Hey there – If you are like me, you want to know more about how (and why) this website exists. I’ve hidden this post a little bit so if you have found it, congrats! Usually I look back to the first post on a Blog to find out what I’m looking for, but in this case, well, you know.
To that end – what is the point of this blog? Why even bother blogging anymore. With so many different social media channels out there, what’s the point?
I was in my 20’s when the Internet really started to come of age. I remember so much was different. Dancing Hamsters, animated GIFs everywhere. Dial-up.
But over the years one thing has really endured – the web-log.
Back when the internet was new I would read the original mommy blogger Heather Armstrong. And even now she still has a blog. Maybe not as active as it once was, but it has stood the test of time.
Over the years I’ve had a few websites – some more successful than others. As I look back I can see the one thing that makes a blog successful. And that is consistency. It’s not a catchy domain name. It’s not backlinks. It is half-way decent writing – some well keyword photos, and the ability to show up on a fairly regular basis to entertain and inform the readers.
I DO have a goal with this site – and I have a feeling that this one will achieve it – only time will tell.
But before I relay that goal, let me tell a little story…
I’m sure you all have heard about real estate investing. Buying a property, fixing it up a little bit, putting a renter in it, and letting the renters pay the mortgage over time. Then after a few decades, you own a house, and the people who have been living there have paid for it. Sure, as a landlord you have had to fix toilets and repair the roof, but long term, it’s a pretty good way to get rich.
The biggest problem with real estate investing is that it has such a very high barrier to entry. Buying a property requires a big chunk of cash as a downpayment. Plus you have to know what you are doing a little bit so that you don’t buy a dud property in the bad part of town.
But if you do it right, you can set yourself and your family up for a very long time to be prosperous.
Now to relate this to today…
In the back of my mind I see blogging like real estate investing. There are so many similarities (and potential pitfalls), but as I carefully look at it I see the same possibility for very favorable returns. Here is one of my favorite Real Estate Quotes about that very subject.
Domain names and websites are Internet real estate.
Marc Ostrofsky
I have some pretty hefty goals that I want to accomplish over the next 25 years or so. (That’s how long I am dedicating to this project – FWIW.). There are several phases I have planned out – bear with me as I go through them.
First Phase
As I write this, I have about 20 blog posts up so far. They are all bases on Home Automation, specifically Apple HomeKit. I think that is the brand that will “win” the automation game in the long term. Even if it doesn’t it is attached to one of the largest companies in the world – Apple.
I’m going to write about my journey Turing a fairly upscale builder grade house into a completely Automated house with HomeKit. I’ll share what works and doesn’t, using SEO and Keyword posts combined with Pinterest to drive traffic to this brand new website. Once I hit around 100 posts, I should be getting 10K page views per month, and at that point I’ll put up some ads, and sprinkle in some Affiliate links to begin to generate some money. This should take me until the end of 2022, and this is the foundation of the journey.
Second Phase
Part two of this trip is now taking that blog and using the revenue from it to buy a fixer-upper that I can turn into an AirBnB. The topic of the blog will shift a little bit to DIY and home repair.
I plan on buying a small house and using it as the stage for future posts. Simple home repair, decorating, thrifting, and such. During this time I want to begin to establish relationships with brands, and furnish the AirBnb with the fruits of that relationship.
Concurrently, I’ll be exploring the area and writing about cool places to shop, restaurants, and other sightseeing activities.
Third Phase
Is starting a Podcast interviewing other House bloggers. This will launch in the beginning of 2024. Reaching out to other house bloggers and talking with them about how they got started, what the love (and hate) about what they do, and generally just having fun with other like-minded bloggers around the country.
This is the part that should provide the long term basis for growth for my final plan – I will establish more credibility
Fourth and Final Phase
Repeat the second step with different properties around the world, so that when I retire we will be able to travel the wold staying in one of my many different houses in cool cities.
- Austin or San Antonio
- Maui
- Anaheim
- NYC
- San Francisco
- Paris
- London
- Tokyo
- Jerusalem
- Sydney
- Florence
- Hong Kong
- Pacific Grove
- Seattle
So that’s the end game – ending up with a combination travel and home blog. Create cool houses around the world, and share the process on the website, so that people can live and share the experience I’m creating when my wife, kid and I aren’t staying in the place. Basically creating AirBnB’s that pay for properties and writing about it while I do so.
So that’s what I’m doing here. Trying to start a little mini empire. In a couple of years I’ll open up the comments on this post and you can let me know how I did. Until then, I’m just going to grind away and have a little fun sharing what I know in hopefully an entertaining way. How’d I do?