Melanie asks: Create a Blog or Website?

Melanie asks: “It seems blogs are all the rage now but I wanted to start with a website (have a little experience with that and a friend who can help too, so seemed quicker to get up and running).

I know blogs get traffic, but…

Can I still make a success from a static website – or is that a dying breed?

It seems its all blog talk now on the internet, and while my intention is to add a blog in the future as I get more knowledge… I just think there is such a huge learning curve with wordpress.

I just want to get my website up and content written and improve/add as I go along. But feel almost like it’s a blog or nothing these days? What are your thoughts on this?”

Great question, Melanie! There is no right or wrong answer here, but there are some things to consider. I’ll start by asking you a few questions to help you make your decision:

What software do you have to create/edit/manage a website?
How much experience is “a little experience” with HTML?
How dependent would you be on your friend to help you?

There are a lot of differences between a blog format and a static website. In the end though, it boils down to: good content, proper optimization and quality inbound links. So to answer your question, yes you can still be successful online with a traditional website.

The learning curve is a lot steeper than with WordPress for most people. Also, WordPress is heavily supported so it is very easy to get any help you might need. There are tons of free themes, free plugins, and free support forums to draw from.

I have a detailed checklist here: How to Create a Blog that will walk you through the 7 steps to setting up WordPress from domain name to customization.

Hosting is cheap, WordPress is free, and any web host with cPanel offers it as a one-click install. I use HostGator, as do many of my readers here, and you can get the first month for 1c by using the coupon code “wordpress” when you sign up. You can literally set up a great looking blog for about $10 – the cost of the domain name.

Benefits of Blogging

There are specific benefits of blogging that you won’t have with a traditional static website. In addition to it being cheap & easy, you’ll have perks like:

An RSS Feed
User Comment Feature
Listings in RSS & Blog Directories
Auto-Pinging Update Services
Automated Email Newsletter

Also, users are more receptive to blogs. They enjoy subscribing and commenting, and so it’s much easier to build a loyal readership and you’ll enjoy a good number of repeat visitors.

In addition to that, you’ll become a part of the overall blog network, which opens up opportunities of it’s own. You can bring on guest bloggers, get mentioned on other blogs in your niche, participate in cross blog conversations or blog carnivals, etc.

If your website idea is content-based, I definitely recommend that you consider using the WordPress platform. If you plan to include an online store with a shopping cart (ie an ecommerce site) you can add that separately on the same domain. Static pages and blogs can easily co-exist within a “site”.

How long will it take to earn $1500/month?

“What would you say is a reasonable amount of time (with hard work, but part time as I have to work still) to be able to earn your first $1500 month? I really would like to get out of the auction business within a year.”

When I first decided to make the transition from a service-based online business, to Affiliate Marketing, my initial goal was to consistently earn $5,000/month. I reached that goal within the first year.

Like you, I was still running my original business, and so I was doing Affiliate Marketing on the side – nights & weekends, basically.

At first it was all work. A serious investment of time & energy. But by the last quarter of that year I had reached my goal, and in the process had phased out my original business altogether.

I can’t answer that question for you, as it’s different for everyone. You get out of it what you put into it. But I can tell you that it’s definitely possible – and it sounds like you’re willing to make it happen.

Getting over the fear of… Getting Started

“I have read your tips about taking small steps to getting to your goals but to someone who at present has the fear to actually start the site, I suppose the fear of failure you could say.. and that of changing my business model, do you have any valuable insights to give me a push this Monday?

I have read a lot and pretty much understand it all and know I need to TAKE ACTION, but something keeps me from starting although I have done keyword research and roughly designed a website on paper and content ideas…”

You have to want it bad enough to just make it happen. Period.

Keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be. An idea is never going to earn you money. Taking action on that idea will.

So go ahead and get started, set up a domain name and hosting account, and start getting your content online.

Nothing you do will be “wrong”. Everything you do can be changed or improved. There’s really nothing to fear at all, except doing nothing at all. You’ll never regret trying something, even if you fail. And even from there, you can fix it.

The only regret you could potentially have is wanting something, or wanting change – and doing nothing about it at all…

Best,