As some have already noticed, Activerain recently gave the members an opportunity to have an outside blog page. This is a huge thing and an awesome idea. The best part about it, is that you can write your posts in Activerain and by just clicking one box, they are automatically added to your own personal outside blog. For the more advanced users you can purchase an outside domain name and have your outside blog point to that page. Since this release, I have seen many questions about how to set up your outside domain name, so I asked Brad if he wanted me to write a brief tutorial to help everyone else. My outside blog went active yesterday.
First thing is to visit GoDaddy.com and find a domain. You can see if your domain is available by searching at the top of the page, or in the middle there is also a search area. Type in exactly what you want the domain to be and click go.
If the domain is already taken, you will see this next screen come up.
If this happens, simply try another domain name, or you can pick one of the different variations which will be listed below. If the domain is not taken, this screen will appear:
Once you have found an available domain, you will need to set up an account with GoDaddy & go through the steps to purchase the domain. After you have purchased the Domain, you will need to point Activerain Servers to your new domain. Below is how to do that.
First, log into your account with GoDaddy & click on the tab on the left side that says My Products and then Manage Domains.
After clicking on the Manage Domains link, a menu across will appear. Click on the image that says Nameservers.
You will then bring up a menu screen with multiple tabs. Click on the Custom Nameservers box at the bottom of the Default Nameserver tab. Then click the Custom Nameserver Tab.
After clicking on the Custom Name Server Tab, input these exactly:
Nameserver 1: NS1.AGENTSPACES.COM
Nameserver 2: NS2.AGENTSPACES.COM
Then click OK.
You are now set up on GoDaddy.com. You will then need to go to your Activerain page. Click on the Outside Blogs button. Halfway down the page you will see the box, Use an outside domain name (advanced). Here is where you will type in your new domain page. Enter it exactly the same as your domain name. Also make sure you click the enable box.
The last step is to go to the bottom of this page and click SAVE CHANGES.
After clicking SAVE CHANGES it will take up to 72 hours for the nameservers to be directed and for the page to go active. You have done everything properly. The only thing left to do is be patient and wait.
Enjoy your new outside domain name blog. Thanks ACTIVERAIN!
Here's A TIP I just picked up from AR support:
If it has been more than 24 hours and your personalized domain is NOT WORKING:
Go into your AR Blog setup page, and disable the custom domain section and save.
(just uncheck the "enable" box)
Then go back in and re-enable it and save once again. This will clear the bug issue
that was discovered over the weekend and stored in your browsers memory.
Make sure you don't add in the http:// or the www, to the domain name, just enter
the domain name ONLY: ie: JeremyBlanton.com
So if you're one of those still waiting, this WILL be the process that will fix it.
*****UPDATE #2*******
Since there is going to be a lot of questions and tips/tricks coming out over the next few months, I made a group for outside blogs this evening. Go Join Here
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
I am the Co-Founder of 210 Consulting- Social Media Advisors. I have traveled the country as a social media speaker. If you would like more information on any of the topics discussed in this blog, please contact me directly. We specialize in social media training, online consulting, and the creation of your own custom WordPress site.
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Grat Blog- Simple instructions- Thanks you very much!
Bill
Keep on blogging!
Jeremy, right on time. I was trying to walk John Walters thru this very same process this morning on the phone. I will send him our link.
Nice set of instructions...I'm sure your email will be overloaded.
I use yahoo....it's a little easier than go daddy for me.
Great post and easy to follow.
Thank you,
J.
Jeremy, Thank you for the tutorial. I still need to set up my outside blog but this will help. I already use GoDaddy.
Thanks Jeremy- Now this is an super informative blog. I'll be using your help. Thanks Much!
So confusing, yet soooo simple now. Thanks Jeremy :-D
Frank- John subscribes to my blog, so hopefully he will get this one too. I find having a visual helps me so much more than just on the phone.
Neal- Haven't used yahoo...what is the differences?
Chris- I am glad I helped remove the confusion for you!
Are you kidding me????????????
That domain was really available?
Darn,
My set up just fine, you lucky dog, you!!!
Good Job Jeremy. I changed the name servers a few days ago and it still isn't working. but I got a feeling I just need to be patient.
Jeremy, thanks! This is great!
Here's A TIP I just picked up from AR support:
If it has been more than 24 hours and your personalized domain is NOT WORKING:
Go into your AR Blog setup page, and disable the custom domain section and save.
(just uncheck the "enable" box)
Then go back in and re-enable it and save once again. This will clear the bug issue
that was discovered over the weekend and stored in your browsers memory.
Make sure you don't add in the http:// or the www, to the domain name, just enter
the domain name ONLY: ie: JeremyBlanton.com
So if you're one of those still waiting, this WILL be the process that will fix it.
(Jeremy, feel free to add this info to your post and delete this comment if you like)
Jer - Great tutorial, buddy. Congrats on the feature!
Jeremy, thanks, I'll have to put it to use.
Jer, I wish I had seen this tutorial before I set up mine!! LOL
Great post with easy to read directions. Looks pretty easy to set up. thanks.
Jason- Thank you Mr #1 Commented on Blog!
Brian- It actually is pretty easy to do...other than the 72 hour wait time, I would guess it would take a total of about 15 minutes to do!
Great tutorial! With all the do and don't 's! I did it right the first time and then read some stuff and changed it and then did it this way this morning and woo hoo!
Very nice, thank you. Could you say why an outside blog is beneficial? I asked on the original blog about outside blogs but the question was never answered. It is probably obvious to everyone but me.
Has anyone found a solution to the RSS feed not working?
Jo- Glad this helped out! I look forward to seeing your page when it is active!
Deborah- The biggest advantage I can think of is your increase in SEO (search engine optimization). As you continue to write your posts here in Activerain and then post it to an outside Blog & also Localism, you are gonna increase your exposure exponentially. I would also suggest checking out this article by Bob Stewart.
http://activerain.com/blogsview/567743/Duplicate-Content-and-Outside
Thank you thank you thank you!!!! I followed all your instructions and did it....thanks so much for your step by step instructions :)
That was me above...forgot to sign in...had many windows open to do that :) Thanks again!
Deborah- Here is what Inman thinks of it....
http://inmannews.com/news/2008/06/30/its-raining-outside-blogs
Thanks for the tips. I must have had the bug because I tried to set it up last week but it never came on line. Thanks
Russ, did you try the fix suggested above? Hopefully that will help you!
Hi Jeremy, new to rain and blogging but have been active with my posts.
Could I add this site to the outside?
http://richferretti.com/richs-blog.asp
Thanks
Rich, Charlotte NC
Jeremy,
I'm an agent in Charlotte nc, what should be in my blog name?
Rich
Jeremy...
You must have spent hours on this post! Good job, my friend.
Hi Jeremy! Thanks for the advice! I was messing with it last night and gave up on it. You put a teriffic tutorial together. I'm going to try it!
Later in the rain~Deb
Jeremy thanks for taking care of me. I am not sure if I would have figured it out or not.
Rich, it seems you already have a Blogger page there...if you were to point your Activerain to there, I believe it would knock that one out. My suggestion would be to get another site to point your blog on AR towards...
Rich- since you said charlotte is a market you do, I would look at something with that in the title...it is your keyword in a search...buycharlottenow.com is available...the key though is to have your domain reflect what your blog is about.
Mr. Weisser,
I actually only spent about 30 minutes on this post...Gotta love the printscreen button. Made life really easy. Then just a little cropping throw an arrow or circle on the important stuff and BAM cool graphics :)
John- I am really glad it helped you! If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to contact me, I will do my best to help you out!
Jeremy, thanks for the visual. Now I need to trick it out. aj
WooHoo! The suggestion above "fixed" my custom domain name and now I'm up and running.
Jeremy,
Nice post....be patient while you wait for the DNS ifo to propagate. Mine took a while but finally started working.
Oh wow, that was quick n easy! Thanks for sharing! I've been seeing the "post to outside blog" box when I've posted, but I didn't really consider the implications of that! Woo Hoo!!
Domain name ActvieRainBlog --- What a good catch!!!
Great instructions, thank you.
AJ, let me know when it is done, I would love to check it out!
Debbie- I am glad it fixed your issue!
Jeremy, Where have you been all my life, lol..I had mine finished in 10 minutes, thanks to your "picture" of where to do the "ns1agent" stuff. You saved me from a big headache.
Thanks again for the easy to follow tips.
Elizabeth- Glad it helped you out.
Do you have any thoughts on whether you're better off with a keyword as the url or your own name?
Thanks for the tutorial. Any chance you know Kick Start Cart as well? <sigh> I'm asking everyone!
I just created a new AR group for everyone to join...hopefully we can post the tips/tricks with Outside Blogs here over the next few months.
Juliet- I think a keyword would be great if for nothing else the standpoint for ease of memory for consumers. Kick Start Cart? Gimme a little bit more as to what it pertains to...
JEREMY - Thanks for providing this tutorial. I'm glad that it was featured. This will save many of us a lot of time and energy.
Jeremy... Great post... the step by step will help many in setting up their own outside blog domain
Jeremy,
Thanks, I have set my blog up with a unique domain name. Your instructions were easy to follow and very simple
Jeremy -- I don't know how to thank you enough for explaining how to do this. I am not that tech savvy and didn't have a clue how to do this. I have bookmarked this post so I can get things going. Thank YOU!
I am 'text challenged' but the picture tutorials were the 'bomb'!
Thanks,
Patti
Thanks for this new info. I was one of those people that was still waiting for the domain name to change. Nothing has happened since I did your suggested adjustment. I will check again in the morning.
Thanks for the post and instructions
Jeremy~ THANK you so much for the much needed instructions. I am saving this to do maybe this weekend.
Very clear instructions. Thanks for the info.
Jeremy, great blog and useful info. I saw the recent post about the outside blog. This will help me and I am sure many others. Much appreciated!
Now my question is do we need to do an outside blog? What if we already use blogger and have an onsite blog....how many blogs do we really need and/or will be able to effectively manage? Sorry if a little off topic. Maybe someone would like to do a post on that subject.
Thanks for the info!!! I am among the technically challenged!!
Jeremy, wow! Very good explanation of how GoDaddy works and just how to begin our new outside blog. Great job. ;-)
Nicely detailed, Jeremy. It's actually a pretty simple process as long as you take your time and don't try to rush through it. My experience is most domains are usually ready to go in less than 24 hours.
Just wondering if anyone knows how to do this with 1&1? I have my domain name through them and am not sure how to set this up. Any input would be greatly appreciated!
Susan- I would definitely think setting up the outside blog would be very beneficial. You are increasing your online exposure exponentially by having another page with your blog on it!
Ana- is your domain with 1&1 just for an outside blog, or is it for your main website? That is the first question.
I have several domains with them, including my main website. But the domain I'd like to use for the blog is not my main website.
Ana- I would suggest calling them tomorrow, I am not familiar with them. Their customer service should be able to walk you through...just have the nameservers handy...
I couldn't have done it without your directions....you made it look and feel so easy! Thank you!
Thank you for the answer to my question, Jeremy. Sincerely appreciate it.
Juliet
Leolinda- I am glad the directions helped out!
Juliet- No problem!
Thanks for sharing! You did a great job explaining it. I recently set up Atlanta Housing Blog and you explained this very well.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I wanted to set one up, but I knew it would take me a while to learn how. Thank you for taking the time to explain it. Cathy
http://tinyurl.com/3tfbhh
Jeremy,
Thanks for the step-by-step.
Jeremy, Thanks for these detailed instructions. Hopefully, now I can get my outside blog up and running full steam.
Jeremy,
Thanks so much for the super easy tutorial, definitely a huge timesaver and much appreciated!
I just wanted to add my thanks for a job well done. I am sure I will be following you around for more excellent advice on other matters! I grabbed akronohiohomesblog.com yahooo!!! Now I just wait. Thank you.
David- waiting is the worst part of it!
Diane- I am glad I could save you some time!
Alrighty then....guess I need to set up an outside blog!! :)
Jeremy, you will not believe this!! I set up my new domain name an hour ago. I just checked my website from GoDaddy for the heck of it and it is On in an hour. What's up with that? How is this possible?
http://akronohiohomesblog.com/
Can I be a big crybaby and have Brad come over and help me? WAHHHHHHHH
David- 1 hour? That is AWESOME!
Janet- What ya need help with?
Was looking for Brad's post on this & found yours - so thanks - great step by step & since I have my acct with Godaddy it was perfect. Now we wait....
I lucked out - I think mine went up in less than 5 minutes. I put the url in & was shocked. Nice.... Now to make it look nicer.
Steve- 5 minutes? Wow, that is pretty awesome! I wonder how long google will take to find you? 10 minutes? LOL
Thank you so much for the tutorial Jeremy! I own many domain names already but may do a new one through go-daddy just for my outside blog
Kathy- I would seriously suggest it...the results are pretty powerful already!
Thanks for the tutorial Jeremy. It should make my job easier.
Wayne- I hope it does make it easier, if you have a question let me know!
Thanks for the easy tips... and thanks for the new group which I have joined. Full speed ahead!
Jeremy thank you so much!
Georgina- glad it helped. Hopefully the group will get filled with lots of valuable information over the next few weeks!
Jason & Deanna- Glad I could help you out!
Jeremy Thanks for the information. Great Post. Have A Great Day!!!
Hi Jeremy. Thanks for sharing the great tip! Keep them coming.
Great post Jeremy and I am familiar with godaddy because I have so many web sites.
When I first got started with my web sites, were you when I needed help picking my Domains, etc. I really like the way you laid out your post with the arrows, etc.
Robert Swetz
Great post Jeremy and I am familiar with godaddy because I have so many web sites.
When I first got started with my web sites, were you when I needed help picking my Domains, etc. I really like the way you laid out your post with the arrows, etc.
Robert Swetz
Jeremy great job in putting together this tutorial. Not that I would need it but there are many who are not so internet savvy and you have explained things in a manner that is easy to understand.
Good tutorial. If it helps, try <a href='http://www.domainnamesoup.com/available-domain-names.php'>Available Domain Names</a>
So.... agentspaces.com becomes the host? Will I be able to have other "pages" besides the blog? How much space comes with it... in other words, will it run out of space after massive blogging - videos, pics etc.? Am I asking the right person, or is this a question for the AR gods? thanks!
Georgina...I would ask those questions to Brad Andersohn. My thinking is that there isn't a limitation on it. You own the domain name...the servers are Activerains. So unless you start having limits on your AR profile page, then I doubt you will there either.
Thank you so much Jeremy! Your step by step instructions will make it really easy when I set me outside blog up.
Jer - I set mine up today. I have a question - did you link to your outside blog from anywhere else? I was just curious, since it was indexed so fast.
I did nothing but just set it up and let it go active... google did the rest...
Thought I would throw in aplus.net as an alternative to godaddy for registering domain names. I've dealt with them in the past and found them very professional and they charge less :)
Thanks so much for the great information. You made installing an outside blog simple for everyone. Have a great holiday weekend!!!
Thanks, Jeremy. This is perfect instructions and timing for me.
Debbie- THanks for the alternative!
Christine- I am glad it helped you out!
Trey- I am happy to hear you liked them!
Hi Jeremy. Thanks for sharing the great tip! Keep them coming.
Wow - great overview. Now I need to sit down and get this set up.
Google "GoDaddy Coupons" for a promo code to purchase your domain for $6.95 / year!!!
Vincent- I am glad you enjoyed it...if you need help let me know!
Penny if you need any assistance with it, let me know... trust me when i say, it isn't as difficult as it looks...
Ryan- coupons? Sweetness!
Hey Jeremy,
Just wanted to let you know that I followed your instructions and set-up my outside blog tonight. Thank you so much for blogging the instructions for this; they were easy to follow too. Mine showed up immediately.
Also, I joined your outside blog group.
Thanks again!!
Your neighbor in NC (I'm so jealous that you live at the BEACH)
Jason, Active Rain gets indexed pretty fast. Gotta love it!
Teresa- Glad the instructions helped! Living at the beach is nice, but unfortunately, when you work all the time, you don't get to go as much as you would like!
Susan- It does index pretty fast! Mine was less than 48 hours
Hey Jeremy,
Maybe you can help me, I have my blog as a directory in my website, how would I set it up?
The log is http://www.empireteam.com/blog
Must I have a dedicated blog URL to do this?
Take care!
RJH
Jeremy - thanks for the post and for setting up the group, I will be joining it.
RJH- You will need to have a separate domain to point your AR outside blog at. I don't believe you can make it part of another page...I would check though w/Brad on that one!
Mike- No problem, glad the group could help you out!
Jeremy, are the name servers why I keep going to my blog vs my web page?
Great Post! You couldn't have made it any simpler. I am going to goto Godaddy right now.
Jeremy, thanks SO much for posting these directions!
John- glad it helped you out!
Nancy- not exactly sure your question...
great post and so clear with the step by step instructions -- I will work on this and take advantage of the advice! Make it a profitable day!
Jeremy, Thank you for posting this helpful information! Actually, Jason emailed me the link and I set up the whole thiing this evening! I have one question. There are several templetes for the outside blog available and I want to be able to use the same header that I use in my active rain blog. How do I upload the header to my outside blog? Thanks for any assisitance you can provide!
Russell
Great set of instructions! Thanks!
Jeremy - Thanks for the info. I was wondering, I have a domain I have had for going on 3 years. Would this process work with my existing domain? I tried to do this a week ago, but I was worried I would screw something up so I didn't save it.
Hey Jeremy, thanks for the detailed instructions. I have to take another look at this as I have tried it but something went astray. This is pretty thorough. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this tutorial Jeremy, I wondered what the outside blog was all about when I set up my profile. Great post
Jeremy oh thank you so much I saw your post on Outside Blogs. This will help me get some of our other domains moved into blogs. Thank again very easy to understand.
I came back to this blog so I could bookmark it for a day when I have more time...thanks for the information and I will def. be back to use it!
I've bookmarked it as well and need to get back to this. I briefly made an attempt and it didn't quite work right. These posts are very helpful and greatly appreciated by me and I am sure many others. Thanks for sharing your expertise.
Thanks Jeremy. I am about ready to look around and start a website. I appreciate the info.
Thhis is why active rain is so wonderful, sharing of wonderful tools.
That was super helpful thank you! I'll go take care of it now. I bought a blogging domain name ages ago and didn't know what to do with it!
Pictures tell the story for me too. Thanks for the info.
Jeremy, just an FYI, your tutorial is great. I put the DNS servers in right, but forgot to forward so I was not getting indexed. I knew others were from my search, so hopefully I will now. Darn it's the little mistakes that hurt.
Jeremy, just an FYI, your tutorial is great. I put the DNS servers in right, but forgot to forward so I was not getting indexed. I knew others were from my search, so hopefully I will now. Darn it's the little mistakes that hurt.
Jeremy, just an FYI, your tutorial is great. I put the DNS servers in right, but forgot to forward so I was not getting indexed. I knew others were from my search, so hopefully I will now. Darn it's the little mistakes that hurt.
Jeremy, just an FYI, your tutorial is great. I put the DNS servers in right, but forgot to forward so I was not getting indexed. I knew others were from my search, so hopefully I will now. Darn it's the little mistakes that hurt.
Jeremy - I had the same question and I'm in my godaddy account now in the forward section, do I type in my outsideblog domain to Forward to: Also, what is masking and do I have to include keywords in masking. I really appreciate your help if you can help me. Thanks
Jeremy,
Good stuff. Did you leave the outside blog set by Activerain as well, or you can't forward to both, and does it make sense to try to do that?
Wow, sorry for so many questions
excellent post Jeremy. Need to re-visit this along with the other 100 things on my to-do list, but this is one is important. Thanks again for the guidance here.
I am working on this and forgot I had bought a blog domain name until godaddy sent me a message... Thanks Jeremy - I am going to get this set up tomorrow!
Jeremy - I'm finally going to use one of our names we bought many years ago from godaddy. My renewal just came up which reminded me that I even had these to play with. Thanks for the tutorial. Bob H
Thanks for the post and great information. We are new and still learning. This was very helpful.
Jeremy - this is an awesome tutorial. I completed it and will wait for my 72 hours. This is a great tutorial, and thank you so much. I appreciate how much this has helped!
Good tutorial. It was very clear and I haven't found any glitches in our advice. Thanks.
Ok - sounds great! I've bookmarked this blog for later. Now, to just think up a premo name..... (Actually, that's probably going to be the hard part!) LOL
Awesome - I followed all directions :) got everything set up in about 4 minutes and it is already working (10 minutes later!) wow, that was fast. ~Rita
I was wondering what the outside blogs things was...hadn't had time to look into it! Thanks!
Great tips Jeremy......thanks!
Thanks for the info I followed your instructions word for word. I will check back to see how its working. Thanks for the info.
Hi Jeremy,
Great tutorial ... another fantastic website for domain purchases is www.1and1.com They offer domains for $6 a year. You can point to any HTML page (link). I have multiple domains that point to the same spot - they're cheap ... so why not :).
Thanks again,
Mike
I'm SO happy I found your post. I was JUST wondering how to set this up. Many Thanks.
Hey Jeremy. Thanks for this great tutorial. I followed it to set up two domains for my outside blog on Nov. 1. As of now I still can not get them to work. Last night I went thru the disable/enable process as suggested in your tips. This is the msg I'm getting:
Page Not Found --- !ruby/exception:NoMethodError message: private method `gsub' called for nil:NilClass
Any thoughts? Trying to get up and running so I can submit a blog for the contest.
I'm back reading this - I'm pretty sure I read it before - but thanks to your 103 or 107 ways to use Activerain, I'm back again - This time I'll give it a try...! THanks!
Just joined the group. I know I need to do this. Just need to do it!!
Jeremy - do we have a new tut for the new way the blogs are set up-it is all different now.
It's time for an update or a reblog on this... 'Don't know thata it is "all different now" but I do know there are people setting up outside blogs that weren't around when this was first posted.