I know that some of my regular internet marketing readers will be somewhat disappointed, but I decided to go with Weebly for my site. I did purchase my own domain name but I know that some will bristle at the 50-50 split with AdSense. But listen to my rationale first before throwing stones.
First of all, I don't feel as if I have a complete understanding of setting up my own site. I know that I could stumble my way through it, but I wanted to get something up on the net and quick before I got totally discouraged and lost momentum. I wanted to be able to focus on content.
Secondly, cost was a factor. Since this is a great unknown for me, I decided the cost of getting a domain name at $10 plus hosting at a cheap $8 per month is $106 for a year. I would have to make that amount back before profit began. My cost for a year of hosting at Weebly plus my own domain was $40. With a 50-50 split, I only have to make back $80.
With this arrangement, I am able to avoid the frustration of dealing with building my own site and getting frustrated. I can instead focus on content. I am getting more valuable use of my time. Plus the hurdle to make back my costs is much lower. For me, it was a win-win. Not to mention the fact that I was able to pay with PayPal which only had $50 in it. That was money that I had earned on eHow. So my "hobby" still hasn't cost me anything other than time.
Finally, I want to say how excited I am to report that one of my content pages has been indexed. The home page, about page, and privacy policy page had been indexed within 72 hours, but last night my first content page showed up. It wasn't the first that I wrote, but I am ecstatic nonetheless and am looking forward to seeing others show up in the next few days.
I have noticed that many people don't share the name of their other sites. I am not sure why that is, but I am tempted to share and post a few links once I get up to 10 pages of content. Please provide some comments and guidance as to why it may or may not be a good idea to share the site name.
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Your rational makes sense and I can see why you would do it like that - building slowly and thus reducing losses. I must admit I have never heard of Weebly but such a scheme seems like a good one especially when deciding to take the plunge. I will definitely have to look into it but well done on you for taking the plunge!
ReplyDeleteIn my experience I believe several people, particularly those who earn a lot of money, don't link to sites, incase the content or idea gets stolen. This is the reason many have multiple profiles on sites such as Hubpages as well (I must admit I am one of these people!).
Congrats on starting your own website. Weebly sounds like a good place to start, especially if you want to get the ball rolling fast. From what I read, you can always change your host later on if you wish to. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteSo you pay Weebly for hosting and also have to split Adsense?
ReplyDeleteSo, share your website with us! I'm this close to doing the same and need some "real" people websites to look at please!
ReplyDeleteBristolboy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement. I must confess that I don't make a ton of money, so I am not concerned that someone steal my ideas. They aren't all that great.
Thanks, Deanna.
Carrie,
Yes that is correct. I figure it is like HubPages in that I am paying for an easy to use interface.
Peg,
Head over to my HubPages profile. It is there. I will probably put it up here in the next week or so but will incorporate it into a post once I get some more content written.
The reason people don't share their sites is because you can identify an entire network of Adsense sites by looking at the source code and finding the Adsense publisher ID. From there you can find all the sites with that ID on it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'd love to see your new site. I don't think you are at risk if you show your site. You don't seem to have any professional rivalries or anyone who would want to sabotage you.
Jared,
ReplyDeleteI suppose someone could do that, but it won't do them much good now. I only have one site plus the stuff here and at HubPages with a little bit of eHow, Triond, and InfoBarrel sprinkled in. I will write a post and share the new site soon.
Yeah. You know my Trickle Cheddar site? If you notice, I pulled Adsense off of it for this very reason. Now they can't find the rest of my network. I may eventually monetize that one with affiliate commissions from tools I use. Maybe not. But the point is that people can't find my entire network now.
ReplyDelete