Welcome To Dividend Mantra 2.0

ByDividend Mantra Team

newsite

Welcome to Dividend Mantra 2.0!

I recently revealed to everyone that I was moving from Blogger to WordPress. This move was necessary for a number of reasons, most prominently of which being a better experience for both you readers and myself, as well as ownership of my content. I have aspirations of hopefully one day being able to write a book, and if I don’t even own my own words that could be a problem. I’ve worked extremely hard over the last three years trying to build this blog into a wonderful community of like-minded investors, savers, freedom fighters, and free-thinkers. And to think Blogger not only owns everything I worked hard at, but could also shut it down at any time, was too much to bear.

Now this move didn’t come without its share of headaches and costs, but I did everything I could to make sure the transition is seamless for you readers. If you experience any issues please let me know so I can do everything in my power to fix it. I know basically nothing about HTML, CSS, and other consonant-heavy coding abbreviations, but if I’m good at anything it’s figuring things out and getting the answer. Learning how WordPress works, how servers function and how to transfer a domain name are new skills I definitely didn’t have before this move. But just like investing, you learn as you go. I knew nothing about personal finance and stocks before I started this journey, but now I can comfortably say I know what I’m doing.

So I talked about a “better experience”. What exactly is that?

Well, I’ve added some features here to the new site. I have linked this site to social media accounts that either weren’t being used previously or are brand new. You can see the links to these sites in the pretty little social icons on the right sidebar. I’m now available on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. This allows anyone who prefers to communicate through those mediums to get in touch with me and have some great conversations outside the blog. I don’t really have access to a smartphone on the go, and my day job takes up 11 hours per day during the week, so I may be a bit slow to respond to tweets and Facebook posts, but just like comments here on the blog I do my best to get in touch with everyone.

Also, I hope this new platform is just plain easier to use and better looking. It’s cleaner and much more professional than the Blogger platform I just left, as well as feature-rich. If you have a gravatar, your picture will show up in the comments section. Also, you can easily subscribe to comment threads and new posts within the comment box. In addition, the content is fully stretched here because I have a lot of space to work with, so as always content is king here. No background at all.

All the content, pages, and post comments you’re used to seeing was fully imported to WordPress; however, I did lose the comments within the pages at the top. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about that. The import does not directly copy over pages so I had to do that manually and comments can’t be brought over in that manner. But it’s an opportunity to open up great, new discussions and, as always, I’m here to provide inspiration and support through these comments. In addition, I actually added a brand new page titled Monthly Budgets where you can access all of my monthly budgets since the beginning of 2011 and see my monthly and yearly savings rates. This blog is just as much about living below your means as it is generating passive dividend income, so I wanted to highlight the power of consistent frugality.

So what you can expect here at the new and improved Dividend Mantra is all of the same, but just a little better. I’m still going to be writing the best possible content I can produce, while divulging all of my finances as I continue to aggressively pursue financial independence. I’m hoping everyone really enjoys the new platform and finds it easier to use. I also hope you add me to any social media accounts you use so we can easily stay in touch there as well.

Before I go, I wanted to thank those that helped make this move possible. Avrom over at Dividend Ninja answered a ton of technical questions. Adam from Write Your Own Reality has been really instrumental in helping me get the look right through a number of emails. And Emily White actually performed the migration for me and helped set up redirects, making sure the transition went smoothly. Thank you all!

Also, I wanted to give a shout-out to Liquid Web. They’re my hosting platform and they’ve been great. Anything from answering my calls at 3 am about the CPanel to helping me build a new server – they were there. The link to Liquid Web is an affiliate link, but I’m only including it because I highly recommend them. HostGator was a nightmare when I first attempted this move, and LW cleaned up the pieces.

So there you have it. The new and improved Dividend Mantra. It’s a brave new world!

How do you like the new site? Enjoy the new platform?

Thanks for reading.

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91 Comments

  2. J. Money,

    Thanks, man. I should have given you a shout-out as well. Your approval of the move definitely gave me a good feeling about this.

    I really appreciate the support. And thank you as well for the recent feature. You’ll definitely be in reading and posting rotation!

    Best wishes.

  6. W2R,

    No problem at all. I really appreciate your input on the design. You pointed out some of the errors of my ways, and it looks great now. Much obliged.

    I hope 2014 is fantastic for both of us. It’s off to a great start already! 🙂

    Best regards.

  7. Pretired Nick,

    Thanks, Nick! I think I joined the “Cool Bloggers Club” with my fancy WordPress setup. 🙂

    Appreciate you stopping by. Hope all is well!

    Cheers.

  9. JC,

    No problem. Happy to help. Shoot me an email if you have any questions or need any help.

    I definitely went through some trial and error here, especially with hosting.

    Take care!

  12. Congratulations on the switch. I am glad it all worked out for you. I might have to use your expertise one day also.

    By the way, where did you read that Blogger owns your content? Could you please refer me to that text?

    Best Regards and good luck!

    Dividend Growth Investor

  13. DGI,

    Thanks! I hope you like the new layout. I think it’s an improved platform for sure.

    Google’s TOS can be found here:

    http://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/terms/

    which states:

    “When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content.”

    I hope this helps!

    Best regards.

  14. Mantra,
    Looks great and easy to read layout. Nice and clean. I went through a platform change recently and it’s not fun so I feel your relief that it’s over. You’ll catch a few things pointing in the wrong place here and there, but nothing causing major problems.
    -RBD

  16. RBD,

    Definitely not fun to make the change, but well worth it. 🙂

    Glad you like the new look. I see yours is also very clean and easy to read. I liked how different looking my blog was before, but at the same time there’s something refreshing about having a clean layout.

    Thanks for all the support. And great job with the investments and passive income. It’s great to see you aggressively building it up!

    Take care.

  17. Dividend Prodigy,

    Thanks! I appreciate the feedback, and I’m glad you like it.

    I wasn’t sure how it would go over because it’s quite different, but this design is actually closer to the original design I had up and running at Blogger for a couple years. So I guess I’ve come full circle. 🙂

    Thanks again.

    Cheers!

  19. Trader,

    Thanks! Glad you like the new look. 🙂

    I’m super excited to move my drafts over and see what I can do here with WordPress. It’s a fresh, new start!

    I hope you continue to stop by and stay in touch.

    Best wishes.

  20. Great job on the new site Jason!!

    I love the new layout, the look and feel is clean and easy to navigate.

    It’s important to own your content. I know the transition is a lot of work, but in the end it’s worth the effort.

    Keep up the fantastic work!

    cheers,
    Kanwal

  21. Kanwal,

    Hey, thanks for stopping by. Hope all is well!

    Glad you like the new look. And you’re right: owning one’s own content is extremely important.

    Appreciate the support!

    Take care.

  23. Dividend Mom,

    Glad you like it. 🙂

    And congrats to you on the rising dividend income and portfolio value. I see you’re closing in on $65k. Keep it up!

    Cheers.

  26. Hi DM,

    congratulation for Dividend Mantra 2.0!!!
    That style looks great!
    I love your site – but now, I love this site once more!
    This site looks much better than your old site.
    Thanks god for WordPress 😉

    Best regards
    D-S

    PS: Thank you very much for adding me to your blogroll!

  27. Kyith,

    Thanks for the feedback!

    Maybe I’m in the minority, but I never cared for DISQUS. Just rubs me the wrong way for some reason. I actually quite prefer the Jetpack commenting system.

    As far as the RSS feed I realized something was wrong there when the email came in today all weird. I think that’s fixed now. Thanks for the heads up!

    Take care.

  28. I love the new website. Looks more professional, and easy to navigate. As a creative type myself, I have to say my favorite part is the new “Victory” silhouette next to the DM logo. Is that you? Excellent addition!

  29. Skottoman,

    Thanks for the encouragement. Glad you like it!

    Thanks for noticing the new header. Yeah, I LOVE it. Although that image isn’t me, it was created exactly to my specifications. I had the vision and the designer really came through. I’m very happy with it.

    Best regards.

  30. I like this site alot. Just don’t lose site of the big picture. It’s not about us and hits and ads. This is all gravy. Don’t lose site of the prize. I”m reading “Reminiscences of a stock Operator” and there is a great line about this (will re read it and find it but it makes sense right now). It’s something about people lose perspective about Day 1 of the game. Not that you have but it was just a great remember about Day 1 of stock investing. (yes he had a different strategy but if you haven’t read it you should…3 times. Once to read. Once to highlight and one time to educate)Keep going. I do like the new site but don’t get jaded. Keep up the great work

    -Jersey Jerry

  31. Way to go, DM! Your new site is amazing. I know how much work is involved in this type of migration and congratulate you on your success. I know your readers will truly appreciate the new design, and that it will catapult your success to new levels! 🙂
    Sincerely,
    Ian

  32. DM,

    The new look is awesome! Thanks for putting in all the time and effort to produce the new look. I also hope you are enjoying you vacation. Hopefully the extended time away will provide even more motivation to get to the “end game” of financial freedom.

  33. Well regardless if the image is you or not, it doesn’t matter. The arms in the air image for sure conveys the feeling you are putting out. From a creative perspective, it was the first thing I noticed, and *felt*. Nailed it. Congrats on the new site.
    Cheers,
    Skottoman

  34. Investing Pursuits,

    Thanks so much! 🙂

    I feel really good about it. I was very excited for the launch, and the finished product is exactly what I had in mind.

    Stay in touch.

    Take care.

  35. HI Jason,

    I really like the new website. Great job. I normally don’t like changes but you did an amazing job. It looks really professional and it is very easy to navigate.

    Frank

  36. D-S,

    Hey, I didn’t forget about our email conversation. And no problem!

    Glad you dig the new site. WordPress is indeed a big upgrade over Blogger. Of course, that upgrade isn’t free. 🙂

    Cheers!

  37. Jerry,

    I hear what you’re saying. I certainly hope I don’t come across as jaded.

    In the end, I’m not pinning my early retirement hopes on whether or not this blog earns money. However, I do plan to write for many more years, even well after I reach financial independence. I just really enjoy writing and communicating with like-minded individuals. This has gone far past a hobby for me, and I definitely consider it a full-blown passion.

    For me, it’s about being part of a great community. It’s about bouncing ideas off each other, learning, educating, sharing, and inspiring. I think we’re all after the best life we can possibly live, and what better way to give you the best opportunity at such than owning your own time? And so what I’m talking about here is simply about owning your own time so you can pursue your passions. And it just so happens that for me writing is a passion. And so this blog is the output of that energy.

    Thanks for the perspective. I’m keeping my eye on the prize just as much as always, trust me. 🙂

    Best wishes.

  38. Ian,

    Sorry about the spam issue with your comment. Hopefully, we don’t have that happen again. Bad Akismet!

    Thanks for your continued support. It’s really appreciated. I’m looking forward to moving past this migration and focusing on the content now that the platform is live. It’s been a hell of a ride, but it’s onward and upward now. 🙂

    Thanks again!

    Best regards.

  39. The TOS sounds interesting, but I don’t think that you are granting them “ownership” of your content with this.

    Actually, Seeking Alpha can do more damage to your brand than Google.. Most readers that find your content through SA, think you are an SA writer, and do not think of you as Dividend Mantra.. Plus 100 other sites republish their content, which makes your authority in Google pretty bad. Of course if you republish elsewhere too, you are also giving up content rights.. If you stop republishing and ask the republisher to remove your content, they won’t do it.

    By the way I like how your site looks ( I also liked the previous look) – that’s why I said I may need to use your expertise some day. I may have to upgrade at some point, but I am afraid of the unknown.

  40. Frank NY,

    Thanks, man.

    I know what you mean about changes. I usually like to keep things the same if I can. And maybe that’s why it took me so long to actually move to WP. But, in the end, this is a good thing. I can stay in touch with readers even easier and I have a more powerful platform to spread the good word. 🙂

    Thanks for the positive feedback and support. Really appreciated!

    Cheers.

  42. Looking nice! I love it already! Now I can use my Gravatar and everything, this is great!

    Congratulations on making the transition, and thank you for making it a better experience for us. Maybe some day I’ll pick your brain on how to setup a blog like this one.

    It’s amazing how you’re blog has matured on so many different levels, including the visual!

  43. Pipeline,

    The work was well worth it! Although, it was tough to see that at the time after staying up well past 5 am a few times. 🙂

    As far as motivation goes, it’s never been higher! It’s been fantastic managing this move, catching up on writing and reading, managing the portfolio, hitting the gym, taking my time with my meals and everything else. I don’t know how I ever fit in a 52-hour workweek!

    Once this little sabbatical is over I’m going to hit it hard and do everything I can to make sure I get another break like this down the road permanently. It’s one thing to talk about owning your own time, and another to actually own it for a little while and see it taken away. I can’t think of anything more motivating than that!

    Cheers.

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  46. Spoonman,

    Ahh, the gravatar! I feel like I’m on the ERE forums right now. 🙂

    I’d be happy to help if you ever want to set one up. I’ve learned a lot, although I’m still a novice compared to many out there. I’m plodding along the best I can though.

    The blog has definitely come a long way! Like I said before, it started as a hobby but it’s definitely a source of passion for me now. The writing, investing, sharing, learning, laughing…it’s just something I really enjoy.

    Appreciate you stopping by. Glad you like the new look.

    Best wishes!

  47. This is so cool Mantra! LOVE the new look. I like how you included the picture too, it makes your blog way better.

    You even look like an investor, an intelligent one at that:)

  49. Good stuff and definitely looks cleaner, I am not ready to leave Blogger, but when I am …Can I reach out to you, also?

    Regards,

    Joe

  50. Dexter,

    Thanks! You must be a fan of Dexter. I love that show. One of my all-time favorites, but I thought the final episode kinda sucked.

    Glad you like the new look. I worked on it for about a week, so I’m really glad it’s live and everyone seems to enjoy it. It’s wonderful to have great readers like yourself. Appreciate the support!

    Cheers.

  52. Wow, so very cool! You’re on WordPress now!!! 🙂

    It’s gonna make commenting a whole lot easier 🙂

    Looking forward to following along on the next chapter of the journey… here’s to 2.0!!!

  54. Great job DM, looks all snazzy-like 🙂 Genesis is a fab framework to build up from, i’m still finding my way around but love all the plugins and the support. Look forward to some great updates.

  57. Larry,

    I appreciate you following along. Without you guys this blog wouldn’t exist, so thank you!

    I hope this new platform makes it even easier to stay in touch. 🙂

    Cheers!

  58. TaleesFromTheTape,

    Yeah, Genesis is pretty cool stuff. Confusing, but cool! 🙂

    Appreciate the encouragement. Glad you like the look. It took way longer than it probably should have.

    Take care!

  59. Your blogger blog was one of the better ones I’ve seen but I still like the new look over your last one. I’ve tried blogging with blogger but I found it to be buggy. I then moved on to Typepad and it was okay. Now I’m at wordpress and I like it much better. Congrats on the new move.

  60. Just a friendly reminder. Set up an automated off site backup for your content. Too many people realize it only when it’s too late.

  61. Beautiful new home! Congrats on the new site – everything looks great. I look forward to following along your journey at your new home and one day reading the book!

  64. DM,

    Congrats on getting onto WordPress. I’ve looked into it before but haven’t moved over yet since it seems like a lot of trouble. I may be emailing you for some advice once I decide to commit to the switch.

    It’s great that you now own all of your content. That’s definitely something I don’t like about Blogger. So far, I like the layout and there are tons of new features.

  65. Lila,

    Thanks! Yeah, I did the best I could with Blogger. I tried to really push it as far as it would go, and I was generally happy with Blogger. In fact, if I didn’t have such a strong desire to own my own content I might still be over there. However, this move was great because it really allows me to stay in touch with everyone even more than before. And it just plain looks great. 🙂

    Thanks for the warm wishes.

    Best regards.

  66. Anonymous,

    Thanks for the suggestion. Couldn’t agree more.

    I’m fairly certain that when I set my hosting account up I have already set up off-site backup. It will back the site up every 5 days so that I don’t automatically rewrite hacked files. Hopefully, I won’t have to deal with that. But you never know!

    Cheers.

  67. Matt,

    Thanks! I hope this is my permanent home. Like moving in real life, moving a virtual home sucks. I don’t want to ever do it again.

    I appreciate the support! And I hope to one day put a book together. That’s a dream of mine!

    It looks like your journey is going very well. Your dividend income is rising quickly! Keep it up. 🙂

    Best wishes.

  68. Peter,

    Well, I’ll still be publishing my income/expense reports as usual. I honestly don’t know what’s going to happen to the blog income here. I have no idea if it will go up or down. So far, it looks to be about the same. However, my net income from blogging will definitely take a hit in the short term because I now have relatively steep hosting fees. I’m hoping over the long haul it stays somewhere near what I was earning with Blogger. I didn’t make this move for the money; I really did it to own my content and provide a better platform for everyone. Whether or not that causes my income to change will be seen when I publish the results.

    We’ll see how it goes. In the meantime, I appreciate your readership! 🙂

    Cheers.

  69. Kevin,

    HostGator was a total nightmare. I did some research and found that one big company owns many of these smaller hosting companies, which probably explains the long hold times (45 minutes) to talk to someone and the rather flippant attitude on helping me set things up. HostGator probably could have worked things out for me, but why bother when I’m getting an experience that’s 1000% better somewhere else?

    Glad you like the site. I’m super excited for what the future brings. 🙂

    Hope all is well with the investments and gaming!

    Take care.

  70. Brent,

    I’d be glad to help if you ever want to move. I will tell you it was a hassle, and much more difficult than a google search might lead you to believe. I honestly would have probably stuck with Blogger if I didn’t have a desire to one day expand on my content outside of the blog format. It was easy and free, and I typically like to stick to what works. Blogger allowed me to build all kinds of wonderful relationships, so I felt a little nostalgic towards it. But I’m also glad I made the move because this will hopefully allow those relationships I’ve already built to grow even more. 🙂

    Thanks for all the support. And you are absolutely killing it over there. Just totally ridiculous results! Keep it up, man. Very inspiring stuff.

    Best wishes.

  72. R2R,

    Thanks! It was a tough road, but I’m glad to be on the other side.

    Glad you like the new look. I’m very excited for what the new platform can bring.

    Hope all is well with your journey as well!

    Best regards.

  75. Ken,

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Appreciate the warm wishes. I’m excited about the new look, and I’m even more excited to have a little more time to write. I’m hopeful I can keep putting out inspirational content.

    Cheers!

  76. wes,

    Thanks, man. I’m having a WONDERFUL vacation so far. It’s gonna be tough to go back to work when it’s all over. 🙂

    Glad you like the new site. I’m very pleased with how it all came out. Hopefully, this is it for a while and I can focus on content and relationships.

    Appreciate you stopping by.

    Take care!

  78. ed69,

    Thanks! Glad you like the new look. 🙂

    I’m testing for sure! Really enjoying the writing tools. I’m very pleased so far.

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Take care.

  79. Just jumping in here to say that, should Google determine that you’re violating their TOS in any way, they can remove your Blogger blog and all its content. A friend of mine lost several years of posts, pictures of her kids, etc. and (from what I could tell) did nothing wrong – she didn’t even have any ads on the site. Always better to know you have possession of your content and no one can take that from you (assuming you have good backups, that is).

  80. Andrea,

    Thanks for stopping by! And I appreciate the referral to Emily. She was wonderful to work with. I couldn’t have asked for more.

    And this nightmare scenario is exactly why I decided to move on. Although the odds of such a thing happening are remote, the fact that it can even happen at all was enough for me to move on.

    Cheers!

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  87. Andrea, I am just wondering if your friend owns her domain or is she on Blogger blogspot. I happen to own my domain, which happened when I went from my blogspot to buying my domain through GoDaddy via Google, but I am still hosted on Blogger.

    Regards,
    Joe

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  91. Kerim,

    Hey, thanks for stopping by!

    I’m sorry I haven’t been around the forum in a little while. Been incredibly busy getting the new site up and running. 🙂

    I hope all is well with both the forum and your investments!

    Best wishes.

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