Money (Making & Saving)

Reading Time: 12 minutes

Can you live full-time in a travel trailer? Yes, you can. The main drawback is limited space but with a few simple hacks and downsizing, you can definitely live full-time in a camper trailer or RV. How do I know… I know because I’ve done it and even wrote a book about how I did it and how you can too.

While this article will cover the basics of what you need to know to successfully live full-time in a camper trailer or RV my book goes into greater detail and I suggest that you get yourself a copy of that book as soon as possible. You can click here to see it and read the reviews on Amazon.com.

Why Live Full-Time in a Travel Trailer?

Or course different people will have different reasons for living or wanting to live full-time in an RV or camper trailer, but the most common reason given by people I’ve talked to is to save money by not paying rent. And with the rates for rent going up and the size and included amenities going down choosing to live full-time in a travel trailer makes a lot of sense.

For me, it was out of necessity after a divorce. I already owned the land and the 26-foot travel trailer and it made sense to put the two together and have a paid-for place to live. It worked out great and I lived in that one for over two years.

 

Living there allowed me to save enough money to pay cash for another property, that was larger at almost six-acres. I sold the other property and camper and bout the one that you see in the photo above for $4600. It was one of the FEMA trailers that had never been used and was in like-new condition.

I don’t think that $4600 for a home is a bad deal at all… do you? Nope! I lived in that trailer for over a year while I saved money and then bought a two-bedroom mobile home and moved it to my property and then sold the FEMA trailer for $4000!

You can do the same. You just have to overcome the stigma associated with living full-time in a travel trailer or RV and learn to downsize your belongings or set up a storage building on your property to keep the things that you don’t have room for inside your trailer.

Choosing The Best Camper Trailer For Full-Time Living

Travel trailers are a lot like automobiles—they depreciate in value over time. From the moment you pull the trailer off the lot, it starts to lose value. In fact, recent research has shown that new travel trailers can depreciate as much as one-third over the first three years of ownership.

I bought my travel first trailer from a local man for $3,500. By comparison, he had paid $28,000 for it 11 years earlier. Folks, that’s a savings of more than $24,000. Buying new is a fool’s game and best avoided. Fortunately, finding a good used travel trailer isn’t difficult if you know where to look.

It is amazing what you can find by driving the backroads. Many people who have travel trailers for sale will park them beside the road in front of their houses and tape a for-sale sign in the window. In fact, I spotted two trailers with for-sale signs attached yesterday on my way to the hardware store.

Keep in mind that these people are typically motivated sellers and will usually take less than they initially ask, sometimes a lot less. It doesn’t hurt to make an offer. Who knows? You could get lucky.

Simply let the seller know that you’re interested but your budget doesn’t quite cover the asking price. I often see used travel trailers listed in the classified section of the local newspaper or community shopper.

Again these are motivated sellers, who will usually sell far below their original asking price. Sometimes it is amazing at the price reduction you can get by making an insanely low offer. Sometimes travel trailers are listed on such Internet sites as eBay and craigslist.

Over the years, I’ve seen some nice ones listed for $2,000 to $3,000, but most are newer models that are out of your price range. As with buying properties online, never buy a travel trailer or RV sight unseen

Be sure everything in the trailer works properly before buying. The last thing you need is to expend all your resources on the land and the trailer only to find out later that your electrical system, plumbing, refrigerator, cookstove, hot-water heater, or furnace doesn’t work.

While some sellers are inherently honest and will tell you about known problems, needed repairs, or other surprises, many are not and have no compunction about ripping you off. The only way to be certain you are getting what you are paying for is to do your own inspection and tests of the essential components.

Start with the 12-volt lights. Simply flipping on the switch can check these devices. If the seller tells you the lights don’t work because the batteries are dead—charge them up. If the trailer doesn’t have any batteries at all in the battery compartment, use the one from your truck.

Next check the cookstove, furnace, water heater, and refrigerator to make sure everything works off propane. If the trailer’s propane tanks are empty, you could take one of the tanks to a propane distributor to have it filled, but preferably you have brought your own full tank to use if needed. Whatever you do, don’t buy without doing your due diligence.

The seller could have used the propane on his last camping trip, but then again he could be trying to hide the fact that some or all the propane appliances don’t work. Don’t forget to check the propane lines and appliances for leaks. You can do this with a spray bottle filled with water and soap. Spray the lines and look for air bubbles to form, indicating leaks.

After you are satisfied that all the propane appliances work, it is time to check the plumbing and water systems. Fill the holding tank and check for leaks. Turn on the 12-volt water pump to pressurize the system and check the sinks, shower, and toilet.

Don’t forget to check for leaks in the water lines, as well as under the sinks, pump, and tanks. Some of the lines can be in difficult- or impossible-to-reach places, such as behind walls, under floors, and inside cabinets, but check the best you can.

While you are checking for leaks, feel the floor and areas around and under the sinks, holding tank, shower, toilet, and water heater for soft spots and rot. Also, inspect the areas around windowsills and doors. Look for dark spots on the ceiling indicating leaks.

Be sure to double-check around rooftop air-conditioning units. Once you are satisfied with the interior, it’s time to look underneath the trailer. Check for rot, especially where the walls and floor meet the underneath area.

Problems here can often be fixed by replacing rotted wood, but if prevalent throughout, I would pass on this trailer. Inspect the condition of the insulation and weather barrier, but don’t be overly concerned if it is not perfect, as most of this can be easily fixed by adding more insulation and covering with 6-mil plastic sheeting stapled underneath.

Contrary to what you may have been told, size matters. You’ll obviously be spending a lot of time between those four walls, so the bigger the trailer the better. Just be sure you have a way to tow it to the site. Personally, I would not consider a trailer less than 21 feet in length.

Finding Cheap Land to Live On

Some of the best opportunities for buying cheap land come from individual sellers who no longer have use for the land. Heirs, retirees, farmers, timber and mining operations, and other types of owners may have land that they no longer need and are willing to sell for a reasonable price.

You never know unless you ask. “Fragment” properties held by states, counties, municipalities, or corporations are a good option to explore as well. They can sometimes go begging at an auction and be had on a negotiated sale.

After deciding where you want to live, get the word out that you’re looking to buy a small amount of acreage in the area for use as a campsite. No one needs to know that you plan to live on the property full time or use it as a survival retreat.

Run ads in the local paper and place notices at the local post office and area businesses. You might even consider running an ad on the local radio station or TV station. Try craigslist or other online sites. Perhaps the most productive way of finding land is to ask.

If you spot a parcel that you’re interested in but don’t know who owns the property, find the nearest neighbor and ask. This neighbor may own the property, or he probably will know who does. In my area, there are several small logging operations that purchase tracts of property for the timber, and after the timber has been cut they move on to the next tract.

They have no further use for the property after cutting and are happy to sell.

Since most of this land is in remote areas, you can often buy land at a ridiculously low price. And since it has been logged, if you replant some states will give you a tax break as a “tree farm.”

I found my first property by placing an ad in the local newspaper classifieds.  After running the ad for several months, I heard from the owner of a small logging operation that had operated in the area. The voice on the other end of the phone explained that he had several hundred acres of land that had recently been clear-cut that he no longer had use for and would sell for a reasonable rate.

I explained that I only had $2,000 and could not afford the entire property. We agreed that if I paid to have the parcel I wanted to be surveyed, he would sell me two acres for $2,000. After paying the surveyors, filing fees, and $2,000 to the seller, I was a landowner.

I haven’t had much luck finding cheap land through real-estate agents. Most make their income through commissions and generally aren’t interested in selling lower-priced properties, but then again, what do you have to lose but a few minutes of your time?

Tell the real estate agent that you are looking for a suitable partial of land to use as a campsite and weekend getaway. Explain that electricity, sewer, and water hookups are a plus but not necessary. Real-estate agents in my state can show and broker any property listed in the state where they are licensed, regardless of the original listing broker.

On the surface, buying land through a land contract arrangement with little or nothing down sounds like a great idea. It’s not. The purpose of buying cheap land is staying out of debt by paying cash, which is easy enough to do because of the quality and measure of the property being discussed here.

The standard land contract allows the seller to hold the title until you make all the payments. If you are late with a payment, even one time after paying on time for the past 19 years of a 20-year contract, the seller can have you removed by court order and take back the property while keeping all your money from past payments.

Another potential land mine with the seller holding your title is that he could have a mortgage himself on the property or he could lose it through a divorce or other court proceedings, in which case you could lose the property and any previous funds invested.

All land contracts are best avoided, as is any kind of mortgage debt if possible. One option, which might work if you would have a seller willing to work with you, is to buy the land incrementally. As in: “I have $2,000 and want two acres now; next year (or whenever) I want an option to buy XXX more adjoining acres for $x more cash.” This is subject, of course, to local ordinances regarding subdivision, etc.

Taking Care of Water and Sewage

When living full-time in a travel trailer providing for your water needs can the most difficult tasks to figure out and the solution depends of course on where you decide to set your trailer up for full-time living. Travel trailers and RV’s have a water holding tank and pump to pressurize the water that makes it a little easier to get the water into your trailer where you can use it.

If your property or rented lot has water on tap from the utility company or you are lucky enough to have talked a family member or friend into letting you park your travel trailer on their property then you’re in the catbird seat. Simply run a hose from the water source to your trailers intake to fill your tank turn on the trailers pump to pressurize the water and you’ll have a working sink, shower, and commode.

As for sewage, you might be able to empty your holding tank directly into your family member’s or friend’s septic tank system. If not then you’ll probably have no other choice but to hook to your trailer and pull it to a proper and legal location to empty your holding tank.

If you’re off the grid (away from public utility hookups), then things get more complicated in a few areas but it can be done. You might have to haul water in to fill your freshwater tank or if you have a suitable water source then you might be able to pump or use a gravity-fed system to keep your water tank full.

You could set up a rain-water catchment system and cistern set up in such a way that rainwater could be fed via gravity directly into your freshwater holding tank. Or you might be able to pump it from a nearby source such as a stream or spring, but this water would need to be filtered and purified before drinking.

Taking care of sewage when “off the grid” can be done by digging in a small “sepic tank” system using buried 55-gallon to collect waste. As detailed in Brian D. Kelling’s book Travel-Trailer Homesteading Under $5,000.

But keep in mind that this probably won’t be a “legal” setup but there shouldn’t be any problem unless you tell your business to someone and that someone then reports you.  But as a disclaimer, I have to tell you to check and follow all the laws and codes in your area.  

I took a different approach at my first “travel trailer homestead” and I go into detail about how and what I did to take care of waste in my book “Dirt Cheap Survival Retreat” be sure to pick up a copy of that book as soon as possible if you think living in a travel trailer full-time is something that you still want to do.

Power, Heating, and Cooling

Getting power inside your travel trailer can be as simple as plugging into the source or as complicated as putting in a solar setup if you’re going off the grid. While I don’t have the time or space to go into all of the information on setting up an off-the-grid solar power system (whole books have been written on the topic), I will instead point you to an excellent article that keeps it as simple as possible – Do It Yourself Off The Grid Solar Power System.

You will also find detailed plans about how I did it in my books linked to above and how Brian Kelling did it in his book. There isn’t any certain way to do this… you’ll need to follow the basic principles and safety precautions and figure out what works best for you but that article and those books will give you a great start.

Generators for Campers

One of the biggest mistakes I made was buying a cheap gasoline-powered power generator that after a few months use started giving me trouble and not starting and or shutting off when in use. I suggest that you buy a good power generator from the start.

Two that I recommend are the Honda EU2200i, you can read my full review here, and the Champion 75537i. Get the best that you can afford from the start and you’ll have less trouble and be much better off in the long-term.

To keep the inside of the trailer cooler in summer it’s best to park it in the shade… or better yet, under a shed… think about a carport such as this one on Amazon. Parking your trailer in the shade or under a carport such as that will help to keep the sun off it and thus help to keep it cooler on the inside.

The carport will also help to keep your trailer looking new and also it will last longer covered by the carport because there is less of a chance of a leak developing in the roof of your trailer that could cause water damage inside.

For heating, I prefer propane and propane and a propane wall heater such as this one at Amazon.com will keep you warm during the colder months.

Cooking and Refrigeration

This part is actually the easiest because travel trailers are already set up perfectly for off-the-grid cooking and refrigeration using propane. With the correct adapters, you can easily hook your trailer up to the larger 100lb propane tanks if you want to change out the empty tanks for full ones less often.

Legalities of Living Full-Time in a Travel Trailer

Depending on where you are in the country (or the world) laws differ and there could be some legal hurdles to overcome when living full-time in a travel trailer or RV, however, these are typically easy to find a “work-around” that will keep the paper pushers happy and still allow you to live full-time in your camper, travel trailer, or RV.

Conclusion

Living full-time in a travel trailer isn’t for everyone, and there are a few challenges but it is a great way to save money to buy or build a “proper home” later and be debt-free. I’ve done it so I know it can be done. I hope that this article gave you a few ideas and answered some of your questions.

If this is something you’re interested in doing then I suggest that you get my book “Dirt Cheap Survival Retreat” and Brian D. Kelling’s book Travel-Trailer Homesteading Under $5,000. These two books will cover everything else that you could need to know.

Reading Time: 6 minutes

You’ve probably heard the old saying “give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.” The online version of this saying would probably go something like this: “give a website owner a visitor and he’ll gain one-page view. Give a website owner a subscriber and he’ll have page views on every piece of content he creates.”

Okay, so it’s not nearly as poetic, but it is every bit as true. The bottom line is, if your site is going to experience sustained success, you need to work on gaining long-term followers. And email subscriptions are the best way to do this because they enable you to actively remind your fans that you exist and that you are still creating new and valuable content.

Here are seven of the most effective strategies for gaining email subscribers:

1. Use an Email Collector Form Throughout Your Website

One of the best ways to get people to sign up for your email list? Simply ask! If you include an easy-to-use “subscribe to our mailing list” field somewhere on your website, you will be surprised how many people are eager to stay updated on your new content. (As long as you are creating content worth reading, that is!)

Most effective websites place an email collector form in their footer, that way the form will be site-wide. Moreover, because most web users are used to seeing a collector form in the footer, you take advantage of the “social norm” of the internet, ensuring that even your new visitors will have a good idea of where they can find the email form if they want it.

In addition to placing an email collector in your footer, you may wish to highlight your mailing list in a couple of other places throughout your website. (For example, under your latest blog article or even on the home page.) This is also fine, just make sure that this is executed in a way that doesn’t look overly redundant or low-quality.

2. Add an Opt into Your Email Signature

“But wait,” you ask, “why would I add an opt-in for emails into my existing emails?” Isn’t that a bit redundant?” To understand this, it is first important to understand exactly what an email subscriber list is and how it differs from your regular email contacts.

Email subscriber lists are automated databases of people who have willingly opted-in to receiving promotional offers, newsletters, and other information from you. Reaching everyone on your list is quite easy, and can be done with a single click through programs such as MailerLite. However, because of how powerful these lists are, their builders are very careful to avoid being associated with spam. And if you send mass emails to people who have not opted in to a list, then you are almost inevitably going to get reported and then blacklisted. Once this happens, your emails will automatically find themselves in people’s spam folders rather than in their inboxes.

Remember, however, that sending a one-on-one email to a cold contact or a person who isn’t subscribed to your list is still okay. If that person is interested in the product, service, or content that you are offering, then they will be happy to see an opt-in section in your cold email where they can sign up to receive more information.

3. Promote Your List Through Your Social Media Profiles

Be sure to read this tip carefully: promote your list through your profiles, not your posts. Yes, sending out a Facebook status or a tweet asking people to sign up to your email subscriber list can work — we don’t recommend against it — but putting a link to sign up in your profile itself will be much more effective.

This is because the people who view your social media profiles (or the social media fan pages for your blog) are precisely the people who are looking for more information. Allowing them to opt-in to personalized emails from you is sure to lead to a high conversion rate. Moreover, profiles stick around a lot longer than statuses and updates — if you wanted to promote your list through posts, you would need to post quite frequently.

4. Use a Popup Form

You’ve undoubtedly seen a few email subscribers list popup forms in your life — after all, the vast majority of successful blogs in today’s world use one. Newsflash: this isn’t a coincidence! Popup forms dramatically increase the number of email addresses that you are able to collect because they extend a direct offer from you to your visitors: “if you like the content you’re seeing here, why not stay updated on our latest posts?”

Of course, another thing you’ve undoubtedly seen are annoying popup ads — and you know first hand how quickly they destroy credibility. This is why designing a good email collector popup with an aesthetic and user-friendly design is so important.

Here’s the good news: creating a good looking popup doesn’t require amazing technical skills or expensive software. A number of cost-effective tools have now joined the market and are helping new bloggers just like you to grow their following and build email lists that propel them to success. If you happen to be using MailerLite to manage your mailing lists, then you’re in luck: the software also includes an easy-to-use popup form builder that integrates directly with your mailing lists.

5. Experiment with Your Collectors

Your collector form and email popup are both constructed of many variables — ranging from the color scheme to the text, to the location, to the number of fields, etc. And changing these variables around can have a dramatic impact on what percentage of your visitors actually decide to sign up. If you are willing to be meticulous about tracking conversion rates and changing minor details, you can work to methodically increase your subscriber list through smarter psychology. Here’s an example of what that might look like:

• During your first week, you have a dark green popup form with the words “sign up for our mailing list to receive more information!” You receive 1000 total visitors, and 100 sign up for your mailing list.
• On the second week, you change the dark green color to a lighter green and leave everything else the same. (Remember that you can only change one variable at a time in any experiment, otherwise, you won’t be able to identify what actually caused the change!) This week, you receive 1000 total visitors and 150 sign-ups. Congratulations, your conversion rate increased, and you have reason to believe that the change to light green worked!
• On the third week, you decide that perhaps your writing could be a bit terser. You change “sign up for our mailing list to receive more information,” to “sign up for more info.” Over the course of the week, you get 1000 total visitors and just 125 sign-ups. It appears that the old text was better.
• On the fourth week, you go back to “sign up for our mailing list to receive more information” with a light green background, which gives you a baseline expectation of a 15% conversion rate. (After all, last time you had this setup, you got 150 signups out of 1000 visitors.) You’re happy with this rate, but for the sake of continued progress and experimentation, you add one more smaller line of text to your form: “we take your privacy seriously and never share your information with 3rd parties.” This week you get 1000 visitors and 175 subscribers.

Of course, your actual results will vary, but this should give you a good idea of how website experimentation works, and how it can help you grow your subscription base.

6. Comply with Standard Anti-Spam Policies

We briefly mentioned this topic earlier in the lesson, but it is so important that it bears repeating: breaking spam rules will get your email address (and possibly even your website) blacklisted, making it nearly impossible for you to continue marketing your blog through email! No matter what the situation may be, it is never a good idea to send out mass emails to people who haven’t subscribed to your list — and it is an even worse idea to share email addresses with a third party!

Last but not least, your emails should include an opt-out button for anyone who does not want to receive your newsletter or marketing message anymore. Most good mailing list platforms (including MailerLite) automatically integrate such a button into every email that they send.

7. Provide Something Valuable In Exchange for an Opt-In

One of the best ways to get visitors to subscribe to your list is to give them a concrete incentive for subscribing. A common example of this that you have probably seen before is websites that offer an ebook or an online course in exchange for your email address. Online stores that sell products and/or services might also offer their visitors a discount in exchange for signing up. Whatever creative solutions you can come up with, try them out and see how they affect your conversion rates!

Don’t Let Your Subscribers Down!

Once you have built a base of subscribers, they are going to want to receive content from you on a regular basis. If not, you risk losing their interest. That’s why tomorrow’s lesson is going to provide you with the tools you need to pump out new content on a regular basis.

Reading Time: 6 minutes

This is part two of our how to start a blog series – making a living from home is difficult, however, if you have information to share and an internet connection then blogging might be perfect for you.

And it’s possible to make A LOT OF MONEY! My best month I made over $17,000 and you can too – but you have to start!

A painfully obvious point that far too many website owners overlook until it’s too late: web traffic is the foundation of your success in the online world. In the broadest sense, there are two ways that traffic will come to your site: organic and ad-driven.

There is little doubt that ads can be quite effective. (Google makes its money through ads, and the company isn’t worth half a trillion dollars for nothing!) However, if you want to build sustainable success for your site, it is important to build a foundation for organic traffic, as well. And that’s why search engine optimization (SEO) matters.

Let’s discuss the strategies you can utilize to start showing up on organic searches:

How do Search Engines Work?

The goal of every major search engine is to provide its users with the most relevant answers to their questions or queries. They accomplish this by sending bots to “crawl” websites, index them, and make note of their content. This content is then classified based upon the topics it covers, the user experience it offers, its connections with other sites on the web and the way users interact with the site. Upon receiving a query, the search engine then uses its proprietary algorithm to provide what it assumes to be the best results.

If your website can make clear what topics it covers and provide a high-quality experience to users, then you are far more likely to appear near the top of a search. Here are the most important ways of accomplishing that:

Use Relevant Keywords.

There was once a time when all website owners had to do in order to “hack” search engine results in their favor was to write important keywords over and over throughout their site. Nowadays, search engines are a lot smarter and can recognize these so-called “black hat” SEO tricks. However, it is important to note that keywords do still matter — they simply have to be used in moderation. For every web page, you create, make sure that the vocabulary and phrases you use make the overall concept that the page is expressing clear to humans and crawler bots alike!

Create a Positive User Experience

Websites that load slowly almost never rank well on major search engines — nor do websites featuring difficult-to-read color schemes or an overwhelming quantity of spammy ads. If you really want to take your SEO strategy to the next level, be sure to include clear headers, alternate image texts, and a mobile-friendly layout to help everyone who visits your site find exactly what they’re looking for.

Build a Strong Network of Links

Hyperlinks help bots crawl from page to page, which will ensure that your page is properly indexed. Even more importantly, however, links help establish authority. If your site frequently links to reputable websites, for example, search engines will understand that you do your research, and they will reward you for it. And if reputable websites frequently link to you, search engines will begin to see you as an authority in your own right.

Provide Users with Fresh, High-Quality Content.

One last metric that search engines use to gauge which sites are worth prioritizing is time spent on page. This is because people who come across sites that are not relevant or that do not provide high-quality content tend to leave those sites very quickly. By giving your visitors something that is truly worth reading, watching, or looking at, you are much more likely to keep them on your page for an extended period of time, which will, in turn, boost your search engine rankings. Bonus points if you continuously add new content to your site — this shows search engines that you are actively engaged in the online community and constantly working to improve your site.

Implementing Your SEO Knowledge

Now that you understand the basics of search engine optimization strategy, you’re finally ready to begin creating content for your website.

At this point, you should have your website domain name, your hosting service, and your WordPress theme. And you should also understand the basics of search engine optimization. But of course, if your site doesn’t have any content worth consuming, then you are unlikely to retain any visitors.

You don’t need to be a New York Times bestselling author to write something that people want to read! All you need to do is share your thoughts, opinions, and knowledge in an appeal and strategic way. Here are a few tips that can help you do just that:

Focus On Topics You Are Passionate About

If you have signed up for these lessons on starting a profitable website, then the odds are good that you are hoping to leave behind an occupation that you were never truly passionate about in order to build a better, simpler, and more enjoyable life for yourself and your family. If that’s the case, then why would you ever consider creating content that does not express your interests and beliefs? Newsflash: if you do, your audience will end up feeling just as bored as you. The best content is created by people who care deeply about their topics, so choose your site’s focus carefully.

Consider your Audience

What are the people who visit your site looking for? What kind of topics do they care about, what kind of writing do they want to read, and how long are they willing to read for? A blog post about your favorite fast-food restaurants isn’t likely to gain much traction on a website targeted to healthy eaters, for example — and a satirical joke-filled article about money-saving hacks probably won’t appeal to a target audience of high-end investment bankers. This isn’t to say that all your content needs to be completely centered on your “standard” visitor; just be conscientious of what your general public is hoping to read.

Use References and Provide Resources

Backing up your claims — whether by citing sources, hyperlinking to the websites you quote, or providing your readers with resources for further learning — will help make your site much more authoritative in the eyes of your readers. It will also help them to have a truly positive experience interacting with your site, which increases their odds of coming back next time you publish something new.

Ask for Reader’s Opinions

Creating a sense of community engagement around your website is a surefire way of retaining your audience, and even growing your following. (It’s no coincidence that social media is one of the most popular uses of the internet, after all.) Including a comments section, asking your readers to email you with their opinions, and even sharing your site on social media are all great ways of getting your readers involved. Not only will this help build a better connection, but it could also even lead to your audience contributing truly valuable insights that increase the quality of your site further.

Create A Variety of Content Types

Even if you target a very narrowly defined audience, there is still bound to be a bit of diversity within that group. For example, some people are visual learners who prefer lots of images and graphs; whereas others are more bookish and tend to devour paragraph after paragraph of text without distraction. Similarly, some visitors might want to consume light-hearted, fun content; whereas others are searching for something more in-depth and serious.

Outsource Talent Carefully

Growing a content-based website efficiently will eventually require you to outsource talent — i.e. hiring writers, graphic designers, or even video production agencies to make original contributions to your website. This can potentially provide a huge boost for your website; allowing you to pump out new content much faster while also diversifying the styles and perspectives that you offer. However, if your new content creators are not able to match you in terms of quality and understanding of your user base, then you could risk damaging your growing popularity. Hiring carefully — i.e. asking for a custom work sample and ensuring that you make decisions based on talent and not price — is essential.

Provide Value

If all of the points above had to be summarized together in one concise phrase, then “provide value” would be a pretty good candidate. Whether this value lies in helping your audience learn a new skill, helping them connect with a community of like-minded individuals, or even simply making them laugh — your website should always ensure that your visitors leave feeling enriched in one way or another.

Remember, Good Content Does Not Mean Automatic Traffic

Even the search engine optimization techniques we discussed aren’t enough to earn your traffic immediately. Getting your website off the ground is going to require a bit of legwork and networking. Here’s the good news: you can accomplish this no matter where you live!

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Let’s face it being self-employed beats the heck out of working for someone else! In fact, I wrote a detailed article on how to do that here, how to start a profitable blog, that goes into even more detail… that you should go read after you finish reading this article.

However, the first question that I’d ask myself if I was just starting out blogging is… how can I get my blog up and running in the quickest, easiest, and cheapest way possible…

You will get all of those answers with Bluehost. You must be thinking, “Right, who is Bluehost?” Well, let’s take a closer look.

Bluehost is one of the foremost web service providers you can find today. The company was established in 2003 by Matt Heaton and Danny Ashworth. Established in Orem, Utah, Bluehost serves over 2 million websites and continues to register more each day.

How to Get Started With Using Bluehost

You can sign in with Bluehost to get started if you have an account, or you can create one if you don’t. Bluehost even created an option of signing in with your Google account for quick access. Convenient, right?

You will be asked for your domain or username and a password if you have an account with Bluehost.

Don’t worry if you don’t have an account. It’s not hard to get ready to use Bluehost.

1. While on the Bluehost website, click on the create an account link. A new window will open. It’s that easy!
2. Choose your plan. You can select from a basic, plus or premium plans.
3. Be aware of the price.

Bluehost recently integrated the Go Pro Premium Plan at $23.99 per month with a promotional entry fee of just $13.99 for the first 30 days. The normal rate will apply once you renew your monthly subscription. Domain Privacy, Site Backup services, and a dedicated IP are a few of the many advantages and services you will get on this plan.

The basic plan is $3.95 for the first 30 days with subsequent renewals for $7.99 per month. The Plus plan is good for $5.95 for the first month and then $10.99 per month for later. The Premium plan is good for $5.95 per month at the start and later costs $14.99 per month.

We recommend you use the Premium plan. It provides you with unlimited websites, parked domains, sub-domains, and unlimited email accounts. You will also get an extra marketing offer of over $80 per year.

1. A sign up prompt will appear on your screen once you choose you have chosen your plan. Here you will choose if you already have an existing domain or you want to register a new domain.
2. You will be prompted to enter your details regarding your domain. Fill in all the details as required. Don’t forget to select the extension for a new domain.
3. Once this is done, you will have to choose your payment method. Accept the terms and conditions and click on the submit button. Now you are all set up!

5. You will be prompted to enter your details regarding your domain. Fill in all the details as required. Don’t forget to select the extension for a new domain.
6. Once this is done, you will have to choose your payment method. Accept the terms and conditions and click on the submit button. Now you are all set up!

Why Choose Bluehost?

Here are six good reasons why you should prefer Bluehost over its competitors for your hosting demands.

Always Available

If you have a problem with anything on your site, the Bluehost expert customer support team is just one click away 24/7. Bluehost is always available to help you with any difficulty at any time or day of the week. You can reach Bluehost via phone, email or through the company’s fast live chat service.

WordPress Support

Building your site has never been this easy. With just a click, Bluehost allows you to install and manage your work from a single place. This is thanks to the use of WordPress, a popular online publishing platform that simplifies the process of getting content online. This makes it very easy for you to start building your site immediately. Bluehost’s free site builders are also available to assist you with building your website as fast as possible. Bluehost servers are built exclusively to support WordPress.

Money-Back Guarantee

With Bluehost, your satisfaction is guaranteed. After all, your satisfaction is their mission and priority. The services laid down by Bluehost are set to create an easy to use setup for running a site that is also reliable. In case you are not satisfied with Bluehost’s services, you will be refunded within 30 days of signing up. But you will surely be impressed with what Bluehost has to offer.

Scalability

Bluehost brings the power to control a site right into your hands. You can start from scratch with your site. But as grow, you can change to more powerful options that work better with your developing site. It’s very easy and gives you more power with just one click to migrate your account to a more dedicated server.

cPanel

The cPanel used by Bluehost offers an enhanced and more upgraded interface with tools to make it very easy and simple to manage your domains, emails, websites, and many others just from a single central place.

Commendations

Bluehost is the real deal!! From 2005, Bluehost has worked closely with WordPress in creating a platform that is ideal for hosting and running a basic website. For this reason, Bluehost have received commendations from WordPress for its quality services.

But what types of hosting options can you take advantage of when you get in touch with Bluehost? Just look at some of the choices you have to work with.

Cloud Hosting

Bluehost offers the most reliable, affordable and powerful Cloud computing services around. With a minimum charge of $6.95 per month, you can get build your site on the Cloud.  This all comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Signing up for Cloud Hosting is very simple:

1. Simply click on the hosting icon on the menu bar. A new page will pop up.
2. Click on the button “Get Started.”
3. Just the same as before, cloud hosting too has price plans. You can choose from one of the given three price plans.

1. After choosing your preferred plan, enter your domain or create a new one. Enter your details and fill in your payment method.
2. Finally, accept the terms and click Submit.

The procedure is very similar to the one you read about earlier.

WordPress + Woocommerce

Bluehost proudly offers Woocommerce integration with WordPress sites. Woocommerce is a popular solution for site management that is used in online stores.

Why choose Bluehost for this purpose? Well, Bluehost has made it simple for you to get ample time tackling other personal issues. The installation and setup process is very easy to follow. You will be surprised how fast this process is. Within just a few minutes, you will be up and running.

Your security is a vital priority. That’s why Bluehost has included and integrated an SSL certificate with a dedicated IP to guarantee your site’s safety and encryption to enhance secure payments. The support team is always in standby mode in case you encounter a problem.

Setting up your Woocommerce account is very simple.

1. On the hosting menu, there is a drop-down menu. Click on the Woocommerce hosting option.
2. Choose your preferred plan available through Bluehost.
3. Once done, follow a similar procedure as before and enter all your valid details.

VPS

I know you are asking yourself, what is VPS? A VPS is a Virtual Private Server.

It’s a web hosting environment that allows the sharing of resources such as RAM and CPU to be allocated to your account. This is usually attained by splitting the resources amongst the users who are on the server. The difference between VPS and Shared hosting is that VPS can guarantee root access while shared does not. We build the VPS on SSD storage to increase flexibility and control for your website. It has instant provisioning and guaranteed resources for your blog and site.

What are the Benefits of VPS?

• With this tech, users are guaranteed the resources they need. This simply means that your account will always be allocated a set size of CPU, RAM and disk space you chose regardless of what other users are doing.
• It also provides security for your website since it does not allow sharing of the operating system.

With Bluehost, creating your VPS account is very easy.  Choose from the Standard, Enhanced, and Ultimate option. Choose one according to what your website needs and follow all the procedures for registration discussed. You can always upgrade later on your dashboard once you have signed up.

Dedicated Hosting

Do you want to feel the ultimate performance, control, and security of your site? This is where dedicated hosting can work for you.

Dedicated hosting is tuned for the extreme performance of your site. It has the instant provisioning you need for getting resources that you need right away. Many dedicated servers will take hours or even days to process your request. But with dedicated technology, your resources will be ready just waiting for you. You can sign up toward for the standard, enhanced or premium hosting package. Once you have chosen your preferred package, follow the instructions used before to create your dedicated account.

Domain

Every site must start from its domain name. The name of your site will determine how successful you become, or it can be your downfall. Bluehost offers different domain search extensions like .net, .org, .co.uk and .com. The price differs for each choice.  Domain Lock and Auto-renewal functions are a few of the benefits you will enjoy when you register with us.

Don’t be worried when getting in touch with Bluehost for help with your hosting needs. With Bluehost, your safety and satisfaction are guaranteed. The advanced technology and always available team from Bluehost will help you through every step of the hosting process. Your success is Bluehost’s priority!!!

Reading Time: 9 minutes

Over the past few months, I’ve received a lot of emails from readers asking me for pointers on how to start their own blogs. It seems like everyone has the “blogging itch” these days, and that’s a good thing if you truly have something worthwhile to share with the world, then starting your own website is a great way to do just that.

Blogging has allowed me to quit my job at the local hardware store where I worked and to earn a full-time living without having a regular job. I have no boss, I work the hours that I want and best of all I earn a great income doing it.

How can you do the same? Well read on and I’ll do my best to teach you what I’ve learned about starting and running a WordPress blog along with links to the tools that you’ll need to get started…

It Won’t Happen Overnight

Just about anyone can set up a blog site in under ten minutes – that’s the easy part. You can register a domain and set up hosting with only a few clicks, and you have a blog. But it takes time, lots and lots of time to write content and build a readership. You’ll spend hours writing, and posting articles that no one will be reading or commenting on. You’ll feel like you’re writing to yourself and really at this point you are.

I was stuck at that point for two years, but I just kept on punching at the keyboard and posting my thoughts and what I knew about prepping. I thought about giving up several times, but I wanted to help people get prepared. My goal was and still is to share the knowledge that can save lives. I don’t take this lightly, and consider myself blessed that I’ve been able to help so many people over the years.

You have to really care about the topic you’re writing about and have a dedication to doing everything that you can to help others, because if you don’t then you’ll give up before you ever reach a large audience. If your main goal is to make money, then you are going to be disappointed, especially for the first few years, and even then you probably won’t make a lot.

This blog now earns me a decent living wage, but during the first few years, I made essentially nothing. Even after a year of consistent blogging, I signed up for the Amazon.com affiliate program and for more than two years my earning from that were under $20 per month, now my earning from Amazon.com amount to several hundred dollars each month.

The good news for you is that I’m going to share everything that I know about blogging here with you for free so that if you decide to start a blog of your own you won’t be starting out totally blind like I did. You will start out knowing what took me years to learn.

So to recap… you must really want to help people, if it’s only about making money then you’ll probably fail.  And it takes time… Lots of time to build an audience, it also takes a lot of work.

Sure you could be like a group of internet marketers that I recently became aware of, that are now in the “prepper niche” with their only motivation to make a quick buck…  They spend big money on advertising with Facebook ads and Google AdWords to drive traffic to their blog, where they then get those people to sign-up for their “newsletter” and then they pound their email list with email after email (usually one or two per day) trying to sell their subscribers “survival gear” that is really nothing more than useless china made junk.

These marketers aren’t even preppers and are just trying to make a quick buck off of people who are looking for help and answers. Without spending massive amounts on advertising to get traffic to their site they would quickly fade away because they have no real readership (they get no comments or very few which is proof of no real readership base).

For long-term success, you have to be dedicated to your topic, love your topic and have a real desire to help others and to share your knowledge with them.

Choosing a Topic

Let’s face it blogging about prepping is an overcrowded niche, by simply doing a google search it would seem that there are as many blogs about prepping as there are preppers. My advice is that if you must start yet another prepper type blog, that you narrow your topic down to a specific segment of prepping.

For example, a site solely dedicated to cooking and using long-term storage foods, or what about a site about survival rifles and related gear, survival handguns, and related gear, or maybe survival gardening, hardening and defending your home/retreat, survival book reviews, etc…

Narrow your topic and make it specific and you’ll be able to get more readers who are looking for information on a narrow topic that’s related to a larger niche. To be honest you would probably be better off if you avoided the prepper/survival niche altogether, not just because it’s an over-crowded area but mainly because the potential audience is small when compared to other subjects.

One topic I’ve noticed that is doing very well that has a huge potential audience is what’s been dubbed the “mommy blog” where every woman with a child is a potential reader. The best subject is the one that you know the most about, or are very interested in and can learn about and then share what you’ve learned.

The big three topics are dating and relationships, health and wellness, and money and finance. These are the mega niches and the ones with the most potential to be successful and to earn you a good living working from home.

My Most Recommended Resources for Running a Blog

WordPress

If you’re going to start a blog then you need a good operating platform, this blog uses WordPress as does just about every other successful blog and website, and there is a reason for that, and that is that it works, and has lots of plugins and support. And to make matters even easier most hosting providers have a “one-click” WordPress install when you sign-up for hosting – just one click and you’re ready to start blogging.

Hosting

Aside from using WordPress for your blog the hosting that you choose is one of the most important considerations when starting a blog. From my personal experience, Bluehost offers the best prices and customer service.

Bluehost also offers a simple an easy one-click WordPress install so anyone can set up their own blog without any technical know-how. Just click and you’re up and running with your very own blog.

And if you need help then the folks at Bluehost are there for you, I’ve never had to wait on support for longer than three minutes and they have always answered any questions and fixed any problems that I’ve had quickly.

Bluehost plans start as low as $3.99 per month for shared hosting or $19.99 per month for their Optimized WordPress Hosting. And as your blog grows and you need more “horsepower” it’s simple to upgrade to VPS or Dedicated Hosting as we use here at Making Sense of Manliness.

Bluehost also offers domain registration, so you can set up your domain and hosting all in one place.

Themes

You can find thousands of free WordPress themes via your WordPress dashboard once you have your blog set up – just hover your mouse over the “appearance” tab, then click on themes and choose the one that best fits your needs.

Site Backups

Having site backups is a good idea and insurance policy, that will allow you to restore your WordPress site to an earlier version if the unthinkable happens like you mess up your WordPress code or are hacked. Whatever you do – always backup your site. VaultPress and Backup Buddy are two options.

Security

Most new site owners don’t think too much about security, that is until they are hacked or infected with spyware or a virus that can then also infect anyone visiting their sites. Years ago when I first started this site it was attacked and hacked and the site was closed down for several days before I could regain control of it.

After that I signed up with Sucuri Security, and could not be happier with their service, they offer a plugin, scanner, and firewall to keep the bad guys out and let the good guys in (your readers), and if something ever does get past the firewall, their alerts will let you know, and…. wait for it… they will go to your site and clean it up for you at no extra charge!

This is one step that you do not want to skip – go to Sucuri Security and sign-up for expert WordPress protection as soon as you start your own WordPress Blog.

Email Subscriptions

It may come as a shock to some, but most people who visit a website for the first time will never return no matter how good the content is!

To keep them as readers who come back to your site week after week, you have to get them to join your mailing list. Without a mailing list, your site will not be nearly as successful, you must start a mailing list from day one. Don’t put it off, or think you’ll wait until you get more traffic, you want to do it now.

There are a number of options available for this but the one I use and trust for this site is MailerLite – it’s easy to set up, works great with WordPress and the customer support is top-notch. Once you have your hosting and your blog set up then go sign-up with Feedblitz and start building your reader base via your mailing list.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

There are several free WordPress Plugins that you can use to set SEO for your site that will help you to drive search traffic – I suggest either Yoast SEO or the All In One SEO Pack, both are very good with the edge going to Yoast SEO.

How Blogs Make Money

Directly renting advertising space on a site is one-way blog owners can make money from their blog and another related way is through advertising networks like Google Adsense. With Google Adsense, you place code from them on your site and then the advertising network serves up advertising from advertisers in their network and then they pay you a few cents each time someone clicks on one of their advertisements while on your site.

The downside is that you have to have a lot of traffic before companies will pay you to advertise their company and or products on your site.

Think about it, would you pay a blog owner to put up a banner, link or other advertisements for your company or product on a blog if that blogsite had little or no traffic? No, of course, you wouldn’t because you would lose money.

You’ll need at least 30,000 page views per day to attract advertisers who will pay you enough to make a living from renting advertising space on your blog.

As for Google Adsense, it’s a complete waste of time unless you have huge traffic numbers.

You’ll need 50,000 or more page views per day to earn anything resembling a livable income from Google Adsense or other PPC ad networks and then it most likely will be well under $500 a week.

So to recap… forget about renting advertising space on your site until you’re well established and pulling in 50,000 or more page views per day. And if you’re pulling in traffic numbers like that then there are far better ways to earn money from your site.

Another way that blogs earn money is through affiliate sells. This is where blog owners sign-up with affiliate networks such as Advantlink, or Commission Junction or directly with companies and then recommend that companies products to their readers and when those readers click the affiliate link to that company or product and buy the product then the blog owner gets a commission from the sale.

This works really well if you have a lot of interested readers, however, products that you place affiliate links on your blog for should be directly related to your blog niche and useful to your reader. You don’t want to be linking out to anything and everything in hopes of making a sale and getting a commission.

Another huge no-no is recommending products that you do not personally own and use. As a blog owner, your first priority is to help your reader. That is number one. Don’t forget it and live by it always. Only recommend products that you have experience with and know to be of the best possible quality.

If you would not recommend the product to a loved one then don’t recommend it to your blog readers. Just don’t do it! Your readers trust you… don’t break that trust.

For example, on my recommendations page for this site “My Favorite Prepper Supplies, Gear, and Tools” I own and use everything on that page.

I have tested each product and I still use it on my own homestead and in my preps and I know that each item on that page is of good quality and that if a reader decides to purchase anything on that page that they will be getting a good product that they can actually use.

If you want to learn how to really make money through affiliate marketing there are a number of courses available, however, this one is the best affiliate marketing course that I’ve ever taken and the only one that you’ll need because it covers EVERYTHING.

Another way that bloggers make money with their sites is by developing and selling their own products and or services. This can include eBooks, traditional paperback books, training courses, paid member areas, private one-on-one coaching, etc.

The best and most profitable for most bloggers will be writing and selling their own downloadable ebooks and courses. Ebooks can sell for $49 each or even more and many online training courses sell for $199 or more.

How Much Can You Make

Do the math… if just 50 people per month sign-up for your course at $199 each that’s $9,950 a month or $119,400 per year!

Even selling an e-book at $49 each to 50 people per month would earn you a cool $2,499.50 per month or $35,000 per year.

And making all this even better is the fact that once you write your e-book or set up your training course than it’s mostly passive income from that point on.

You can be sleeping and make money, you can be on vacation and still be making money because once it’s all set up and going it works even without you being there.

To Recap

You’ll need a domain and hosting…

I suggest Bluehost for both. Click here to go to Bluehost and register your domain.

Next, you’ll need to start your email list…

I suggest Feedblitz for this. Click here to go to Feedblitz and set up your email list.

Well, there you have it the basics of what you need to know to start your own successful blog or website. Please let me know if you have any questions in the comment below…