Who is behind Blog Set Up?
I’m Erica Douglass. I run my own popular blog at erica.biz. I received a lot of emails from others asking how to get their blog set up, so I created this site to help them–and you!
It’s important that you get your blog set up the right way, the first time. Our service does that for you, so you can be sure that you won’t have to figure out umpteen questions, install zillions of useless plugins, and muck around with your blog. You can leave that to us and just start blogging!
Why are you doing this for free?
We get paid a small sum from the web hosting company to refer you as a new customer. It’s a win-win: you get a great web hosting plan, and a free blog setup!
How quickly will you set up my blog?
Typically, once you complete our signup form, we will install your blog within 24 hours. If it has been more than 24 hours and you haven’t heard from us, please contact our support team and we will help you right away.
What plugins will you install?
We will install 8 plugins on your blog:
One plugin helps your blog have better search engine optimization–so your blog will rank higher in search engines.
We’ll install plugins that help build your readership: three plugins that allow your readers to email your posts to their friends; to print your post; and to Tweet your post to their friends.
We’ll install the best spam blocker plugin for WordPress, so you don’t have to spend hours weeding out comment spam and junk.
And finally, we’ll install a great plugin so you can shorten affiliate links and promote products on your blog easily.
What makes your service different from Blogger and/or WordPress.com?
Blogger and WordPress.com both offer free blogs. But they have huge limitations on what you can do with your blog.
WordPress.com, for instance, doesn’t allow you to run advertising on your blog, and doesn’t allow custom plugins and themes. This severely limits your income potential with your blog.
Blogger is owned by Google, which is both good and bad. My friend Jen from the popular blog Millionaire Mommy Next Door had her Google account disabled because someone hacked it. She lost everything…her blog, her email, her calendar. In Jen’s own words:
“The unthinkable happened. My entire Google account was disabled. This means my blog, my email account, my calendar… the whole shebang… are gone.
I have followed all of the available instructions, filled out all of the forms… and all I get back from Google is this automated message: “Thank you for your report. The account in question is disabled, and we can’t provide you with access to it.” I have no idea why. I haven’t violated any of the terms of agreements, so I’m guessing that someone hacked into my account.
I was aware there was a tiny, remote risk of losing my blog because I used a blogspot domain, so thankfully I do have backups of everything I’ve written. But unfortunately, I had no idea that in the process, I could also lose everything else Google-related, too. Therefore, I didn’t have backups of my emails, contact list, documents or calendar.
I trusted Google, therefore I kept critical and important information in Google’s online applications.
Apparently my previous blogspot site will stay up for a few more days. The bad news is that I can’t sign in to post anything new. This means that I can’t even tell my blogspot readers what has happened and where they can find me next.”
If you think it can’t happen to you, it can. And the more popular your blog becomes, the more likely a target you will be!
The best way to prevent something like that from happening is to have your own WordPress installation on your own domain name. That’s exactly what we provide here at Blog Setup.
I already have a hosting account. Can you set up a free blog for me there?
Since this service is designed for new hosting accounts, we cannot set up your blog for free on your existing account. However, you can set up a new account with HostGator (our recommended hosting provider.) You can then either keep your existing hosting account, or cancel it and move your current site to HostGator.
How much does web hosting cost?
It depends on which account you pick. We’ll walk you through the process. Basically, if you have one domain name, prices are as low as $4.95/month. If you elect to sign up for one of HostGator’s larger accounts that allow unlimited domain names, prices start at $8.95/month. Considering the potential for income and/or connections from your blog, this is one of the most amazing investments you will ever make!
Once you set up my blog, then what?
Once we set up your blog, we will send you some free videos so you can get started blogging right away. Blogging is easier than you think–let us take the pain out of it!