Yvonne Foong

Should I just use Wordpress, or should I install a separate photoblogging platform? Hmmm…. tough question. Photoblogs use database, which is convinient for hosting migration, right?

Writing styles have sparked much discussions lately. I’ve written about what constitutes to good writing, so I’ll move on to good blogging which is more of a concern here. To me, guidelines are set for professional blogging, if you’re not into it, then you shouldn’t bother arguing at an instant. Instead, ponder on it for some time before coming back with your own valid opinions.

Its a fact that popular blogs with good content consist of very peculiar, accurate and specific writing. Famous and high traffic blogs like JeffOoi.com, Liewcf.com and even TimYang.com have very minimal text. Basically, any post longer than 250 words may bore readers.

Since most of us scan texts instead of reading, the safest route is to hit the target right away. Over-elaboration is far worse than understatement. However, one-liners are also to be avoided. If you’ve got something to say, then spill it all out. Don’t leave readers with questions. Make your sentences detailed with the least amount of words possible.

And most importantly, be original. Don’t just quote but share your personal opinions. Nothing turns people off easier than copycaters.

Treat your readers like they’re at the verge of renewing their monthly subscription, write something worth paying for, regardless of where you’re heading, because you never know where you’ll end up one day.

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This is a reply to one of my reader’s interest in my creative-weblogging subject. She would like to know of how to go about setting up a new weblog using her own webspace. So here goes a short little guide for the newbies.

Choosing a niche topic
This has previously been discussed in one of my earlier blogposts here. Unless you wish to blog about your personal life and have no interest to earn some extra dollars, I’d suggest that you pick a theme for your blog and stay close to the main subject. This is especially essential if you intend to earn a profit from you blog through advertising and Google adsense. Having a niche topic will invite a specific group of readers, who are more likely to click on the relevant ads on your blog.

Choose the right domain name
Be sure that the domain name you decide to use reflects the content of your website. For example, if you have a book review blog, you won’t want to name it “my opinions” or “book shrine”. Instead, names like, “bookreview” or “all-about-books” suggests the right idea to visitors. Having an appropriate domain name also increases the traffic to your website. I’m sure you don’t want people to surf onto you blog but only to go off instantly.

Buy a webhosting account
There are a LOT of webhosting companies out there competing to sell their hosting packages. Prices drop all the time so make sure that you shop around for the bestEST deal. But don’t just pick one that is ridiculously cheap either. If you know someone experienced in this, ask for their recommendations and you might land yourself with a reliable hosting company. Some packages can be downright cheap, because their reputations are tarnished for some reasons. Query around in other blogs or public forums and you’d get heaps of useful opinions.

It is also important to decide on the amount of webspace that you will need. If your weblog is nothing bombastic, then a little 50mb will be just enough. But if you intend to store picture files and other medias in your webspace, then you might want to consider getting more from anywhere between 100mb to beyond 300mb.

Common features in a good hosting package includes all of the following:

1. 1 or more database
2. mySQL and PHP scripting allowed
3. at least 10GB monthly bandwidth. The more, the better.

There are also some preferences that you might want to consider

1. Control Panel: CPanel is known to be more user-friendly than Plesk
2. 2 domain hosting: Just incase if you need an extra domain name.
3. MailingList: This feature is ideal for probloggers to keep in touch with their readers.
4. You might also want to decide on its type of server. Windows, Linux, Intel? But personally, I don’t seem to find much difference in them.

Purchase your domain name
Prices of domain names can range anywhere between US$8.00 to US$10.00. Generally, common domain extensions such as .com .net and .org are cheaper than .net.my, .biz and so on. You might also want to note the ability of domain name forwarding and masking. I suggest GoDaddy because they have the most competitive prices so far.

Once you have made your purchase, ask your webhosting provider for their Dynamic Name Server address to be attached to your domain name. Doing this will allow your website to load when the your url is called upon in your web browser.

Looks like this webpost is getting very long so I’ll have to continue this another time. As for now, you might want to purchase your hosting first before I move on. Feel free to e-mail me if you are unclear about anything.

I am happy that my first blogpost about webhosting attracted some interests in people. Perhaps this is indeed a good niche topic after all and the folks at creative-weblogging are right about it. Well, this is not a bad thing since that I can now blog about my own niche topics in the PPS weblog. Anyway… someone asked me to recommend her a reliable webhost but have yet to email me personally. After much thinking, I might as well just post it up here for the benefits of everyone.

My webhost company is www.mercumaya.net, with a server in Cyberjaya. They have a few packages with different features and mine is the cheapest, good enough for personal use.

At just RM8.40 per month, you get..

1. 200mb disk space
2. 20 GB monthly bandwidth
3. host up to 2 domain names
4. unlimited subdomains
5. 1 database
6. PHP, mySQL
7. hosted on Intel server

and many more features. Click here to find out more.

They are also having a limited time offer for those with a tight budget. But the features are also very much of a budget.

RM50 a year comes with…

1. 20mb hosting space
2. 5GB monthly bandwidth
3. 2 email accounts
4. 1 mySQL database
5. PHP support
6. 1 free domain name

20mb webspace may be very little but at least, you will get a free domain name. If you just want to host a blog and nothing more, then this is a solution for you.

Mercumaya suggested that I become their affiliate and earn commissions from the sales that I gain but there is an intial deposit of RM10. I don’t really like this idea because if a purchase is made through me, then I am actually doing them a favor. So why must I pay? However, this won’t be a reason to turn my back on them, and I will continue to recommend people to them as long as I still think that their service is up-to-standard and the prices are reasonable.

Just as I am planning onto becoming a problogger, Darren wrote an interesting article on his blog about the principles of choosing a blog topic, which is the ultimate trick for success in problogging. Basically, its what you choose to blog about that matters. Its important that what you are writing is profitable and has little competition. For example, the topic of “scuba diving” earns more than “aquatic sports” because “scuba diving” is narrower and exact. Do a lot of research on your choice of topic and be sure to note the demand for your topic to ensure ongoing readership. But don’t choose a topic that is too common either, you don’t want you readers to rather read elsewhere.

There are a lot more factors that you should look into before setting your foot onto a new venture, such as, availability of content and revenue streams. If problogging is in the back of your mind, then you should very well read Darren’s blogpost. I bet you that its very intriguing. Then, I might as well add this anyway. For those who doubt Darren’s credibility on problogging, his blog at www.problogger.net was slashdotted last Sunday with an increase of 33,000 visitors that earned him a total of US$1,004 on that day alone. Isn’t that terrific? So you want to know his secret? Hop over to his blog, but don’t forget to come back here. :-Þ

I’m trying out my hands in niche topics, and I picked webhosting to start with. The demands for webhosting is rising high these days especially by serious bloggers, because a personalised domain name gives a website its own identity. Paying for your own webspace gives you full control of your website, and that means no advertisements hogging part of the page. Good hosting plans also come with extras such as database, scripting and programming languages support. All these are not available in free hosting services and you can’t really do much without storing your image files somewhere.

Even if you’re just a blogger, purchasing your own webspace is still advantage. Firstly, you can install whatever blogging platform you want. MovableType? Wordpress? B2? Just as long as your webhosting come with mySqL and PHP, you’re all set to install any blogging software you want.

But ofcourse, when the demand rises, supply will multiply as well. There are a lot of webhosting companies out there, with very competitive prices and offer. As a smart consumer, one oughts to be careful when shopping for a webhost. No matter how good a package may be, bear in mind of your own needs. Avoid paying extra for things that you don’t really need. Don’t just jump the gun when you see one you like, look further and you’ll be surprised to find more better deals.