Are you thinking about starting a blog so you can work from home? Have you ever wished you could spend more time with your kids, or just really hate commuting to the office? Do you love sitting in your PJs and drinking coffee all day? I do! Today’s post is all about what goes in to starting your own blog. Lets go!
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Even though I am licensed in NC to sell real estate, and I am a part-time cookier, I was still looking for something else to take up my extra time (and supplement my income). I am a boy mom to a sweet almost seven month old, Harrison; and I love being able to stay at home with him to watch him grow! He is seriously the light of my life, and I knew as soon as I had him I needed to find ways to still be able to contribute to my family’s finances without needing to put my son in daycare. Enter blogging stage right!
“I needed to find ways to still be able to contribute to my family’s finances without needing to put my son in daycare”
Before I had my son, I loved working. I worked six days a week, and tended bar at a local brewery downtown on the weekends. I stayed as busy as I possibly could, until my son changed my life. I decided to start a blog as a side hustle, so I could connect with other mamas looking to add a sense of purpose (other than being a mom) back to their life.
On the fence about starting a blog? Consider these things first:
Do you love writing?
Need a creative outlet you can share with others?
Are you looking for a way to contribute to your family financially?
Willing to work hard to make your goals become reality?
If your answers are yes, then it’s time to start now! Today! What’s holding you back?
Do you think it’s too late to start a blog? Do you think everything that is worth being written about has already been done? Maybe so. But, it hasn’t been written by you, mama. The world needs different perspectives and a fresh take on the same old material. It needs your voice!
If you are ready to dive in and make your blog a reality, read below on how to make that happen! If you still aren’t sure, (and that’s 10000% okay!) try blogging for a month or two on a free platform like Blogger. Blogger allows you to create a hobby blog, but they own your content.
Ready to start? Let’s do it!
Step 1: Pick a niche.
What’s a niche you ask? It’s what you’ll write about! Who will your blog be geared towards? Do you love baking and want to share all your yummy cake recipes? Do you have the heart of a foodie and love trying all the best restaurants everywhere you go? What about a passion for budgeting and finding hidden money everywhere?
The good news: You can write about literally anything and everything! There is a reader for every blog. If you aren’t sure, don’t worry! You can always figure out what you’re passionate about long term later. Nothing is set in stone.
Step 2: Choose your blog name.
This part is my favorite! I love seeing all the clever, different ways people can brand themselves. You want to try and make your name something that connects with whatever your blog will be about (remember the niche you chose up above?), or you could just use www.yourname.com if you aren’t sure you’ll stick to one category.
For example, “Not Your Ordinary Organizer” could be about tidiness and how to organize everything in your home. “The Busy Baker” would obviously be a blog about baking! Make sure you comment below with what your blog name will be!
Step 3: Make sure that blog name is available!
The worst part about this step is getting your heart set on a name only to find out someone else already has it! You can use this cool gadget below to see if your domain name is taken yet.
A domain name is where your website will live. Mine is www.powderandcreamco.com (Mostly because Powder and Cream was taken, ugh!). I chose it because I originally planned on just making this site for my local little cookie business, Powder and Cream (local pickup only guys, sorry!), but I decided to make it into my blog as well!
A few tips when choosing your domain name:
Try not to intentionally misspell whatever you name you choose. For example: If you tell someone your blog is called “Krazy for Koupons”, they probably won’t be able to find it when they type in “www.crazyforcoupons.com”
Make sure it’s easy to remember. Don’t pick something that is super long winded!
Make sure it’s cheap. You don’t want to spend more than $15 or $20 per year for your domain name at most.
Make sure it ends with “.com”. Not “.net”, “.org”, or anything else. JUST “.com”.
It can definitely be frustrating to not have your domain name available the first few tries, but once you decide on one (and it’s available), it’s time to snag it!
Step 4: Lock in your purchase and find a host.
Once you have found an available domain name to buy, it’s time to find a host. A host is the company or network that gives your blog a home. It’s the powerhouse that gives your domain name ability to work. Have you ever looked for a website and you got a “coming soon” message or something similar? That’s because the domain name has been purchased, but it isn’t set up with a host yet.
There are many, many, MANY hosting sites out there. I am just going to talk about the one I use, because that’s the one I know the most about!
Bluehost:
Bluehost is the network I use, and swear by! First of all, it is so easy to use. Seriously, I could sit my 8-year-old nephew in front of my laptop and he could have his own site set up in under 15 minutes! There is always someone available too, just in case you need help or someone to walk you through a certain process. Did I mention you get a free domain name if you buy hosting for a least 12 months? That means you don’t need to buy it separately!
There are a few different plans you can choose from that gives you some different add-ons, but the basic is likely all you’ll need (and what I use too).
The “Shared” plan, is also the “Basic” plan. Don’t buy into getting the bigger plans, unless you want to! One semi-con is that you do have to pay for the whole year at once, but your blog is an investment! I was more than willing to pay the $70 whatever to jump start my online blogging career, especially when it comes with a free domain and WordPress! That’s less than a fancy new purse, new shoes, or date night! Did you just get a stimulus check from COVID-19? Use $70 of that to reinvest in your future career!
If you want your site to have shop capabilities for selling in the future, you can do that too through WooCommerce (It comes free with Bluehost as well).
Install WordPress (& WooCommerce if you want!)
The next step in putting your blog together is installing WordPress, which is what you will use to actually write your blog posts and put your page together. If you chose to use Bluehost for hosting, it should prompt you to install. It takes one click. Just one!
P.S – While you are setting up your page, it should ask if you want to have the ability to use your site as a shop as well through WooCommerce. It doesn’t charge extra, and you don’t have to set it up right now. This should also only take one or two clicks. I set it up so I could sell custom sugar cookies in my town!
Now that you have everything set up in your back office, it’s time to make what everyone else sees on the front end beautiful! It’s time to install a theme.
Step 5: Choose your theme.
When you first start out, choosing a theme can be so overwhelming. There are thousands! You don’t need to spend any money on getting a professional one made for you. I recommend picking a free theme that you can customize. There are still a bunch of options there, so just click through and find one you like. If you are super new to websites and themes, try to find one that comes with a step-by-step setup tutorial.
My theme is called “Twenty Sixteen”. Feel free to use it for your blog too!
Now, you have your own website and almost blog! All that is left is making your logo, and writing your first post! Your first post is completely up to you, but I recommend Canva.com for making your logo. It’s 100% to use, and there are tons of pre-made templates to choose from, or you can make your own from scratch. I made mine in under 10 minutes!
Check out my pre-made, fully customizable brand board and logo bundle, for only $11.99!
I hope you guys liked all this information! If you still need some help, or have any questions, feel free to comment below! Happy blogging!
If this post helped you start your own blog, please share it. You’re awesome!