Contest is over. Congratulations Carlos!! (Entered on 10/24/2012 at 12:03am – had to clarify because there were two people named Carlos) Random.org chose your comment number and you won the contest! (For the record, I did not count multiple replies and those that did not follow the instructions. ) Thanks everyone for entering. 🙂
I love giveaways and promise to do more things like this on my blog in the near future.
As you may already know, I am using the Genesis Lifestyle Theme on this blog now.
I had been using it on other projects for awhile and was so happy with it, I decided to switch all my sites over to this theme.
Genesis is one of the most popular, premium themes today because it’s coded well (very clean), has a fair amount of customizations (including various column layouts), looks crisp and loads quickly.
The support is also superb, and they provide a useful getting-started guide if you’re new to WordPress and/or Genesis themes.
You can watch me customize the Genesis Lifestyle child theme in the video below…
Now, I’m going to give YOU the chance to win the Genesis theme and a child theme of your choice – an $80 value! (Of course, if you already own Genesis then you can still win a child theme of your choice.)
How to Win
Let’s make this easy. To enter, simply reply to this post. (If you’re reading this via email, click here to reply. Please do not reply via email.)
Tell me one thing you’d do differently if you could start your blog over today. And if you haven’t started your blog yet, tell me your biggest challenge with getting started so far.
I will use Random.org to choose a number. The comment number that corresponds to what I draw will be declared the winner. Be sure your email is correct (won’t be displayed) so I can send you the theme files if you win.
Contest ends Tuesday, October 30th at 11:59pm CT. Good luck!
Rules & Terms
- No purchase necessary to enter or win (I will purchase the theme for the winner)
- Only one entry per person (additional entries will be deleted and I will be checking emails and IP’s)
- One winner will be chosen using Random.org
- Contest ends Tuesday, October 30th at 11:59pm CT
- Entries that don’t follow the rules and requirements will be voided/removed
I don’t know if I would do anything differently. I’ve just started my blog about two months ago, with a lot of research and writing done in advance. I don’t know yet if I’m doing well, but I hope so:)
What I do wish I had done, is keep notes from trips way before I started my blog. Taht way I’d have more detailed content.
One thing I would do differently is start with a clear plan in mind, as to the direction and, even more importantly, the branding of my blog. That being said, I still have no clear idea how I want to brand it, so I suppose if I had done that part differently, I would be sitting here today without a blog.
I also wish I had taken more pictures when traveling, since I have a travel blog and find myself having to search Flickr for creative commons images more often than I would like.
My blog/site is still under construction. As a matter of fact so far, I’ve only registered the domain name.
My challenge is creating content that doesn’t necessarily make me look smart but instead, translates what I feel about the subject in a way that people can relate to and understand what the heck I’m talking about.
I believe that it’s not about how smart you are but how well you communicate.
Thanks Lisa!
Thanks for creating this contest Lisa. I used to love Thesis but was utterly disappointed with Thesis 2.0. They make it sound so easy to use 2.0 but so far I don’t see any easy path to upgrade my site from 1.8.5, so I’m looking at Genesis.
I suppose one thing I would have done differently if I started my blog today would be to choose a shorter domain name. I opted for an exact match domain that is quite long and I am finding it hard to build “brand recall” around it. Another thing, with Google’s EMD algo update, I’m kinda worried I might get hit although I’m pretty confident with the quality of the content we have. 🙂
Thanks Lisa!
One thing I would do different if I am to start my blog over today is to focus on a niche. That is build my blog on a particular niche. Instead of having a single blog, I would have created several blogs.
Forgive me to add another. If I am to do something else different, I would have created my blog on a custom domain name and host it in a reputable web hosting company, instead of free free domain name and free domain hosting.
Well I may as well throw my hat into the ring.
I had a blog about 10 years ago and it died; or I died…LOL…
I wish I had kept it going and then I would be right on trend with the subject. Without having a clue, I had lots of traffic. I was doing “long tail” before it was popular.
Fast forward a few years. I started skipping around and trying different things and researching myself into a dark hole.
I’ve come to realize that the best subject is one that reflects your values and interests. The niche within that market is a problem begging for support or a solution.
I also learned that there is no “perfection” on the web. It isn’t static enough to demand such. As soon as you think you know something, it will change. You may as well start with what you know and adjust later.
I see internet work as being a “creative” endeavor as well as a science. It’s key for you to retain your voice yet know when to seek help.
Thank you for this opportunity.
There are just a few things I would have done differently. First of all, I would not have hosted my site on a Windows server at my host. I later moved to cloud hosting under Linux and find that support for WordPress is much better. The second thing is that I would have implement stronger security controls. And the last thing is that I would have automated my backup a lot sooner. Not that I have had issues, mind you, but for peace of mind.
— Gaye
I would have used a premium theme like Genesis from the start. I already use Genesis on my sites–I am using Prose because I LOVE it. I wasted so much time in the beginning trying to customize other themes to look the way that I wanted. I got Prose and had the website I wanted in 30 minutes.
In my experience, the theme you choose is a very important decision. I always advise people to go with Genesis. I have never needed help with Prose because it is so easy to customize. Anyone can do it. So I just wanted to second your recommendation of Genesis.
It’s interesting to see how you’ve used the Lifestyle theme and how you customized it.
I stopped updating my blog when I was heavily pregnant with my first child, and now, ten months later (and pregnant again!) I still haven’t been at it yet. I don’t seem to have the clear mind necessary for it these days, which is a pity because I feel I have so many things to say on pregnancy, motherhood and fitness, as these are the recurrent themes in my life nowadays. I think I just need a gentle nudge, maybe a new theme will do the trick? I would love to give my blog a more professional look and start offering more training/running advice to pregnant ladies and new moms out there!
If I had to start again I would choose a niche and a premium theme.
Hey,
Great contest Lisa!
That is a cool opportunity for the newbies. Its fun and the question sends a creativity race in the minds of any person reading it. The themes you have talked about interests me.
If i could start over a blog today I would do it with utmost caution! I would try not to leave any loop holes and learn from my experiences and reading. I would use personal and social means to gain it popularity and handle the stuff with consistency.
This contest will surely help novices to start over.
regards,
sanjib
I would have definitely chosen a more functional theme. I went through three before settling on the theme that I have now. I do like the look and feel of Genesis, but I think it is a little restrictive as it pertains to media and entertainment. I haven’t seen a media/movie site that uses the Genesis framework. If there is one, I would really like to see it in action! One other really big mistake I made was going with cheap hosting that had really bad customer service. I lost an entire starter site because of it.
Lisa, I don’t have a solid blog right now and it’s my wish to have one soon. My biggest challenge, thou, is market research and segmentation. Why is this so important to me? Well, as you know, the web is so saturated with information. If I can master the art of niche refining and positioning, I did make a killer blog that is very targeted to its audience. If I can be able to properly research a profitable, target market and know its needs, problems, concerns intimately, it would be easier to offer direct solutions. This will build genuine followers or fans who will religiously subscribe to my content to grow my list.
I would after planning the structure and key words, set up a schedule to work DAILY on the content of my site. Have a plan of action. If I plan to write an E-book, I will work on it daily as well.
Well…if i’d start a blog first of all i’d choose a topic that i like and i’d love to write about it. Then i’d choose the best framework there is (Genesis :D) and start designing my blog. Thne i’ll just focus on creating good quality content, because users and money will come with that. And some SEO would be nice as well. 🙂
Hi Lisa!
If I would start again, I would pay someone else to design my site. I find It takes up far too much time when I concentrate on the technical side of blogging.
Content and videos are key.
Thanks for your inspiration!
Vaughan
Hi
Good idea for a competition Lisa,
The problem I am having when starting a new site is getting quality images, and banner designs at affordable prices.
I think the most important thing I would do differently is prioritize. I have been working on a WordPress static website for my dance studio so it may not be the same as most of your other followers. It took me a while to realize the difference between a static site and a blog, and it has actually been much more difficult to find info on creating static sites, even on your site. There is so much information that has to go up on my site, sometimes I found it overwhelming to try and tackle everything at once. It probably wouldn’t be as important to an experienced blogger, because they pretty much have an idea of where and how to input and store their information. But as a first time blogger it has definitely been a challenge to try and organize and prioritize all of the info I want to put up on my site. Great contest idea, and thank you for all of the amazing info and videos you have on your site!!! You have definitely helped me survive as a first time website designer.
I wouldn’t start my blog over again, but I do start new blogs all the time, and I’d also focus on squeeze landing pages and building my lists…
If I could do it all over again, I would find a way to purchase a really good theme. I have bought several but I am unhappy with all of them for some reason or other. But how can you know when you are new and on a budget?
Spend more time working and not so much learning. The problem with the Web is there is so00000000 very much to learn/know. Being something of a perfectionist and wanting to do everything “just right” tends to tie me into knots. I still haven’t learned JavaScript/JQuery/WordPress or PHP, but I am something of an expert on HTML/CSS and Photoshop, but there is nothing out there to show – so what good does it do me. Oh, well. Just my 2 cents.
I intend on doing a total revamp in 2013. It won’t be a complete start over but I intend on doing some things very differently. I have a lot of free information on my blog that is taking away my ability to sell a product. I need to cut down what I give away for free. Some of my free content will remain, but many of my best tutorials will be put in an e-book or made into DIY kits for sale on my Etsy site.
Well Lisa if I would launch my new blog today I will first write bunch of guest Posts that will help me to get decent amount of audience fast.
I would start 2006 instead of 2010. 2006 was the first time I came to know that it was possible to make living online.
I would start day one full bore publishing high quality content on a regular basis with the goal of market leadership, instead of planning meticulously from an SEO perspective (and then ultimately relying heavily on search traffic). Making leadership the goal through high quality content is the best way to get a spread of traffic sources and generate long term stability (your quality content never get’s hit by other people’s algorithms).
I would focus on an topic in which I’m really, really interested about and I really enjoy. Trying to make money on a subject you don’t love, is difficult, boring and frustrating.
Congrats Carlos! You won!! I will be emailing you to find out your choice of theme. 🙂
Wow Lisa, thank you so much! This is awesome!. I just sent you an e-mail with my candidates. Thank again for such a nice gift!
Dear Lisa,
If there’s anything that I deeply regret is that i started blogging on Forex trading with my first blog. I never knew that Adsense and many more good Ads networks dread approval of Forex trading blogs until when I have spent so much and so much that I could not change anything about the experience. Is not that there’s anything wrong blogging about Forex trading but the issue is that,as a matter of policy most Ads networks don’t want to identify with bloggers that blog about Forex trading thereby making life very very difficult for such bloggers as they can’t monitize their blogs with the big money Ads networks. Very painful. If i had started with a blogg on health issues first then I could have seen enough money to blog about health issues, Forex trading and so on but today I can’t really do that cause the money to embark on another blogg is no where to be found. Thank you.
I would have been more consistent with managing my time better. I gave up the first time when the going got rough…only to start again 1 year later. I would have been so much farther down the road and probably experiencing some success now if I had been more faithful to myself by being faithful to the goals I had set.
Hello Lisa! I threw together a hair blog not really trying to do anything but document my journey. I’ve since decided to followup on an idea I’ve carried around for awhile and will have my new blog up soon. I just let life stand in the way for much too long….but I’m ready now! I hope I win, it will be right on time for me 😉
Ack, I just realized I am probably going to mess up your contest and your ability to count these comments by chatting with others and trying to get to know them. Is there a way you can remove this comment and my replies Lisa and I didn’t realize this until after about 5 of my reply comments. Really sorry about that.
Don’t worry. I’ll just go thru and only count the first post from everyone. Others have done that too. So I’ll have to do that just to make it fair. No biggie. 🙂
Hi Lisa
I have been working on getting my blog off the ground since July. I just posted my first post(besides my Hello World! post) today.
I wish I had spent more time figuring out my niche market. I have it figured out now, but part of the reason it has taken me so long to launch my blog is because I did not have a clearly defined niche market when I purchased my blog domain name, so I struggled with how to tie it in with the niche market I finally settled on.
Thanks for the opportunity and thanks for all the wonderful information that you share with the internet community.
Lisa,
The one thing I would do differently is to not rely on Google as much for traffic. With all of the algorithm changes you can go crazy trying to figure out Panda’s and Penguin’s.
Instead, I would focus completely on quality content and writing for my visitor…not a robot. This would have made life far more enjoyable than counting up keywords.
I wish I wouldn’t have had all my eggs in one basket. I relied so heavily on one of my sites that when an algo changed dropped my traffic down from 700 hits a day to 70 it made a big impact on my financial life. I guess, the lesson you learn is don’t rely on your blog so much that if it happens to lose traffic drastically your not back to square one.
Good Day to You Lisa,
I love your new theme!
Haven’t been to Website Babble for a while, but will be back.
I’m not sure exactly when because of purchasing hosting and domain(s) at WebsitePalace.com.
I’m kind of busy just getting started on my new static site/blog combination.
By the way Ti Roberts wanted me to let you know I found out about your give away from her.
I’ve started following both her and Ms Ileane. You’re still my number one mentor though!
Good luck with your marketing results from this!
My Best to You
Arth
I am just in the process of getting my blog going, and I think if I could “start over,” so to speak, I would have researched WordPress and premium themes, and tried to get up to speed on what all the ins and outs of having one’s own hosted domain even means. I have had such a steep learning curve, but sites like yours have helped tremendously.
Thanks for all the help you give!
Thank you for having this give-away. I would love to win, and to learn more about the Genesis theme.
My regret in blogging is that I used my real name. Sometimes I want to vent, but have to bite my tongue in case there are prying eyes. I admire anonymous blogging at times.
I haven’t started a blog yet, and the fault is all mine. Instead of taking time off to work on my website and portfolio, I’ve jumped from one client to the next (most of my business is word-of-mouth). The problem is I’m not on the higher end of the pay scale, so I need each and every one of these projects.
If I had to do one thing different, it’ll probably be starting the blog earlier in time. I got late into the game and wished that I had got into my niche a little earlier.
If I could start over with my blog I would have chosen an Israeli domain and not an international one. Back then .co.il domains were expensive so I went for a .net domain, but now i wanted to make an English version of my blog, and moving my Hebrew one to an Israeli domain (in order to turn the .net domain to the English blog) is too risky for me since i’m rated high on google and don’t want to loose my ranking.
I love this question!
If I were to start my blog over, I would wait until I had about 3,000 email subscribers from promoting a squeeze page. I would also pick a completely different domain name and check with a lawyer about the name to make sure it isn’t going to be an issue (I know 2 different people who lost a ton of money for skipping this step).
From there, I wouldn’t mess with building social profiles and focus solely on building my list. I’m only building my list and Twitter now so it wouldn’t be a big difference. I would also work on a premium coaching course to match the niche of my blog.
Speaking of niche, I would focus on a completely different one.
I would rather blog about health and fitness but keep my IM newsletter email only.
Thanks for the post! The site looks great! 🙂
-Gabe Johansson
A contest eh? I currently use Thesis for lots of my sites, but I haven’t ventured to do 2.o yet, and Genesis is the other name is do-it-all themes, so, what the heck!
The thing I would do differently with my blog page is to find some consistent co-bloggers that could do one or two things each, and assign specific roles for each of us, versus having a few people try to write about anything/everything. That leads to a lack of congruency and a lack of specific responsibilities, which makes it easy for each of us to choose to write nothing. Sadface. So, as I move forward, I elect to assign/choose specific topics of responsibility for specific people.
pickmepickmepickme!!!!!!
If I could start my blog over, I would first decide on the topic I want to focus on and stick with it.Then, I would make it my business to commit to a blogging schedule, regardless of hindrances. In the past I had a schedule and stuck with it, but have found myself being a bit stagnant and not consistent. I would research good topics to blog about, rather than just blogging about things that would not help many people.
Thank you Lisa for this opportunity. It has really gotten me to thinking about my blog and getting back into it.
~Sandra~
I would start building my list on day 1.
That’s something I’ve neglected to do almost 3 years and it was a grave mistake 😀
I’d love to try Genesis; I still love Thesis but since version 2 I don’t feel as comfortable with my theme as I did before…
Hi Lisa!
Well, I will try to create a unique logo for my blog, so as to give my blog a brand look for exposure and thus my blog logo will be my blog’s unique identity. Thanks 🙂
Regards
Nizam Khan
Cool, great contest Lisa!
Ok, so the one thing that I’d do differently if I could start my blog over is… Well it took me a while to really become clear on my vision for my blog and narrow down my niche. So, if I could go back 7 years and start over from scratch I’d make sure that I knew the exact niche that I wanted to target and stick with it.
I’ve done so much hopping around over the years and I guess that’s a part of the territory when it comes to learning how to make money online, but as I’ve grown I see the extreme value in have a true targeted niche. And I wish I’d been clear on that when I started my first blog.
That would have tremendously cut out all the confusion for me, plus I would’ve began reaching out to my fellow bloggers much sooner.
Thanks for running this contest Lisa! This is going to really exciting! 🙂
Ti
Ti,
I feel the same way about hopping around trying different things. It seems one of the biggest challenges is to stick with a topic long enough to see it to maturity. What kinds of topics did you try over the years as you got into blogging? How did you get into Internet Marketing and is that your main passion?
Hi Jeremy,
Gosh, I can’t count how many times I”ve hopped around, lol. I first got introduced to the concept of making money online over 7 yrs ago (I was 19). It was affiliate marketing, I believe. I didn’t make any money with the program but ever since my introduction to IM, I’ve been hooked.
I’ve stuck with the make money online topic for the most part. Well, there was that one time I attempted to build a website about “college student loans” – #epicfail. Let’s see… Network marketing, Internet network marketing, mlm, and countless other “shiny object” programs, lol.
I’ve now found my home – Internet affiliate marketing , through blogging – focusing on the traffic generation niche. What a relief! Lol. I finally realized that in order to make any real money online I was going to have to pick a niche and stick with. And, I was also going to have to build a strong skill set. So I figured, what better skill set to build up than traffic generation? If you can get a consistent stream of traffic flowing in you’ll always be able to make money online (and have fun doing the split testing on the back end 🙂 ).
Ultimately, I had to come back to my first love and passion which was pure internet/affiliate marketing. That’s what I first fell in love with online and that’s what I ended up sticking with. The idea of being able to just sit behind my computer, type, without having to personally talk to a thousand people, and still make tons of money is just too appealing to me not to pursue.
Thanks for asking. How about you?
Ti
If I could start my blog over today, I would have chosen my domain name or even just my site’s name overall, wisely.
Peter,
What domain name would you like to have instead of your musicdnews.net?
The one thing that I would do differently would be to equip myself with a wealth of information by researching how to build a blog that would provide what people need. I’ve learned over the years that in order to have a great blog, you have to write from the heart and the information you share with others has to be valuable and it must serve a need. Well written content is key; I know that now and I thank you, Lisa, for sharing all that you’ve learned with your audience.
Cynthia,
What do you do when you write to make the content valuable or from the heart? Is there a certain mood you have to be in or a certain music that you like to have playing? I’m still trying to discover the best way to draw people in and write content well.
Hi, Cynthia! Another important thing that a writer should do is to check its sources and be sure the information he shares is true. It’s not enough to write from the heart or open hot topics, you need to provide accurate information.
Hi,
Thanks for this opportunity. I would first like to say I considered replying to this because I am offering social media services to a family member and was mentioning to her about getting a premium theme for her business…and she was so clueless. Im not sure if this is the best theme for her but to answer the question…I would love to get my own blog started for my social media services. I have tried blogging in the past…and one thing I didnt do was stay consistent. This time around staying consistent is in my plan.
I look forward to seeing who wins, but if it is me, I will most likely give it away to my family member to run her business with.
Have a wonderful rest of the day!
Aleshia,
I also have found staying consistent to be my biggest challenge. Some days I just want to relax and unwind and work (after coming home from my day job) is the last thing on my mind. Do you have a website currently?
I did have one http://www.buildingnicheincome.com but I started switching the niche websites to another host and was suppose to switch this one as well and things got really busy offline…including having a baby..and havent been back to it since…but I am currently working through facebook now offering social media services at http://www.facebook.com/SocializedContent
I just might be lucky # 1 here. If I could start my blog over, I’m not sure I’d do anything differently. I find that so much is tied into my effort to connect with others. Perhaps choosing the niche sooner.
I’d have gotten to know you sooner if I could go way back, but thankful to discover you and get to know you when I did.
I would start with an excellent hosting company instead of the cheap lame hosting company I started with. Quality dependable hosting with tech support that responds quickly is so important IMHO. You have to be able to handle traffic once you start getting some traction online.
markbrian,
What hosting company did you start with if you don’t mind me asking? How do you like using Media Temple for your dedicated hosting, do you find them reliable and to have good customer service?