Please: Help me use my blog to get a job

[bif]

I know this is going to sound pathetic, but here's the deal. I'm an advertising writer who and haven't had a regular job since 2005. I'm a music lover and a month ago started a music blog. What I'm trying to do is get a lot activity on my site, increase the followers, comments, traffic, etc. and use it to get a job at a local paper as a music reviewer. So if you get a chance, visit it and tell your friends about it. I appreciate all the help you can give me. The site is http://marksmusicmemo.blogspot.com/

[blogslut]

1. You need to monetize your site

And for heaven's sake, pay for your own domain and hosting and upload some blog software like WordPress. You can do all that for roughly 20.00.

As for traffic, blog - a lot. Visit similar blogs and make comments. Don't spam but always include a link to your URL in your profile. Link to other blogs. Blog more. Google loves blogs and once other blogs start linking to yours, you'll start to see sweet, sweet Search Engine traffic. If you have some extra money, take out an ad or two on smaller, but still popular blogs on BlogAds.

If I told you more, you'd have to pay me. :)

[bif]

2. I eventually will

But it's hard to justify buying a site right now, what with me being unemployed and two kids in college.

[blogslut]

3. You can't afford $20.00 up front?

Plus another 5 bucks a month?

[bif]

4. That is pretty cheap.

I manage a couple other sites and I've been paying $35 for the domain name and around $120 a year to have them host it.

[blogslut]

5. You're getting robbed

Godaddy charges about ten bucks to register a domain for a one year period. Their starter, virtual hosting package is something like five bucks a month. Actually, I may be underestimating the price because if you want to pay for hosting on a month to month basis, I think you have to pay for three months in advance = $15.00. So I guess it's more like $25.00 dollars up front plus five bucks a month after the third month and ten dollars a year to keep your domain name.

There's a lot of do-it-yourself work involved and you have to pay close attention to Godaddy's heavy upselling but initially, you're not going to need more than 2gigs of storage and two gigs of transfer. Blogspot is free hosting and quite limiting when it comes to full site control and monetization.

As well, Word Press software is completely free.

[Flaxbee]

7. I don't like godaddy very much, but try canaca.com

www.canaca.com

$10 to buy a name, $20 annually to renew. We have our own servers so don't use their hosting, but they are a responsive company.

[bif]

8. I'll look into them.

Thanks

[Tangerine LaBamba]

10. joker.com

I use them. Ten bucks a year for the domain name. Really fine folks, very helpful, very responsive......

[bif]

12. Yet another good one

Thanks

[bif]

6. I just figured out why no one could post on my blog

It was a setting that I didn't know about--and I just changed it. Comment away!

[bif]

9. Kick for the evening crowd

Feel free to leave comments

[emilyg]

11. Kick

[bif]

13. Thank you!