My Favorite Dividend Stocks For 2018 and Beyond

It’s been a while since my last blog post! I have been busy at work on my PPC Ian YouTube channel, uploading two new dividend investing videos each week. A lot is happening in the stock market this year, with many of my favorite dividend stocks going on sale, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to share a new blog post about investing. Let’s dive into the dividend stocks I’m personally buying in 2018 (and beyond)!

My Second Favorite Dividend Stock of All Time: PepsiCo (PEP)

I have literally been waiting years for this stock to go on sale. Thankfully, it recently plummeted to a multi-year low of $97.51 and I am all over it at these levels. With their recent dividend increase of 15%, PEP now pays out $3.71/year (a starting dividend yield of 3.8%. It’s quite rare to experience such a high starting yield for this company, so I’m incredibly excited to be increasing my position right now. And, I hope it goes down more! I love being a dividend investor because I invest for cash flow and don’t really care about capital appreciation. In fact, the further PepsiCo declines, the higher my starting dividend yield (meaning more immediate cash flow).

I love PepsiCo for so many reasons including the following:

We all need to eat and drink
Diversification of revenue across many different foods and beverages
Strong exposure to the growing snack food category
Fabulous history of rewarding shareholders via dividends!
Products spanning fun for you, better for you, and good for you categories

Want to learn more about PepsiCo and my experience buying this company? Check out my recent YouTube video:

2018 Is Not The Time To Buy Oil Stocks (In My Humble Opinion)

Just a few years ago, oil companies were so out of favor. With OPEC flooding the market with oil and the price per barrel in the gutter, nobody wanted to touch oil companies. I took a contrarian opinion and took positions in supermajors at bargain basement prices. Fast forward to 2018 and the oil companies are doing great (so it’s certainly not the time to by now at inflated prices, in my humble opinion).

Lesson: This is how the stock market works. In fact, I just filmed a video about my experience buying BP at bargain basement prices, achieving a yield on cost upwards of 8% on certain of my lots purchased. You can learn more by watching my YouTube video:

Consumer Non-Cyclical Companies Have No Future

I am seeing history repeat itself here, although this time in the consumer non-cyclical sector. I love consumer non-cyclical stocks, they are the bread and butter of my portfolio. It just so happens that these companies are facing an incredibly rough 2018. PepsiCo is a great example. Others include Procter & Gamble (PG), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), and General Mills (GIS), all three of which I am purchasing in 2018 at bargain basement prices. (And, I believe further downside is in the cards.)

What’s happening here? I believe there are three factors placing pressure on these companies:

With interest rates rising, income minded investors have other options. Dividend-paying stocks are not the only game in town anymore (as bonds become more attractive).
Due to issues of scale, growing pains, and the overall Amazon effect, many of these companies are facing slowing revenue growth. While I believe revenue growth will resume, it could take some time. Fortunately for bargain shoppers like myself, most people cannot wait (especially stock market analysts) and these stocks are facing downward share price pressure.
We are heading into an inflationary environment and the raw cost of producing consumer products is increasing, squeezing margins. Inflation is here, and these companies will need to optimize and innovate to keep high margins. Thankfully, they mostly have high margins to begin with and will weather the storm, in my opinion.

As a long-term dividend income investor (I solely buy stocks for cash flow), I love these types of opportunities, and I’m thankful to buy at progressively lower prices.

Want to learn more about my perspective on consumer non-cyclical companies having no future? Check out my recent YouTube video:

Want to learn more about two of my favorite stocks for 2018, Procter & Gamble and Kimberly-Clark? Check out this YouTube video:

Want to learn about my brand new position in General Mills? Check out this YouTube video:

Worth noting, the starting yields on these three names are really great right now. PG is at 3.94%, KMB is at 3.81%, and GIS is at 4.40%. It does not get much better than that for such world-class consumer non-cyclical stocks, ones that have a history of consistently raising their dividends over the years!

I Love Utilities For Their High Current Yield

To close out today’s post, I want to add a note about utilities (especially regulated electric utilities). I love these types of companies because they are literally government-enforced monopolies (others cannot just come in and compete with them). And, they pay fabulous dividend yields (which are getting progressively better as these stocks face downward pressure).

As with consumer non-cyclical stocks, utilities are facing some pressure in 2018 due to rising interest rates. Utilities tend to carry a lot of debt, so rising rates could place pressure on margins. Moreover, rising rates give income-minded investors other investment opportunities.

That said, this is not the first time utilities have experienced a rising interest rate environment, and I am sure they will weather the storm via innovation and price increases.

This year, I’m buying Southern Company (SO) at a wonderful 5.21% starting yield. Want to learn more about my position in SO? Make sure to check out this YouTube video:

2018 Is A Great Year For Dividend Investors

I love being a dividend investor because I don’t worry about down markets. In fact, I look forward to them. 2018 is the most exciting year for dividend investors in quite some time, and I’m truly thrilled to be adding to my PEP, PG, KMB, GIS and SO. Are you a dividend investor? Which dividend stocks are you buying in 2018?

Want to learn even more about dividend investing? Make sure to check out my recent blog post about how I Invest For Dividends and Financial Freedom.

Disclosure: I am long PepsiCo (PEP), BP (BP), Procter & Gamble (PG), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), General Mills (GIS), and Southern Company (SO). I own these stocks in my portfolio.

Disclaimer: I’m not a licensed investment advisor, and today’s blog post (and related videos) are just for entertainment and fun. This blog post (and related videos) are NOT investment advice. Also, I’m not a tax advisor and today’s blog post (and related videos) are NOT tax advice. Please talk to your licensed investment advisor before making any financial decisions.

All content on my blog and YouTube channel is © Copyright IJL Productions LLC.

I Invest For Dividends and Financial Freedom

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Jan 28 8

I have always been obsessed with investments that pay cash flow. I’m talking about investments that pay me regular dividend checks (often in growing amounts) just to hold said companies. There is nothing more exciting in personal finance than when one sees their money working for them, while they sleep!

Over the last 20+ years, I have personally built a dividend stock portfolio with over 30 positions in world-class companies. My dividend portfolio is driving an increasing stream of passive income that gets larger with each year that passes. Whether we are in a bull market or bear market, I am always averaging into my favorite dividend-paying stocks, building my stream of passive income.

While my blog, PPC Ian, has roots in digital advertising and careers, I am now also spending considerable time sharing my passion for personal finance online. I have mostly accomplished this via my quickly growing PPC Ian YouTube Channel (now over 2,000 subscribers). However, I also want to start sharing some of my personal finance insights here on my blog too. After all, this blog is a reflection of me. At the end of the day, I think you will find that there are so many parallels between digital marketing and investing.

Today’s post introduces my passion for dividend investing. If you’ve been wondering about dividends and my personal strategy, this post is for you! Also, I’m thrilled to share some of my recent videos too.

What Is A Dividend?

Many publicly-traded companies choose to pay dividends. A dividend is a cash distribution from a company. When one buys stock in a company, they are a part owner in said company. Just for being a part owner, one gets a cut of the profits, in the form of cash dividends. Companies that pay dividends take a portion of their net income and literally distribute it to shareholders. Such companies, in my opinion, are shareholder friendly and truly care about their owners.

Many large blue chip companies, like Procter & Gamble (PG) and Kimberly Clark (KMB), pay dividends on a quarterly schedule. And, they have a track record of increasing dividends each year. This is where the real magic happens: One is handsomely rewarded (via an increasing stream of dividend income) for buying and then holding for years (or even decades) on end.

If one holds their shares in a brokerage account, dividends often show up electronically in one’s cash balance, as they are paid out. If one holds stock directly, with a transfer agent, dividends will either be sent in the mail (in the form of a check) or can often be automatically reinvested to buy additional shares of the issuing company.

At the end of the day, dividends are a form of income automation. One can either get a job and work for money (active income) or hold stock and receive dividends for doing nothing (passive income). My journey has been one of saving as much active income as possible and then converting it into passive income. (I save money from my job and then buy dividend-paying stocks, and have been doing so for a very long time.)

While one may think it takes thousands to get started, that’s just not true. In fact, I encourage you to check out my recent video about how I literally counted up loose change that was sitting around doing nothing, and converted it into a dividend stream of $30/year in perpetuity! That $30/year will now always be there, and will grow over time – how inspiring!

What Is Financial Freedom?

What is the end goal of all this income automation? At the end of the day, I aim to achieve the holy grail of dividend investing: financial freedom. This is the precise point where my stream of dividend income covers all of my living expenses.

Many dividend investors live extremely frugally and/or play geo arbitrage (they move to locations geographically that are cheaper) to achieve financial freedom quicker. (If expenses go down, it’s easier to cover said expenses, as less dividend income is required.) I totally respect everyone in the dividend community, and understand why this route is appealing. That being said, this strategy is just not for me. I enjoy living in the expensive San Francisco Bay Area and also enjoy some fancy things. As such, financial freedom will take me a bit longer than other dividend investors, and I am ok with that.

While financial freedom has the potential to totally change one’s life, how do I personally envision my future self? Honestly, not too different from my present self. I still plan on being a family man, blogger/vlogger, commercial real estate developer, digital marketer, and investor (of course). That said, I will likely utilize my freedom to up the bar with our philanthropy, travel a bit more (and cross some destinations off my bucket list), and spend even more time pursuing my passions. I truly believe that one has to stay busy and productive, even once financial freedom is achieved.

At its core, dividend investing is about investing in dividends and not stuff. As mentioned, I do enjoy some of the finer things in life. That said, I also need to keep it in perspective. Financial freedom is goal number one, and I think you’ll enjoy my recent video about this very topic.

Which Companies Pay Dividends?

It just so happens that some of the largest, most stable, and most notable brands in the world pay dividends. It’s a win-win since such blue chip companies tend to reward investors with dividend income while providing incredible stability. I like to think of it as the "sleep at night" factor. I never lose sleep owning dividend companies because (1) I’m in it for the dividends and not capital appreciation (although capital appreciation is a nice bonus) and (2) I’m confident in the long-term prospects of such companies.

Of course, not all dividend companies are great just because they pay dividends. This is where stock analysis comes into the picture. It’s critical to analyze each and every dividend stock candidate thoroughly before it is worthy of buying. That being said, this is the topic of another post, so please stay tuned. (Although, if you want to jump ahead right now, I do have a few videos on my YouTube channel covering fundamental stock analysis in depth.)

In my personal portfolio, I like representation from most major industries and sectors out there. Thankfully, I have found great dividend companies across the board. Following are some of my favorite industries: healthcare, consumer non-cyclical (think: food/beverage and basic goods), industrials, utilities, retail, restaurants, real estate (real estate investment trusts or REITS), technology, energy, transportation, and more.

Also worth noting; Dividends are not just a US-centric thing. Companies from all over the world pay dividends. It’s easy to gain international exposure via (1) US firms that do a large percentage of their business overseas and also (2) via ADRs (American Depository Receipts) where foreign-based firms trade on US stock exchanges.

Which Companies Do I Personally Like?

Want some examples? I’m personally buying Kimberly Clark (KMB) and Procter & Gamble (PG) this year. You may be familiar with Kimberly Clark because they produce such amazing brands as Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers. You may be familiar with Procter & Gamble because they produce Tide detergent and Gillette razors. Their products are literally throughout my entire house (and most houses in America).

I personally like these companies for 2018 because they are core holdings of mine (positions that I love and I see contributing a strong percentage of future dividend income). Moreover, they appear to be "on sale" right now. While I own over 30 stocks, I only buy a handful at any given time (those that are trading at discounted valuations). In other words: While others are running away, I like to buy. I think you’ll enjoy my new video highlighting my personal investment themes for 2018, with a focus on acquiring more KMB and PG.

How Can One Get Started?

As with anything in life, it all starts with research and education. I’m a swimmer and a runner. In fact, I just swam 3,000 yards the other day (took about one hour of continuous swimming). The first 500 yards were the hardest, as my muscles felt the most fatigue and strain getting warmed up. Then, as endorphins kicked in, the rest was easy. And, I probably could have gone further, but it’s important to pace oneself and conserve power for the next time.

Dividend investing is exactly the same. Those early days will be the most difficult, as one makes mistakes and learns the basics. However, after a while, it becomes reasonably easy. In fact, the biggest challenge experienced by dividend investors is one of patience and persistence. It literally takes decades of converting active income into passive income to reach financial freedom (unless one is starting with a phenomenal base). And, this is why it’s important to "pace oneself", just as in my swimming example.

Dividend investing is not a "set it and forget it" strategy. One is not just going to invest a lump sum of money. Rather, it’s a strategy of dollar cost averaging over time. One will typically buy stock (in small, bite sized quantities) at regular intervals. Because it’s a process, I personally believe it’s always best to get started sooner than later.

If one is interested in getting started, I have found that my video on How To Invest $10,000 is particularly helpful. The most popular dividend video on my YouTube channel, it seems like many investors just starting out have $10,000 seed capital. Learn how I would personally invest my first $10,000 if I were starting all over again in the following video.

Of course, it’s important to note that I’m just sharing my personal strategy here. I cannot comment on anyone else’s situation. At the end of the day, it’s important that each dividend investor develop their own, unique strategy. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you over on my YouTube channel!

Disclosure: I am long Kimberly-Clark (KMB) and Procter & Gamble (PG). I own both of these stocks in my portfolio.

Disclaimer: I’m not a licensed investment advisor. Today’s blog post and related videos are just for entertainment and fun. This blog post and related videos are NOT investment advice. Please talk to your licensed investment advisor before making any financial decisions.

All content on my blog YouTube channel is (c) Copyright IJL Productions LLC.

Angel Investing: My Experience With SAFE Agreements

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Jan 9 5

Happy New Year, everybody! Having placed three angel investments during a single year, 2017 was a big year for this investor. While I primarily invest for dividends and cash flow (via dividend-paying stocks and real estate), I now allocate around (but no more than) 10% of my portfolio to higher risk angel investments. While these investments can carry higher risk, they can also provide a massive source of capital that can later be re-deployed in more traditional cash-flow investments. It’s a way of investing in people I know and support, while supercharging my returns. And, I’m at the stage where this strategy (and exposure to risk) makes sense.

As a side note, I recently wrote a blog post on My Angel Investing Strategy. If you have not read it yet, that post provides some great background on my overall angel investing strategy.

During 2017, two of my angel investments were very early stage ones. Meaning: I invested before an official valuation had even been placed on the company. (Typically, valuations for private companies are assigned during the first big institutional investment of around $6,000,000 or more.) Pre-institutional funding, many startups are choosing to go the SAFE Agreement or Convertible Note route. And, it makes sense because pegging a valuation and partaking in a traditional funding round can be very expensive for the company at such an early stage.

While I’m not an expert by any means, today’s blog post highlights my experience with these types of investments. I want to discuss what they are, how they work, and the pros/cons of investing in these types of early stage investments.

My Angel Investing Video

Before we even start with today’s post, I want to share a recent YouTube video that highlights many of the concepts discussed today. If you prefer video instead of reading, this video will definitely be for you. If you really want to learn these concepts, you may consider watching the video and reading the post!

What Are SAFE Agreements?

SAFE stands for Simple Agreement for Future Equity. Basically, when one invests in a SAFE Agreement, they do not own any equity in the company, yet. However, at some point in the future, the SAFE Agreement will convert into equity.

What Are Convertible Notes?

Convertible Notes are quite similar. A note is a debt instrument. Basically, the investor is lending the company money. Typically, interest rates are very low (the minimum required by law). At some point in the future, the expectation is that the note will be converted into equity. Convertible notes can operate in a very similar manner to SAFE Agreements.

Key Point 1: Get A Sense of Timing

When investing in SAFE Agreements and/or Convertible Notes, it’s critically important to understand timing of the equity conversion event. The whole goal of these investments is the conversion event into equity.

Typically, such instruments will convert into equity at the time of the first big institutional funding event (typically around $6,000,000 or more). As an angel investor, I exclusively invest in people that I know (very well). I get to know the operations of the company, and often become a partner of the company. The closer we are to the perceived equity conversion event, the better. In my modeling, I always add a buffer since conversion typically takes longer than anticipated. As a general rule of thumb, I like SAFE Agreements and Convertible Notes that have a perceived conversion event within the next year.

Worth noting, institutional equity financing sometimes takes longer than expected. I really like instruments that offer a failsafe. Some agreements will have a valuation cap that is used as the equity valuation should there be no equity financing within a specified amount of time. For example: If there’s no equity financing within x number of years, there may be a clause that just converts your SAFE or Convertible Note into equity stock pegged at y valuation. (Side note: Just make sure the valuation seems reasonable, based on all present data available.)

Key Point 2: Understand The Discount

With these types of angel investments, your money is not going to really grow until after the equity conversion event. Once the equity conversion event happens, my expectation is that I will earn several hundred percent (or more) return on investment. Until then, however, my money is essentially tied up.

Being tied up, I always want to get some type of reward. In my experience, this reward comes via the discount factor. Meaning: There will typically be a discount given to early investors at time of the institutional financing event. Let’s say a company raises x million at y per share valuation. If one’s SAFE or Convertible Note has a discount provision, the early investor will receive their equity stake at y per share minus the discount!

This is the reward for investing early, and allows one’s total dollar investment to generate more shares (than if one had waited and invested along side the institutional investor). As a rule of thumb, I expect discount factors to be in the 10% to 25% range, depending on level for risk and anticipated timing of the conversion event. In my experience, this is a reasonable level of return for one year’s time, in a higher risk angel investment.

Key Point 3: Understand The Valuation Cap

Valuation cap sometimes differs based on agreement. I want to offer two scenarios where valuation cap may enter one’s angel investing agreement.

Scenario 1: Runaway Valuation Insurance

Let’s say the perceived valuation of a company right now is quite low. Let’s say you’re getting in very early and it’s only worth a few million dollars or less. However, let’s say that the company grows quickly. By the time the instrument converts over to equity, let’s say hypothetical valuation is $100 million or more. If one’s discount factor is just 10%, one’s instrument will convert over at a $90 million valuation, hardly a good deal for the risk being undertaken! (And, hardly the upside that the investor should experience being an early supporter and advocate.)

Sometimes, valuation caps are used to protect investors in this very scenario. Let’s say there’s a hypothetical $10 million valuation cap. At time of the institutional funding, some agreements read that the conversion valuation is the lesser of (1) the valuation at time of funding minus the discount factor or (2) the valuation cap.

Scenario 2: No Institutional Financing Event

Let’s say several years have passed by without an institutional financing event. Meaning: No company valuation has been pegged. Some agreements read that, at a specified date, the SAFE or Convertible Note will convert into equity at the valuation cap. For this reason, it’s very key that one is comfortable investing at the valuation cap level, based on all information available and all due diligence performed.

Key Point 4: Avoid Buy Out Clauses

Investing in SAFE Agreements and Convertible Notes is risky business. It’s also an incredible amount of work. The goal of the work is getting in early and eventually owning equity for one’s hard work. (Of course, it’s also rewarding investing in those your truly care about.) As such, it’s critical to search such agreements for any potential buy out clause. Meaning: I typically won’t sign anything if the company has the right to simply buy out my agreement for the same amount I invested (plus a nominal interest rate). It’s just not worth my time and risk to invest in such instruments unless I have a very high level of confidence that the equity conversion event will happen.

Key Point 5: Be Prepared For Tied Up Money

Once someone invests in an angel investment, the money is tied up for a very long time. In fact, when I make such investments I assume I will never see the money again. If one is not willing to lose it all, such investments many not be the right fit.

In reality, I have never lost money on an angel investment, and my track record is impeccable. After all, I only invest in people and companies that I know personally. I’m quite picky. That said, I approach each deal with the same philosophy that I will not see my money for a long, long time, if at all. Of course, I never invest money in such instruments that I would need anytime soon (if ever). Building a business is hard work. It takes a long time. It takes even longer for investors to be rewarded.

Key Point 6: Make Sure You Are An Accredited Investor

When it comes to angel investments, there are two general types of offerings. The first class of offerings are under Rule 506(b), meaning the company raising funds is not actually advertising the investment opportunity. These are the types of opportunities that investors, like myself, literally find by reaching out and asking, "Hey, can I invest in your company." The second class of offerings are under Rule 506(c), meaning the company raising funds is able to actively market the investment opportunity. The company can actually reach out (via social media and other means) and advertise the investment opportunity.

Both 506(b) and 506(c) offerings require the investor to be accredited. However, 506(c) offerings require official verification of one’s accredited status (often by a third party service that specializes in such accreditation).

The key point here is to make sure that one is an accredited investor. If one is not, then angel investing is not going to be an option. However, there are a few hacks: (1) Become an "angel investor" by working at a company and earning employee stock options (this has been a hugely valuable strategy in my own career) or (2) start your own company. While it may seem like a bummer, these rules actually help safeguard investors from risk.

Key Point 7: Don’t Forget To Give Back

What’s the point of all this investing and money? At the end of the day, it offers financial freedom and opportunity. It offers the opportunity to pursue one’s dreams! Also, it offers the ability to give back and help others. I love giving back, and even created a website called Lopuch.org to journal our charitable contributions. The more one earns, the greater their responsibility to give back and help others. And, I think you will find that the act of giving back is actually more rewarding than even making the money!

Thanks for reading, and I wish you all the success in the world in your investing and beyond!

Disclaimer: I am not a licensed investment advisor and today’s post is not investment advice. This post is just for fun and entertainment. If you are going to invest in angel investments (or anything else), please consult a licensed financial advisor first.

The Five Minute Journal: My Review and Experience

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Feb 27 4

Ian Lopuch The Five Minute Journal The growth I have experienced in the last few years has been tremendous on all fronts. One of the main drivers behind my growth has been a thirst for adopting the latest and greatest practices that fuel winners. I recently signed up for Mentor Box and have experienced outstanding knowledge, motivation, and excitement from their wonderful program. For busy professionals with lofty goals like myself, I view Mentor Box as a game-changer. Today, I’m excited to share with all of you another game-changer: The Five Minute Journal (my affiliate link).

I actually just reached my one year anniversary since I made The Five Minute Journal part of my daily routine. Let’s start with the basics: How did I get started with this journal that I now carry everywhere with me?

My Five Minute Journal Story: How It All Started

Almost two years ago, I made an exciting career jump! I went from the environment of a large publicly traded company to the wild and exciting world of commercial real estate development. This transition marked a big change in my career. Instead of managing some of the largest digital marketing budgets on the Internet with the support of a huge team, I became an entrepreneur. While our company has been around for 40 years, I opened our new Bay Area office and am responsible for the next phase of growth in the greater Northern California area.

I have found that change is good, and change can ignite growth. I have also found that lots of change tends to happen at once. This wasn’t just a time for career change. I wanted to grow faster, learn more, get in better shape, embrace spirituality, increase my happiness, and so much more. (As a side note: There was nothing wrong with my prior career. In fact, I loved it. It was great, and shaped my ability to take on this new role. It’s all about evolution and enjoying change when the time is right.)

During my journey, I started seeking answers from other successful entrepreneurs, those who I view as really mastering life to the fullest. I started watching interviews and absorbing as much knowledge and information as possible. One entrepreneur in particular caught my attention, Alex Ikonn. One day, I was on YouTube and found this entrepreneur who started several successful companies with his wife, Mimi Ikonn. Despite his success, Alex remains humble. This is someone I wanted to follow.

After following Alex’s journey, I found that he had started a company called Intelligent Change. Intelligence Change is the company behind The Five Minute Journal. As I heard Alex speak about the journal he co-founded with his business partner UJ Ramdas, I was immediately intrigued. I instantly knew that this would become part of my routine. So, what exactly is The Five Minute Journal?

Ian Lopuch Writing The Five Minute Journal

What Is The Five Minute Journal?

The Five Minute Journal is a physical journal. (Well, they have an app too, but I highly recommend the physical version.) It’s a journal that you update twice per day, once in the morning when you first wake up and once in the evening right before you go to bed. Some of my favorite features include:

Daily inspirational quotes.
Weekly challenges that keep life interesting.
Focus on gratitude. Gratitude is one of the most productive forces around, and a practice that propelled Alex and Mimi Ikonn to great success in their portfolio of businesses, including Luxy Hair.
Affirmations. Another incredibly powerful force that some of the best entrepreneurs in the world practice, including Alex Ikonn, are daily affirmations. Basically, you’re able to speak of yourself and your personal mission statement, as if you have already achieved your dream. The more you write something and the more you believe something, the faster it will happen. The universe will reward your vision!
Accountability. The journal holds me accountable to specific goals each and every day. It has supercharged my productivity and helped me focus on what matters.
Trend recognition. I’m able to uncover trends in my life, and optimize.
Documentation. The Five Minute Journal becomes a really fun record to reflect back upon.

Overall, The Five Minute Journal has brought more excitement, productivity, and happiness into my life.

The Five Minute Journal

How I Personally Leverage This Amazing Resource

While The Five Minute Journal comes complete with instructions and a great primer on how to get full results, I want to share my personal experience, since I’ve uncovered some strategies that work quite well for me (and hopefully for you too).

Get the physical journal. There is so much power in the written word. We are all too tied to technology. Having a moment to take a break from technology and really reflect is transformative. Bonus tip: Consider going outside or to a favorite location to really meditate and think while filling out your journal. Don’t be tied to your smartphone and computer, as those can stifle idea generation.
Don’t be afraid to mark up the quotes. Each day, I’m greeted with a new inspirational quote. Some really resonate with me. Others don’t hit home as much. I like to circle my favorite quotes and take notes in the margin.
Don’t get discouraged if you miss a day or two. It happens to the best of us. Just get back on the program.
- Bonus tip: It’s ok, also, if you miss half a day. This happens to me often on weekends. I do my morning update Friday morning, but then am so tired and in weekend mode, so I’ll forget Friday night. Not a big deal. I just pick it up when I can.
- Another Bonus Tip: Forget your nighttime update? Complete the nighttime update the next morning, along with your morning update.
Add extra lines where it makes sense. Sometimes I have one of those really amazing days. There aren’t just three great things to record for that day, but five or even more. I’ll add more lines to capture it all.
Don’t get into a rut with your daily gratitude. I like to vary it a bit each day because I’m thankful for so many different things in life. Conversely, it’s ok to be in a rut with your affirmations. In fact, my affirmations are the same every single day (actually, I changed them one time over the last year). I’m completely focused on the vision I have for myself.
It’s not all about business. As you leverage your Five Minute Journal, think about the big picture. What do you really want out of life and out of the specific day at hand? It’s ok if your goals do not relate to work. It’s all about your dreams and aspirations, after all.
Travel with your journal. Sure, it adds some weight to your carry on. Good! That’s how you build muscles. I like to bring my Five Minute Journal everywhere.
Moleskine pens work great. I really like the rectangular-shaped Moleskine pens. They clip so easily onto your journal and are a pleasure to write with. They may not look like they’re worth the money, since they’re just plastic pens, but trust me… These are the best pens ever for journaling.
Buy a few extra journals. Don’t want any downtime when you get to the end of your journal? Buy a stack of them like me.
More than anything, think big (really big) and get inspired. You can achieve anything you want. Allow The Five Minute Journal to help you get there. Keep evolving and dream big!

Team Leaders and Those That Care About Others: It Makes An Amazing Gift

Over the last year, I have become such a fan of The Five Minute Journal that I’ve given away a multitude of free copies to friends, family, and business colleagues. As a business leader, I want those around me to grow. I want them to live their full potential. The Five Minute Journal makes such an incredible gift. I recommend buying a stack of them, like me, so you always have a few ready to give away.

Conclusion

These days at PPC Ian, I really want to help you grow, not just in digital marketing, but in business and life. I want to share the specific strategies and tools that I’m leveraging for success. My last post was all about Mentor Box and this one is all about The Five Minute Journal. And, it won’t end there. I’ve got some other really neat posts planned, more game-changers.

If you like what you’ve read here and decide to move forward, I please ask you to use my Five Minute Journal affiliate link. If you decide to purchase via my affiliate link, your price is the same (however I’ll receive a small commission, 15% to be exact). These affiliate earnings help me pay the bills here at PPC Ian, and help me add continued value to everyone reading. Thanks so much, and dream big!

My New Five Minute Journal Video Review

I’m thrilled to share my brand new video review of The Five Minute Journal. In my video, you’ll view an actual page out of my journal, and see my gratitude, affirmations, goals, and more. Also, I share my personal tips on how I get the most out of this amazing gratitude journal. I hope you enjoy the video!

Images in this post © PPCIan.com

My Mentorbox Review

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Feb 9 27

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you can probably tell that I’m heavily invested in my career and professional success. This can be a good thing, a great thing. It can also be a risky thing if you forget to invest in yourself. After all, you are your greatest asset and any investment you make in yourself will multiply many times over in your career, life, and overall success. Even during the busiest times at work, make time for yourself.

For me, 2016 was all about getting into great physical shape. Thanks to my amazing wife engineering a complete overhaul of my diet, thanks enjoying a more active lifestyle than ever before, and thanks to a renewed fitness routine, I lost 25 pounds while gaining lean muscle. I’m in the best shape of my life.

Continuing my theme of growth and personal improvement, 2017 is my year of knowledge. Many of you know that I made a career shift from technology into commercial real estate. I’m like a sponge, absorbing everything I can. My knowledge growth is in full effect, and I couldn’t be more excited about my professional growth.

However, I have long been aware that the greatest leaders are not just proficient within their area of focus. Rather, they become experts across a variety of subjects. They bring forth knowledge from different corners of the world to create something completely new. In fact, this is why many believe Bill Gates has his famous book retreats. It’s said that he’ll sit down with a stack of books, all of which are completely different, and read them in parallel. This process challenges the mind and forms new connections.

This all got me thinking: I want to invest more time reading. I want to greatly expand my knowledge. I know that this process will trigger exponential growth in my career, life, and overall success. However, like many of you, I realized that I just don’t have spare time. I’m willing to make some spare time, but cannot read all day.

Then, while on Facebook one day, I noticed that Tai Lopez (avid reader and social media legend) and Alex Mehr Ph.D. (previously co-founder, CEO, and President of Zoosk) launched a new business called Mentorbox. As soon as I learned about this new product, I was immediately intrigued and signed up. Now, three months later, I want to share my experience with all of you.

What Is Mentorbox?

Here are the basics on Mentorbox:

It’s literally a box that you receive in the mail each month, packed with two curated books, helpful materials, and knowledge.
Each month’s Mentorbox includes: two curated books (related to health, wealth, love, and/or happiness), two cheat sheets that summarize the books, two study guides that transform reading into action, two bookmarks with notes specific to each book (a small but very helpful feature), a USB flash drive with helpful videos walking you through the books, and a motivational quote magnet. It’s a lot of value for sure!
Mentorbox costs $89.95 per month.
It appears to be easy to cancel at any time. Before my order goes through each month, I get an email asking me if I want to keep going or cancel. I have no intention of canceling anytime soon, but feel good about the way Mentorbox treats customers.

Why Do I Love Mentorbox?

I truly look forward to receiving my Mentorbox each month. Here’s why:

As a really busy professional, I don’t have a lot of time to curate my own books. I want to read the best books, the ones that will give me the most value. However, I just do not have hours on end to research. It has been said that Tai Lopez has the second largest book club around, second only to Oprah’s. This is the guy who reads a book a day and has leveraged his knowledge to do some pretty amazing stuff. As someone with a digital marketing background, I respect what Tai has accomplished in social media. I find incredible value in the fact that Tai and Alex are personally curating books each month, keeping me focused on the books that will drive the most value for me.
Continuing upon the last theme, the cheat sheets and study guides save me a tremendous amount of time. It can take a lot of time to read a book, especially when one of them is 660 pages (Money: Master The Game By Tony Robbins). Here’s my strategy: I like to start with the cheat sheets. Then, I proceed to go through and start filling in the study guides. Then, I’ll read the book. I will not read every single word. Rather, I will really hone in on the chapters and concepts that appear most interesting to me. As I read through, I like to refer to the reminders on the bookmarks, too. Last, I’ll fill out the study guide if I have additional time. This process not only saves me time, but also increases my comprehension, retention, and action.
Given all of my responsibilities, I feel like two books per month is an aggressive cadence for me, a perfectionist. I’m the kind of person that has to read books cover-to-cover, and therefore I’ve historically been a slower reader. This new Mentorbox paradigm has challenged my process and pushed me out of my comfort zone. Two books per month is currently challenging me (along with all my other responsibilities in life), but I enjoy the challenge.

What Could I Be Doing Better?

As mentioned earlier, Mentorbox comes with a USB drive each month with helpful videos. I have not taken full advantage of these yet. Why? It really comes down to time. I just don’t have much time. I have found that Mentorbox works for me without the videos. Could my experience be enhanced with the videos? Without a doubt.

I just checked out the latest USB drive and it includes so much value, including a proprietary video interview with the author of one of this month’s books, The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday. In fact, Ryan worked with the Mentorbox team on the study guide. How amazing is that?

Here’s the critical point, however: You don’t have to take advantage of everything in Mentorbox to get tremendous value. The key point, in my opinion, is to just get started and then grow from there. I’m still evolving my own process.

Is It Worth The Money?

The value created, in my opinion, far surpasses $89.95 per month. Just think: How much do you spend on your cable television each month? What’s more important to you: reading/learning or watching TV? I’m not saying to give up TV. In fact, I do enjoy watching some good shows. That being said, $89.95 seems so reasonable to me. How much of my time would it take to simply curate two books each month? How much faster am I at reading and absorbing the concepts thanks to the cheat sheets and study guides? Can I even put a price on the fact that I truly look forward to Mentorbox each month and it motivates me to stay in my high growth zone?

Conclusion and A Closing Idea

These days, you’re going to see a lot more posts on my blog about business, investing, and growth in general. I’ll continue to include digital marketing-specific posts, from time-to-time. However, my mind is in other places these days. I’m thinking beyond digital marketing, and want to share that journey with all of you. I hope you find this review helpful, and I hope I’m able to impact at least one of you to pick up reading.

As a closing thought, I want to share an idea… Do you manage a team at work? If so, you’re probably looking for ways to add value and keep your team in high growth mode. Why not purchase Mentorbox for your company? This could be an amazing team exercise and team motivator to have this wealth of knowledge coming into the office each month.

Anybody else reading on the Mentorbox program? Please share your experience, would love to learn what you think about Mentorbox.

Support PPC Ian By Signing Up For Mentorbox

If you find this review helpful and are considering signing up for Mentorbox, I encourage you to use My Mentorbox Affiliate Link. I’ll earn a commission which helps me keep the lights on here at PPC Ian. If you sign up via my affiliate link, I’ll be forever grateful. Thank you in advance for supporting my blog.

My Mentorbox Video Reviews: Why I Love Mentor Box

If you found this written review helpful, you may want to watch my video reviews as well. In my first video, I’m thrilled to share the top five reasons why I love Mentorbox.

In my second video, I’m thrilled to unbox my newest Mentorbox right before your eyes. If you’re wondering exactly what you’ll receive in Mentorbox, this video is for you.

In my third video, I share my top five lessons learned from Mentorbox so far. You’ll get to see all of the books and materials I have received, and enjoy insights from my personal journal.

In my fourth video review, I address specific questions from Mentorbox skeptics. If you’re still unsure whether Mentor Box is for you, and you may even have some active concerns running through your mind, this video may be of particular help.

My Mentorbox 15-Day Challenge: How I Like To Experience Self-Education

As a new update, I just completed my first ever 15-Day Mentorbox Challenge. What’s this challenge all about? I pushed myself to complete this month’s Mentor Box program in just 15 days. I actually ended up finishing in 8 days (since 7 of the days were sick days). Read about my experience and check out my extensive Mentorbox diary, highlighting my challenge in its entirety. (Also, my write-up has a really neat video review too.) My conclusion: This experiment worked really well and I will always be experiencing Mentorbox this way going forward!

My Newest Mentorbox Blog Post

Learn even more about Mentorbox in my brand new blog post titled Is Mentorbox Worth It? (Is It Worth The Money?) This blog post highlights (in great detail) my journey to complete Mentorbox in 7 days! And, it goes through the question of whether Mentorbox is worth it. (Hint: It’s totally worth it.) As an added bonus, my new post has a really detailed video review of my latest Mentorbox! I put a ton of effort into this blog post and hope you enjoy it thoroughly.

My Favorite Mentorbox Book (So Far)

Here on PPC Ian, I receive many questions about Mentorbox. One of the very popular questions goes something like this: "Ian, Is Mentorbox primarily focused on sales, marketing, and business books?" While these topics are represented (and I love reading about them), Mentorbox features an amazing mix of books covering a variety of topics (all pertaining to improving one’s life). While the program includes sales, marketing, and business titles, there is also strong representation from other topics such as health/wellness and spirituality. In fact, my absolute favorite book from Mentorbox so far, a game-changer for me, is one all about spirituality. My latest Mentorbox Book Review covers my favorite book in great detail (and also offers a video review too). If you are considering Mentorbox, you will certainly find a great array of books!

Affiliate Disclosure: I am a Mentorbox affiliate. If you find my review helpful and end up purchasing via my affiliate link, I will earn a commission and be grateful for your support.

PPC Ian Presents at Stanford GSB Again

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Jan 21 8

Back in May of 2010, I presented a two hour introduction to online marketing at Stanford Graduate School of Business. The presentation went incredibly well and was a true honor and milestone in my career. I graduated Stanford with my BS in Computer Science so it was really exciting to go back and present at Stanford GSB.

PPC Ian at Stanford GSB

Today, I’ve got some really exciting news: I just went back and presented again this Wednesday! That’s right, I got invited back in less than a year so I’m definitely on the right track. I’m very passionate about Stanford, online marketing, and public speaking so I’m truly excited about this accomplishment.

Even better news: I have six HD videos of my new presentation that I’m excited to share with you. The first two videos are featured in this post, and then I will include the final four within the next few days.

While last time I presented an extensive introduction to the various online marketing channels, this time I provided a plethora of quick win tips for entrepreneurs. I highlighted pay per click, SEO, social media, and viral marketing tips that are easy, actionable, and effective in marketing any small business. After my first hour presenting quick win tips, I spent another hour doing a deep dive of some of the students’ sites. I especially enjoyed this part because I got to see some really amazing early stage businesses from the best and brightest minds. (Since the business are early stage with some in stealth mode, I only have video from the first hour.)

I was fortunate yet again to have an amazing audience of around 35 or so genius GSB students from the entrepreneur, high tech, and marketing clubs, students who asked some really great questions! My sincere thank you to everyone from these great clubs and everyone at GSB who attended and hosted me, especially Courtney from Wokai.

Today’s First Online Marketing Video

I have two exciting HD videos to share with you today. The first video covers quick wins on Google AdWords and Facebook. When it comes to Google AdWords, there are few marketers out there who have been directly responsible for as much spend as myself. This is really where it all started for me and how I became a guru in the online marketing industry. I’m newer to Facebook advertising but am quickly learning. I have been promoting my Facebook Fan Page quite a bit lately and discuss some tips for gaining more likes!

My Second Stanford GSB Video

The second video covers more Facebook advertising tips, the Yahoo/Microsoft Search Alliance, keyword generation (via broad match), and blogging. I really hope you enjoy these videos and can’t wait to share the next four. Thanks so much for watching.

PPC Ian and Some of My New Friends From Stanford GSB

Below you can see yours truly with some of the students from Stanford Graduate School of Business. I actually spoke to about 35 or so students. We took this picture after the presentation with some of the students who stayed after to ask questions. I sincerely appreciate the great turn out and all the support from Stanford GSB’s entrepreneur, high tech, and marketing clubs! Also, I want to especially thank Courtney (next to me in picture) for organizing this event!

PPC Ian with Stanford GSB Students

Video: Stanford Graduate School of Business

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment May 13 16

Hello Everyone,

In my last post, I highlighted my presentation at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. The presentation went extremely well and spanned two action-packed hours of PPC, SEO, and more. I’m definitely proud of this milestone.

Stanford GSB Presentation

Today my friend David Rogier, VP of Stanford GSB’s Entrepreneur Club, uploaded the video of my presentation to the Entrepreneur Club’s website! You can check out my online marketing presentation by visiting the Entrepreneur Club’s website or by simply watching it below!

I sincerely hope you find it helpful. Also, I wanted to close out by sincerely thanking Stanford GSB, the amazing organizers of the event, everyone who attended, and of course everyone reading my blog!

All the best,
Ian Lopuch (PPC Ian)

PS – As mentioned in my last post, my PowerPoint presentation is available for free! Simply sign up for my free PPC newsletter by entering your first name and email address in the top right corner of this page or by visiting my PPC newsletter page. You’ll receive my Stanford GSB presentation in addition to my eBook featuring high leverage PPC career tips, all for free! I recommend following along with the PowerPoint as you watch the video. Don’t have enough time to watch the full two hour video? You may wish to scan the PowerPoint and then fast forward to the sections of the video that are most interesting to you! Thanks again!

Buying Domains on Sedo

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Feb 15 6

If you’ve checked out the footer on PPC Ian, you may have noticed that I own a small LLC, IJL Productions LLC. I actually plan to write a future article all about LLCs and why I think they’re a great business entity to separate your business from yourself, creating financial protection (in my humble non-legal opinion). However, today I wanted to discuss the launch of IJL.net, the official website of IJL Productions LLC and in particular my experience buying this domain name on Sedo.

I have been interested in launching a small web presence for IJL Productions for quite some time. In fact, I registered the domain IJLProductions.com over two years ago for that purpose. However, as a domainer, Internet entrepreneur, and a guy with an ego, I wanted a shorter premium domain that I could brag about. Thus, I decided to buy a premium three-letter domain on Sedo, IJL.net, and I’m looking forward to discussing my experience.

Why I Picked IJL.net

Net

Three letter domains are extremely valuable, especially the dot com and dot net TLDs. (I recommend checking out 3Character.com, a very useful resource for those of you newer to three character domain names.) Moreover, my business name starts with three letters, making a three-character domain name very relevant and professional. Combine these two factors with my own vanity (I wanted a premium domain name for the bragging rights) and I quickly decided that I wanted to own a premium IJL domain.

Upon more investigation, I uncovered that "IJL" was taken on all the major TLDs such as dot com, dot net, and dot org. IJL.net and IJL.org were both going to parked pages and were available for sale on Sedo, making them great targets for my acquisition. For those of you new to Sedo, it’s the leading domain marketplace for buying and selling aftermarket domain names!

I Started Making Offers on Sedo

From the beginning, my preference was for the dot net TLD (as opposed to dot org). Don’t get me wrong, I love dot org domains because they inspire confidence due to their nonprofit roots. I probably bought 30 dot org domains in the last month for investment purposes. However, my personal business is for profit and I wanted to make that clear. Moreover, IJL.net just has a better ring to it than IJL.org. However, dot net TLDs are far more valuable than dot org so I wanted to leave my options open. Originally, I made some lowball offers on Sedo. I think I offered $275 for IJL.org and $700 for IJL.net. Not surprisingly, the sellers didn’t even entertain these offers! I waited quite some time and didn’t hear back.

At this point, I raised my bids on both domain names. The seller of IJL.org came back with a rather aggressive counter offer. Since it was not my first choice, I decided to stop negotiations and focus on IJL.net. Even after coming in rather aggressively, I did not hear back from the IJL.net seller on Sedo. I decided to take matters into my own hands and filled out the contact form on the website asking the seller to take a look at my offer. Don’t want to go into too much detail here, but must say the negotiations took several weeks and were rather involved. I was actually quite shocked it took that long, but in the end I feel that both the seller and I got fair deals. The seller got a very fair price for this premium domain name and I got the three-character domain name of my dreams!

Buying Your First Domain on Sedo

If you’re new to Sedo like I was, I’m hoping the following guide will help you a bit in your first transaction, from the buyer’s perspective. Following is my personal experience buying IJL.net through Sedo’s system, step-by-step:

The first part is the fun part! Simply search Sedo using their advanced query function to isolate the domain you’re interested in purchasing. You get to see statistics such as the seller’s offer price (not all sellers list a price), the number of people that have viewed the domain’s page on Sedo (giving you a sense of interest in the domain), and the seller’s activity index (if they’re active on Sedo, that’s a good thing).

Important: Offers On Sedo Are Binding

Once you’ve isolated a domain name, you simply need to create a Sedo account and place an offer! Please keep in mind that offers on Sedo are legally binding. If the seller accepts, you are locked into the deal. I can’t underscore enough that you want to be absolutely certain before making an offer. Tip: When you’re making your offer, please keep in mind that Sedo will charge you an extra 3% fee as a buyer to use their service.

Keep Your Cool During Domain Name Negotiations

After your offer is made, it’s time for the seller to ponder your offer. I believe sellers have up to 7 days to think over the offer and either respond with a counteroffer or decline the deal. I really want to underscore here that domainers, especially those who have been in the game a long time and who have strong portfolios, are expert negotiators. They will do whatever it takes to extract the full value for their domain name (and I can’t blame them!). As you negotiate, take your time, especially if the domain has little competition. Be fair and honest with the seller. At the end of the day, you need to feel like you got a great deal so please don’t go crazy, get caught up in the deal, and overpay. At the same time, you’re much more likely to get your domain name if you offer the seller a fair price. It’s all about balance and the art of negotiation!

After all the back and forth, hopefully the seller and you agree on a fair price. At that point, the Purchase and Sales Agreement is ratified and available for your download on Sedo. I recommend downloading it, taking screenshots, and printing it out. This is the document that outlines the transfer of title on your new domain name.

Also it’s now time for you to pay up. I truly enjoy leveraging Sedo because they act as the escrow company in your transaction. This ensures that your hard earned money is safe and that you only pay if you get the domain name. Domain names are expensive. There have been bad deals and thefts. Because you’re spending a lot of money on your domain name, I highly encourage you to leverage Sedo (or another alternative such as Escrow.com) to protect your investment. I have used Escrow.com in the past, but as a domain buyer I’m a bit partial to Sedo. Payment on my front was really simple. I had an existing balance in my PayPal account so I decided to pay via PayPal, a great option and much appreciated. With Escrow.com, I had to wire money in the past so I found the PayPal option much simpler.

Stay Patient During The Domain Transfer Process

At this point, it was time to transfer the domain. This process took a few weeks, longer than I had imagined. At the same time, I felt good about the transparency of the process. Moreover I appreciated the fact that Sedo assigned a dedicated transfer agent to my deal (who answered my questions very quickly). At the end of the day, the transfer probably took a bit longer because we were moving across registrars (from Enom to Moniker). Had I been transferring to another Enom account, perhaps it would have been quicker. In any event, here are some of the logistical details:

Seller transferred the domain to Sedo’s escrow account on Enom.
Sedo sent me the authorization code.
I initiated a transfer from within my Moniker account and entered the authorization code. I also decided to renew the domain name for several more years at this time. My Advice: Always register your premium domains for at least 5 years, the last thing you want is for them to expire by accident.
Moniker sent Sedo an email that contained a link they needed to click.
I sent a heads up to my transfer specialist and he clicked the link, no problem.
I waited a bit and Moniker sent me an update that the authorization code was incorrect.
No big deal, I emailed my transfer specialist at Sedo and got a new one.
I entered the new code and it was accepted.
I waited about five days and got daily updates from Moniker that the domain was still pending transfer.
The deal closed!
PPC Ian decided to celebrate!

Premium Domains are Ideal For Pay Per Click

As you know, the name of my blog is PPC Ian. I’m the greatest PPC enthusiast out there! To close out, I wanted to tie this all back to pay per click. In my opinion, every great pay per click website deserves a great, premium domain name. Just think about it: You’re spending millions of dollars per year across your portfolio of sites. I personally see a great case for taking just a fraction of your PPC budget and investing it in premium domain names. Premium names will improve your click through rate and user retention. I hope my experience buying IJL.net via Sedo has helped you out as a first time Sedo buyer!

BlueHost, Add-On Domains, and .htaccess

By PPC Ian Leave a Comment Jan 6 50

As mentioned in my 2010 goals, I’m extremely excited about the domaining industry. My 2010 goals have me attending at least one major domaining conference in addition to developing at least six websites. (Honestly, I’m sandbagging a bit and hope to develop quite a few more websites than six.) Domaining and web publishing in my opinion are excellent ways to master SEO while building up some passive income. (You may wish to read my article about moonlighting your way to success in your PPC career.)

In today’s article, I’d like to feature a low level discussion on hosting multiple domains within a single web hosting account, a cost effective method for anyone to develop multiple websites this year. Specifically, I will be sharing my BlueHost story. I hope to save you the many hours it took me to figure out configuration of the .htaccess file to optimize SEO for add-on domains with BlueHost. Sound confusing? Don’t worry! I will explain in full detail below!

BlueHost Web Hosting

Why Sign Up For BlueHost?

Programming Matrix

BlueHost is a very trusted web host, one that I’ve heard great things about over the years. They are extremely reliable and moreover offer the ability to host multiple domains within a single account (with unlimited bandwidth) for only $6.95 per month (or possibly less if you have a coupon). This is a dream come true for all you domainers out there! So, I signed up and thought it would be super easy to instantly host multiple sites within one simple account.

As a side note, I’m a big proponent of online marketing diversification. As you publish more and more websites, it’s extremely important to go with multiple hosts and registrars. Looking to diversify, it made perfect sense for me to give BlueHost a try. In your quest to diversify, I recommend GoDaddy, BlueHost, and Host Gator on the hosting side. On the registrar side, I recommend GoDaddy and Moniker. As your side business expands, diversification mitigates risk of downtime.

BlueHost and Add-On Domain Confusion

Signing up for BlueHost with your initial domain is super easy. You point your nameservers to BlueHost, open an account, link in the domain, upload your website, and you’re done. When you want to start hosting an additional add-on domain, however, things can get a little tricky (but I will fully explain all the steps to make the process a breeze for you).

Specifically, BlueHost stores files for your add-on domain as a sub-folder of your main domain. For example, let’s say I have two sites, example1 (main site) and example2 (add-on site). All files for example2 will be in a subfolder under example1 (you can name the subfolder whatever you want but I recommend just keeping it simple and sticking to the site’s name).
http://www.example1.com/example2/

To make things even more confusing, BlueHost also makes example2 a subdomain of example1 (you can name the subdomain whatever you want but I recommend just keeping it simple and sticking to the site’s name).
http://example2.example1.com/

Of course, example2 will also function as a URL on its own.
http://www.example2.com/

SEO and Duplicate Content Do Not Mix Well

As you may already know, Google and other search engines hate duplicate content. The fact that your example2 website now shows up three times at three different URLs opens you up to all sorts of duplicate content issues. If Google indexes all three URLs, you will immediately have SEO problems.

However, this can all be prevented with the use of 301 redirects in your .htaccess file. 301 Redirects are the SEO friendly way to tell Google and other search engines that the files for your website have permanently moved to another location. Because you never intended to have a site at http://www.example1.com/example2/ or http://example2.example1.com/ you will clearly want to 301 redirect these two domains to http://www.example2.com/. As someone who has previous experience with .htaccess, I thought the 301 redirects would be a breeze in this case but they actually gave me a run for my money.

How To Configure Your BlueHost .htaccess Files For Add-On Domains

I’d like to close this article out with the actual code you’ll want to use in your .htaccess files, both the one in your root www folder for your main domain and the one(s) in your add-on domain folder(s). I first tired to leverage cPanel’s redirect GUI to make this happen, but it didn’t fully work. The code below is a combination of my use of cPanel’s GUI and my own trial and error.

Your Main Site’s .htaccess File

(In the following code, example1 is your main site and example2 is your add-on site.)

Options +FollowSymLinks RewriteEngine On


Redirect 301 /example2/ http://www.example2.com/

Redirect 301 /example2 http://www.example2.com/

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^example1\.com$ [NC] RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.example1.com/$1 [R=301,L]

Your Add-On Site’s .htaccess File

(In the following code, example1 is your main site and example2 is your add-on site.)

Options +FollowSymLinks RewriteEngine On


RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^example2.example1.com$ [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www.example2.example1.com$

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ "http\:\/\/www\.example2\.com\/$1" [R=301,L]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^example2\.com$ [NC] RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.example2.com/$1 [R=301,L]

An Extra 301 Redirect To Help You Out

If you’re an .htaccess wizard, you may have noticed that I not only help you out here with the above discussed 301 redirects, but I also help redirect non-www versions of your site to the www version (via 301 redirects as well), another common SEO duplicate content issue for many sites. I sincerely hope this helps you out. It’s truly amazing that for only $6.95 per month you can now host multiple sites in an SEO-friendly manner with just a little up front work understanding and configuring your .htaccess file.

Disclaimer: Please use this code at your own risk. Your .htaccess file is a very powerful tool. Before making any changes, please back up your entire site. PPCIan.com is not liable for any problems that may arise from following these examples.