Why It is Imperative to Buy Your .COM
If you do not own your domain you will not be able to reach your full potential as a blogger!
One thing I have learned as the founder of the Mom Bloggers Club is many mom bloggers still rely on having .blogspot or .wordpress blogs. That, my friends, is not good enough! WordPress and Blogger among other blog platforms have created an easy path to blogging, but you have to take the next step and secure a domain name, no questions asked!
Sure, buying a domain name costs money, but in the long run it will cause you to lose money that you could potentially earn if you don’t buckle down and buy a domain name. Let me explain.
Brands understand that bloggers who at least buy their own domain name are serious about their blogs as a business and will be more apt to work with you not only to review their products, but to also potentially hire you for brand work.
Additionally, if you continue to have a .blogspot or .wordpress domain name you are severely limiting your brand. Someone may have the same blog name as yours, but because you didn’t buy the domain name you are cheating yourself from locking in your brand. Most people even buy the .net, .biz, and .org versions of their domain name as well to make sure no one else owns their domain in any iteration.
I know the economy is weak right now and $10 – $15 can be easily spent elsewhere, but if you want to have a greater blogging and business presence buying your domain name is a must. There really is no way around it.
Here’s how to buy your domain name on Blogger.
Go to your dashboard. Click settings and then click publishing. You can buy a domain name for $10 with Google Checkout. Google Checkout accepts all major credit and debit cards.
Here’s how to buy your domain name on WordPress.
Go to your dashboard. Click on store and then domain. You can purchase a domain name for $5 and mapping for $12. The total is $17. You can purchase your domain name through PayPal and all major credit cards.
If you have any questions about purchasing a domain, please a comment and I’ll be happy to answer.
I have been debating this question. I am not that big into monetizing my blog but I have had people approach me saying that I should move to a .com instead of a blogspot. My main problem is that I would lose my PR. I am a PR3 right now and it has taken me some time to get there. Google PR kept jumping back and forth with it. Just not sure it is worth it for me.
I totally agree. A self hosted site seems more professional and says that you have a vested interest. It definitely makes a difference to me when I’m thinking about partnering with someone of having them write on my blog.
I have thought about doing this, however it is a big hassle once you already well established as a blogger and have so many followers. I cannot begin to even think about having to change all my links to all the sites I frequent and belong to.. Just thinking about it is giviing me anxiety.
It’s really not that hard. You can point your .blogspot to your .com and it will just re-route every click quickly.
You might lose google PR, but it’s not too bad at all.
I recently purchased my domain name with Blogger and I’m so glad I did. Everything reroutes to my new domain name so I haven experienced any adverse affects other than one day of ZERO Page Rank. When I checked my page rank the next day, it was back to normal. So it was fairly hassle-free. Since then, I’ve been approached a LOT more for giveaways and websites interested in working with my blog. $10.00 is a little investment that goes a long ways. I figured I made up for that ten dollar yearly investment already with the work I’ve been doing.
I highly suggest it.
I’ve had my own domain for two years and haven’t looked back, it definitely makes a difference at how brands perceive you – even though monetizing my blog was never my goal. But at least I’ve had steady growth, a fleeting love affair with reviews and giveaways, and a renewed true love for good content – even more so personal content that most readers tend to come back to over and over.
I agree. Perception is everything.
I’ve been telling my clients to buy their domain and host their blogs themselves for years. Hosting can be a little costly but most hosting sites offer an affiliate link and you can easily make up the cost of hosting for a year by putting their badge on your site. I’ve made my hosting fees back 20 times over this year alone by placing their badge on my sidebar.
@LaTonya it shouldn’t have cost more than the domain fee but Go Daddy has tons of adds ons (I don’t recommend them and I build websites). If you install WordPress you don’t have to mess around with the HTML as they have a visual editor that looks and acts just like the WordPress.com editor or very similar to Blogspot.com editor. However, all you have to do is purchase the domain and then redirect the blogspot blog to the new .com.
On a side note, I have noticed that a lot of companies are offering opportunities with the express exception that the opp is for those NOT on a .blogspot.com or .wordpress.com blog.
If you are serious about earning a living with your blog or website you will need to invest a minimal amount of money and a lot of time into the endeavor.
I’ve found it to be well worth the small investment.
I just bought my own domain, I don’t really have a huge following but it’s easier to direct people to my site, and it’s MINE!
Jessa Dobbs
http://www.onceamom.com
It’s funny because I haven’t seen that impact at all! That being said, I don’t ever plan to monetize my blog so I don’t worry about it from that standpoint. Maybe someone I’ll change my mind so I do see the benefit (if only to secure your name so noone else can take it!)
I actually did buy a .com a few months back, but found that the fee to buy the domain was just the beginning (I bought from godaddy). I had to build the site (using html, etc). I called tech support and they told me more services I could buy to help me set it up, but I decided it just wasn’t worth the hassle. I can see how, for those with the technical computer expertise, it would be a good thing.
I’m so glad I did. It was one of the best things I could have done for my brand. Now I’m goint to look into the .net, .biz and .org of my name. I want all roads to lead to ME!
This is why I decided to self host. Once I build a readership, I want full control over my content. I do think it shows advertisers that you are invested in your blog as well. For now though, I need to write. Content is king and blogs that only cater to their potential advertisers are boring to read, IMO.