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Web hosting is important when it comes to starting a website. For me, web hosting service more than just plain important as it is my partner who I will work along for a long time and this is also one of the factors that will determine my website success rate.
A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server owned or leased for use by clients, as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center.
Source: Wikipedia
Everyone has different opinion when it comes to the term ‘best web hosting’. In my books, the best web hosting company consists of:
Customer service and support
The truth behind server uptime
Control panels with very low learning curve
Affordable price or hosting plans
Security features provided
Before we proceed, what does it takes to be the best web hosting plan for you?
What attributes make a web hosting great?
Which web hosting do you think PSY uses?
#1 Down right customer service and support
A great web hosting company consist of service and support. I am no developer and I have very limited knowledge in those IT related stuffs. Therefore, my web hosting company works as a support team who will provide me with essential information and ways to solve an issue.
I don’t expect them to solve all the problems for me but at least, they need to point me to the right direction to get support or to solve the problem. I really don’t mind getting my hands dirty if I have the required information.
Give the hosting company two thumbs up if they offers support via telephone, email or live chat. This is extremely important especially when you have a website that is down as you know that support is just one click away (or phone call in that sense).
#2 Secretive cover up of the server uptime
Nearly all web hosting companies around the world claim to have 99.9% uptime and guess what? Most web hosting companies doesn’t even live close to that. Seriously.
You: My website is down! OMG!
Support: Thank you for calling or emaling us. We are checking on the matter.
30 minutes later …
Support: Thank you for waiting. It seems like one of our partners is being hit by DDoS (or maybe, our servers are experiencing sudden increase of payload which resulted in the website downtime). We are in the midst of …
Two questions that might pop up in your mind right now; “What the hell is DDoS” or “So how long do I need to wait?”
The above sounds more than just familiar to me and this happens to a few web hosting companies I worked with, literally. Whenever we try to ask where is the 99.9% uptime as promised, they would probably say ‘this’ only happens once awhile, or maybe they have another 100 more reasons to tell you.
So, what am I trying to prove here? This —–> don’t be fooled by the ‘so-called’ uptime.
#3 Control panels for the less geeky
How many of you actually know how to navigate around using the control panel of your web hosting?
I bet 7 out of 10 would only know how to install WordPress and nothing more.
A good web hosting (or maybe the best web hosting) company should provide at least easy to navigate control panels and the most basic functions required for website maintenance.
Have you image using a web hosting company that takes 24 to 48 hours just to install WordPress into your brand new and shiny domain? Happened to me and it probably will happen to you as well. Trust me, that is really annoying!
#4 Go easy on your wallet – web hosting pricing
When it comes to choosing the best web hosting plans, price is definitely an issue. The best web hosting plans (for a single website) would easily cost you below $30 monthly and if you think it is bad, you are probably wrong.
Remember that you are not only paying to secure your website but also, subscribing to a better customer support plus services.
If you are looking for a long term partnership, you can even opt to get a longer hosting plan duration. Usually, the longer you subscribe to the plan, the more discount you would get.
Important tip: Please avoid going for the cheapest web hosting company or plan you can ever find. Cheap web hosting companies could be a huge security factor for your website.
#5 Web hosting that offers SSL features and eCommerce functions
These are two core features that must be provided by your web hosting company if you are running an online site. I believe this is rather self explanatory when it comes to website security.
You definitely wouldn’t want to expose your potential customers to the thousands of online security threats just by using a cheap web hosting that doesn’t support SSL.
So, what if you don’t run an eCommerce website?
SSL feature could still important for non commerce website. Well, it might not be that useful but it is definitely going to beef up the security matters for your site.
Finding the best web hosting company
With the above methods, I hope that you would have an easier time trying to figure out which hosting plan to go with. In order to find the right web hosting company that suits you, all you need to do are:
Do your research on various web hosting providers
Check for user reviews
Subscribe for a web hosting plan that fits your requirements
Avoid rushing to get a web hosting plan if you are not prepared
I have a question for you. Do you need some guidance on choosing the best web hosting provider?
Recently, I also reviewed HostGator web hosting plans and you can have a look at it here; HostGator Review – Possibly The Best Low Budget Web Hosting?
If you are looking for a web hosting plan that allows you to host multiple domains at a very cheap rate, BlueHost could be your best bet.
I certainly hope you enjoy reading this article as much as I do. If you like this article, feel free to share with your friends and signup for my newsletter using the link below!
HostGator serves more than just a friendly alligator. HostGator is one of the leading web hosting companies around the world.
Personally, I had been been with HostGator since 2009 and the experience is great. In this article, I am going to review HostGator web hosting on several categories such as the features, quality, support and value.
Let’s hope this will be a great review to help you decide on your ultimate web hosting service!
What is HostGator offering?
Unlimited web hosting
Unlimited disk space
Unlimited bandwidth
Using the world reknown control panel
1-click script installs
99.9% uptime guarantee
24/7/365 technical support
45 days money back guarantee
4,500 free website templates
$100 Google Adwords offer
Wow! The long is long isn’t it?
Want more? Have a look at this short video on HostGator Web Hosting services below.
HostGator offers close to ‘unlimited’ everything. With a small fee monthly, you are able to host multiple websites on just one web hosting account. Yes, there is no limit for this.
HostGator web hosting services – Quality check
HostGator has been in this website hosting business for years now and I got to give them thumbs up for their service standards.
Nearly every hosting companies in the United States offers 99.9% uptime but can HostGator actually live up to it?
My answer is yes. No doubt, there will be downtimes and that can’t be avoided most of the time. However, if you would like to know a number, I would say less than 5 down times (each of about 5 to 10 minutes) in a month. Roughly, we are talking about 7% downtime maximum per month on the worst days of 5 times and 10 minutes each. Of course, when it comes to reviewing, I got to see the worst case scenario.
In my books, this is very acceptable as I know there are other web hosting companies which have absolutely more downtimes than HostGator and more than you can ever image.
When it comes to website load speed, you can rest assured your sites are running pretty fast with HostGator servers. With the right website speed optimization techniques, my websites are able to hit as fast as 1.2 seconds loading time.
Pretty impressive for a shared hosting I would say!
HostGator support crew
When it comes to customer support, HostGator’s customers can contact the support team via phone, email and even live chat. Trust me that for a person who have very limited knowledge in IT and servers, having a live chat feature really puts your worries at ease.
HostGator support team are always willing to assist with your request as long as those requests are legit and do not exceed their job descriptions.
Recently I experienced something which was very good. I was in the midst of chatting with HostGator support team via the live chat and I was already running late for a meeting. They were kind enough to suggest that I could continue to communicate with them via email instead. A ticket was quickly created and thus, allowing me to explain my issue through email.The issue was then rectified within hours.
This is a very good customer service experience and I couldn’t thank them for more.
Value for money
HostGator offers multiple web hosting plans such as shared web hosting, VPS hosting, reseller hosting and even dedicated servers. The packages offered are very well fit for both low budget and corporate users a like.
For example, you can easily get a web hosting plan for as low as $3.96 per month and with the right promo code, you can even start with just 1 penny. Are you already tempted with it?
If you need a high end web hosting package for corporate ue, there are many VPS and dedicated servers which you can opt for as well.
Personally, HostGator web hosting is great especially when it comes value for money plus the excellent service provided.
Anything bad about HostGator?
Just like any one else, I had my bad days with HostGator web hosting and that’s the truth.
All of these issues or problems are very acceptable in my opinion except for one. When I am with HostGator, I had only one major concern … which is the backup schedule.
When you have a web hosting service with HostGator, there will only be an automatic backup for your websites once a week and that will only start if your websites have been hosted with them for more than 7 days. This means that you would have 7 days of worries to go with until they start doing backup for your website.
When it comes to website security, once a week backup doesn’t make the cut for me. I wanted daily but sadly, they are not able to offer that on a shared package.
However, HostGator will still does a backup for you (for free) if you would submit a request to them. This is an ad-hoc basis which means that it is not recurring and it is best if you could perform your own backup.
Other than that, you are basically stuck with the once-a-week backup plan offered by HostGator. This is only for shared web hosting plans. Bigger web hosting plans come with more rich backup features.
My personal review of HostGator (plus discount coupon)
For a normal web hosting, I believe HostGator does very well especially when it comes to low budget hosting. They offer a lot of flexibility for their customers regardless if they are novice or professionals.
It is definitely worth trying HostGator web hosting and with the 45 days money back guarantee, it is a great deal to start with!
Also, if you starting up with HostGator, remember to ask for your free website and domain transfer. For every new account (web hosting account), they will provide one free transfer and setting up completely for you. This saves you lots of time and you can be ‘easier’ with your wallet.
All you need to do is click on the link above and key in either one of these codes below on the checkout page (discount code column) to entitle for bigger discount:
HostGator Code for 25% discount on total bill: Reginald25
HostGator code for $9.94 discount on total bill: Reginald994
Starting a website – Everything you should know about!
So you decided to start a website and you want to start it right now. But something is holding you back … you are fearful about the uncertainty in the whole website creation thingy and you have no idea where to start.
NO WORRIES! I am here to help … or at least, let me share some info with you!
Important disclaimer: This article contains more than 3,000 words and 28 tips about starting a website. I know it is extremely long to read this and thus, feel free to bookmark this page and come back for more.
Starting a website may sound easy but why do we often hear many bloggers complain that they are not doing well in blogging?
In this article, we (yes … you and me) are going to discuss on the ultimate do’s and don’ts in blogging. And of course, important facts about which will affect your website building process.
1. Why do you start a website?
You want to start a website … I got it! But have you ever wonder why you want to start one? You see, if you want to start a website, you got to know why you want to start it.
Let’s assume that you have a plan. Sounds good right? Carry on asking yourself what’s the next step, say in the next 3 months or so. Can you answer that?
If you want to be successful, you got to plan. Yes, you read and hear other blogger talk about planning but how many of them actually practise that? Personally, I am facing the same difficulties to get along with my blogging schedule as well!
2. I blog for money. So now what?
Can you really monetize your website?
This term is extremely common among bloggers; make money blogging. You probably heard about others bloggers like Reginald Chan making tons of money from blogging. And … you are tempted like a hungry lion.
Wait … hold on a second.
I am Reginald Chan and I am not making tons of money from blogging. Does this mean that you can’t make money through blogging?
Well, I do make some money from my blog but not that much. You can make money through blogging and that is possible. Now, how much you can earn is another thing. Most bloggers earn few cents a day through Google Adsense and that doesn’t really make the cut isn’t it?
Fact: You can make money through website but don’t expect a windfall in just a short period of time.
You can start making money from your website but it would take time to grow. And of course, there are much more things to do then just “how to make money blogging”.
And if you think that you want to start a website to make money (solely), you are definitely on the wrong track!
3. The relationship between topic, keyword and niche in website creation
Now let’s assume you had done your work with #2 and #3. The next step is the most crucial part when it comes to starting a website.
You need to know what you are going to write. Yes! Now is the time to figure out what genre you are going to write, the keywords and niche for your lovely website.
The trick here is very easy. Let’s say you are starting a website on blogging tips. Here’s a little draft I did as an example:
Main topic – Blogging
Keywords – Choose 10 different keywords (maximum) <– Each keyword contain just one word
Specific keyword – For each keyword, choose 5 different variance of words (example, the word blogging could have specific keywords like make money blogging, blogging tips, creating a blog, blogger and starting a blog.
Once you have the above info, starting a website should be a brief! Yes, now you know how and what to write. Whenever you write, keep in mind these keywords and use them on your blog post. Just make sure you don’t over stuff them up!
This step helps you to figure out what niche and probably the name of your domain name associated to the keyword. Does this ring any bells?
4. Finding the right domain name for your website
Domain name is your website brand and you need to have more than just a good name. Could this be the reason why so many bloggers are puzzled about their domain names when it comes to starting a website?
It is best to choose a domain name which is closely related to your writing topic as it will offer a better chance to rank better on search engines. That’s why #3 (above) is important!
So, how about sites which are self-named like this one? In short term basis, domains with keywords would get ranked faster and better but when it comes to long term, it doesn’t make a different due to SEO and other optimization factors.
Therefore, choose one and stick to it!
For those wondering if you should get a .com or a .net, there’s no difference in it. Google still index them like normal. However, when it comes to human behavior, we are so used to key in .com instead of .net.
For me, a hosting provider is more than just a client – customer thing. It is my partner in crime for Christ’s sake! Hosting providers are the only one who is going to determine the speed of your website and as well as the uptime.
Avoid cheap hosting provider as they are dangerous (in terms of website security) and also reliability. I know many cheap hosting providers who claim to have a good uptime but in fact, your site will go down at least once a day!
This is why I only recommend BlueHost or HostGator for shared hosting. If you are looking for a secure and premium WordPress hosting, you must definitely give WP Engine a try.
There is pointless to have a website which is always down and not accessible right?
6. Choosing the right WordPress theme
Rule number 1: Don’t use free WordPress themes
Rule number 2: Don’t forget rule #1
Website theme is the heart and soul of a website. It portraits to your readers what your website is all about and there’s no other reason why you shouldn’t be worried about it.
A good WordPress theme offers complete customization, no hidden backlink or malicious codes and most importantly, website security. These are why you need to consider using the right theme even before starting a website!
There are many premium themes you can choose from such as Elegant Themes and My Theme Shop. If you are looking for a more customizable WordPress theme (plus easy to use), you can also try StudioPress (Genesis framework and child themes) and Thesis Theme as well. You won’t go wrong with any of these.
7. Planning the website layout properly
This part is extremely crucial. You must make sure your readers are not ‘lost in the Amazon’. Placing the right information on the sidebar will help reduce bounce rate and don’t forget that Google crawl sidebars as well.
Footer area is also a great place to add in more information such as contact details and latest blog posts. Bloggers such as Jane from ProBlogging Success said that her sign up rate increases when she place an opt-in form at the footer area.
8. The importance of permalink structure
Search engines such as Google and Bing love to index websites with clean URL structure. Being said that, it is always best to use /%postname%/.
One of the SEO best practices is when you use www[dot]yourdomain[dot]com/%postname%
The logic behind this is easy. Let’s take the image below for example:
Search term: Scribe Content
Now see the above. For instance, if I am searching for scribe content, a clean permalink structure will provide confidence level to the readers to click it.
Also, a good permalink structure is usually short and a clear example is as above. You can basically see everything in one line. This is excellent for search engine to index your site and a possibility of higher website ranking.
It is very important to start this in the early stages of starting a website as changing of permalink at a later time would means a complete ‘overhaul’ of all the site links. This will also affect all the link building you have made in the past!
9. Choosing the right plugin for your website
Plugins are essential when you are starting a website. WordPress is filled with tons of useful plugins. You got to choose and decide which are the plugins that you will install and use. Avoid keeping unwanted plugins in your database as they might pose security threats to your website.
Plugins will affect the site one way or another especially when it comes to website load time. It is always advisable practise minimizing the number of plugins used. There are many free website plugins are coded badly and therefore, always remember that keeping the number of plugins installed to the lowest number is the best practice when it comes to maintaining a website.
Also, uninstalling unused plugin can easily improve website security and at the same time, improve the site speed.
10. Categories make navigation easier
Readers dislike websites with no clear navigation
If you want to reduce the bounce rate or even increase the time a reader is on your website, you need to focus on creating categories. Imagine you have 100 posts of different topics and you definitely do not want to cluster everything into one.
Separate them into several topics with specific names. This makes finding an article or post much easier. Don’t forget that many people doesn’t use the search bar even though it is extremely visible!
11. The ‘about me’ and ‘contact me’ pages
These are two of the most vital things on Earth when it comes to starting a website. You want to make sure your readers are able to contact you if they need to or maybe, read more about you. You need to make it plain simple for this.
Place these links on the top bar or side bar. Make sure it is visible at all time and this is definitely a plus one for reader’s engagement.
12. Determine the writing styles when you are starting a website
When you blog, it is always a good practice to keep thing simple. The tone of your writing should be either coaching or guiding a friend instead of military style.
C’mon mate! How sure are you that your method will definitely work for them?
Portray yourself as a mentor or tutor and you here are here to help. When you write as a low profile blogger, you sounds ‘nicer’ and this increases the possibility of the readers come back for more.
Readers love to visit websites which are able to solve their problems, not about the author to talks great about himself.
I totally understand this. How many of us can write really good English? My country has three main languages and even though I studied in an English school, my English isn’t be perfect either.
The point?
Regardless of the reasons, you must always avoid making any errors especially with language. Keep in mind that anyone can visit your website regardless of location and therefore, proper English is vital.
A great blogging tip is to always check your blog post for any spelling errors. We are all humans and at times, we could easily overlook on such ‘innocent’ mistake. A simple spell check can help you in a long, long way.
14. Blogging is nothing when there’s no fun involved
Blogging … most of the time, consists of a wall of text. Yup that’s reality and this is where you need to make your reader’s entertained.
Remember that when a person reads, it is not the same with television where there are advertisement breaks etc. Blogging is probably blasting out 1,000 words with the hope that 20% of your readers will read until the end.
Therefore, bring the fun in now and you will grow your website audience.
15. It pays to be honest
If you want to be popular, stop lying right now. You need to tell your readers that they are reading the truth and nothing but the whole truth.
For example, if you don’t have 10,000 readers, why say so? Lying won’t make you famous but telling the truth will.
Don’t be afraid to tell the truth even if that is going to spark a controversial. Well, I am not saying it is right to do so but it is not wrong either.
If you dare to say that, then prove it with facts. Anyone of us can deny anything we want but when there’s fact, we won’t drift that far away … if you get what I mean.
16. How long should a blog post be?
Forget about the myth. What do you think of this?
You have seen successful bloggers who published many long posts (more than 1,500 words) and some who post less than 800 words. Which will you follow … or should I rephrase … which will be the best way to build a successful website?
Forget about what people say but this is the fact. The length of your blog post is nothing if you have no content. Write a long post if you have enough content to fit in. If not, anything above 500 would be enough.
Guys, there’s no recipe for this and therefore, stop finding for one!
17. Titles and subtitles mean everything for website visitors
If I would give it a guess, I would say 85% of the readers in the world are just skimmers.
Skimmers are people who actually browse through the site looking for keywords that might interest them. And they do not read the whole article if there is nothing attractive. So to say!
Opps, the secret is out. So, what you can do about it?
Headlines are important. You can easily play with H2 to H4 (heading sizes) to attract attention. Here’s some tricks you can start with:
H2 – Main title
H3 – Sub titles
Bold / Italic / Underline – Stressing a fact or keyword
The goal here is to ensure that skimmers stay as long as possible on a page. This is to ensure that the readers are occupied as long as possible at your site.
18. Build an email list the same time you start a website
Start building a mailing list right after you start your website is the best thing you can do
Some call this too early but look around. You need a mailing list and you need one right now. Building a mailing list is an important step for when it comes to website marketing. It doesn’t matter if you start with MailChimp or AWeber. You just got to do it right now!
A mailing list is vital especially when you want to promote a new post, product or even getting your readers back! Remember that with a good mailing list, you can connect with your readers and get to know them better.
19. Recipe to make readers sign up for your website newsletters
So, you decided with build a mailing list. Good for you mate!
But what’s next?
If you think setting up a mailing list is hard, getting readers to subscribe is even harder! Here’s a few tips you can start with:
Clear reasons why they should sign up for your mailing list
What you are offering to them
What the readers will get in return
Place not one but a few sign up forms on the website with a few Call-To-Actions
Make it as clear as possible (on the advantages of your newsletter) and you will hit the jackpot (literally). Need an example?
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20. Involving in the world of search engine optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization is techniques or best practices which will affect the website ranking. If you want to be on page 1 on Google, you got to know SEO.
Good SEO techniques are not mainly techniques! Instead, they are focused to understanding and SEO practices which makes websites and articles rank better on search engine result pages (SERPs). The more you understand about SEO, the better you will perform.
Link building is one of the techniques for optimization. You need to start building links (some call it backlinks) immediately after starting a website. A good quality backlink is worth more than 100 bad quality backlinks.
Authority is important in the blogging industry and when you are starting a website, you need to think about it. So, the secret to grow your authority? Write good great content.
Readers like you and me love to read articles which are jam packed with facts. So, start building authority with the right content and on top of everything, focus on your quality. You need to be known for sharing quality content and not just sub-pars one.
Wondering why you need to have authority? With authority, people are going to trust you and yes, trust your every word. You may say, talk or blog nonsense but if you have authority, your readers are going to trust you with that. Seriously!
23. Reader’s engagement is extremely important
Readers will come back if they are appreciated. You got to make sure that replying to every comment you received. This is one of the important steps when it comes to starting a website. Sometimes, a simple “thank you for your comment” can go a long way for readers.
I am using CommentLuv plugin which allows me to send automatic emails to readers who leave their comments here. In the short email, I will thank them for their time and offer to connect to them on social media.
For me, I would be very delighted when the admin of the site drop me an email (automatic is fine) to thank me for dropping a reply. How about you?
24. The holy grail of DoFollow and NoFollow
When you are starting a website, you want to make sure that Google and other search engines are not labeling the site as a link juice … you know, a site which link out too much.
This is where the DoFollow and NoFollow comes into play. You can get this done easily by adding rel=”nofollow” to the URL code and crawlers will not link that site.
NoFollow is great when you want to avoid abusers trying to get the best out of your website in terms of backlink.
On the other hand, DoFollow is an excellent ‘tool’ when you are thinking of building links between articles or other sites.
25. Submitting sitemap to Google and Bing
One of the key virtue of starting a website is getting the website indexed. In order to do so, you need to ‘tell’ Google and Bing that the website is ready. You can do so by submitting a sitemap of the website to these webmasters.
Indexing is a process where indexed posts will start showing up on SERP’s. This is where people start clicking and visiting your site.
Just signup for both of them is fairly easy and you just need to submit your sitemap. A sitemap is a directory where it tells crawlers what the website has and it’s breakdown.
Two tools to help you build sitemap are Yoast SEO or Google Sitemap Generator. Once the sitemap is created, submit the URL to Google Webmaster Tool and Bing Webmaster Tool.
*Note: Yoast SEO is a WordPress SEO plugin that have the option for automatic sitemap creation. It is extremely useful as it will auto generate sitemap every time you publish a new article.
26. Enabling Google authorship
Have you activated Google Authorship on your website?
Google authorship is more than just a pretty face beside the website link. It shows authority and on top of that, it provides a great deal of trust as well.
In order to get Google authorship, you need to:
Have a Google account
Link Google account with the website
Linking Google account to the website is easy and here are a few steps:
Verify your email on Google+
Link Google+ profile to your website or content
Link your content to the Google+ account
Once these are done, it would take a few days for Google to start indexing it. After that, you will get this:
Google Authorship plays a great role in terms of SEO
Do you see the image beside the post? That’s Google Authorship. You should start linking Google authorship immediately after you start your website.
27. Starting a website and monetizing it?
Starting a website is easy but monetizing it is hard. This is why you need to make sure that you monetize the website the right way. For starters, you should start by doing the ‘slow-mo’ strategy.
This means that in order to monetize the website, you need to do it slowly and with the right method. For starters, you can start by doing small advertising with Google Adsense.
When traffic picks up, you should (or consider) shifting some of your website monetization to affiliate programs. Selling an affiliate product can earn you more than $20 and at times, more than $100.
If you are looking for a good affiliate program, you can sign up for this program which has a very good track record.
28. Maintaining the website after starting it
Starting a website? Anyone can do that! Ask yourself this; How many of you actually maintain their websites?
Maintaining a website is a must if you are planning to start one. Website maintenance varies from:
Updating website core features and plugins
Checking, amending and updating the information on old posts to ensure the information stated are up to date
Removing broken links (and bad ones too)
Ensuring good load time and speed of website
With the proper maintenance, I’m sure the website will remain its value and at the same time, making sure all your blog posts are in an ‘ever green’ state.
Does the above 28 tips help you in starting a website?
Phew!
I know the article could probably be the longest post in my website but I hope you learn much from it. After reading, do you think that starting a website is more than just ‘that’?
Tell me what you think using the comment form below and if you like it, I would be grateful if you could share it by clicking on the red button.
Mailing list is one of the best marketing instrument of all time. It doesn’t matter if you are just an upcoming blogger, an affiliate marketer or working for a huge Fortune 500 company; You need a mailing list and you need it right now!
Wired UK who is the top brand in online news published an article saying that mailing list is more important that social media.
So what makes mailing list so important in today’s world?
Mailing list offers you a chance to:
Connect with your readers
Provide instant updates and notifications
A gateway to promote your products
Increase the chance of sales
Building authority
And the lists on and on …
Now, if you have yet to start one now … or at least, after reading this article 🙂
And if you are still not convinced about starting a mailing list, you definitely need to spend 5 minutes (or less) watching these slides.
The trick here is to ensure that you build a great email list and not just a random list. There’s absolutely no use building a list where you aren’t getting the right ‘return of investment’ or ROI. In short, a better mailing list means more chance of traffic, sales and even creating healthy relationship with your readers.
Anyone can build a mailing list with those free email management services but beware. These comes with some extremely tough terms and conditions like this one.
My high end requirements when it comes to building mailing list
When you sign up for an email marketing service such as AWeber, you have multiple opt-in forms which you can easily embedded on your website.
For me, these opt-in form is pretty plain. I wanted to have a better and more robust email marketing tool.
Why?
I didn’t want to paste and wait patiently for it to convert! I am fussy and I want these opt-in forms to work on various scenarios such as:
Something flashy that could attract the eyes
One button sign up and go
Placing easily on widget areas and anywhere I wanted
Pop up with specific timer
And that are the reasons why normal opt-in forms will not work. They are not flexible and versatile as what I wanted. No offence but I am very particular when it comes to my tools. I want the best and there is no spot for second.
Here’s an example of what my opt-in form looks like. I’m offering weekly newsletter and free eBook for every sign ups. Just fill up your email and hit sign up now!
Introducing, the MOST advance mailing tool … that actually works!
Hybrid Connect offers a vast variety of opt-in forms and at the same time, excellent customer support.
Hybrid Connect was recommended by one of my friend and I thought why not of trying. No harm done right?
This tool is said to be the most advance mailing tool … ever. Just like you right now, I was like “okay, seriously?” What i can virtually see is that it can be setup pretty fast, lots of templates to work with and of course, easy integration. Now, reality kicks in and Hybrid Connect is offering something I was truly looking for.
Partially ‘wow-ed’ at the moment I would say. With a 30 days money back guarantee, I knew it was a safe purchase.
Task #1: Creating lots of ‘connectors’ or opt-in forms
I consider connectors as opt-in forms for your easier understanding (I’ll explain more in the video). Creating these connectors are very easy and straightforward.
Plot in the connector name
Choose the type of template for your opt-in form
Amend or adjust the names, titles and even sizes of the opt-in form
Select if you want it to be mobile responsive (super great feature)
Save and you are done!
All these, in less than 10 minutes of your time!
Task #2: Connecting your email marketing code into Hybrid Connect
Oh my! This sounds challenging right? No frust! I’m using AWeber and thus, create a random sign up form, copy the Raw HTML and paste it in the Mailing List setting.
And that’s absolutely it! Yes mate. You’re all set. Seriously! Hybrid Connect makes integration with email marketing services a piece of cake.
We (end users) can easily integrate raw HTML data with it. Just copy paste the codes into Hybrid Connect and it will do the rest for you!
Yes, you are ready to build your mailing list with Hybrid Connect and AWeber in just … 60 seconds, I would say?
Task #3: Placing them as widget areas
This is crazy easy and nothing goes easier than this. Trust me!
All you need to do is to choose the right template or sign up form that fits your taste. Hybrid Connect has well over 40 ready made templates for you to choose from. That’s not all. You can easily customize anything from text sizes to font types with ease.
No coding needed but you need one thing. A designer’s mind set!
Basically, Shane and his team made a great WordPress plugin which made building a mailing list easier than ever. I still remember pasting those HTML codes here and there on one of my niche site. It was so messy!
But with the help of marketing tools like Hybrid Connect, it is easier to manage and everything can be found in one place; the plugin’s dashboard.
Task #4: Reporting at its best
Bad reporting tools can cause many misunderstanding and many troublesome moments for an Internet marketer
Placing your opt-in form is one thing. Knowing what’s the conversion rate is another. You need to know exactly which opt-in form is giving you the best conversion and as well as the location that gives the biggest impact. Now, this is where Hybrid Connect triumph perfectly.
Just tell me which Internet Marketer doesn’t care about conversion rate and reports.
You can basically get lots of different ‘one-button’ reporting tools such as split testing results, number of subscribers per day or any given time. Hybrid Connect’s reports are easy to read and interpret … and I would be delighted to show you in the video below.
Task #5: Split testing or A/B testing
I love this feature offered by Hybrid Connect … but why? I know a few big names in mailing list tools that offer this feature but what makes Hybrid Connect different from the rest?
It does for you automatically! Oh yes. Once you end a split testing, the plugin will prompt you which connector is the winner of the split testing. Now, it will offer you a choice to choose who and which will be the main connector to build your mailing list. Select the one that you prefer and the plugin will automatically change all of the templates in that specific connector to your choice.
This means that any other connectors are safe and this save you lots of time. Forget about manually changing them all since Hybrid Connect does it all for you!
Prepare your popcorn guys. It’s video time!
This is actually my first video and thus, do apologies if this does look newbie! Hope you enjoy watching 🙂
Want to know how much Hybrid Connect cost?
With just one time payment, you can start building a massive mailing list
Recently, I came across a blogging contest organized by Uttoran Sen of Guest Crew. Basically, the contest is opened to all bloggers and even members of Blog Engage. We are not talking about $50 or $100 but it is $500 worth of cold hard cash! The below are the prices for the winners:
1st Prize – $200
2nd Prize – $100
3rd Prize – $75
4th Prize – $50
5th Prize – $50
6th Prize – $25
Yup, there is 6 prizes to grab! This blogging contest runs from 1st July 2013 to 15th August 2013. So, hurry up and join right now!
How to score more points: Simply share, try to get as much traffic and comments as possible for the post. Trackbacks are also allowed.
2. Register an account at Guest Crew (it’s free)
Once you had verified your account, head over to the article gallery and apply for an article at the guest crew.
Alternative method: You can also request for an article from the request gallery and one of the guest bloggers will apply and write an article for you! Just publish the article on Blog Engage as guest post and you are all set!
Yup! You’ll earn points for being active in the forum or helping out others. Very easy right?
Hint: The more active you are, the more points you might get in return. Win – win situation right?
Wait! There’s more!
Once you had done registering for the contest, make sure you drop Uttoran Sen a private message on Guest Crew. Just hit the PM button and give the following details:
Your name
Your email ID
Your PayPal ID
Your Guest Crew user ID
Your Blog Link
Now, you are absolutely on the way to win the contest!
How to score more points?
The keyword here is … sharing is caring!
You gain more points by:
Sharing on social media
Drive more traffic to the article
Get more trackbacks
I hope this information will be sufficient enough to help you get started on this blogging contest organized by Blog Engage and Guest Crew. So, are you ready to rumble??!
You can also check out my guest post for the contest here: 9 Tips to Effectively Use Email Marketing.
I am always finding ways to return a favor (or favors) to all my readers, followers and even subscribers. I wouldn’t have made it so far without you. Seriously.
I would have given up within the first one week but thankfully, you guys are here to help, guide and show me the way. I really appreciate that!
You might be asking me so what’s this all about, right? C’mon, I know you are eager to know!
All of you have either retweeted, shared and even liked my articles on social network. I even received some trackbacks too which is great. So, here I am today … offering you a platform where we can exchange social media profiles, spend some time connecting and following each other.
Yes! I mean it. I want to give you free backlinks!
So, feel free to promote yourself, website and even social profiles. All you have to do are the below:
Your website or article you would like to share (just one)
Twitter
Facebook profile or page
Google+ profile or page
So, what’s the catch?
In order for you to get a DoFollow backlink, you just got to Tweet, Like or +1 this post. Once you have added me, I’ll add you back and let’s start sharing!
If you have yet to follow me, this are a few ways which you can connect to me:
