[Vinny]

I was hesitant to start this thread as there are few threads talking about the similar subject, but I feel that idea I have is slightly different.

I will start a blog and keep working on it documenting my progress here, so by the end of this journey I will come up with the complete step by step datasheet for starting a blog.

Main reasons I start this thread is a need to bounce off ideas and to keep myself accountable. I am on a yearly vacation travelling around the world and I find it extremely hard to make myself do things.

Why am I starting a blog?

*After posting The ultimate Instagram datasheet I have been getting a lot of questions. The whole IG concept is still new and is not being talked about. I have accumulated quite a bit of good information on this subject. So this shall be my competitive edge.

*Few people actually told me that I have to start a blog. Different people on different continents. This must be a sign. Combined with that and with all the knowledge about traveling, getting pussy, learning languages and daygaming that I have accumulated I feel I have few things to say.

*I am already kind of keeping a blog here on RVF and I enjoy writing so why not take it a step further.

Here is the first struggle I have encountered. Picking a domain name.
Here are few available domains.

vinnythepua - kind of because it is funny and mimics winnie the pooh.
vinnypua - just because it is available
igpickup - IG pickup, because this will be my main subject, and because instagame, iggame and instapickup are already taken.

I just can't seem to be creative enough with that. I would appreciate your feedback guys.

Should I go with Vinny and make IG a part of my gig or should I make it clear that I am concentrating on IG game?

I don't really like the whole PUA or PUG term. But I have noticed and have been told that I get way better results than some people who call themselves PUA's.

[hooked_on_tonics]

I've been in the blog game for a little while now and I have two recommendations that you might find helpful.

First, if you can swing the extra $100 a year or whatever, I highly recommend paying for your own web host. If you have future intentions of monetizing or posting "controversial" content, this will afford you the most freedom and flexibility. Shared hosting is a good first step.

Here is a nice link that explains the various levels: https://www.website.com/beginnerguide/we...ervices.ws

Of course if you truly are just doing this solely as a writing outlet, and are confident that you will never have any other intentions with the blog, then by all means, just do free hosting. But I've been following your posts for a while, and I can tell you have an entrepreneurial tendencies.

I also recommend you pay a little extra for a ".com" domain. That decision will pay for itself very quickly as most people take websites with a .com suffix much more seriously, so you will build traffic faster.

Second, the name of the game with successful blogs these days is carving out the most specific niche that you possibly can. Ten or fifteen years ago people could literally just start generic "travel" blogs or "pua" blogs and gain a lot of organic traffic as long as they were putting out high quality content. However now there are so many established bloggers that put out high quality content that people have little incentive to invest in new bloggers.

Therefore, I would recommend that you focus on IGpickup and avoid the pua term, its just so overdone and you will struggle to stand out from the thousands of other pua websites. IG pickup is actually a really decent niche that i've never encountered before reading your posts. If you take it seriously I think you could be really successful with it.

I know more about the travel realm than the pickup realm of blogging, but just to give you an example of how niche specific you should strive to be, the most successful travel blogs this year focus the entirety of their content on things like "budget accommodation in northern mexico" or "best food in the middle east". Catch my drift? Get as specific as you can.

Feel free to ask any other questions.

I've been enjoying your posts in the travel section by the way, keep up the great work!

[Hypno]

Vinny, i have enjoyed your posts because you are an original thinker and doer. do the blog.

url - yes, include vinny in the name. don't have pua, its dated. don't limit it to IG, because your thinking and your blog may expand.

Vinnysjourney.com?

[Corollary]

I don't think the domain you choose matters much. Just think about the blog associated with this forum: RooshV.com. With that name, it's impossible to guess the topic of the blog, yet many people are familiar with it. The content is the important part, not the domain.

Also, having a branded-domain gives you room to evolve in the future. If you went with igpickup.com, it'd be weird if you started talking about anything other than that. So I'd pick anything with your name in it.

[rottenapple]

Agree with Hypno, don´t focus too much on one specific topic. I understand IG game will be your niche, but don´t let your blog be only about that. Write also about travelling in general, other pickup styles, interesting things you encounter or topics you find fascinating. I´ll def read your blog, but it will be more entertaining if there is a variety of topics. Also, you are well travelled, use that to an advantage and make comparisons between places, girls, etc.

[Ice]

I would probably focus on a niche like "using social media to hook up with girls around the world".

It's a bit broader than only IG, which I think it's good. You don't know if you will stick to IG, maybe you want to expand to Snapchat later, or Periscope, or whatever new platform comes up. That's why I wouldn't put IG in the domain name.

Also, as the others have said, PUA is too dated, it's an early 2000 name. It conjures up images of corny guys with weird clothes.

Maybe go more in the direction of life design, new masculinity, advice for success in a rapidly changing world etc. Not saying you have to use these exact phrases, but just some ideas in terms of what the name / tag line could evoke. Something like: "We live in a new connected age with new opportunities for love, sex, adventure and success, and if you have the right mindset and the right tools and tactics you can unlock never seen before success and adventure." I would use such an approach and focus on digital tools like IG, and later maybe you can also expand it to other digital tools and platforms.

[hooked_on_tonics]

These other guys are giving good advice. Blogs often do grow into something different than what you first imagined once the pen hits the paper so to speak. So it would be smart to not limit yourself too much with a domain name.

As other commenters have pointed out, you don't necessarily have to include IG in the name, and it's always good to include supplementary posts every once in a while that offer perspective outside of your niche, but I wouldn't recommend veering too far from the social media in the context of pickup and travel thing if you want serious traffic.

Unless you have another really unique idea?

Like I said, there are TONS of really well-traveled bloggers that post about food, girls, women, adventure, etc. If you want to do that then maybe just leverage your instagram followers into traffic for your website.

But if you want a separate audience for your blog you will need to offer something that isn't being offered by other established bloggers (unless you can do their content way better than them). Trust me on this.

[hooked_on_tonics]

But again, it really depends what your intentions are. Creative outlet? Then ignore most of what I said.

I'm assumnig that you just want expand what you're already doing on this forum and see what it evolves into.

But if you are looking to possibly build something that could generate "passive" income a couple years down the line you'll want to think about content that's going to hook new readers.

[Marmite]

Something to consider; I was searching for a domain name to see what was available. I found one I liked, and when I came back a day later to purchase it, someone else had already purchased, and parked it, offering it for sale for hundreds.

If you find something you really like, purchase it straight away incase some bastard parks it on you.

[RagnarLothbrok]

(01-26-2017 10:40 AM)Vinny Wrote:  

Should I go with Vinny and make IG a part of my gig or should I make it clear that I am concentrating on IG game?

Don't just limit yourself to IG game. I would recommend to make the content of your blog a mix of your IG site and your posts on the forum (travel + daygame + IG game + all the other stuff you write about). Maybe also include location independent lifestyle later on, when you found a way to make money online.

[John Michael Kane]

I'd do something with Vinny instead of IG, because you may want to branch out beyond IG, and that name may box you in. Also, pua is a bit limiting too in case you ever move on from pickup. Better to go with something like ivevinaroundtheworld.com or vacationingwithvinny.com etc.

[Vinny]

Thank you all guys so much. No PUA in the name then.
The problem with Vinny is that all people spell it differently. Vinnie, Winnie etc. So I guess this is not a perfect option too.

I have been thinking about something witty. What do you guys think about:
alovetourist.com - a love tourist because the love tourist is taken
thelovetourism.com - the love tourism
allgirlsareyours.com - all girls are yours
waystogetgirls.com - ways to get girls
lovetraveltravellove.com - love travel, travel love
lovetotraveltraveltolove.com - love to travel, travel to love

Igcasanova.com?

Want the name to say something, and also help with driving organic traffic with search engines, yet don't want to be too narrow and too broad.
This is harder than I thought.

I am leaning to getting a broader travel and girls related name for the blog, and get another page directly for Instagram game, which will be linked together. I believe this is doable.

For example thelovetourism.com where I will talk about girls, travel, daygame, instagram and general stuff, and a link to igpickup.com which will be a guide to IG game only and a product page if I manage to come up with something worth selling in the future.

@hooked_on_tonics: Is it possible to switch from free hosting to own web host later in the game or is it just pain in the ass? Yea, .com only. Thanks

Another question. Which of this options provides domain privacy protection?

[John Michael Kane]

Get your domain from https://www.namesilo.com. You get free WHOIS protection and if you search retailmenot.com for discount codes, you can get a .com for about $9 a year with free WHOIS privacy.

[hooked_on_tonics]

Unfortunately I'm not sure about switching hosts midway through as I've never done it. Might have to research that one.

[Corollary]

If a free host gives you access to your database and files, then migrating to a different host won't be too difficult. But I'm not familiar with free hosts, so I can't tell you any that allow you to.

Web hosting is cheap though. You can probably find something under $5 a month that will be good enough until your blog takes off.

[Shrodax]

For a domain name, I recommend just picking a name you want to brand yourself by. But don't include any topics in that.

For example, I'm sure "vinny.com" is already taken, but maybe add a last name and be "VinnySchmitt.com" or something. I wouldn't do anything like "vinnythepua" or "allgirlsareyours.com" or "alovetourist.com".

Doing so constricts your freedom way too much and would prevent your blog from evolving. Just look at Roosh. He started with "dcbachelor", but that was too constrictive about a specific niche of gaming in the DC area. By switching to "rooshv.com", he now has a title where he could blog about game, then evolve to blogging more about culture. Or look at Matt Forney, who uses his own name to blog about a variety of topics like hitchhiking, girls, and alt-right politics.

A lot of the successful bloggers today are branding themselves as a media personality more than their chosen topics. Even bloggers like Mike Cernovich or Victor Pride use names like "Danger & Play" or "Bold & Determined" that brand themselves but allow for freedom to evolve.

[Shrodax]

Oh, and if you're picking a name to brand yourself by, try to see if you can gobble up all the social media accounts under that name. Check to see if someone is using your name elsewhere without owning the URL.

I came up with "Shrodax" in 2012 and own the user name on almost all social media platforms, as well as the .com, .net, .org, & .me. The name literally had no Google search results when I started using it.

But some Australian bastard is currently using my name on Instagram, Snapchat, and Plenty of Fish. I wasn't quick enough to scoop up my name and at least squat on it when those platforms started getting big.

It makes me twitch a little bit that I can't have a consistent brand name of "Shrodax" everywhere online.

[BallsDeep]

igcasanova.com is kind of catchy but overall i think it's the best one.

Of all the ones mentioned, it's the easiest one to remember without misspelling. Which might be the most important thing in selecting a domain name.

I disagree with those who advise to get a generic name so you can expand later. MikeCF started dangerandplay in a completely different niche than what it is now, and it is doing better than ever even though his content now has nothing to do with the domain name.

People need a reason to go to your blog for the first time. Think of it like a restaurant. A restaurant that sells sushi, steaks, and tacos is usually garbage. But if someone tells you a specific restaurant has the best ceviche in town, you're likely to go there. There are a billion generic blogs, travel blogs, pickup blogs, etc, but blogs become successful when the writer is an expert at something.

Go with the ig domain, because that is your niche and it's where your expertise lies. You've already field-tested this with the threads you've created on this forum, and the amount of pageviews and replies they've accrued indicate it's a niche plenty of people have interest in.

As far as webhosting goes, you can get shared hosting for $1/mo by looking in the Shared Hosting Offers threads on webhostingtalk.com. Once you get decent traffic and are monetizing you can get a VPS, which if you manage on your own is $5 a month. A blog can go a long ways on shared hosting, go with that for now.

Lastly, I agree on namesilo.com, best pricing and it's the registrar all serious IMers use.

[weambulance]

There's been some good advice here so I'll mostly stick to the technical aspects.

But first, I like igcasanova.com. It sounds cool.

As far as switching from free hosting to a paid host, it's not that big a deal but it can be tricky. I've migrated sites from the free wordpress.com to regular wordpress installations on paid servers and if there was significant content to move, especially if there were a bunch of pictures, something always got screwed up and required manual repair in the database. Usually relative links got fucked up. The wordpress migration tool just isn't very good. IMO you're better off just getting the proper .com domain and paying for hosting from the start.

You should always buy your domain from a different company than the one that manages your hosting. If your hosting company goes tits up and they're also your domain registrar (reseller from Enom or something), it can be a real pain in the ass to deal with once domain renewal time comes around. I made that mistake with a couple of my sites and I still don't have one of my (fortunately barely used) domains back. I now use Namecheap for my domains. Whois protection is available for cheap.

Any hosting company owned by EIG is garbage. Avoid at all costs. If your hosting company is bought by EIG, switch immediately.

I use MDDHosting, which is somewhat more expensive than the bargain basement places but an excellent company. Top notch service in my experience.

I don't think it's worth trying to shave dollars off the yearly cost by going with the absolute cheapest host and domain registrar you can. It's just not an expensive service to begin with and there are major differences in quality of service between the companies. Sure, I could probably save $20 a year by switching away from MDD and Namecheap. But my uptime would suffer, guaranteed--I've been monitoring my sites' uptime for years, I know that's true--and if I ever had a problem that took more than about a half hour to resolve that $20 savings is gone. It's a risk with minimal reward.

I've deployed plenty of sites so if you have questions, let me know. And we haven't really talked about actually blogging yet in this thread, just taking the first steps.

[rafaeld]

(01-26-2017 02:39 PM)Marmite Wrote:  

Something to consider; I was searching for a domain name to see what was available. I found one I liked, and when I came back a day later to purchase it, someone else had already purchased, and parked it, offering it for sale for hundreds.

If you find something you really like, purchase it straight away incase some bastard parks it on you.

This actually happened BECAUSE you searched for it. Many domain search sites will go ahead and autobuy domains that you search for because they know there is demand for it, then they can sell it back to you at a higher price.

If you want to see if a domain is available use the `dig` or `nslookup` commands.

Or use a site like this one.

[Vinny]

So I chose a domain and outsourced the wordpress instalation. One of RVF members just so happen to be doing this for living and we exchanged Followliker automation setup for a wordpress installation.

Now I am facing two challenges.

1. My theme looks dope but it is white letters on dark grey background. Should I change to black on white just like every other red pill blog or keep it this way.
2. I already have a lot of content, my datesheets here on RVF, few new sheets I am working on and the travel log posts. Do you reckon I should upload my existing content before launching or start from the scratch?

[crudeloyalist]

White letters on a dark background would be my personal preference but this is entirely subjective. As long as it looks clean and is easy to navigate, you're good.

Launch from scratch with a simple bio, and 1 blog post. Then post new content regularly. This could be every day or every week just make sure it's consistent, that's how you'll grow an audience and keep them coming for newer content. Be sure to link your blog to your social media profiles.

[Tactician]

Yo Vinny, you're going to want to install a sitemap plugin. "Google XML Sitemaps" is great and has over 1M+ installs. You just install it and forget about it, but you can also get it to update more frequently if you're publishing a lot of content. It'll help Google index your site so you'll rank better in search engines.

Later on, after adding more content, you can look into adding a related posts plugin. This'll help keep people on your site and encourage them to browse your other content.

Wordpress can be really fun. There are a lot of plugins that make your life easier and don't require much configuration. You can pretty much forget about them after installing them so you can focus on creating content.

All the best!

Edit: Oh yeah, give this a quick skim too: https://www.elegantthemes.com/blog/tips-...permalinks doesn't matter too much which style you choose, but if you give your blog posts a readable url it'll help a lot with SEO, too. E.g. vinniesblog.com/picking-up-girls-on-instagram vs vinniesblog.com/pickingupgirlsoninstagram. The first one is way more readable.

[superschalk]

(02-15-2017 12:42 PM)Vinny Wrote:  

2. I already have a lot of content, my datesheets here on RVF, few new sheets I am working on and the travel log posts. Do you reckon I should upload my existing content before launching or start from the scratch?

Depends how much you care about SEO. If you upload 1:1 duplicated content already indexed by Google. Google might classify your blog straight away as spam and you might never make it out from the sandbox.

Better re write your existing content and check if it passes Copyscape and then post it.

I would rather start from scratch to attract readers from here with fresh content and then after you are running mix your existing content in between new posts.

Or the other option would be to build a little eBook from your existing posts and use this eBook as a give away for building your email list.

And just a final comment. Don't get caught up thinking too much about blog design and things like this. You can work on this once you have build a solid user base. And a user base is build by delivering great quality content. If the content is good readers coming back regardless of your blog design. Best example I can think of is the Mavericktraveler blog. When he started his blog really did not look professional but he build a following by writing great content.

[Vinny]

The advice on this thread is amazingly great.

@Superchalk: Thanks for this one I did not know this. You might have saved my blog with this input. Repped you for this. I will upload a very small version of my travel log then, by dividing it into sections Saigon, New York, Bogota, Cali, Medellin etc. Just to give the idea of what is going on to a potential new reader. But will keep it short. I will reorganize some of my sheets and add some content and post the later.

@Tactician: My theme already has some plugins. For example my permalinks already have links looking-something-like-that. Any way I can check if I already have a sitemaps?

Honestly you guys are very helpful.

The whole blog endeavor takes a lot of time, but it is fun as you move on step by step and your blog actually starts to take shape and look less and less like a peace of crap