Question for Readers: Do I take the leap?

Update: I did it! As you can see, I’m now budgetandthebeach.com! I’m still working on getting my subscribers moved over, so bear with me. Also dealing with a few other minor tweaks.

I’m going to start working on the ads portion now. Anything else you think I should add to this site?

I’ll have a bigger post about all of this on Monday!

I need advice from my readers!

I have been on the fence about moving my blog to being self-hosted for a long time.

The pros would be that I have my own domain, can start putting ads up, perhaps do a giveaway, and probably some more benefits I can’t think of right now.

The cons would potentially be that I feel more pressure to write more/better posts, that there would be a little money up front and to maintain a self-hosted site, that I won’t have time/be able to figure all the ad stuff, and that I won’t really make much off the ads anyway.

I’m at a crossroads I think. I’m feeling very frustrated today about my job search and my freelance career, and want to make every effort to make extra income that I can. And it’s just quite freeing to have something that is just my own. I wish I could elaborate more…

So help talk me through it. Is it worth it to go self-hosted, and is it possible to make a decent amount of side income?

Thanks so much for your advice!

http://www.makingsenseofcents.com/ Michelle

I would go to self hosted! And as you probably know, my income went up by A LOT when I switched
- http://budgetandthebeach.wordpress.com Budget & the Beach
  
  was it easy to figure out all the ad stuff?
mochiandmacarons

Depends on what you mean by ‘decent side income’.

I would always suggest anyone who is interested in blogging for the long-term to move to being self-hosted. It’s inevitable. People swore to me for years they’d never switch and now they have (which I love!). So yes, I encourage you to do it, I’m sure your Adsense advertising will more than cover hosting.
- http://budgetandthebeach.wordpress.com Budget & the Beach
  
  I guess I have no idea what to expect as far as any side income. How much more work do I have to put in (when my time is already crunched) to make it “worth my while?” I don’t want to turn it into a job or another obligation. I don’t know…maybe it’s fear talking and I just need to stop being afraid…
http://www.canadianbudgetbinder.com Canadianbudgetbinder

I am, as I want to have control over my site. With so many people wanting to advertise now on CBB I feel I am locked in and can’t move. As for $$ I have no idea about what one can make as I’m just doing it for the fans right now. Hoping I will learn slowly and that my blogger mates will help me through. Cheers Mr.CBB
http://sanpedroitza.wordpress.com Pauline

I thought self hosting was buying your own server? I bought a domain about $10 and am hosted by host gator for $55 per year or so, is that self hosting? I don’t know any other but I like gator because a few times I was really stuck with my blog (once with a complete crash) and the customer service has been excellent.
http://debtandthegirl.com Debt and the Girl

Hi T.L.
I have been self hosted pretty much from the get go of my blogging career and it has been great for me. I chose to be self-hosted for the very reason that it allowed me to make side income-however little it may be. I have made a small amount of money through my blog and just signed up for a company that lets you use affiliate links on your blog to make money. I only have paid like $10 a year to have it self hosted so that was not a lot at all. I would strongly encourage you to go self-hosted if you are interested in side income. its not much for sure but everything helps. Email me if you want the name of the affiliate company. Good luck!
- http://www.nutsandboltsmedia.com Andrea
  
  Actually, just had to jump in and clarify that having your own domain and having a self-hosted blog are two different things. In your case, your site is still hosted by Blogger but you are using your own domain (I’d be very careful with those affiliate links and ads as they violate Google’s TOS.) This post is concerning self-hosted WordPress, where she is renting server space and will also have her own domain. She is only bound to her host’s TOS, which allow for any type of ads she wants. Feel free to kick me – just had to point that out.
  - http://budgetandthebeach.wordpress.com Budget & the Beach
    
    Obviously I wrote this just before I emailed you! lol! I guess sometimes I just need to “sound things out” and I usually make up my own mind. Just haven’t had time to put an update. Yes, you’re right. I have had a wordpress site with my own url before, but this would be different. Thanks for pointing that out…because it can get confusing!
    - http://twitter.com/SavvyFinLatina SavvyFinancialLatina
      
      Did you use Andrea’s Nuts and Bolts? I’m thinking of making the leap to her service!
http://eemusings.wordpress.com eemusings

I’ve been of the same mind. I decided to start by getting my own domain, and if traffic/interest builds, then I might go self-hosted. At least then I won’t lose any technical juice because I’ve already got the stats for my current URL.
http://plungedindebt.com Catherine

Do it. Although new to the PF community I’ve blogged for years. I moved to self hosted just over a month ago and love it. I have no intentions of ever really making money off it but even as a hobby it’s worth the money. The options you have are much better and given your freelance experience I would for sure. You’ll love WP too, I tried blogger, hated it to be honest and adore WP. Good luck!!
- budgetandthebeach
  
  It has been done! woo hoo! I used wordpress on the old site as well, it was just the free site. Now to change this comment section…
  - http://www.inbudgetswetrust.com G.B. @ In Budgets We Trust
    
    Congratulations! If you’re interested in moving your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org, there are a lot of free tutorials out there on how to make the transition as smooth as possible. I think when I looked into it, it was the only way to add ads to your blog.
    - http://budgetandthebeach.com/com/ Budget & the Beach
      
      Yes I couldn’t ad ads before. Now I have to dig in and check out this whole other side of blogging!
http://www.momoneymohouses.com/ Mo’ Money Mo’ Houses

Do it!!! Though I guess I’m technically not self-hosted, I’m on tumblr, so I may have to make the switch at some point too.
- http://budgetandthebeach.com/com/ Budget & the Beach
  
  done! I’m still playing around with things, but I got it done!
Mackenzie

I think you should do it. Wait, did you? It says .com, not .wordpress. Yeah! Good for you!
- http://budgetandthebeach.com/com/ Budget & the Beach
  
  Yup!
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John S @ Frugal Rules

I would totally make the jump. When I started my blog I looked at both options and went for the self-hosting as I wanted greater control at what I could do. In terms of what you can make, that’s a tough question. I know you can make decent income off of it, but what level do you want to take it to? I think there’s a balance to be had with it. I am just starting to venture into it myself, so I am learning the advertising game as I go.
- http://budgetandthebeach.com/com/ Budget & the Beach
  
  I already did! I’m very sneaky. Now i have to dig in and figure everything else out!
http://www.moneyaftergraduation.com/ Gillian Money After Graduation

Yay !! Congrats! And I’d say go self-hosted!
http://twitter.com/PelicanOnMoney Pelican on Money

Congrats! Def. worth all the effort. I often skip on commenting on wordpress domains, just can’t help it.
jefferson @seedebtrun

I think this is great for your site and great for you… Now that you are on a real platform, your site can take off even more than it has.. One of my favorite plugins that I would recommend is called “Link Within”, which adds a link to 4 old posts at the bottom of your new posts.. check it out.

-j-
http://twitter.com/Eyesonthedollar Kim

I think you’ll be glad you made the switch. I started with self hosted and am still learning as I go, but apparently if you ever want to monetize, it is the best choice.
http://mypenniesmythoughts.blogspot.com/ Janine

Congrats on making the jump! Who did you use as a host site?