The Heath Mullikin Project

Figuring it all out one day at a time

Chase Your Lion

It’s Time to Start Your Blog

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Are you ready to start your own blog?

I have been blogging for 6 years.  From MySpace to Facebook to Blogger to WordPress.com to WordPress.org I have used just about every major blogging platform.  Tumblr and Typepad are two other popular blogging tools.  A survey of the top 100 blogs shows which platform is preferred by almost half of them(48%):

 WordPress

Many people are familiar with wordpress.com which is a free solution.  You can still see one of my original blogs at dailydoseofheath.wordpress.com.  With wordpress.com you can also use your own domain which is where heathmullikin.com started several years ago.  While free is great, it isn’t always better.  With wordpress.com, you don’t have a ton of flexibility with how your blog looks and functions.  Since wordpress.com is hosting the blog for you they have most of the control.

Three years ago I started Chase Your Lion as a self-hosted wordpress.org site.  Why?  I was looking to earn some money with my blog and wordpress.com does not allow affiliate links(to sites like Amazon) or ads.  With a self hosted blog, I own the content, control the content, and can make money off the content.  A self-hosted wordpress.org blog gives you total control over how your blog looks and functions.  In early 2010, I moved this blog to a self hosted account.

There are probably three reasons you haven’t moved your blog to a self-hosted account:

  1. You don’t want to pay for your blog.
  2. You don’t know how to set it up.
  3. You don’t want to lose all your old posts from blogger or wordpress.com.
What if I told you that I make enough money from blogging to pay for my hosting each year and I will show you how to do the same?
What if I told you I will set up your blog for you on a hosted account?
What if I told you I could import all your old posts into your new blog?
Here’s what you’ll get from me when you CLICK HERE TO SIGNUP FOR BLUEHOST.COM.
1.  I will set up WordPress for you on your BLUEHOST account.  $100 value
2.  I will install the following plug-ins:  $40 value
  • WordPress SEO-helps people find your blog using search engines so you don’t have to rely on friends and family to read your blog.
  • W3 Total Cache-keeps your blog running nice and fast
  • Akismet-removes all comment spam
  • Jetpack-provides various tools including blog stats and social network sharing
  • nrelate-provides thumbnails to related posts to help people discover more of your content
3.  I will include 17 WordPress 101(WP 101) tutorial videos on how to use wordpress.  $50 value
4.  I will import posts from your old wordpress.com or blogger site.  $75 value
What’s the Cost?  

BLUEHOST.COM is the number one hosting company recommended by wordpress.org.  They have excellent 24/7 customer service, call you to verify your account set up, and do not allow pornographic sites on their servers.  Their regular price is $8.95 per month but right now you can SIGNUP FOR  12 months at $6.95($83.40), 24 months at $5.95($142.80), or 36 months at $4.95($178.20).  After your initial contract is up the cost goes up to $8.95 per month($107.40 yearly).  Did I mention that this cost includes your domain name and if you already own a domain name BLUEHOST and I will show you how to switch it over?

What’s the Catch?

There is no catch.  As an affiliate for BLUEHOST.COM I make a commission when you sign up.  If you don’t like your blog when I’m done there is a 30 day money back guarantee they offer.  If you’re not satisfied in any way they will refund all of your money and I will still email you the weekly blogging tips.  My goal here is to build connections around the blogosphere and get more people blogging.

Step 1:

Sign up for Bluehost using one of the links provided or the banner below.

Step 2:

Choose a domain.

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Choose a domain

Step 3:

Choose your plan and payment options.  I personally do not choose any of the extras that are offered.

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Choose your plan and payment options.

Step 4:

Email your bluehost receipt and log in information to heath.mullikin at(@) gmail.com.  Also include your name that you will be blogging under, the Title you want to use for your blog, and what it will be about.  This information will be entered into your settings and can be changed at any time.  After I email you your wordpress log in information I will destroy the email with your bluehost information.

Step 5:

Verify your account when BLUEHOST.COM calls.

Step 6:

Start Blogging!

What are you waiting for? CLICK HERE TO START YOUR NEW BLOG AT BLUEHOST.COM

Why and How I Use Twitter

Heath Mullikin Twitter follower count
I finally passed 20,000 Twitter followers!

I was not an early adopter of twitter.  However, soon I was running multiple accounts as I launched the Chase Your Lion blog.  I’ve tried to be very intentional with my social media strategy.  A year after joining I posted my thoughts on the 5 groups you see on twitter.  The past few months has been about simplifying my online presence by merging my blogs and phasing out some twitter accounts.  I’d like to answer the why, how, and [Read more…] about Why and How I Use Twitter

Even Wesleyan Pastors Make Mistakes

I missed the mark this time.

I received a message last night that this blog had sent out upwards of 400 emails to everyone who subscribes to this blog via email.  First, let me offer my sincerest apologies for blanketing your inbox with what must have seemed like a spam attack from Uranus.  Even Wesleyan pastors make mistakes.

Secondly, I want to explain why this happened and [Read more…] about Even Wesleyan Pastors Make Mistakes

Blog Renovations

Time for a Renovation

It’s been almost two years since I started Chase Your Lion and it’s time for some Blog Renovations.  It has been such a great learning experience and blessing for me.  I know I’ve been hot and cold with the blog.  My brain knows what to do, but yada yada yada.  I’ve discovered two great blogs since October 2009 that have been a tremendous encouragement and guide to great blogging.  Michael Hyatt and John Saddington(aka The Tentblogger) have two of the best blogs out there and give great tips and advice.  A lot of what you see here is a result of what I see them do as far as look and feel.  We all use Tentblogger’s Standard Theme.  Believe me, it is the easiest premium theme I have purchased and used by far.

With all that in mind, it’s time for some Blog Renovations around here.  It’s going to be a lot of work, but here’s an overview of what’s happening.

  1. I have switched from the All In One SEO Pack to Yoast’s WordPress SEO.  These are plugins that give your blog a better chance of being discovered on search engines(Search Engine Optimization).  I took the time to write this stuff.  I want people to find it and read it.  Yoast’s plugin is easier to use and has deeper options.
  2. I will be adding a picture to every post to make the nRelate Related Content plugin look prettier.  It will hopefully get more [Read more…] about Blog Renovations

Don’t Let a Hacked Blog Stop You

Do you need a fresh start?

Several months ago, this blog was hacked.  I started blogging on MySpace years ago, then moved to notes on Facebook.  Next came dailydoseofheath.wordpress.com before I finally bought Heathmullikin.com and moved to a hosted account.  Later on, The Daily Dose of Heath became a video show as I did my best to be One Man, One Mic, Three Minutes.  That’s when, due to a weak login and password, the blog was hacked with a code so embedded that the good folks at Bluehost couldn’t even pin point everywhere it was.  I purchased WordPress Defender to ensure that nothing like that ever happened again to my blog or any blog that I built.  I then set up the domain www.heathmullikin.com to forward to ChaseYourLion.com as I took some time to determine my next step.

After much prayer and deliberation, I have decided that this blog will do 2 things:

1.  Tell my story as the pastor of a rural church and…

2.  Encourage other rural pastors(although non-rural pastors are certainly welcome).

That’s why this week, I will be launching the Rural Pastor Podcast and fire the keyboard back up for some new adventures.

I’m excited to get a second chance at blogging here.  Starting from scratch isn’t all bad as I will get to apply a lot of what I’ve learned now from the very beginning.  With that said, I will leave most of the blogging advice for Chase Your Lion where this week I will be announcing how new/wanna be bloggers can get over the hump and get started.

If you’re a Rural Pastor I encourage you to join the discussion and contact me with any questions, comments, or topics you think should be covered by the blog and podcast.  Have a great week!

 

Attend a Rural Church? Try the Rural Pastor’s Podcast for encouragement, tips, and trends to lead your church to a whole new level!