3 Steps to Building Your Crochet Business Online

There are 3 things you need to set up your crochet business online. You need to buy hosting and a domain name, install WordPress and set up a mailing list. Sounds too simple huh?

Many times we make things more difficult than they really need to be. I just completed a Spring group coaching session learning about The Power of a Focused Business. Even though I know where I want to go sometimes I lose focus and need a jumpstart. Which is exactly what this coaching session did for me. That session is what inspired this blog post.

 Step 1: Buy Hosting and a Domain Name

Many of you know I had this blog originally on blogspot earlier this year. In the middle of the 31 days crochet business blogging challenge it was reported and flagged for spam. My blog was deleted. I had to go through a process of requesting they re-instate my blog which they did in February. However, a couple of days later someone flagged it again for spam and it was deleted yet again. There are no second chances in the reinstatement process and I knew this beforehand and was willing to take the risk confident that they would deem my blog as legitimate.

Obviously this blog is not spam. I write all my own content unless I have a guest blogger. It is not littered with affiliate links although I do use those. I don’t use black hat methods for SEO in fact I’m fairly new to seo so wouldn’t know how to.

Why am I telling you all of this? For a business you need to own your own website. Sedruola of YarnObsession.com told me just after this happened that “you need to take responsibility for your business by having a self-hosted website“. Wise words that I am passing on to you.

My hosting company is MomWebs. You can buy hosting for as little as $5/month or $15/quarter. You can also buy your domain name through them and as a thank you they will install WordPress for you. Kelly is co-owner of MomWebs and she is the coach behind Power of a Focused Business.

She is also one of the ladies who taught me blogging as I was her intern in 2010. An advantage of MomWebs is that it is newbie friendly. This is turning into a promo for MomWebs so I’ll just stop. If you want to know more just contact me I’ll be happy to speak with you.

Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Step 2: Install WordPress

Once you have hosting and a domain name you will need to install WordPress. It is the blogging software that I use and that many businesses use. It is easy to learn and Google loves it.

You can install this yourself by visiting WordPress.org (not wordpress.com) and downloading the software. You can also ask your hosting company to do it for you. Tanya of Blogelina can help you as well. She helped me with this blog.

Sign Up for Your Free Blogging for Profit Class – Starts July 2013

Step 3: Set Up a Mailing List

Don’t miss this very important step. I didn’t start a mailing list until a couple of years ago. I could have connected with all my customers at etsy and artfire as well as the readers of my old blogs if only I had a mailing list. By the way RSS feed through feedburner is NOT a mailing list. I mention this because I get asked this a lot.

Need help with mailings lists?

Try Mail Chimp as it is free and offers free training guides. I have a forever free account with them so I’m able to use autoresponders. (these are scheduled emails) Today I believe you have to pay for that option. Even if you are a paying member their stance on affiliate marketing is still a little unclear. Some people have no problems and others have problems.

Basically if you are a spammer Mailchimp doesn’t want you. You know exactly the kind of person they are talking about.  It’s not the person who uses an affiliate link to recommend her friend’s eBook or an Amazon product now and again.

A great eCourse I recommend is MailChimp Magic. I found this via the Biztopia challenge I did earlier this year. Even though MailChimp has their own materials I found this course to be very beneficial.

What’s My Focus?

Are your ready to build your business? I’m ready to help you. I know what I will be concentrating on and that is teaching you these basic three steps. I will continue to dive deeper into my Hooking for Cash eBook so that you can know how to take action on your money maker.

Do you agree with me? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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