15 replies to this topic

[Nameless_]

Hi people...

I have decided to earn some revenue from Trap17's Kontera dual affliate system advertising thing and it was a while ago that I realised that I have to have my own website or something to get the revenue... at first, I though you only had to post... but anyway...

SO, I have decided to start a blog on making money online, or more of like my quest for it, and so, I have decided to make a blog!!! (I have actually planned to make this thread earlier but I really didn't have any time for it)....
But my question is... which blog should I make?

SHould I use Blogger? Or wordpress? Or something else that I have totally no idea of it's existence??? (For me, Blogger and Wordpress are like, the only blogging sites available... in this whole internet, though I really don't think that this is the case because well... it just doesn't seem likely that in the whole internet world only two blogging things are available.)

I will need it to be the most available to the search engines, and easy to put up ads on it...

I was also wondering whether I should use both, and just copy my material on both (or more) sites so I can gain the most from my material and I can compare the two blogs that I have at the same time... Also, is it allowed to put more than one site in the Kontera advertising and Trap17 affiliate partnership system into my account? Because I can see that most members, if not all, only have one or less websites running, but let's say I really want two websites??? Can I put them both into this system so I can earn revenue???

This posting business, I must say, is really turning me off, and I really don't know what to do... I can only use free website hosting, so I'm not allowed to pay anything for it, and Trap17, I must say, the the only free website service that provides unlimited everything, though I know of sites that give out more web space and bandwidth as their starter packs, with unlimited everything including SQL Databases, PHP support and unlimited sub-domains and everything with much, much less work, maybe even none at all compared to the amount of posts needed to generate enough myCENTS to keep up with your hosting... and plus the fact that we earn less as we post more really really puts me off, but I intend to use up all the money that I have earned on this site so it doesn't go to waste.

And because I like Trap17 forums so much... I am on a quest in making money online and I believe that blogging is one way of doing this...

So, if you can give me any tips or help on blogging (I've never blogged before, though rvalkass gave me a dummy thing for me to know what a CMS is all about, and I think it's just the same as blogging), I would appreciate it very much..

But first things first... which blogging site to use???

(Also, if any one knows how to get good web design themes for blogging that would be great. Thanks. Prefferably no scripting required because I don't know how to script or code...)

Thanks so much guys!!!

[mahesh2k]

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SHould I use Blogger? Or wordpress?

if you're serious about blogging then you need to purchase your own domain and hosting. also wordpress,joomla and drupal are good packages. you can choose one of from them. Blogger is not at all suitable for hosted platform. But it is also customizable and competitive to other blogging solutions.

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is it allowed to put more than one site in the Kontera advertising and Trap17 affiliate partnership system into my account?

Yes. you can add more than 1 website to your kontera network. only thing you've to do is generate separate code for every site in your account. so that they can track performance of individual site and create reports based on that.

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And because I like Trap17 forums so much... I am on a quest in making money online and I believe that blogging is one way of doing this...

Yes, blogging is the way to earn. but it is not that easy. you've to be in touch with lot of other fellow bloggers, PR, Press and other networking things. You've to keep eye on latest news,software updates and need to learn about CMS, other web2.0 software and services. You've to be more informative than receptive.

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But first things first... which blogging site to use???

You better refrain from using wordpress.com or Blogger. I suggest it is better to use mycents for buying hosting and domain. Then use wordpress to install on your site. then start blogging. just keep on writing about your topic. then pick up rhythm and try to make it more professional by keeping personal voice unaffected.

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(Also, if any one knows how to get good web design themes for blogging that would be great. Thanks. Prefferably no scripting required because I don't know how to script or code...)

Please be specific here about software package,so that others can help you. There are plenty of themes available for every package like wordpress, joomla and drupal on their respective sites. So you can get many themes and plugin on their official site.

[Nameless_]

This is, I must say, a very different answer from the answer that I was actually thinking of receiving... This is actually getting more complicated and harder than I thought... The main reason of me starting this thread is to make money online so I can host my other, actual, site that I had initially wanted to create, and I had thought that creating a blog would be free, and would not need any money on my side to create and generate the income.

But if what you say is true (and I believe in you, because you gave good information and evidence to support your opinion), then I really don't know what to do first. Start a blog, or start my website??? I understand that it is hard to change hosts and things, but I was wondering if it was possible to change my blog hosting from a free service, like blogger.com or wordpress.com and then change it to an actual hosting site when it generates enough income to support itself and maybe even a portion of my other site that I wouldn't have started yet.

I am not in touch with any bloggers at all, as I am new to the blogging world, but I know some sites on the topic that I want to write on about, so maybe I could start there??? I don't really know.

What I am looking for is a free service that I can use that can generate me a stable income stream that can support both the domain name (when it gets popular enough for that), and a portion, if not all of my other website(s) hosting needs on Trap17, so I don't need to post as much as I do... I am realising that while I usually make one dollar and more from two posts of mine, it takes around eight to ten posts to give me the one hundred myCENTS that I need to change it into USD dollars...

If this keeps up then I will need to post more and more and more just to keep up with my hosting and I know that this is impossible for me to do. Blogging seemed like a good way to go, but I am serious about blogging, but if being serious about blogging requires me to use my myCENTS that I was saving up for my other website, I really don't know anymore....

But anyway, these are some pros and cons on Blogger.com and Wordpress.com that I have found when I was diligently searching and rummaging through my local library looking for Guides to Blogging for beginners.

Well, Blogger is bought by Google, so Google will be more biase in letting blogger's blogs come up on top first, and wordpress on the bottom. Also, Google is the number one search engine in the world, so many people will be using google anyway searching for blogs like mine. This is very important.

On the other hand, wordpress gets more themes and things, and they also allow you to delete your pictures on your database, whereas blogger does not. If you put up a picture on Blogger, it will take up your "looks unlimited but actually isn't" blog and you cannot put it down to save space... I mean, you can, but there is no point in doing it because the picture will still be in blogger and you won't be able to take it out.

Theme is also very important in blogging because people usually take in first impressions, and first impressions are very important in blogging, so if you blog, make sure you stay away from the normal ideal, themes that everyone uses and get a unique one of your own...

ANd that's all I have for now, I guess... It is said though, that wordpress (the platform application, not the service) is a very good tool to start blogging... but, how do I start? I don't even know what a platform is, only what a CMS is...

Boo hoo...

Now I'm on a mini quest to find the best free (or not-so free) blogging service or platform thingy... You think I can use Qubis or some other random free host?

[mahesh2k]

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This is, I must say, a very different answer from the answer that I was actually thinking of receiving... This is actually getting more complicated and harder than I thought...

Ok. we'll go step by step then,you can ask question in format like 1)-2) etc.that will be much easier for us to answer. Creating blog is easy and free but earning money from it and owing content is tough. how ? if your content is hosted on blogger or wordpress.com site then moving it is tough sometimes and they can remove content if they find out if it is against their TOS. so i suggested you to use your own domain and hosting. so that it will work in your favor for longer run.

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Start a blog, or start my website???

If you're good at expressing yourself then blog is good idea. You can create static website about any other business anytime. But blogs can get you started in minutes and can fetch you many advantages later.

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I understand that it is hard to change hosts and things, but I was wondering if it was possible to change my blog hosting from a free service, like blogger.com or wordpress.com and then change it to an actual hosting site when it generates enough income to support itself and maybe even a portion of my other site that I wouldn't have started yet.

Yes. it is possible to transfer content from those free services to hosted platform. One more thing you can do is have your own domain and get those free host like blogger,wordpress to host it for you. But making money from that site will not be possible as many advertising networks reject blogger and wordpress.com hosted sites. So your domain and hosting is the only way to go for longer run.

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I am not in touch with any bloggers at all, as I am new to the blogging world, but I know some sites on the topic that I want to write on about, so maybe I could start there??? I don't really know.

No problem. You'll be if you read and comment on other blogs. Start with any blog that you read, comment on them. ask them questions. connect with their readers, comment on readers blog and ask them to comment on your blog. simple, this is how we all get started.

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What I am looking for is a free service that I can use that can generate me a stable income stream that can support both the domain name

Good. But first focus on establishing yourself first you'll create business arround yourself once you start blogging or any other service you wish to give online.

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and a portion, if not all of my other website(s) hosting needs on Trap17, so I don't need to post as much as I do... I am realising that while I usually make one dollar and more from two posts of mine, it takes around eight to ten posts to give me the one hundred myCENTS that I need to change it into USD dollars...

Lol. yeah, sometimes Mycents earning is tough. with all those spammers around,it is more hard to earn mycents. even i get turn off with mycent sometimes. but keeping patience to imprve myself and my posting.

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If this keeps up then I will need to post more and more and more just to keep up with my hosting and I know that this is impossible for me to do.

Nothing is impossible. Create good topics like you're always creating. have some good discussion, debate or something you can learn from. this way you'll earn mycent and will allow others to earn as well.

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Blogging seemed like a good way to go, but I am serious about blogging, but if being serious about blogging requires me to use my myCENTS that I was saving up for my other website, I really don't know anymore....

Do this trick then. register domain at first and use free blogging service then when you've enough mycent then buy hosting. and then move your content and let domain point to your own hosting then. what you think of this idea ? this will save lot of Mycent and will give you plenty of time to test how blogging works for you.

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ANd that's all I have for now, I guess... It is said though, that wordpress (the platform application, not the service) is a very good tool to start blogging... but, how do I start? I don't even know what a platform is, only what a CMS is...

Wordpress is available in both flavors. Blogging platform to host on your own. or service as wordpress.com. It's upto you to choose from. For you CMS will be the application that let's you blog.

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Now I'm on a mini quest to find the best free (or not-so free) blogging service or platform thingy... You think I can use Qubis or some other random free host?

Depends on your plans. There is weebly/blogger/wordpress.com without ads. But qupis will have 1 textlink ad. so choose hosts carefully. see the limitations of each host and then pick up one that suits for your job.

[Nameless_]

mahesh2k, on Sep 1 2009, 11:07 PM, said:

Ok. we'll go step by step then,you can ask question in format like 1)-2) etc.that will be much easier for us to answer. Creating blog is easy and free but earning money from it and owing content is tough. how ? if your content is hosted on blogger or wordpress.com site then moving it is tough sometimes and they can remove content if they find out if it is against their TOS. so i suggested you to use your own domain and hosting. so that it will work in your favor for longer run.

If you're good at expressing yourself then blog is good idea. You can create static website about any other business anytime. But blogs can get you started in minutes and can fetch you many advantages later.

Yes. it is possible to transfer content from those free services to hosted platform. One more thing you can do is have your own domain and get those free host like blogger,wordpress to host it for you. But making money from that site will not be possible as many advertising networks reject blogger and wordpress.com hosted sites. So your domain and hosting is the only way to go for longer run.

No problem. You'll be if you read and comment on other blogs. Start with any blog that you read, comment on them. ask them questions. connect with their readers, comment on readers blog and ask them to comment on your blog. simple, this is how we all get started.

Good. But first focus on establishing yourself first you'll create business arround yourself once you start blogging or any other service you wish to give online.

Lol. yeah, sometimes Mycents earning is tough. with all those spammers around,it is more hard to earn mycents. even i get turn off with mycent sometimes. but keeping patience to imprve myself and my posting.

Nothing is impossible. Create good topics like you're always creating. have some good discussion, debate or something you can learn from. this way you'll earn mycent and will allow others to earn as well.

Do this trick then. register domain at first and use free blogging service then when you've enough mycent then buy hosting. and then move your content and let domain point to your own hosting then. what you think of this idea ? this will save lot of Mycent and will give you plenty of time to test how blogging works for you.

Wordpress is available in both flavors. Blogging platform to host on your own. or service as wordpress.com. It's upto you to choose from. For you CMS will be the application that let's you blog.

Depends on your plans. There is weebly/blogger/wordpress.com without ads. But qupis will have 1 textlink ad. so choose hosts carefully. see the limitations of each host and then pick up one that suits for your job.

OK... I will try and keep this post as short as possible and try and not get people turned off from the vast amount of questions and paragraphs that they have to reply... thanks mahesh2k for your patience, by the way.

Not questions, but anyway, I'll put everything in dot points anyway, just for the sake of it in keeping clean and stuff...

1) OK, my ultimate goal will be to buy both my domain name and my hosting... and I know that moving things will be tough... so this is why I am planning to back up everything by copying and pasting my articles and storing it in my external hard drive that has 250G to fill... should be enough for years to come as I earn money to support my future hosting and domain registration and name...

2) I must say, once I get on a roll like this one I can't really stop typing, so I type until I lose track of where I began and stuff, so blogging will be a piece of cake to me... just like me posting all those extra longs posts that I usually do that only takes like, a few minutes of my time. So I'm dedicated to it.

3) I am not planning to create a static website... I am planning to make a live website with a whole community and everything, so creating a static website like a blog might be a good idea first so I can get used to uploading my websites and pages on the web and learning how everything works before I attempt anything harder than that... OK. So Blog's first!!!

4) OK... yeah... if many advertising networks reject blogger and wordpress then there really isn't anything to say, is there? The main point of me starting a blog is to earn money, so I'll have to have advertising networks that will accept my blog.

5) OK... Goal number two... get known in the blogging community. I'll probably have to make another email for all this...

6) Earning myCENTS is SO tough... you have absolutely no idea... I sometimes wonder how people do it... ever since I've joined Trap17 I've been like, literally sleeping in front my y computer trying to get one more post done... How can people like, post once a month and still get free web hosting from Trap17? And not to say that it gets harder to earn as you post more...

7) Woohoo!!! Yeah, I'll use your trick... but which free service should I use? blogger or wordpress or weebly or wix??? Or all of them??? That is the problem... I don't know if I use all of them, people might think that I'm copying myself and am just trying to earn more money... so I don't know if it's acceptable, and I don't even know if I can copy and paste my own articles...

8) Yeah... people usually suggest using wordpress's platform though... never really tried it before but I'll give it a shot when I can...

9) No, I've created an account with weebly before... they have a one link ad thing at the bottom of your site saying "Get a free website at Weebly.com" in this annoying bright white colour that I hate... there are plenty of hosts out there though, so I'll take a look and browse around. Meanwhile, I'll use the free blogging service that people use...

10) Anyway, back to the ultimate question... which free service? One or more? Or all?

Thanks in advance for this forum's patience.

[mahesh2k]

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6) Earning myCENTS is SO tough... you have absolutely no idea... I sometimes wonder how people do it... ever since I've joined Trap17 I've been like, literally sleeping in front my y computer trying to get one more post done... How can people like, post once a month and still get free web hosting from Trap17? And not to say that it gets harder to earn as you post more...

Hehe. i know that. it's just that my patience with trap17 mycent is increasing sometimes and i get turn offf sometimes. you can say my situation is fluctuating. so i stick to trap17 when i don't feel like posting anywhere else on the internet. i guess you're trying hard for it, and turn off with it's update sometimes. i suggest you to contribute periodically instead of staying for long hours.

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7) Woohoo!!! Yeah, I'll use your trick... but which free service should I use? blogger or wordpress or weebly or wix??? Or all of them??? That is the problem... sad.gif I don't know if I use all of them, people might think that I'm copying myself and am just trying to earn more money... so I don't know if it's acceptable, and I don't even know if I can copy and paste my own articles...

It's you call though. depends on your comfort. if free is all you want initially then blogger or wordpress.com won't hurt that much besides it's easy to copy files from them when you move to your own hosting. so go with one of them. in this case avoid wibbly and wix.

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10) Anyway, back to the ultimate question... which free service? One or more? Or all?

Avoiding experimenting if you're getting suggestions from more than 5-10 people. It won;t fetch much different results when it comes to blogging. I suggest blogger or wordpress.com. you choice at the end. Blogger is much better to experiment with HTML/CSS, wordpress.com is a bit restricted service. But both will take you off instantly into blogging world.

[anwiii]

if you are going to connect the two(your website and your blog), create the website first. this really shouldn't matter as much as what you plan to do for seo. always plan around the big picture. start in the center and work outwards. a blog is usually an offset of a bigger picture. don't start with the smaller projects and work inward. you will screw yourself up in the long run. i am assuming you are in this for the long run? but you also want to make a little cash in the short run? don't ever sacrifice long run for short run. they money isn't that great anyway to begin with if ya don't know what you're doing.

Nameless_, on Sep 1 2009, 07:18 AM, said:

But if what you say is true (and I believe in you, because you gave good information and evidence to support your opinion), then I really don't know what to do first.

[webishqiptar]

So you have written or explained your title badly. I thought you were starting a niche on making money from blogging. But I see now, that you were talking about starting a blog from which you will try to make online through KOntera publisher network.

Here are my tips.

1. To create a professional blog or website, you must previous spent some time on learning programming languages such as php, javascript, css and any other I don't remember to mention. I mean, you can just study them in a superficial way, just to get yourself in the process because if you don't really know anything about programming than you will be having constant problems. This is my first tip and most important, and this have to be your frst step. I am telling you this from my own experience, because I started things from the end and than had to start again from the beginning.

2. I prefer(maybe because I am really familiar to it now and know it quite well) wordpress blogging software(though they say it is a little slow blogging "device"), but you will have to check other very positive aspects of wordpress blog. It is easy to learn for a beginner and the tags are very helpful if you are not good at coding(though you still need it). The best thing I like from wordpress are plug-ins, and the way you can integrate scripts and coding together with wordpress, and still the blog software has constant updates and upgrades and lots of developers follow this platform.

3. If you don't plan to make your own design, you can choose blogger. It is maintained by Google and thus you will always have updated and lots of new structures to implement to your blog. Though you will have some limits, but still it can be fine.

4. I suggest you try to choose a niche which you are very familiar to, or are a proffesional at doing and writing. In general I like blogs about designs and about coding, tricks, hacks, wordpress, themes. So try to make your niche as detailed as possible.

5. If you will create a highly orginal, and quality content, and generate lots of traffic you won't need KOntera publishing network. You can try to get Google Adsense.

Edited by webishqiptar, 01 September 2009 - 10:50 PM.

[Nameless_]

mahesh2k, on Sep 2 2009, 12:15 AM, said:

Hehe. i know that. it's just that my patience with trap17 mycent is increasing sometimes and i get turn offf sometimes. you can say my situation is fluctuating. so i stick to trap17 when i don't feel like posting anywhere else on the internet. i guess you're trying hard for it, and turn off with it's update sometimes. i suggest you to contribute periodically instead of staying for long hours.

It's you call though. depends on your comfort. if free is all you want initially then blogger or wordpress.com won't hurt that much besides it's easy to copy files from them when you move to your own hosting. so go with one of them. in this case avoid wibbly and wix.

Avoiding experimenting if you're getting suggestions from more than 5-10 people. It won;t fetch much different results when it comes to blogging. I suggest blogger or wordpress.com. you choice at the end. Blogger is much better to experiment with HTML/CSS, wordpress.com is a bit restricted service. But both will take you off instantly into blogging world.

Yeah, I'm kinda lacking motivation posting at Trap17 just to make a little myCENTS, and more littller (sorry, I know it's not much of a word) as I post more and more... I am trying so hard for it, I sleep at like, two am in the mornings posting at Trap17, though you don't see many of my posts because they're just that long and they're just take that long to write...

I do contribute periodically, on a daily basis, so it's not like I post lots and lots on one day and none the next. I contribute daily and the same amount everyday, until I fall asleep on my computer and until my mum wakes me up and puts me to my proper bed.
I'll avoid weebly and wix... thanks for the tip though...

I'm now thinking of blogger because wordpress doesn't allow advertising, especially not Adsense when on most blogs Adsense makes the most money for them... Plus, because of the fact that Google biases on blogspot more than wordpress (because blogger.com belongs to google and wordpress does not), it's another bonus to make my blog known to the "blogosphere" (woo!!! I know some blogging terms now!!!) and attract more traffic.

Also, since blogger lets you change the HTML/CSS settings, it'll be easy to copy and paste some free blogging desingn templates off some random free templates place and give me a more unique but not actually unique look to my blog...

Thanks for the feed back!!!

anwiii, on Sep 2 2009, 04:26 AM, said:

if you are going to connect the two(your website and your blog), create the website first. this really shouldn't matter as much as what you plan to do for seo. always plan around the big picture. start in the center and work outwards. a blog is usually an offset of a bigger picture. don't start with the smaller projects and work inward. you will screw yourself up in the long run. i am assuming you are in this for the long run? but you also want to make a little cash in the short run? don't ever sacrifice long run for short run. they money isn't that great anyway to begin with if ya don't know what you're doing.

No, I don't plan to connect this blog to my website, because it will be something that is completely different from my website. This is just a long term income stream that I will need to use when I actually create my website so I don't need to post as much as I am now at Trap17, making like one US dollar (100 myCENTS) for around eight very lengthy posts - my style.

This isn't good for me in the long term because I will be getting busier and busier as I get older and near my university entrance exams and the fact that Trap17 makes it harder to earn myCENTS as you post more makes it harder for me to cope. But this WILL be in the long term and I will persevere with this, no matter what. I'm sick of myself quitting before I have ever finished anything, and I have promised myself to not break this goal and I will not break this promise, no matter what.

And it WILL be in the long run, I promise.

webishqiptar, on Sep 2 2009, 08:48 AM, said:

So you have written or explained your title badly. I thought you were starting a niche on making money from blogging. But I see now, that you were talking about starting a blog from which you will try to make online through KOntera publisher network.

Here are my tips.

1. To create a professional blog or website, you must previous spent some time on learning programming languages such as php, javascript, css and any other I don't remember to mention. I mean, you can just study them in a superficial way, just to get yourself in the process because if you don't really know anything about programming than you will be having constant problems. This is my first tip and most important, and this have to be your frst step. I am telling you this from my own experience, because I started things from the end and than had to start again from the beginning.

2. I prefer(maybe because I am really familiar to it now and know it quite well) wordpress blogging software(though they say it is a little slow blogging "device"), but you will have to check other very positive aspects of wordpress blog. It is easy to learn for a beginner and the tags are very helpful if you are not good at coding(though you still need it). The best thing I like from wordpress are plug-ins, and the way you can integrate scripts and coding together with wordpress, and still the blog software has constant updates and upgrades and lots of developers follow this platform.

3. If you don't plan to make your own design, you can choose blogger. It is maintained by Google and thus you will always have updated and lots of new structures to implement to your blog. Though you will have some limits, but still it can be fine.

4. I suggest you try to choose a niche which you are very familiar to, or are a proffesional at doing and writing. In general I like blogs about designs and about coding, tricks, hacks, wordpress, themes. So try to make your niche as detailed as possible.

5. If you will create a highly orginal, and quality content, and generate lots of traffic you won't need KOntera publishing network. You can try to get Google Adsense.

I don't exactly plan to make my own desingn... so I'll stick with blogger.com. Also, it will be advantageous to me in my previous reply to mahesh2k, as well as the fact that it is easy to move my files onto my own hosting website and domain when I get one. Well, I was thinking at first to make a blog about making money online, but I am now also thinking of making one on random current affairs... now I'm just stuck on thinking on the name because the name of your site is crucial to your blogging experience and the money that you make that will come rolling in when you generate traffic...

I must say that I have borrowed lots and lots and lots of books on programming from the library and none of it helps... I only know HTML, but I really don't know how to use CSS to make it look fancier. So I'll just stick with normal design templates...

The thing is, I really can't choose a niche that I am familiar to, because it is about psychic abilities, and after awhile, you will eventually run out of things to say... the only thing that you can do with psychic abilities is to make an online community about it, and that is exactly what I am planning to do once I've gotten my income stream from my blog(s)... And I can't do anything about designs and about coding, tricks, hacks, wordpress, themes, etc because I really don't know anything about it... so yeah. Also, some topics earn more than others so I'll have to take a look at that too...

And I will use the Kontera publishing network... because I can earn a portion of Trap17's revenue too. And that's one of the main points of me starting my blog in the first place... though it'll probably downgrade my blog after a while, so I'll have to take that off after a while...

ANyway, I'm in a hurry so this isn't much of my quality posts that I usually make... I'll wait for your replies and if there arent' any by the time I get back from dinner I'll start on my blog on blogger.com...

Thanks for all the feedback and keep them coming!!!

(Argh... my head is hurting from the possibilities of naming my blog(s))

[mahesh2k]

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And I will use the Kontera publishing network... because I can earn a portion of Trap17's revenue too. smile.gif And that's one of the main points of me starting my blog in the first place... though it'll probably downgrade my blog after a while, so I'll have to take that off after a while...

Actually he is right that, when your blog grows then it is beneficial to have Google adsense. Why ? cause Kontera ads are embeded in content and is not good when your blog fetch tons of traffic in that case, Google adsense performs better. Although you can use both these ad networks but seriously, using too much ads on blog/site will be not in favor of your site. And it will look cluttered. So at start Kontera is fine, but when your traffic grows it is better to go with Google adsense or other banner ad based ads.

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I must say that I have borrowed lots and lots and lots of books on programming from the library and none of it helps... I only know HTML, but I really don't know how to use CSS to make it look fancier. So I'll just stick with normal design templates...

I suggest you to use W3schools online tutorials. It is very easy to learn languages from their tutorials. Even PHP and SQL tutorials are there with HTML/CSS/XML. And learning from their tutorial is much better than those "Dummies fo xx language" type books. Other than that start asking questions whenever you start learning new language. this will help you clear queries and people on internet can point you to many other resource which you never explored before.