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!
Budget & the Beach 
I would go to self hosted! And as you probably know, my income went up by A LOT when I switched 🙂
was it easy to figure out all the ad stuff?
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.
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…
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
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.
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!
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.
🙂 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!
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.