[Giovonny]

Guys,

I need your advice.

I have decided to start my own blog. Of course, it will be a game blog. Game is my passion. Girls are my hobby. I think I can help guys form and maintain the gaming mindset. I love this shit!

Here's my question...

Should I use Hostgator? Or Wordpress? or What???

I appreciate any advice that you guys have for me..Thanks!

Just what the world needs, another game blog

[Private Man]

Start with a free Wordpress account to get yourself going and to figure out themes. You can by a domain for later use if you want to advance beyond the free Wordpress account.

I'll tell you something, blogging is fun but time consuming. If you really want to grow your blog, you have to post at least three times a week with reasonably creative and thoughtful content. That's why you should with a free wordpress account so if you decide to bail out (many do, no shame in that), you've haven't invested too much in hosting and other expenses.

Good luck.

[Tex Pro]

(09-26-2012 03:55 PM)Private Man Wrote:  

Start with a free Wordpress account to get yourself going and to figure out themes. You can by a domain for later use if you want to advance beyond the free Wordpress account.

I'll tell you something, blogging is fun but time consuming. If you really want to grow your blog, you have to post at least three times a week with reasonably creative and thoughtful content. That's why you should with a free wordpress account so if you decide to bail out (many do, no shame in that), you've haven't invested too much in hosting and other expenses.

Good luck.

Is the free wordpress account a good bet if you don't want to be outed? Is it easy for someone to look up who is the author of the blog on a wordpress account?

Also, what are the drawbacks of using a free wordpress account?

[redstar]

Roosh's blog uses the wordpress platform but it isn't one of the ones hosted by wordpress.com (where you sign up for the free accounts)

Wordpress.org (notice the difference at the end) has the full wordpress software that you can install (for free) on your own server or an online hosting provider (usually not free). Certain providers make it really simple to set up - there are some that you'll see recommended on the wordpress site.

[RougeNoir]

Call it "the Approach Blog." That's a niche that can be expanded and it appears you enjoy breaking down the approach.

[WanderingSoul]

My two words of advice are to go super niche, like RougeNoir suggested, and to do one long post per week, as opposed to several per week, like most game blogs.

Go super niche and brand yourself an expert in that particular area of game. I.E. approach, text game, online game, college student game, etc. Brand yourself an expert and create products to sell to your audience. Release a free product to get people to subscribe to your mailing list so that you can market to them over and over again. Only send them quality content though, or they will unsubscribe quickly.

Most game blogs post several times per week, one thing I have not seen is a game blog that posts once per week, but with a long, in depth article. ViperChill is an online marketing blog that is really good, and he does this. Check this post out: http://www.viperchill.com/guest-blogging/

You could do one post per week, but really research and tackle that topic and make it the definitive guide for whatever problem it is. I.E. you could go in depth on daygame approaching a 2 set. Or how to identify the best places to daygame. Maybe malls are good, but are there certain places, times of day, days of the week that are the best? Maybe Friday at 12:50 by the Cinnabon is the best place to approach because girls are getting a sweet snack before heading back to work, and are in a good mood to have some fun on Friday night?



As for your original question, I like Hostgator for hosting, and I wouldn't consider any other platform other than Wordpress to run your blog on.

[el mechanico]

Is it the groupies that sealed it? I wonder if it's possible for rvf posters to have frequent female groupies. I mean dudes in jail have them so you know girls read this too. I wonder who's going to be the first guy to get a completely forum post lay.

[IainMuirs]

Use hostgator and then use the one click install on the hostgator control panel to install the wordpress software and get your own domain. Don't use the free Wordpress blogging platform because if you ever want to commercialise your blog or make money from it you'll need to move it over to your own hosting, they don't allow you to make money on the free blogging platforms.

Hostgator for hosting. Name Cheap for a domain. Install WP platform on hostgator control panel.

Definitely focus on a 'niche within a niche' like Rio has mentioned. Being just a 'game' blog will mean you're lost in the crowd.

What are your motivations for making the blog, just for fun or do you want to make money from it?

[Moma]

I will follow this, I've been thinking of doing a blog for ages but not sure about how to go about it and what to say. I can be very opinionated.

[Cookie]

Cool man, I look forward to reading it. My advise is this: Start with the free Wordpress blog and then purchase a site if you still like blogging.

Like Private Man said, blogging is incredibly time consuming. Despite this, it's still a ton of fun and a very creative and mentally stimulating activity.

I'm not sure if it's this way for everybody, but once I started blogging I actually saw my confidence and game skyrocket to new plateaus. Reading my site stats gave me a mini-celebrity feeling that boosted up my ego.

Also I've started making a second blog, about raves and electronic music in the Midwest, that I plan on using to build up a decent harem of women in every major college town (which I think is a doable goal). If my site takes off I'll write up a "manufactured fame" datasheet on here.

Also @Emech - In school today I was actually wondering if anyone on here ever got a bang from their posts. I almost guarantee that it's happened at least once, but I'm sure the dude didn't do a write up about it.

(09-26-2012 03:46 PM)Giovonny Wrote:  

Guys,

I need your advice.

I have decided to start my own blog. Of course, it will be a game blog. Game is my passion. Girls are my hobby. I think I can help guys form and maintain the gaming mindset. I love this shit!

Here's my question...

Should I use Hostgator? Or Wordpress? or What???

I appreciate any advice that you guys have for me..Thanks!

Just what the world needs, another game blog

[Rah]

Another vote for buying a domain and hosting. It's stupid cheap ($10 / yr domain, $6 /mo hosting) and the long term potential benefits are worth it. If you use Namecheap to buy a domain opt in for the free first year of WhoisGuard so your name and contact info are not public.

[Tex Pro]

(09-26-2012 08:17 PM)Cookie Wrote:  

I'm not sure if it's this way for everybody, but once I started blogging I actually saw my confidence and game skyrocket to new plateaus. Reading my site stats gave me a mini-celebrity feeling that boosted up my ego.

Also I've started making a second blog, about raves and electronic music in the Midwest, that I plan on using to build up a decent harem of women in every major college town (which I think is a doable goal). If my site takes off I'll write up a "manufactured fame" datasheet on here.

Good idea. My guess is that a traditional game blog will not get as many groupies as a blog that has "chick crack": photos of partying, tales of hook ups, etc...

Essentially, a Tucker Max type blog would attract quality groupies, especially if it is aimed at college girls.

[Architekt]

(09-26-2012 09:02 PM)The Texas Prophet Wrote:  

(09-26-2012 08:17 PM)Cookie Wrote:  

I'm not sure if it's this way for everybody, but once I started blogging I actually saw my confidence and game skyrocket to new plateaus. Reading my site stats gave me a mini-celebrity feeling that boosted up my ego.

Also I've started making a second blog, about raves and electronic music in the Midwest, that I plan on using to build up a decent harem of women in every major college town (which I think is a doable goal). If my site takes off I'll write up a "manufactured fame" datasheet on here.

Good idea. My guess is that a traditional game blog will not get as many groupies as a blog that has "chick crack": photos of partying, tales of hook ups, etc...

Essentially, a Tucker Max type blog would attract quality groupies, especially if it is aimed at college girls.

Once my game's tight to the point where that kind of shit happens on a regular basis, I'm aiming to get both angles on my blog. Game for the guys, party shots for the girls/groupies.

[Deluge]

Just start up with a basic wordpress.com site. Don't shell out cash for your own domain too early, that's what I did and now I want to change it so I'll have to buy a new one.

As Rio said, make it super niche. If you want to grow your blogs readership you're going to want to post at least 5 days a week and If you're not posting that often, up to half your hits won't even be actual readers, just randoms stumbling upon it off Google Images and such. The one super long post idea could work, but more likely people aren't going to be coming back often and spreading the word about your blog if you aren't posting all the time.

Ultimately the quality of what you write trumps all. Looking back over my almost 50 posts now which were done very irregularly (that will change drastically in a couple months), the good ones are still getting a lot of hits, while the crappier ones are ghost towns. I find it actually hard to tell whether a particular post and its insights are any good or not on your own (maybe that changes with experience), which is why I miss having In Mala Fide's weekly linkage selection around to give each post the thumbs up or thumbs down. http://societyofamateurgentlemen.wordpress.com/ is trying to fill that role now but without Ferdinand and all the neo-nazi book ads it's just not the same...

Also, have some posts written (anywhere from 5 to 20) before you hit publish for the first time. It'll help you keep volume up in the very early days where your more likely not to post for lack of having "things to say".

Ferdinand once said that "All bloggers are narcissists and attention whores, every single one. It’s a prerequisite for being here." You'll quickly realize he's right, and that's nothing to be ashamed about.

[Thomas the Rhymer]

It's not very powerful, but I really dig the weebly engine at weebly.com

I've read complaints about it because of its lack of features, but the lack of features is what I liked about it, it does only a few things and it does them well. The simplicity of it appeals to me.

I used to have a blog on a site that was based on the wordpress software and I found it a hassle to use and confusing, hence I switched to Weebly. As with any other website builder you can start off with a free version and then upgrade when the mood hits you.

[Neo]

Yeah start with wordpress.

[Architekt]

(09-26-2012 06:06 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

Is it the groupies that sealed it? I wonder if it's possible for rvf posters to have frequent female groupies. I mean dudes in jail have them so you know girls read this too. I wonder who's going to be the first guy to get a completely forum post lay.

Tuth already has many groupies, of both sexes. Here I have an actual image from one of them

[Rah]

(09-27-2012 03:33 AM)P Dog Wrote:  

Just start up with a basic wordpress.com site. Don't shell out cash for your own domain too early, that's what I did and now I want to change it so I'll have to buy a new one.

"Shelling out cash"? Dude, it's $10.

[Way Cool Jr]

When you start, on your first weeks, be sure to post frequently, people will have to get used to your style and most of them will not know what is the real value of your blog.
You should post frequently in the beginning, have some nice graphics and of course give value.
After some time you can afford to post a bit less, but in the beginning you have to make visitors wonder if theres' something new on your pages.
I'll be one of your readers if you start this, since I found your posts to be interesting and valuable.

[Giovonny]

(09-26-2012 05:46 PM)RioNomad Wrote:  

My two words of advice are to go super niche

Thanks. I'm gonna call you again soon so we can talk.

(09-26-2012 06:06 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

Is it the groupies that sealed it?

Yes of course!

(09-26-2012 07:53 PM)IainMuirs Wrote:  

What are your motivations for making the blog, just for fun or do you want to make money from it?

I want to make money, eventually. I know it will take years of hard work.

I want to advertise my services through the blog. I'm thinking I could also do day game seminars, phone/skype consultations, and eventually maybe write a book or guide or something.

I also have this idea about " interventions". This is private one on one coaching. I'm thinking I could come and live with a guy for a week or 2 and teach them how to eat, workout, and day game, as well help them formulate a fearless mindset.

I'm really just brainstorming at this point and thinking of what services I can offer guys..?

Much of my life is spent cooking, working out, and gaming. I know I can help guys get in better shape, get more confident, and improve their communications with women.

[WestCoast]

If you wrote a book I'd happily buy it assuming you put your best effort into it. I'll happily pay out $10-20 in support of anyone trying to improve themselves.

Bought all of roosh's books and Neil's book as well. Haven't read them all, likely wont read-em all but the act of trying to put something meaningful out there is hard enough to begin with. Get to writing!

[WanderingSoul]

(09-27-2012 03:33 AM)P Dog Wrote:  

As Rio said, make it super niche. If you want to grow your blogs readership you're going to want to post at least 5 days a week and If you're not posting that often, up to half your hits won't even be actual readers, just randoms stumbling upon it off Google Images and such. The one super long post idea could work, but more likely people aren't going to be coming back often and spreading the word about your blog if you aren't posting all the time.

As someone who has previously built, marketed, and sold two successful blogs, totaling over 210k unique visitors, and over 520k page views, I disagree.

Both Social Triggers and ViperChill, highly respected online marketing blogs, recommend and practice publishing much longer articles, less often, that really break down and tackle an issue. 5 posts per week can work, but so can one long (1,000-1,500) word article.

The determining factor is the quality and helpfulness of your posts. For me, I would rather read one article that tackles a topic in depth, than 5 shorter articles that don't tackle their topics as thoroughly.

Look at the most popular posts on ViperChill: http://www.viperchill.com/viral/

Longer posts which go in depth on a topic extremely well. This guy is an EXPERT in this field, much more than you or I will probably ever be. This is what he does an recommends, and for good reason.

These type of posts are much more likley to be shared, linked to, and go viral.

Why? Because a well written and helpful post of 1,000+ words is in general going to be much more valuable than your normal 300 word post. You can break down, explain, and solve a problem much better in a longer post.

Think about it, what will be more helpful to a larger audience, 3-5 short posts on approaching in grocery stores, or 1 long, 1,000-1,500 blueprint breaking it down step by step, everything from common problems, openers, how to isnta-date from there, whatever.



Either approach can work. However, I haven't seen many game blogs really breaking down a problem in a "resource" type post. In many other niches these are the types of posts that get shared and linked to most.

Quote:

If you're not posting that often, up to half your hits won't even be actual readers, just randoms stumbling upon it off Google Images and such.

The number of visitors coming to your site from Google images has absolutely nothing to do with the length of your post, or how many times per week you post.

Your images will rank in Google images by how relevant Google feels your image is to the searchers keyword, which would be determined by image name, title, post/domain links/strength, etc.

[IainMuirs]

Multiple people are telling you not to shell out on a domain and hosting to begin with, don't listen to them. Hosting from Hostgator starts at $3.96 a month and a domain is $10 for a year from Name Cheap. If you get bored with the blog or want to change the domain name later then so be it, you've lost less than $15. It'll be a hassle to transfer it later if you need to so just start off with paid hosting and a proper domain. Install Wordpress on your hosting and you're done. Someone mentioned Weebly. Weebly is dreadful. Wordpress is the easiest to use and the most powerful.

Quote:

I want to make money, eventually. I know it will take years of hard work.

I want to advertise my services through the blog. I'm thinking I could also do day game seminars, phone/skype consultations, and eventually maybe write a book or guide or something.

I also have this idea about " interventions". This is private one on one coaching. I'm thinking I could come and live with a guy for a week or 2 and teach them how to eat, workout, and day game, as well help them formulate a fearless mindset.

I would either approach it as a hobby that you're doing because you enjoy it or approach it as a business. If you're going the business route then you need a solid plan before hand and to work out how you will monetize it.

Either way you'll want to do some keyword research, understand how to do some basic on page SEO and get a backlink strategy in place. Go over to TrafficPlanet.com and you'll get answers to any questions regarding SEO.

[Giovonny]

(09-27-2012 01:30 PM)RioNomad Wrote:  

(09-27-2012 03:33 AM)P Dog Wrote:  

As Rio said, make it super niche. If you want to grow your blogs readership you're going to want to post at least 5 days a week and If you're not posting that often, up to half your hits won't even be actual readers, just randoms stumbling upon it off Google Images and such. The one super long post idea could work, but more likely people aren't going to be coming back often and spreading the word about your blog if you aren't posting all the time.

As someone who has previously built, marketed, and sold two successful blogs, totaling over 210k unique visitors, and over 520k page views, I disagree.

Both Social Triggers and ViperChill, highly respected online marketing blogs, recommend and practice publishing much longer articles, less often, that really break down and tackle an issue. 5 posts per week can work, but so can one long (1,000-1,500) word article.

The determining factor is the quality and helpfulness of your posts. For me, I would rather read one article that tackles a topic in depth, than 5 shorter articles that don't tackle their topics as thoroughly.

Look at the most popular posts on ViperChill: http://www.viperchill.com/viral/

Longer posts which go in depth on a topic extremely well. This guy is an EXPERT in this field, much more than you or I will probably ever be. This is what he does an recommends, and for good reason.

These type of posts are much more likley to be shared, linked to, and go viral.

Why? Because a well written and helpful post of 1,000+ words is in general going to be much more valuable than your normal 300 word post. You can break down, explain, and solve a problem much better in a longer post.

Think about it, what will be more helpful to a larger audience, 3-5 short posts on approaching in grocery stores, or 1 long, 1,000-1,500 blueprint breaking it down step by step, everything from common problems, openers, how to isnta-date from there, whatever.



Either approach can work. However, I haven't seen many game blogs really breaking down a problem in a "resource" type post. In many other niches these are the types of posts that get shared and linked to most.

Quote:

If you're not posting that often, up to half your hits won't even be actual readers, just randoms stumbling upon it off Google Images and such.

The number of visitors coming to your site from Google images has absolutely nothing to do with the length of your post, or how many times per week you post.

Your images will rank in Google images by how relevant Google feels your image is to the searchers keyword, which would be determined by image name, title, post/domain links/strength, etc.

Not sure how many posts a week I will do as I am just in the planning stages but....I appreciate you guys discussing the pluses and minus of both methods.

I really respect both of your opinions.

(09-27-2012 01:38 PM)IainMuirs Wrote:  

Multiple people are telling you not to shell out on a domain and hosting to begin with, don't listen to them. Hosting from Hostgator starts at $3.96 a month and a domain is $10 for a year from Name Cheap. If you get bored with the blog or want to change the domain name later then so be it, you've lost less than $15. It'll be a hassle to transfer it later if you need to so just start off with paid hosting and a proper domain. Install Wordpress on your hosting and you're done. Someone mentioned Weebly. Weebly is dreadful. Wordpress is the easiest to use and the most powerful.

Quote:

I want to make money, eventually. I know it will take years of hard work.

I want to advertise my services through the blog. I'm thinking I could also do day game seminars, phone/skype consultations, and eventually maybe write a book or guide or something.

I also have this idea about " interventions". This is private one on one coaching. I'm thinking I could come and live with a guy for a week or 2 and teach them how to eat, workout, and day game, as well help them formulate a fearless mindset.

I would either approach it as a hobby that you're doing because you enjoy it or approach it as a business. If you're going the business route then you need a solid plan before hand and to work out how you will monetize it.

Either way you'll want to do some keyword research, understand how to do some basic on page SEO and get a backlink strategy in place. Go over to TrafficPlanet.com and you'll get answers to any questions regarding SEO.

Thanks for the input IainMuirs.

Hostgator is so cheap that I think it makes sense to start there.

[el mechanico]

Gio read my "Genuis blog idea" thread. The guys walked through the process pretty much even though I'm stalled out right now..
http://www.rooshvforum.network/thread-11297.html