Now that you’ve done your keyword research, got a domain name, got a hosting account & changed the nameservers (deep breath!) You’ll need to set up your first website!  This is the good part guys!

I’ll get right into it.

1. Log into your Control Panel (usually located at http://www.yourdomainname.com/cpanel )
2. Go towards the bottom of the page and you’ll see a little smiley faced icon called “Fantastico” or “Fantastico Deluxe”. It’s under the category Services/Applications – Click it!
3. You’ll be taken to another site where you’ll see all the options where you can install some really cool stuff.
4. Near the top of the list on the left side of the page you’ll see Blogs / “Wordpress” – Click it!
5. If you’ve done this before, or if you’ve got other websites hosted on this account you might see other installations here.  No matter, we just want to click on “New Wordpress Installation”
6. This part’s important.  Use the drop down box to install wordpress on the correct domain.  If you’ve only got one, make sure it’s selected.
7. I usually leave the “directory” box empty and install wordpress directly into the main site directory.
8. Enter the username and password you’d like to use to log into the Admin area
9. Enter a nickname (I usually just put Admin, or my own name, or an alias etc), and an email address for the main user account. (This is the user account that will be used for your posts)
10. Enter the site name, and description.  This will appear as the title and sub title of your website on the top of the page.  You can alter these settings later but put in your idea for the site now.  Often the site name is best.
11. Click “Install Wordpress” and then confirm settings.  Enter your email address if you’d like the etails sent to your email.  Click OK on the next screen and you’re done.

Once you’ve installed wordpress you’re ready to access your site!  Visit your domain and check it out.  You’ll find now that you’ve got a website up and running.  Easy wasn’t it?

Check out the next tutorial to find out how to customize your site for the best ways to earn money from home.

2 years ago if you’d said to me “What’s a nameserver?” I’d have said “Ummm… someone who hands out names?”

Today, things are a little more clear to me.  Now you don’t need to know all the technology about all the cool things the internet can do.  In fact, I think sometimes it helps to just imagine it’s some kind of special magic!  This is where the nameservers come in.  It’s kind of like a bit of magic that tells your visitors where to find the site data.

Don’t worry, it’s important to do it, but not hard to do.  Most domain registrars will have an option just after (or before) registration to adjust your nameserver / DNS settings.  So keep your eyes open for an opportunity to do so.

Here’s how it works:

Website Visitor —-> Domain Name —-> Domain registrar —-> DNS / Nameservers —-> Web Host —-> Website Files —-> Website Visitor (views page)

Explaining this in words: The website visitor types your domain name in to the address bar… The place where you registered the domain gets the request for the website and tells the visitors browser where to go (ie, your web host)… The web host serves up the website files and the visitor is now looking at your page.

Sometimes your nameservers need not change from their default. This is the case when you’re using a hosting account provided by the domain registrar.  Their default will be to use their DNS server.

WARNING: Any changes you make to your DNS / Nameserver settings can cause an interuption to our service.  ie, your website might not be available for a time. (usually less than 24 hours)

I’ve often found that my service is back up and running within 5 minutes when I’ve changed the nameservers over to a new hosting account.  It’s usually not very long unless you do something wrong.

So how’s it done?

• First, you’ll need to log into your domain registration account.  I’ll use Godaddy.com for my example.
• In Godaddy.com there’s a link called “Show all my products” Click it ( in other providers you might find these details in “my account” or similar.
• You’ll see a list of all your registered domain names.  Click the domain you’re looking to adjust settings for.
• On this site you’ll see the Nameservers information and often there’s a link to make changes to these details.  On Godaddy.com it says “manage” nameservers. Click it!

Here’s the trick… you’ve got to know the nameservers to change it to!  Soooo…

• Log into your HOSTING account now and grab the nameserver details (These are probably included in the email you got from your domain provider when you signed up for a web hosting service)
• They’ll look something like this: “ns1.jumba.com.au” “ns2.jumba.com.au”  – Obviously they’ll be different if you’re hosting them with someone other than Jumba! 
• Go back to your domain registrars site, and enter the details.  Click OK, and load up your website.  You’ll sometimes have to wait up to 24 hours for the services to propagate across the network, but in my experience it’s much less than that.  Easily 5 minutes and sometimes instantly. (especially if it’s a new domain)

You’ll find the raw file structure on the site and it’ll probably look a bit plain, but that’s all you need to get started!  Go now and check out how to Install a Wordpress Blog and you’ll be ready to start working online in no time!

Once you’ve got your domain name registered you’ll need somewhere to host your account.  Now unless you’ve done this before at some point you’ll need somewhere to keep the website files.  This is a server that’s online 100% of the time and available for visitors whenever they arrive.

There’s not much to it really.  Do a search for local website hosting so you can get service quickly in the same time zone as you.  If your service is supplied by email only then you can find that it’s a long time between emails if your site is not working!  Better to be able to call someone locally to get the help you need.

I use jumba.com.au here in Australia.  I read loads of reviews on their services and was happy with their reputation.

I also looked for someone who provides me with a hosting account that allows unlimited addon domains.  This is important to me because I have many small websites and do not wish to pay for them individually.  It’s much more convenient to manage them all in one place too.

Make sure your hosting account is not dependent on any other membership services.  Sites like sitesell.com (sitebuildit) and wealthyaffiliate.com both require a monthly membership fee to maintain their hosting service.  They offer “free” hosting for their subscribers but it’s sometimes hard to move the domains from their servers if you decide the membership is no longer worth the money.

Get your own private hosting service and keep your files protected.  Your hosting service (and your domain registration) details are your most valuable assets as a website owner.  Password protect them and keep the password different to all the other passwords you own.  (on that note, I also recommend “roboform” as a tool to secure your login details for the sites you join).

My final advice is to get onto your local forums and ask the questions.  What’s the best web hosting service provider for people in my area starting some stay at home jobs on the internet?

Registering a domain name can be a daunting first step for first timers. Keeping a few things in mind when deciding on the name, and domain extension can make all the difference when you’re trying to get started in a business to make money from home.

Here are my favorite domain registrars:

Domaincheap.com - Simply the best.  Very low priced .com’s and .net’s and excellent customer service.  Next to no time between service enquiries and even their hosting packages are well organised for the business minded.

Godaddy.com – Voted the best for providing every service associated with running a website.  A little longer on the turnaround for service inquiries but just as good value. Consider buying your domains here, but hosting them on a server who’s service is tailored towards business when your traffic has grown.  Great place to start with all the essentials.

Selecting the domain name is one of the reasons you’ll be doing keyword research in the first place.  Ask yourself what’s the common phrase or keywords used in your niche field? (I’m assuming you’ve done your keyword research already! If not, go and do it now!)

Selecting a .com is essential to get the most “respect” from Google and the other search engines, not to mention real live visitors.  It just makes more sense to get a .com domain.

Use your best keywords in the domain name.

If your main keywords are: make money, how to make money fast, how to make money now, make money today etc… then your common phrase is “make money”.  The idea is to attempt to get a domain that’s got this main keyword in it.  If not, something very similar.

Some examples are:

www.howtomakemoneyonline.com

www.makemoneyonlineeasily.com

www.makeeasymoneynow.com

As a general rule, shorter is better. If you cannot get the exact phrase you’re after, use a “-” to break up the words, but only a last resort.  It’s better to add another word than it is to use a “-”.

Use the bulk keyword registration tool on Godaddy.com to search up to 500 possible keywords at a time.  Take your time, and get one that’s just right for your angle.  It needs to strike something memorable in the minds of the visitors to your site.

A few ways to engineer some unique names are to add prefixes and suffixes to your words. (try Google search)

I found some good examples using online dictionaries and thesauruses as well as scrabble dictionaries too!

Another good idea is to use a term you can add page descriptions to, or descriptive sub domain names to.  eg, www.howto.com/ride-a-bike.html or www.ride-a-bike.theeasyway.com (sub domain)

The best idea is to get creative, think like your market/customers and have some fun.  You’ll be able to make money from home in no time!

Blogging is by far the most popular way to get started making money online now.  There are an estimated 4 million + blogs in existence now and they’re growing at a rate of about 1 new blog each second!

Let this be an encouragement though!  Let me ask you this: Why are so many people blogging now days?  Answer?  It’s EASY!

Gone are the days of web design by pure hard code HTML and manual uploading content.  It’s all web based now and based on some fantastic templates that you can even get for free. (some of the paid ones are better though)

There are blogs you can start at blogger.com  and wordpress.com and they won’t cost you a cent.  But remember, if you’re planning to make money from it you’ll probably want to host your own blog on your own website.  So go and register a domain that’s catchy and uses good keywords for your market.

So here’s how it’s done:

1. Do some basic keyword research to see if your site’s going to be in a popular field (so you can make money!) – Here’s a Quick Start Keyword Research Guide
2. Get a website (yep, this is where you either register a domain name [I suggest domaincheap.com / or godaddy.com] or you can start by using one of the free blogs on wordpress.com or blogger.com – Just sign up, it’s easy.
3. If you’re using your own site, you’ll most likely need these short tutorials too:  How to Register a Domain Name, Getting a Hosting Account, Changing the Nameservers, Installing Wordpress
   
4. Once you’ve installed Wordpress, you’ll need to install a Wordpress theme, then upload some Wordpress Addons (This is where it really starts to get cool!)
5. Once you’ve got the theme and addons configured it’s time to start writing!
6. Get back links to your site – PROMOTE!

I’ll leave it there for now.  Really, after that there’s not much to it!

Once you’ve set up one wordpress site, you can set up any number of them easily.

So how EXACTLY do you make money from blogging again?

Here’s the low down: You’ve got to get traffic to see your site, and the traffic will need to perform some kind of action that will lead to you getting paid (either directly, or over time)

Here are some of the most effective ways to monetize your blog:

Adsense

Affiliate Networks

CPA

List Building

Use one, or use them all!  I personally use Affiliate marketing and list building for best effect.  But I also have other blogs that have nothing other than Adsense on them and make me more than $5 a day (get a few of these going and you’re on your way to good cash flow!)