always a bit nervous about using a new service and using the cheapest thing out there. Sometimes it just isn’t worth it. I did not encounter any problems with securing the domain name, paying for it or pointing it to my nameservers at Host Gator.

When I did a Dickinson and screwed something  up  - I called their Customer Service and had it resolved in minutes.

I’d recommend you get your domain here while the sale is on!

2. Web Hosting.

In my estimation, you simply cannot do better than HostGator for price, dependability and customer service. I have been with this web host for 3 years now and LOVE them.

Any time I have a question (and I had a TON of them in the beginning I just hop on their Live Chat Support and they take care of my needs.

With all the hosting plan at HostGator you get unlimited disk space and bandwidth. This relieves many worries as your online properties increase over time.

Here are the hosting plans you can choose from:

I highly recommend the Baby Plan. I have multiple blogs hosted and for 3 years now I have never needed more space.

At less than $100 for the entire year ($95.52 which includes 20% off your first invoice), this is another steal and a great place to host that new (or another) blog!

3. WordPress Blog Software.

I’ve never used anything else – and as your Trusted Advisor (new title I just conferred upon myself) – I wouldn’t recommend anything else.

After getting a domain name and hosting plan, WordPress is simply the software you need to get your blog up and running. It will be the place that you do your blog posts and manage your comments. It is very intuitive and I find it is getting easier to use all the time.

The best news I have for you about WordPress – IT IS FREE!

The folks at WordPress describe their software like this:

WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.

I wholeheartedly agree!

You can download it through your HostGator CPanel (or download and then upload through wordpress.org) and you will be ready to roll in a matter of minutes.

Did I mention that it’s free?

Speaking of FREE: I’d like to offer something for free as well:

Bonus #4. Frank’s Fancy Schmancy WordPress Blog Installation Service.

This is normally a $42 dollar value, but I want you to get that blog up and rocking – so I’ll offer it to you for free – zip – zilch – nada!

This service includes the installation and configuration of WordPress on your domain, a theme install and I’ll install and fine tune some WordPress plugins as well.

This service is:

My WordPress blog installation services are all about building things for people who want a nice looking, well performing blog without having to mortgage the house to get it.

(If you would like to upgrade to the Premium Installation – let’s talk – see below for how to contact me)

All you need to do in order to take advantage of this offer is:

1. Purchase your 12 month (or longer) HostGator hosting plan through my affiliate link.

2. Contact me here or through Skype (frank.dickinson) with your receipt from HostGator.

Then, boom, blam, pow – we will talk about what you want and get you going.

Easy peasy.

Your Turn:

Isn’t it time you get that much needed and talked about blog into the wonderful world of the blogosphere? Do you have questions about any of these tools or services? How can I help?