MarketingWithRick.com

You can start a blog using a free service like Blogger.com or WordPress.com.  It is even possible to make money with the free blogs.  However, I highly recommend you start out by getting your own domain name.

Having your own domain name will make you look professional.  It is better to get your domain name at the start of building your business than later on down the road.  Disclaimer: Just having your own domain name will not make you a pro blogger.  You have to work hard for that title.

If you are go to place adds on your blog, some ad networks will not accept your site if it does not have its own domain name.

You will have to pay for the domain name and for the hosting of your domain name but you can get these pretty cheap.  I use Hostgator for my hosting and I bought may domain name from GodDaddy.com.

If you do it right, having your own domain name and hosting won’t cost you anything because the income from your blog will more than offset the costs.

To recap…Get your own domain name.

This weekend I spent some time trying to find a better theme for this blog.  Actually I spent quite a bit of time looking for a better theme.  I was looking for free themes because I am not ready to pay for a premium theme yet but I might have to break down and buy one soon.

There are so many different themes for WordPress.  I started actually to get a little stir crazy while looking at all the different themes for my blog.

Don’t get me wrong I like the TweetMeBlue theme.  I was just looking to see if I could find something better.  I also like the Blue Grace theme, the Dyna Blue theme, the Daily32 theme and the Phytom theme.

I spent soooo much time looking that I lost soooo much time being productive.

I need to get back and get focused on things that will help build my business rather than wasting time for something I could either leave alone or purchase for $80 or less.

Don’t make this mistake.  Find a nice theme and start posting and don’t waste your time.

I wanted to let everyone know that I finally have the 7 Days to Profitable Blogging guide posted and ready for you to download for free.

So I wanted to get this post up so you could give me your feedback for my reviews, I just hope I can help you out with your blog with this guide.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Just look to the right of this post and you will see how to download the free e-book.

Thanks,

- Rick

Setting goals without time limits is the easiest way to give yourself an out if you fail at building your online business.

The word goal is defined by Webster’s dictionary as “the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.”

How do you know how to get somewhere without know where the end goal is. Think about using a map. You need to know where your destination is so you can determine your path of travel. That some process works for setting your goals.

In order to successfully build your online business, or any business for that matter, you need to set goals and more specifically you need to set goals with time limits.

Think about it for a minute, would you buy a car if the dealership told you they do not know when your car would be delivered? Imagine your dream and thinking to yourself “someday I might get their”. Those are not goals with time limits.  You won’t get to where you are going without specific and timed goals.

If you are going to achieve success, you need to place a time limit on it. Having a time limit will force you to take action instead of laying around dreaming “someday I’ll be successful.”