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The easiest way to start a blog (when you aren’t a computer geek)
I’m a full-time blogger… Meaning, I make a full-time income at home writing posts like the one you’re reading. In fact, I make more from the blog than I ever did from my previous career.
I won’t lie. It’s a pretty awesome job. I get to help people every single day and I get to stay home with my family while I do it. I can work in my pajamas, in bed, on the deck, at the park, on vacation, or even at the local Starbucks.
One of the most frequent comments I get when I tell people what I do for a living is… You must be great with computers. It makes me chuckle every time.
Nope. I’m not great with computers.
Far from it!
Sure, I know the basics… mouse, keyboard, how to get to Google, etc.
And of course, I’ve learned a ton since I started blogging, but I was awful with computers when I started blogging and my eyes still glaze over every time someone mentions HTML. It’s just not for me.
And it didn’t take me years to learn enough to make a living at this. I reached full-time income with the blog just 10 months after starting it.
I still hate computers.
But, If you love to write and you love to help people, blogging is one of the best jobs in the world. It’s also one of the only businesses that you don’t need to invest major money in to start up… You invest your time instead. If this sounds like the perfect gig for you, I’m happy to tell you that your lack of computer skills won’t be an issue. I can help you get around that!
So… of course the next question is…
What’s the easiest way to start a blog if you aren’t great with computers?
Thanks to modern technology, it’s actually pretty easy!
I’ll run through the entire process and give you a step by step guide to having your own blog. I warn you: This is long! It’s meant to walk you through the whole process, bookmark it and come back as you complete each step.
Decide on your end goal: Money or Pleasure.
What do you want the end result of your blog to be? Money or pleasure? You can absolutely do both and your main goal should always be to help people, but if you’re just looking to create a blog to chronicle your life for friends and family, I can send you over to Blogger but that’s about it.
That’s not really my specialty.
If you want your blog to make money (even if you’re also blogging for pleasure) then you need to be self-hosted on WordPress. If you have no idea what that means- Fear not, I’ll walk you through it.
What’s self-hosted?
Self-hosted means that you own your website. When you blog on a free platform like Blogger, you don’t really have control over your blog. Blogger (or whatever free platform you use) sets the rules that you have to follow and those rules severely limit your ability to earn money on your blog.
If you want to make money, you need to be self-hosted. I’m going to walk you through exactly how to do that.
You should know up front that you’ll need to spend about $15 to buy your domain name (your “address”) and then about $3.49/month to “host” your site. That’s the only amount of money that you would need to put into your blog before you start making money.
Before we get into that though, we need to figure out a few things first…
Determine your niche: What do you want to write about?
My best advice is to write about something that you can’t shut up about. A topic that you could just talk to your friends for hours about. It should also be something that you’re good at. If you’re a success story of what you want to write about- Even better! There is literally successful blogs on almost every topic.
The easiest blogs (in my opinion) to monetize (meaning you make money as you help people on your blog) are topics that let you solve problems. That can really be adapted to almost every niche though.
A word of caution: photography is almost a required skill in the niches of food and crafts because you won’t have the option of using stock photography for your own creations. There are certainly ways to get around that (hiring someone to take photos is one) however they’re expensive and unless you’re willing to put money into this before you make money, I would steer clear of those niches.
Choose a name for your blog.
Grab a paper and brainstorm every word you can think of that describes what you want to blog about. The main niches are: lifestyle, fitness, food, money, travel, and parenting.
I knew I wanted to teach people about time management, budgeting, and saving money so my list had words like budget, budgeting, busy, money saving, finances, financial, schedule, skills, calculator, and family. Literally list all of the words that remind you of your topic and then start combining them to form blog names “financial schedule, family skills, family money, and busy budgeting family”. Keep in mind, I simplified this for you. My original list was a full page of words.
Click the graphic below to enter your favorite blog names into the search bar under domain names to see if the name is already taken. You really want a .com address. Meaning if you want the blog name RowdyRadishes.com and it’s already taken, they’re going to tell you that you can buy RowyRadishes.net or RowdyRadishes.info – Don’t do that! Keep searching until you find a name that you love that has the .com available.
Fun fact: Finding your name is often the most frustrating part of blogging. I almost pulled my hair out. It takes a while to find a name you love that isn’t already taken.
Make sure to run the name by friends and family before you buy. I was so excited by the blog name “The Prudent Provider” until my friends said that it made me sound old and weird. Kim from Thrifty Little Mom, chose the name Little Mommy Secrets until she realized that it kind of sounded like an adult website.
Once you find your name and the domain name is available, buy it! A domain name should be about $15/year. Occasionally you’ll see a Domain name with a crazy price tag (like $2,999). That means that someone bought that domain name and is sitting on it in order to sell it for a profit. You can just ignore that one and keep searching.
(Hint: If you’re going to go with Bluehost for hosting like I did in the next section, then your domain name is actually free! Your domain name is included in the $3.49/month plan from Bluehost!)
Get hosting for your blog.
Hosting is a company that actually puts your website out into the world. Your host has a computer running 24/7 that your blog is run off of. I’m sure it’s more complicated than that… but that’s about all that I needed to know.
What host should I use?
There are lots of different hosting options, but 3 that I think you should consider.
My best recommendation is Bluehost– I love how easy Bluehost was to set up and use! They are the perfect host for someone that isn’t great with technology. I could just call them and tell them what I needed and they would walk me through it, or do it manually on their end. You can get Bluehost for about $3.49/month through this discounted link.
If you have a ton of expendable income and really want to “go big or go home”, you can look into WPEngine, but while that’s considered to be “the best of the best”, I think they’re way too expensive for someone starting out. Their plans start at $29/month. Personally, I’d stick with Bluehost.
The absolute cheapest host is GoDaddy. I don’t recommend them at all. But if you don’t care about the customer service and ease of use, then this can be a budget option. It’s better than nothing and you can upgrade when you grow.
GoDaddy plans start at $6.99/month but you can pay monthly so you don’t need to pay for a year upfront. Warning: On their sales page, they often show discounts. Those are only available if you pay for a full year.
If you’re going to do that, go with Bluehost instead. Bluehost is much better and cheaper when you’re paying annually as long as you use my Bluehost discounted link.
Get WordPress for your blog.
You can get WordPress here, Then you need to activate it on your host. This is as easy as flipping a switch on your Bluehost dashboard. (If you ever need help with Bluehost, call them! They can walk you through something or they can do it manually (assuming you have hosting with Bluehost).
Now you have a “blog” but there’s nothing actually on it. It’s just a blank website.
We need to choose a theme now. A theme makes it so that when people go to your “address” (your website), they actually see something other than a blank screen.
Choose a theme for your blog.
A theme determines how your website will look with minimal knowledge from you. It will automatically do all the “techy stuff” so that your website displays a certain way. Your goal is to earn enough blogging to pay for a professional website design quickly so don’t go nuts on your theme.
The themes I recommend are:
- Free: You can just use the free themes that come in your WordPress dashboard. There are a few to choose from. They’re extremely basic, but it’s an easy way to get by until you start making some ad money.
- Basic: I spent $49 on the Cotton Theme when I first started The Busy Budgeter. It worked well and got me enough income to afford a site redesign. Themes are hard to recommend because you may want your site to look different from mine.
- Best: The standard for professional bloggers is a Genesis Framework and a child theme (they work together- you need them both). You buy these themes through StudioPress together starting at about $99. If you have the extra money, this is a great use of it but don’t stress out if you need to go the basic or free route. The goal is always to get a professional design as quickly as possible. When you have more income and can hire a designer (starting at about $250- They’ll get you set up with Genesis).
Technically, you can choose fonts and create color schemes and add tons of fun stuff to customize your theme… But I didn’t do that. If you aren’t great with computers, the last thing you want to do is spend the next 2 weeks trying to figure out how to do all of that. Stick with whatever your theme automatically has and make it your goal to earn enough from your blog in the next few months to pay for a professional site redesign (about $250- I used Laura from
Stick with whatever your theme automatically has and make it your goal to earn enough from your blog in the next few months to pay for a professional site redesign (about $250- I used Laura from Pixelme Designs and LOVED her!)
Hint: WHITE SPACE IS YOUR FRIEND. When you aren’t sure what you’re doing, you’re tempted to decorate with chevrons and purple plaid backgrounds. For a more professional look, resist the urge until you get a designer.
Just to give you an idea- Here’s The Busy Budgeter when I first started (This is the Cotton theme we talked about):
Create a logo for your blog.
Now you have your theme, I want you to create a logo. There are a few options here.
You can play around and create one on Canva for free. This is technically called graphic design. Don’t stress if you don’t know what you’re doing. I certainly didn’t! You get better over time.
Sticking with just words is going to be easier than trying to design a fancy logo. Again, your logo will change when you earn enough from blogging to get the site redesign (and YES! If you stick with this, you will earn more than enough for a site redesign!) I recorded a video to show you step by step how to create a logo in Canva.
If you’re not up for doing it yourself, You can go to Fiverr and pay someone $5 to create a logo for you. I’ll warn you that for $5 this won’t be a professional amazing logo. Some people get lucky and end up with logos that they love, most people end up with something that you can live with until you can get a site redesign, some people end up with a logo my 3-year-old could have designed.
Personally, I wouldn’t spend more than the $5 at this point (I’m assuming you don’t want to put money into this until you’re making money) because the goal is to earn enough for a site redesign quickly. Once you redesign the site, You’ll get a new logo as well.
Start writing on your blog!
This is the fun part!
You can find your “dashboard” using this template www.yourblogaddresshere.com/admin (Don’t click that, it’s not an actual link). So if you write at RowdyRadishes.com, then you would get to your dashboard by using the web address www.rowdyradishes.com/admin
I made a video to give you a quick walk through of your dashboard but most of this you can probably figure out on your own.
Create graphics for posts.
This is basically a fancy way of saying “adding photos”.
My best advice is that unless you’re an amazing photographer with extra time, stick to stock photography.
The best place for free stock photography is Pixabay. Here’s a more exhaustive list, but I pretty much exclusively used Pixabay until I could afford to pay for a membership.
If you’re ready to pay for stock photography (again- I’m only mentioning this in case someone is reading this with a ton of disposable income- stick with Pixabay if you want to do this on the cheap until your making good money), then Adobe Stock is a good option (that’s what I use) and iStock photo is considered to be the best (but really expensive!)
I have a really easy step-by-step tutorial on how to create great graphics with almost no skill here. You can follow those steps and add them to your blog.
Boom! You have a blog! Now you need to work on monetizing it.
I’m going to set you up on the right course.
Making money from your blog.
Start with a copy of The First 10 Steps of a Profitable Blog. Study it. Highlight. Make it your new best friend.
Your goal here is to make enough to afford Elite Blog Academy. Elite Blog Academy is only available during certain times (about five days per year). It will teach you everything you need to make this a full-time gig as quickly as possible (It took me less than a year of doing this between 10-20 hours a week to go full-time).
Because you need to have almost perfect timing to get into Elite Blog Academy, your best bet is to join the waiting list here.
Advanced tip for when you go full-time.
If you never get good at computers, don’t stress. Once you’re making a regular income, just hire someone to handle the things you can’t do. I spend $99/month on Grayson Bell of iMark Interactive and it’s the BEST money I spend every month. He takes care of everything I don’t understand. Things that I used to waste hours trying to figure out, now I just jot him a quick note and he does it for me.
Besides being a tech genius, he’s a mind reader. Yesterday, I send him an email that read: “My designer said she can’t update that ad because something (css csd? I don’t really know) isn’t updating right (or something?) Any thoughts”. He knew exactly what I meant. Seriously. He turns things like that into a solution.
The path that I took to blogging full-time.
Here’s the path that I took, and I would recommend it to anyone. I hear a lot that I “have great business sense” and while I’m not putting myself down, I can tell you with certainty that no one in my life (including myself) thought that I had “great business sense” before the blog.
So, if you don’t think that you can do this… I would beg to differ. I’m really not special.
I did everything that I just told you about and I gave myself one year. One year to sacrifice and treat those 10 hours a week that I spent blogging as my job. Every single cent that I made from the blog until I was making more than $1,000/month went right back into the blog. The only thing I purchased up front was my domain name, hosting, and theme. Then I used my profits to buy the things that would make the biggest difference to my income.
I purchased things in this order:
Purchased before I had an income: Domain Name, hosting and theme (About $60)
Elite Blog Academy ($797)
Picmonkey Royale Membership ($33)
Site Redesign and logo. ($250)
Stock Photography Site ($10-$30 depending on the site- As a general rule more expensive is better)
iMark Interactive (He manages my website and handles all of the tech stuff that I don’t understand) ($100/month)
Tons of training! Even now, I invest back into my business. I find the experts in whatever skill I need to get better at and pay for a step-by-step instructional course to teach me what they know. Everything from time management to writing skills, business skills, marketing etc.
If you want to know what’s working for me and what’s not, The best way to do that is to join my bloggers newsletter list. I’ll send you my free quick growth resource guide for bloggers as well as my income report every month.
You can join the blogger newsletter by entering your email below. I’ll send you an email with your free guide immediately.
That’s the longest post I’ve ever written! Go start a blog, then come back and leave your blog link in the comments!
Update: 3/13/17: Ever wish you had a cheat sheet to help you build your blog the right way? Not an overwhelming book, just an easy to follow guide that tells you what you need to do next? You can get one for FREE here!
What’s your new blog about?
Comment below with your new blog address and tell me about it!
A few other resources that you may need (click on any photo to go to the post):
Hi Rosemarie – Fantastic post and very encouraging to a new blogger! I like how you have gone through everything step by step. Congratulations on the success you have had with your hard work!
My new blog is called Filling the Jars (fillingthejars.com). It covers a little bit of everything until I can figure out what to focus on. I really don’t know at all what I’m doing yet.
Awesome! I just checked your site out (I love the term monotasking!). It looks great! Keep going with it, it’s crazy where blogging can bring you.
That is the best way to go about it, Julie! Starting broad is much better than focusing on something too niche and then getting stuck in a corner and having to recreate something from the ground up if you end up changing your mind. Covering everything at first also allows you to ‘test out’ writing on a variety of different topics, which will then allow you to find what you enjoy writing on more naturally.
Rosemarie, thank you for writing this post, it covers everything very well! Lots of people don’t realize that you don’t need to be that tech savvy to begin blogging.
~ Emmy
Wow Julie…that is quite the blog, I am going to check out many of your posts.
Always love reading your articles. Even when some are with info I already know there is always some sort of takeaway!
Aw! Thank you Rania!
Thanks for the great article! I just started my blog a couple months ago and have been frozen more times than once by my perfectionism. With the new year I’m going to get in a good routine to give my blog the time it needs! Fulfilledforless.com is the site 🙂
Love it! Perfectionism is a tough trait to crack with blogging, I love your site name! You’re in frugal living niche with me:)
Such a great post! Thanks for the inspiration to keep moving forward 🙂
Happy to help Darcie!
I have a blog that I haven’t done much with (not hosting at the moment). My biggest hurdle is having the money to actually blog. I am on a strict getting out of debt budget and I could never find or justify the expenses of monthly hosting or the fee for learning how to blog. How did you get started with the expenses?
I am in the same boat! I don’t have money for my bills let alone Xmas presents. I feel like blogging could be the answer to help me get out of my problems! My dad has stage 4 cancer and I am financially responsible for my parents as well as my own family. I really need this but by no means can I afford to buy into the program to learn how along with the year in advance hosting. 🙁
Wow, this was definitely a well written article. I hadn’t ever really considered blogging too much before until I had something to sell that I made. I didn’t know that you could really actually make a living off blogging. I thought it was mainly to get your products and name out there to people or just pleasure. I know a few friends that blog, but none of them make money off of it. I know it probably sounds dumb, but how exactly do you make money with a blog if you don’t have products to sell? I am seriously thinking about it though. I’m a very busy homemaking, homeschooling, health passionate, wife and momma. I have a lot of passions and I’m creative that way…sometimes it can be detrimental. I wouldn’t even know where to begin….I’m passionate about: helping people with health, cooking/baking flavorful but healthy, gardening, preserving food, memory making, homeschooling my kids, my family, my husband and kids, which are all girls right now, but we’re expecting our first boy in a few months, which will be a whole new world for us, I like making things like soap etc. My weaknesses are: now don’t judge, budgeting, finances, time management, and organization. So that’s actually how I stumbled on your website on saving money. I’m wanting to learn, but it’s definitely a struggle, but we’re working on it. So with all that said, I wouldn’t even know where to begin in starting a blog. I do enjoy creative writing though…maybe someday I’ll publish books, but that’s not the priority right now. Sorry if this is a jumbled disorganized comment, but if I could get your advice on where to begin, I’d really appreciate it! Keep up the great blog posts!
I write from the heart and I write in the same way that I speak. It drives my husband batty. He edits my posts for me and would love for me to write more like an essay with perfect grammar.
Love your blog concept! There’s certainly a need for that!
Rose, you make everything sound so easy! I have been putting some serious hours into my blog, but it is still kind of pitiful. I’ll take some of your advice to see if I can’t get this thing off the ground. I hope your family is doing well!
It’s not easy at all! But it is absolutely worth it!
This is by far THE BEST “How to start a blog” post I have come across! Thanks for sharing all of your useful tips and information!
Aw! Thanks Sara!
Thank You! So glad I could help!
I just found your blog today and I have to say this is the best post on starting a blog that I have read. I have wanted to start a blog for a long time but it seems so intimidating. I recently bought my domain name and hosting and have just been sitting on it. I have been doing a ton of reading on starting a blog but it just seems overwhelming. This post has been the first one that has just clicked for me. You break it down so simply that I can understand it. Thank you and I can’t wait to check out more of your blog.
I know exactly how you feel! The toughest part is just taking the first step. It was easiest for to commit to 10 hours a week and then just make task lists of what I want to accomplish. Sometimes my 10 hours was spend on the phone with Bluehost learning how to get ads on my sidebars and sometimes I barreled through a ton of stuff and felt like I was on top of the world. You just gotta do something to start. 🙂
Thank you so much for this article. It has helped me with some things. As you can see, I’m not ready to make big purchases; even if doesn’t seem a lot, it is for me. I figured a little over a month ago that I would start my own blog and see how it goes. I love the idea that I can stay home with my children and do what I need to do as a mother, wife, and a “business” woman?. Help my poor husband earn a little more. With his two to three jobs to keep up with costs, in this family of 6, I decided to jump in without paying a thing and hope for the best! Perhaps start making something and start investing much more other than my time. I love your helpful site. I guess we shall see where this takes me. If you have any tips to give me personally for my site I am more than happy to receive it?. I love trying new things and listening to others. I am also a very crafty person, so you’ll find more DIY stuff on my site. I can’t wait to see where I land in a year from now. Keep up the good work and help you give others with your posts.
Here is my site:
https://awesternerlivinginnewengland.wordpress.com/
(Started late January 2016).
Love it! Just keep moving forward and don’t give up!
Thank you for all the amazing information! I recently starting doing a lot of soul-searching career wise and I have always wanted to become a blogger and learn a bit more about creating websites. I will be starting my blog soon!
Love it Magaly!
Blogging this setting the same thing one stupid the shear my phone is off the setting all blocked can’t get used this computer lab top setting the same one hanjedi shears my phone is off
Thanks for the long post! It is so helpful to see that people can be so successful at blogging! I just started my blog a few weeks ago and I am on the waiting list for Elite Blogging Academy. I feel like I need a blueprint on how to manage everything from here. LOL. Thanks for the inspiring post. My website is http://frametofreedom.com/
Elite Blog Academy will take of that for you! Congrats on starting!
I’m not super techy, but you’re still limited if you do that. You want to be on the .org system.
When i went on Blue host it only offered me the.com. Would i still be limited due to that?
http://www.goodateverythinggreatatafew.com
So, thank you in advance!!! I’m new to pinterest, only a few months now. Starting following you right off regarding budgeting. I’ve been telling both my children 26 and 31 to start a blog. I also have begged my husband. All three of them have specific interest that would be worth discussing. I, on the other hand, am all over the place, so never even considered starting a blog. Well, after reading this thread, which i don’t even know why I clicked on, I can’t even wait to get started! Have no idea, what i’m going to blog about, but for approximately $60.00, I’m going to give it a shot 🙂
Again, thanks for the inspiration!!
Between you and I Debbie- Enthusiasm and passion wins out every time. You’re going to knock it out of the park! (and THEN they’ll be sorry!)
Very interested in starting a blog to make some extra income. I was with following up until the topic of making money. I am still not sure how you make money…you create the website and write the blog and ads just start showing up and you get paid? Or you promote something and they pay you for it? Help me comprehend this magical step!
Hey! You can actually get that information from my income reports… https://www.busybudgeter.com/blog-income-report-january-2015/
Hey, my new blog is theksheley.com I first started it in the intent of updating my family and friends on my life, but decided it would be way more fun to reach out to other people! So it’s still VERY ugly and I will be deleting the few small posts that are on the site. I am starting EBA, but know it will be a slow process with a new baby. I’m up for the challenge and hope to figure out where I fit into the blogging world! For now I will be doing many categories to see what works best. Your site is great, thanks for the inspiration.
Great job!
I think I am missing something. Where does the money come from? Ads right? But how do you get ads how do you decide which ones you want to use?
You can get all the info on how I earn money here. :)https://www.busybudgeter.com/blog-income-report-january-2015/
Oh my gosh. Can I just thank you for this post? We’re on a tight budget, and considering my husband is in law enforcement it’ll pretty much be that way for the foreseeable future. I’d considered multi-level marketing schemes but I felt that the profits would be high for a month or two and then zero from there on out. I wanted to find a long-term way that I could bring in a little extra money for our family without needing to put my son in daycare, and of course, I wanted to find something I would enjoy.
That’s when I stumbled across your post about how you make $3000 a month from home. I was hooked. I dove right in. I wrote 5 posts before settling on a domain, and I’ve been working from there! I currently have posts written and scheduled through the end of March, and I have about half of April planned. It’s a lot of work but I’m loving it so far, and I really hope to make it so I can earn a full-time income from this.
Thank you for the encouragement!
To answer your question, my blog is about motherhood, homemaking, and DIY/art projects. I may narrow further in the future as I find my groove blogging (as I’m still very new, of course!) It’s called Love and Blues, both as an homage to a nickname related to our last name, and in reference to my husband being LEO.
Again… Thank you thank you thank you!!
This is the best! Leah, I totally just found this comment (epic blogger fail) and I’m so excited to get to work with you more. I ADORE your blog!
Good Luck Bryanna!
Wooowwwww what a terrific post !!!
I’ve read several posts of this nature but yours is the BEST??
What can I say???
Million thanks Rosemary!
I am totally new to the blogging world but hope to start one real soooon?
Hello there,
I feel inspired right now! I’ve been looking for a way to make money as a SAHM for a little while now and I think I found what I was looking for. When I first heard about blogging years ago, I was skeptical and didn’t think that it’s something that can actually make money. But stumbling upon your blog has changed my perspective. This is the first well written piece that I have encountered! I’m the type of person who thrives on details and other articles I’ve read about blogging have always been…well, BLAH…to put it bluntly. I always clicked away feeling dissatisfied. So, thank you for taking time and effort in creating this post! There is a couple vital questions that I have for you.
Is blogging something that would need to be claimed on taxes? Do you need to record profits, wages, etc. like a regular business? Also, did you need to license your name with the state you live in?
Thanks a bunch! I am now a subscriber!
You’ll need to pay taxes but don’t let that dissuade you! It’s so much easier than it sounds! I used quickbooks self employed for $7.99/month to track everything and think of it like this. I make 20,000 now… at 30% taxes (which it really isn’t that much), I still make $14,000 which is an INSANE amount of money! And totally worth the 5 minute hassle of figuring out hassles.
These tips are awesome! Pinned and tweeted. Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday, hope to see you again next week!
Thanks Chelc!
You are being featured on my site tomorrow.
Janice, Inspire Me Monday hostess
Thanks Janice!
Can you PlEASE tell me what graphic program you use? Is it free? I LOVE your graphics. Thanks for coming to Inspire Me Monday.
Janice
Will I see your response about the graphic program? My Email is with my comment. Can you write me? I love the letters.
Also, how do you do so well on Pinterest? Traffic is down for most of us.
Thanks.
Hey Janice! I use Picmonkey 🙂
When you say “full time blogging” Does that mean you are actually spending at least 40hrs a week on the computer, researching/typing blogs etc?? If so…how is this different that a “full time job” other than doing it from home? Can you work less hours and make good money as long as you are good at it and have all the right resources? Still work hard, but less…
Definitely not! I work 20 hours/week but make full-time income. When I say “full-time blogging” I just men that it replaces your full time job. 🙂 Great question! I forget to explain that a lot.
Great post! I’m using Go Daddy at the moment, but I think I’m going to switch to Bluehost in the future. I agree that the customer service at Go Daddy isn’t the best. I spent 3 hours fixing an issue myself (and I’m not tech savvy at all) after receiving terrible support from Go Daddy.
My site is MakeItWithMissy.com, and it goes live on May 1st. I have a bunch of stuff in draft mode now, but I made a couple posts live so I could get feedback from friends and family before I officially launch my site.
Call back and try asking to speak specifically to tech support and then be SUPER sweet. If you can get the right person in Go Daddy, they’ll be able to help you.
Love this! It really motivated me to start my blog after being a full time mommy. What I don’t understand though is how you actually make money from this. Overtime someone comes to your blog you make money?
This spells out the income for you. 🙂 https://www.busybudgeter.com/blog-income-report-january-2015/
So this is probably a really dumb question…. but how do you receive the money from the blog? Does is get deposited into an account or do you get a check? Im extremely new to this but very interested in starting up. Thank you for your help!
You can get checks, direct deposits or even paypal payments. Whatever you want. 🙂
What a great post for a beginner! Thanks for linking up to Merry Monday! Sharing on my Blog Tips Board! Have a great week!
Kim
Oh an sharing on FB!
Thanks Kim!
Hi Rosemarie! I took your step by step advice to get started. After i had read an encouraging blog post from Ruth Soukup about the most difficult part of making big decisions… you know, the part about “just doing it already!” (Nike’s ad campaign fot Just Do It really is genius)… anyway, i finally did it! I set up my domain, got my first post written, and im working on developing more content before i launch my site on May 1st! I’m so excited, i really appreciate your guide and look forward to the launch!
Heck yes Emily! You go girl! (And I adore Ruth! I’m like a super fan!)
This is a great resource! I originally planned on blogging to support my little store, but I might also try to invest more time into the blog itself so it can earn on its own!
http://www.sugarandsucculents.com
That’s a great plan! Good luck!
I loved your post and I am super excited to get going. I got through all of your steps and even decided I loved The Cotton Theme and added it. The problem I am having is changing the title to my logo I created. I cant seem to find a place to change it.
Thank you for this post! I’ve been blogging for several years (started as a way to keep my husband informed when he was deployed overseas), and just recently started looking at making it more than a hobby. Love your tips and I definitely have some work to do!
I am so glad this was helpful! Good luck!
Hi, Taryn-
Facebook will help! And because of its popularity, Facebook would be really difficult to ignore. You can start with Pinterest, but then I suggest you move on to Facebook. Good luck!
Hi Rosemarie thank you so much for taking the time to go through step by step all that info. It helped me understand so much about starting a blog site. I am on holidays at the moment but as soon as I get home I will get down to business by following your step by step guide. Once again thank you so very much and all the best on your blogging journey.
Love it! Come back and update us!
Reckon I’m a little late to the party, but I’m glad I made it here anyway! I so wish I had read your post TEN DAYS AGO!! I started April 30 and picked up my site at godaddy.com. Regrettable. Now it appears that I have to wait sixty days before I can move it anywhere. Reckon I’ll just use that time to get myself educated on blogging, get used to putting up posts at freebly weebles and create my game plan. So, thanks for all the helpful information!
Ha, better late than never! You can still make it work with Godaddy, I’m just a huge fan of Bluehost. I’m horrendous at technology and the fact that they helped me through those tough early months just makes them amazing to me.
Hello Rosmarie, Thanks so much for the inspirational post. It definitely lifted my spirits about blogging. I am still in the beginning phases and frustration is taking over. I like that you kinda took it one step at a time and set a goal for one year…that seems way more attainable than trying to figure out what a framework even is?!?! Congratulations on your success and I can’t wait for this journey to take off for me 🙂
Yes! I can’t stress that enough! Most people give up because they get overwhelmed. Don’t worry about the big picture, just worry about the next steps.
I agree…I have gone to several websites for how tos and this was the most straight forward and easy to understand!!!
Aw! Thanks Amanda!
Hi there!
I am feeling energized about starting my new blog after reading your blog! I’m wondering how you earn money doing it….could you give me some insight on that process please?
Thank you!
Wendy
Hi! You can see the breakdown in my income reports:https://www.busybudgeter.com/blog-income-report-january-2015/
Everything is great at how to start a blog but how do you go about making money with the blog? Could that be an additional info post please? jw thanks
https://www.busybudgeter.com/april-2016-blogging-income-report/ ! I actually cover that in my income reports…
I am really, really interested in blogging for income (pleasure as well). My only question is, where is the money coming from?
Hi Sarah! I actually just wrote a post specifically to cover this! https://www.busybudgeter.com/how-do-bloggers-make-money/
This is a really great, easy to understand resource for anyone looking to start in the blogging world. I’m planning on checking out a few of your other posts as well! Thanks for sharing on Merry Monday!
Thanks Megan!
Great article and one I’ll go back to several times! I just started a blog and have a long way to go. I’m definitely not tech savvy. I can’t even figure out how to get people a newsletter with my new posts once they subscribe ? I also and getting too widespread on what I write about. There’s just too much I’m interested in but, I’ll have to rein it in.
http://www.theheartandthehome.com
Ha. Seriously though, Neither could I! It’s called and I could never figure out how to set it up. That’s how I created my newsletter. I just wrote my subscribers a letter every week and attached the new post(s) to it. It turns out thats one of the best things I did!
Oops! “It’s called an RSS Feed” ^^
This post is amazing! Thank you for breaking it down in plain English, and providing the encouragement to just go for it! I’ve always loved to write, and I’m excited to see where this goes — even if it is just a fun outlet for me in the end (although wouldn’t it be amazing if it were more?). Thanks again! I will definitely be referencing this post again.
Yes! That exactly what I love best about it! I mean, seriously… what other hobby has the potential to make you money much less $20,000+ a month?!?
Great tips!! Thank you for sharing them with us at the #HomeMattersParty
Happy to share Jamie!
Perfect for a new blogger!!
liz @ j for joiner
Thanks for linking up with Welcome Home Wednesdays! Live every Wednesday at 7AM CT.
Great tips for beginners! I must say, I love the slight tweak to your logo. Your original logo fits your theme so well but you have updated it just enough to give it some pizzazz without taking away from it’s theme. (I know that is not really the purpose of your post but I just had to say how much I love it.) Thanks for sharing your tips with us at Merry Monday this week!
I’m totally geeking out right now Marie. You couldn’t have given me a better compliment. I LOVED the original design and was so happy that the designer left the antique clock in the redesign! She nailed it!
Excellent resource of information and step-by-step directions. Still working through this as I get my own blog site up and running. Thank you Rosemarie for sharing, and your patience with my questions. Hope to be launching soon !! Will definitely refer this article to other up and coming bloggers !! Thanks again.
I’m thrilled to be able to help Theresa! It’s such an amazing business and I wish more people knew that this was an option!
Great advice!
Thank you for sharing this at Thoughts of Home.
We love having you.
Thanks for having us Laura!
Great tips for those starting out! Thank you for sharing with us at the #HomeMattersParty
Thanks Jamie!
I’m getting an error message Roni- check the address?
In the VERY beginning, I didn’t even worry about readership. I just worried about building a foundation of good posts and great graphics and completing EBA. When I had a great foundation, I hot Pinterest like a ton of Bricks. I put ALL of my effort into that. It paid off in a huge way. 🙂
Awesome Jaclyn! Excited to see where it takes you!
I was SOOO lucky to have had another blogger convince me that this is a real thing. It’s so important to me that I pay that forward and be open about my income, successes and failures. Blogging is amazing!
Love this!!
I love this Shannon!
This is an awesome topic! SO excited to see a blog in an niche like this! Good work!
Is sitebog your hosting or your platform? You really want to be on WordPress to make this a business. Excited to see where this takes you!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but yeah… You have to switch to wordpress and redo everything. 🙁 But, it will be totally worth it!
That would be a really tough one, you could make money with ads but I’m not sure how many people would be interested in that.
Danielle- email us at [email protected] and tell Jenny (my VA) that you want a copy of the Next 10 Steps to a Profitable Blog Checklist! That will help!
I love your topic Elle! That’s a topic that people really need to hear about! Great job!
Definitely domain privacy! Thats the only add on that I got. Domain privacy is huge!
Happy to share them Molly!
Without Bluehost tech support there would be 0% chance that I would even have a blog right now. The secret is to be ridiculously sweet and appreciative when you call. 🙂
I love that Amanda! It kills me that more moms don’t realize that blogging is an option!
Love it! I switched from Canva to Picmonkey and never looked back. I found it so much easier to use. But your in good company in Canva, Bob Lotich (from http://www.Seedtime.com – One of the front runners in Pinterest) uses Canva too. I just never got good with it.
Happy to share Merit!
Tell me more about what you want to write about? A good name will really differ depending on your niche.
Nope! As long as the theme you want it free, you can just change it from your dashboard. Here’s a tutorial: http://www.wpexplorer.com/change-wordpress-theme/
Thanks for stopping by Stacey!
Thanks Platt!
I’m so glad to be able to help Jo-Anna! I can;t wait to see where this takes you!
Love love love this!! thanks so much for the tips. I am so new to this but I think I am off to a good start. I started my blog a few months ago and have good viewers at times, but only when I post a new post and share the mess out of it on social media. I am looking for ways such as pinterest to promote as well. Right now, I am just on facebook and instagram. Looking forward to getting more subscribers and readers! As well as monetize at some point, just need to figure out how to get more traffic first so that I can.
latest post:
http://uncommonlygoodmama.com/5-simple-life-hacks-you-should-be-doing/
great tips I’m considering blogging and not sure what my niche will be but I’m brainstorming. I enjoy doing hair and I’m a mother of three girls.
Love the down-to-earth way you have of taking a huge scary task and breaking it down into a checklist of doable steps. Brilliant!
I’m in Canada and so interested in starting a blog, but I’m wondering if this only applies to Americans?
My heads swimming with all the info you gave, thanks! Found you through Knick of Time’s Talk of the Town link party. I’ve blogged on my store website for 6 years and never made a cent. We closed the store, but I still love blogging, so started my own at LoraBloomquist.com. Making some money from all that I’ve learned and all the time I’ve spent sounds awesome and sounds like it could be more lucrative than owning the store…yea!
Great article, can’t wait to get started! One question. When I go to blue host using your link there are 3 options…basic for $2.75, plus for $4.95 & prime for $5.95. Which do you recommend?
If you’re just starting out (and not transferring a larger blog) go for basic. 🙂
Great Tips. I’ve been wanting to start a blog, just never committed. That is until I found your post. Love how you have everything broken down. Thank you so much. This made it so much easier. Still got a long way to go; but, I did come up with a name and signed up with BlueHost. My blog name is Busy Lifestyle Gal. Thanks again.
You just took the first step to changing your life! Congratulations!
Thank you Rosemarie,
What a generous amount of information! Intriguing, and organized brilliantly.
I have 15 -20 hours I could focus into a blog and my sister is a technical writer (saturated in grammar and such) with her help I may have some success.
Thank you again,
Elizabeth
Quick question, do you use those graphic sites because of legal issues as far as borrowing pictures? I’m not sure what the laws are as far as using pictures from other websites so I want to make sure before I get started.
Yes! You can’t borrow pictures legally! You have to buy the rights to them! (or use a service that gives you the rights for free!)
I am considering writing a blog about the loss of my son. Hopefully this will help other mothers (and fathers) on their journey. I am following your advice step by step but I have a question about Bluehost. Once I pay them for a year, will I be ready to blog? Also, the basic plan is 4.95 a month for 12 months but they also are showing other prices for additional services.such as site security, etc. Do I need these? Thanks
I’m happy with the outcome of my logo, which was a Fiverr gig and, thanks to you, I found Laura for some of her “a la carte” services. One alternative to Picmonkey is Powerpoint but I think bloggers should stick to what they feel comfortable with and master it because it’s easy to lose time and focus with all of the resources available. Thanks for the helpful post!
I’m just getting going on starting a blog but it is harder than I thought. I’m anxious to read through your website and soak in your advice! I’m a runner and got interested in this because I felt like FB wasn’t the place for my running stories. I’m looking at how I can make this bigger. I’m sure you’ll see me back around with a question or two.
Hi Rosemarie! I love this post, I have been thinking about starting a blog for a while now but 1. didn’t realize how much money can earned and 2. I had no idea how to go about it especially since I am not computer savvy and couldn’t find a How-to that was in lingo I could understand….. I’ve finally settled on a man and will probably go through bluhost. I’m extremely nervous but I would like to go it a go lol you Said for one year and see what happens and hopefully help my family our with some extra income. I think the only question I have as of now is that I went to purchase my domain name,theme etc and I was giving me a total of 170…..is that accurate? Thanks!
There is great information here for those just starting out with blogging!
Thanks for linking up with the Home Matter Link Party!
Have a lovely weekend,
Randi
#HomeMattersParty
I have been blogging for years and use a WordPress platform. Does Bluehost allow you to bring over old content?
Hi Rosemarie,
I literally just pushed publish yesterday for my first blog because I was so scared. I am a hairstylist by trade and want to inspire my peers through writing and I’m also in the process of writing my first book. I have already signed up through bluehost and wordpress but my site needs tons of work. I got lots of good feedback yesterday on my facebook page from over 60 people. My blog is called inspirationalhairsensei.com. Rosemarie, I love your easy to read article and if I could do this full time boy would I. You are such an inspiration!
Good Morning!
Thank you for this post! Two years ago I attempted to blog because I love writing about personal finance and lifestyle choices. It was shortest blogging career in history. The time spent trying to resize images, change fonts, get things in the right places – all while using a template drove me berserk and I gave up. Then I found your post and decided to try again. I used the steps that you laid out and got the template set up. I was still not sure how to do certain things with the template and tried YouTube videos, books, you name it. Here was my solution – http://www.fiverr.com. I paid someone $52.50 to customize the template, get my first 2 posts up, set up plugins and show me (via teamviewer.com) how to edit, post, track analytics etc. Best money ever spent. I won’t spend more until I establish some sort of following but I am off and running. THANK YOU for your post. You gave me the push I needed to follow this dream! Best wishes to you and your readers for a great 2017!
And I am replying to myself so I can add my most recent blog post. Didn’t do it the first time. See? Still have lots to learn. Rosemarie, I love that you give the option to share our own blogs so easily. Thanks, again.
Hi Rosemarie! I started my blog http://www.canadiansnowqueen.com earlier this month when I was stuck at home recovering from rotator cuff surgery. Not one to sit around (lol) I thought this would be a fun way to use my writing skills and write about Canadian things! Your post about starting a blog has been super helpful – in fact, I have it bookmarked for easy, frequent reference! Thank you!
I’m still stuck at home recovering slowly but it’s been very exciting to write about my home and the crazy things we do here. (If you have some time, you should check out some of the fun winter festivals in Edmonton coming up in the next few months!) I’m averaging two posts a week and still have a huge list of topics I want to cover. It’s hard not to spend every available minute writing!!
All the best for 2017! Thanks again for making your ideas available to the rest of us.
Cheers, Jennifer
Hello,
I am looking for ways to make extra money..just came across your post. I’m interested in this blogging thing but not sure if it’s a good fit. I am an art teacher and basically make everything. I also have a degree in interior design. How specific does the blog have to be? I have a passion for embellishments in many areas of life…fashion, decor, etc.. What are your thoughts?
Thank you
Hi Rosemarie — Elite Blog Academy 3.0 starts in February! Yes I’m signed up and paid. Actually getting a blog set up has been really stressful and I know I spent too much money but live and learn I guess. Blog is not yet activated but it is www. connectingwithcarla.com
I’ve used computers all my life at work and thought I was pretty good but setting up a blog is a total different animal!
Carla
Great post for new bloggers! Thank you for sharing on Merry Monday! Pinned! Have a great week!
Kim
Tech stuff can be so discouraging to bloggers (myself included). Blogging is def a lot of work but so worth it. Thanks for linking to #homematters linky party.
I enjoyed the detailed steps to start a blog. But I don’t understand how we can make money blogging. Would you please explain that for me?
Sure thing! This post might help you out 🙂
https://www.busybudgeter.com/how-do-bloggers-make-money/
The only one I’d recommend first off is the domain privacy protection. I wouldn’t worry about the rest right now 🙂
Thank you for such a great post!!! I have bought several of your e-books and am absolutely LOVING reading everything. I have owned a business for 13 years and with 2 kiddos at home and a busy life it’s hard to find resources that are easy to read and provide a lot of information quickly. You are SO great at cutting through all of the extra “stuff” and getting right to the important info, I love it. Thank you so much for all of your articles/posts/books! I am just starting up a blog (it’s not actually done yet…but I know I will forget to come back and leave a comment, LOL so I’ll just leave it now)! I’ve been a professional photogapher for almost 15 years, and will be teaching people how to use their cameras to take great pictures at home, etc. The site is reallifecaptured.com. Thanks and I’ll continue to follow along!
Krista
That sounds like a great idea for a blog! It definitely solves a problem a lot of people have – there are a lot of DSLR owners out there who have no idea how to actually use it (and I was one of them, for a long time :)) Congratulations on the new journey!
Great post! I think you covered just about everything~ Thanks for linking up at #MerryMonday!
Kim
Hi Rosemarie – I’ve signed up on your page and have received the Blogger Resource Guide link and have already downloaded. I’ve been thinking about starting a blog – but wasn’t really sure how or where to start. The BRG solved that problem for me along with your post “How to Start a Blog”. Reading through the post it’s like you were in my head! You lay out the steps in a very cohesive manner which makes it so much easier for me to get started. I tend to be the kind of person who ‘over-researches’ and gets bogged down in details. The BRG gives me a lot of information, and resources laid out very systematically which is a huge help! Thank you so much for sharing this with your subscribers.
Hi Rosemarie! Thank you so much for all the information you are providing. I just started blogging a few weeks ago… officially launched my website 2/1 and am so excited to hit the ground running! I’m a mom of 2 toddlers and love to write. I just recently realized that is my calling so trying to work this into our already busy schedule. I love the 10 Hour Time Block Strategy I picked up last night and am implementing that so I can be massively productive during the time I do have to work on turning this into a thriving business.
My website is amyfahim.com and I would love and appreciate any feedback you have! Thanks again for all that you do!
Hi Rosemarie! Thank you so much for all the information you are providing. I just started blogging a few weeks ago… officially launched my website 2/1 and am so excited to hit the ground running! I’m a mom of 2 toddlers and love to write. I just recently realized that is my calling so trying to work this into our already busy schedule. I love the 10 Hour Time Block Strategy I picked up last night and am implementing that so I can be massively productive during the time I do have to work on turning this into a thriving business.
My website is amyfahim.com and I would love and appreciate any feedback you have! Thanks again for all that you do!
Hi Rosemarie!I’m a little late to the party, but I’m glad I made it here anyway! I so wish I had read your post 3 month ago.I started on November and picked up my site at Blogger.com. so can you give me an advise what can i do to replace my posts on WordPress ?is there any way? I would like to monetize my blog . please please take a minute and visit my blog http://www.fjollastable.blogspot.com and give me your opinion
What a great resource for newbie bloggers or those considering blogging! It was so tricky learning how to get everything set up in the beginning.
Hello, Rosemarie!
I just wanted to let you know, I used this post as a guideline when setting up my own blog. You have been more helpful to me than you’ll ever know. I use (and love) Bluehost/Wordpress. So far, I’ve spent very little out of pocket, but I can’t wait until I can use some income from my blog (which has started generating income after 3 months) to sign up for Ruth’s Elite Blog Academy! I have learned so much about the nuances of starting a blog. Sometimes I think my brain is going to explode!
Hi Rosemarie, Thanks so much for this informative post! I think it’s making me jump right in! WordPress is saying I wold need the Premium package for $100 in order to monetize, is that correct?
Thanks so much!
Hi there! I’m not sure what you mean. Are you on WordPress.com or WordPress.org? If it’s the former, you need to go to a host website (click the link in the post for Bluehost – it’s the one I recommend if you’re just starting out :)), register a domain, then install WordPress (from WordPress.org) to your website. Does that help?
Thanks for the info. I’ve started and forgotten several blogs. There are two now on WordPress (free) that I’ve ignored for some time & am considering combining some how. One is The Happy Spin Gazette & the other is The Average Dawn. I’m not the kind of person who can focus on just one topic for a blog. I enjoy sharing stories about my pets (past & present), trips to state & national parks, and originally wanted to have topics about crafting, cooking, and budgeting. (One reason I went with the Gazette…kind of like a newspaper). I’m hoping to get my blog up and running again soon. (I also have a FB group called Happy Spin Savers that I’ve neglected again…sigh). My issue is scheduling or rather budgeting time. Thank you for reading & listening to my rambling. (I would do the EBA, but no money for it this year, maybe next year).
https://happyspingazette.wordpress.com/ This is my other one, and after finding it again (I had forgotten about an email I had set up strictly for job searching & “business”), I do prefer this one. Even after I haven’t been on it for like a year (I think), I still had 3 views & 2 visitors. Granted not much… but the other one “The Average Dawn” had nothing!
I think I will expand on the Gazette
your experiences are so inspiring! I am definitely not tech savvy either so it’s good to know if you have had so much success without knowing a lot about computers when you started, then there’s hope for me!
Hi! I read this article about 2 months ago, knowing that I was interested in starting a blog, and it’s what I needed to give me that PUSH. Great read! However after I got into it, WOW the learning curve! But I’m getting it now, and I’ve worked so hard learning it. I do have a ways to go learning SEO and forming affiliations, but I’m starting to work on it. Thank you for all the information and being so transparent.
My site is YellowRoseLife.com, and It’s about our family living through the renovation of our new (old) home, and also a little of everything in-between!
I followed this post word for word and love studying your blog for tips and strategy. My blog is thissimplebalance.com where I help moms with growing families by sharing simple ways to save money and parenting perspective/encouragement from another mom in the trenches
Hi Rosemary!!
I JUST finished setting up my blog and have my first post listed. I am 100% new to this as I just finished your steps this minute. I would LOVE some feedback if you have the chance. I am also wondering how the website starts to make money? What are the steps needed to bring it to a monetary income. Thank you so much for this article, it has helped me immensely! I really look forward to hearing back from you!
Hey there, Meredith! You might benefit from this post: https://www.busybudgeter.com/how-do-bloggers-make-money/ It goes into detail about all the ways you can make money as a blogger!
Also, my website is Raisingsanity.com (;
Fantastic post and very encouraging to a new blogger! I like how you have gone through everything step by step. I try to make blogger. Many thanks.
Very interesting to note how important it is to venture out of our comfort zones.To personally spend time for ourselves and to ensure that we maintain a book involving our expenses and what and how we spent or save.Maintaining a budget fill in the purpose.
Hi Rosemarie!
For three years my aversion to all things technical kept me from starting a blog I really want to do. This year I’m taking EBA, by way of commitment. I just started, and my blog’s not up yet, but I’ll get there! I’m a bit overwhelmed by how much there is to know, but your article has really been encouraging. Thanks so much!
PS I’ve enjoyed your site for some time. It (and you) are lovely!
Thank you so much 🙂 Congratulations on starting EBA!
Have you thought about selling ebooks? Or a set of printables to aid in decluttering? You could even charge for coaching.
Hey Rosemarie – Great job on your blog! It’s very encouraging to see such great work. My blog is about every day struggles and how God is helping me overcome them.
Love this post! So helpful and encouraging among the many that say it can’t be done. Thank you 🙂 I’m super passionate about living out a Christ centered marriage and with my child, which is a part of what I write about. I also love food and beauty!!
Thank you so much for all this fantastic information! It was so helpful when I set up my blog.
My new blog is abrickhome.com, where I blog about all things home living and DIY.
There are still some tech issues I’m facing, like why some of my feature images are showing blurry in my scroller on my homepage. Any tips?
I’d also love any feedback you have! I absolutely adore busybudgeter.com and it is a blog I have looked up to for quite some time.
Thanks so much,
Marly
This post is awesome, thank you for sharing! Do you know anything about using Foursquare for a website vs Go Daddy or blue host?
Eek, that’s so exciting! I’m so happy to help 🙂
I always love reading your emails and every time I think that I couldn’t possibly create and make money with blogging, somehow I will receive an email about just that and it makes me wonder…..
It’s funny how you say that a domain name is the hardest to find because as I try to lay out my words for one, I keep coming back to the thing I learned in my youth, I am good at everything, but I am not great at any one thing. It is probably this that keeps me from beginning because I worry that what I have to say, well people may not want to read.
I did it, I made the leap to bluehost and I used my catchphrase for the name: goodateverythinggreatatafew.com. Lord help me get through this process without losing my mind.
Hey there! Bluehost unfortunately doesn’t offer a month-to-month option. You have to pay for a year at least upfront. I hope that helps!
Hello! I came across this post at the end of last year and started contemplating the idea of blogging….I started reading more and looking into everything I could find, including EBA. When I was researching, EBA had open enrollment so I figured it had to be fate, right?! Anyways, I am making my way through the course, but now feel like I need to take a few steps back. I didn’t have a blog set up prior to the class, and have been trying to get that up and running as well as keep up with assignments. Unit three faces me with what I know is a need for a redesign (or really a first design) of my site. I was wondering if you had any more recommendations on website designers you could provide. I got into contact with Laura from Pixel Me Designs, but the wait is out until November. Although, I am sure she is worth the wait, I feel like I really need to get this in shape before moving forward wtih EBA. I have also looked at at Moritz Fine Design but looking for any recommendations!
Hi Rosemarie
A Google search I made (on how bloggers make money ) brought me here to this fantastic website. I am really impressed with the entire website and first of this quality I ever came across and especially this useful article on STEP BY STEP guide to start a blog is damn awesome. I actually have no intentions to start a blog till now , but this article motivated me in one read and now my mind is busy enough to think about the content I am gonna write in my blog which I am gonna start. Thank you for doing this !!! You are an inspiration and shall stalk this site more and more from now on.. By the way loved the color combination of your blog theme the Sober and classy aqua marine and pale maroon …
Hello!! I taught elementary school for 11 years, but my husband is a college football coach & we move quite often. Our last move was 3 years ago & I was pregnant with our 4th child. Since that move, I’ve been a stay at home wife & mom…& looking for something different to fulfill my purpose (& bring in additional income). A little over a month ago, I finally took the leap of faith into the world of blogging! I’ve learned SO much & although there have been times I wanted to pull my hair out (I’m not tech savvy either), I’ve truly enjoyed the start of this new journey. I love writing & I’ve gotten great feedback so far.
Your blog is such an awesome resource. Thank you so much for sharing this information. I would love for you to check out my blog when you have the chance. It’s happilyeverbowens.com … all about my life as a coach’s wife & mommy of four. I hope that by sharing my experiences others will be encouraged, inspired, & entertained!
Amazing information and you have inspired me to start a blog! I can’t wait. My first (I’m sure of many) question is…how did you get so many page views to start? What drove people to your blog? Did you have to pay to advertise or have it come up in a web search?
Thanks again for the inspiration and help!
Pinterest was my biggest traffic driver 🙂
Thanks Rosemarie,
I have read and re-read this post so many times. As a blogger already, I feel like I want make sure I know what I am doing and get my foundations down right. Your detailed resource is great!
Yay, I’m so glad to help! 🙂
Hi Rosemarie!
Thank you for sharing your story and step-by-step guide! I have been told to start a blog many a times in my life and the concept has always overwhelmed me. My husband works hard so I can stay home with our little ones. I often think about how I can help provide a better life for my family and help others worldwide without sacrificing and risking raising my kids, but finding a way that helps us grow and build a lifestyle together. A blog is a beginning for me. Thanks for helping me take a courageous step forward.
All the best to you!
That’s great, Danni! 🙂 Keep on plugging away!
OK! you got me hooked. I came across your post on blogging in the first week of August and gave myself until the end of August to get something up and running. You are a GREAT inspiration! The thing I like the most about setting up the blog is that I can write a new post anywhere I can pull out a laptop. Put all my thoughts on a Word doc and paste it to the New Post box on WordPress and massage it from there ’till it’s ready.
It’s now 22 minutes until the end of August and I made my goal. It’s not perfect, but I’ve found my Hedge Hog concept and I’m running with it. Thank You So Much!
I am interested in starting a blog too. Is this link here still up? What does anyone recommend for me in getting started?
That’s great! Way to go 🙂
So is wordpress free with bluehost or is that another monthly fee? I am trying to figure out total cost to starting a blog. So far with bluehost and wordpress its looking like $200. Anyway of lowering the cost and still making money?
Hi! I recently started a food blog called Craving Everything. Do you have any tips on expanding my audience and reading more people? Also, this post was so helpful, thank you!
With so many blogs out there, I could see that a successful blogger as yourself would be hesitant to help the newbies. Thank you for your info and walking us step by step. I am definitely going to use your tips. I will try not to go crazy with spending until I start getting more income. This is a good and sensible post, Thanks!
First of all thank you very much for all your advice. Chasing Foxes was how I found out about you and listened to your episode on Side Hustle Nation. I have since listened to that episode multiple times and downloaded the tip sheet.
You and Chasing Foxes are my inspiration. I just published my blog this past weekend. It still needs a good bit of work. If you have any advice I would greatly appreciate it.
I enjoy learning and blogging about what I am learning so I can help others. I figure if you and others are making money while doing all of that then why can I not do it also. I have grand plans and can’t wait to see them happen.
Thank you again!!
My site is sackfulofdimes.com
So happy I found your site! I just started a blog as a way for me to share my old designs that have been taking up a lot of space on my computer. As I was searching on how to start a blog I learned I can earn money through blogging. This idea got me so excited that I spent most of my time doing a research on how to do this and how do I go about the technical stuff. Sometimes I get discourage thinking I need to take up a course on how to learn html css etc. Thank you for pointing out I don’t need to be techy. I also spent so much time researching the net how to make my site look beautiful when what I should be working on is writing posts for my blog. Again, you made me realize I should start writing now instead of stressing out about how my blog looks. 🙂
I like your blog and I agree with your blog. Thanks for sharing your thought.
I am still working it out, but living life, and looking at things in unconventional ways. I am 57 years old, semi-retired foster/adoptive mom. I have too much experience with trauma and loss. I face PTSD, depression, and anxiety when my mental health dips – but it doesn’t dip often. We have six forever kids, from 9 to 33. The healthiest only battles depression and anxiety from time to time. The 9 year old REQUIRES outside-the-box thinking every day. I want to help people question expectations and give themselves permission to do and be different.
I recently started a travel blog with a vegan slant to it. My posts will cover destinations, accommodation reviews, restaurant reviews and animal welfare issues (having to do with tourism). I also paint and would like to start a 2nd income stream through my paintings (Etsy??). Also thinking of possibly “teaching” travel planning as a product and MAYBE creating and leading tours to destinations where I can include ethical volunteerism with animal sanctuaries. WHEW! I listened to you on the Side Hustle Nation podcast (the most recent interview) and I came away inspired and with so much more clarity on the road I need to go down!
Hi Rosemarie, great info! I’ve already been both a hobbyist and professional blogger, and my why has become a larger force. My current job ends late 2019 so I’m planning ahead so I can be home with my aging father and be there in the afternoons when my son gets out of school (high school by that point). My blog (no posts yet!) is related to health and wellness. I have experience with some autoimmune issues where diet is key so this is not only healthy for me, but can be helpful for others! Looking forward to reading more of your other blog articles and keep my nose to my budget bootcamp info so I’m prepared for late 2019 🙂
Thanks for great information. i am also planning to start my blog website and this would help me 🙂
You are gonna rock this!
Hello, there!
Thank you for your VERY helpful blog about starting a blog 🙂
I have many interests, which is why I am calling my blog “Eclectic-ish.” I’m reading your “Blog Starter Workbook” and am trying to determine who is my target audience. I’d like to write about minimalist parenting, animal rescue, and travel for real, busy parents…is this too broad, too specific, or too many topics?
Thank you!
Awww… thanks! 🙂
This was a helpful post – thanks!
I just started http://www.lemonoppression.com and I’m still learning about what I want to focus in on, but I was wondering what your thoughts are about blogging about personal aspects of your life, and if you’ve ever experienced any hesitancy, or issues in sharing certain elements of your life through blogging? How do you balance what is for the blog, and what is for your private lif- or is there a differentiation?
Thanks
wonderful job.
Yes, that is definitely worth mentioning. I was completely taken by surprise when I got my receipt and I had to move some funds around to make it work. I honestly would have considered a different hosting company had I known that. Bluehost really needs to be more transparent about that.
Hi Rosemarie, thank you for the long post. I’m a brandnew blogger. I started in September/October 2017 but didn’t get serious until May 2018. I’ve been reading a ton of blog posts on how to start a blog. By far yours is the best. I appreciate your insights and details. It was really helpful for a beginner like me. Here is my blog:
https://by50journey.com
Here I talk about how being frugal, saving money, and side hustling could help us achieve financial freedom. I’m still learning and I have a lot to learn ahead of me. I’m on a waiting list for the Elite Blog Academy. I can’t wait to learn everything from the class.
EBA will change everything!
Thank you so much for writing all of this! Not many bloggers want to share their secrets in how they make money!
My new blog (corinngoesplaces.com) is a travel blog since I travel a lot! It’s currently just updates on my travels, but I hope to make it profitable very soon. I’ve had the blog for less than two weeks and I’m already well on my way to having enough views.
I’m super excited to try some of the tips you’ve talked about!
Hi Rosemarie! Thanks for always being so upbeat and inspiring!
I have a new blog: CareToKeep.com.
I’m excited to get it going, and I have endless blog post ideas (and decent writing skills, having been a freelancer for over 30 years now). What I don’t have is the technical know how. And I’m so overwhelmed by how much there is to know/learn about blogging. I purchased EBA last year but stopped to go set up my site. (I felt the info wasn’t helpful until I established a site, which was a big accomplishment for me.) Am now about to return to it. Feeling excited and more than a little nervous. I visit your site for inspiration, so thank you!
Rosemarie, inspiring article. I wish I read your article years ago. I still vividly remember the days I paid $100 for a not-so-great logo design. I could have designed it much better than that using Canva as you mentioned. However, after several years, I have been running a successful blog and co-founder of a successful company. I like the way you generously giving out information without expecting anything in return. I would love to interview for our new blog post titled Successful bloggers list. Please let me know if you could spare a few minutes? Thanks.
Rosemarie! I wanted to say thank you! I found you through Pinterest, imagine that?! lol and you are SUCH an inspiration! I have listened to podcasts of you being interviewed and read all kinds of things on your blog. I am just starting out and am kind of a fish out of water! I jumped in yesterday and purchased my domain name! ahhhh! Thank you for helping me take this plunge!
always search on google. he will help you always. thank you
Great information. I have a blog that I started about 2 months ago and am really struggling with all of the techy stuff to get it up and running. This post encouraged me to not have to have it all done now. It just seems to be taking so long to do every little step and I feel like I am in the dark. I work a full-time job so I have very limited time to devote to getting this blog going. The name of my blog is SimplycookinginTexas.com. My focus is on teaching basic cooking skills and recipes and bringing back the joy of cooking from scratch.
I’m going through your blog starter workbook and I’m stuck at creating an opt-in. I am new at this and still have zero readers. I don’t have an email provider because there is no-one to send an email to. I am very non techie so my eyes glaze over at talk of a lot of this stuff. I feel stuck, not sure where to go next in the process. Suggestions are appreciated.
Hi,
worth to spend time in your bog. There are notable suggestions which will help a lot of new bloggers.
Hi love your article thank you for all the great ideas…. I’m confused about how you make money off your blog….. Do you get paid for giving advice? And, how do your clients pay you with a credit card? Thank you for answering my questions All the best
Hey Deborah! This post walks you through how bloggers make money… https://www.busybudgeter.com/how-do-bloggers-make-money/
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Thank you so Much
This is the best article to understand the best way to understand that to know about The Easiest Way To Start a Blog (When You Aren’t a Computer Geek,
Thanks for sharing the post.
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Hi,
Well written. Thanks. If you wait for any occasions like black friday or cyber monday you will get good deals for hosting. Also can you tell more about free themes also please?
This is great information
As a beginner, all this given information is very essential to keep in mind. Thanks for sharing this information.
thanks nice info
I hate computer! Thanks for all of tips about blog,
Thank you for this! Super helpful! I love that it is quick and easy for me to pull out what I need. I am not a reader, but love writing. This blog was really easy to read.
Thanks or the excellent content Rose! I just started blogging last month and I am looking forward to the challenges, both good and bad.
Hi Rosemarie- I keep referring to this article and your website for pointers and advice! Thank you so much for what you do! I literally just started a blog site that has very minimal content at the moment. I know absolutely nothing about the tech stuff, the lingo or how to do certain things I need to know! 🙁 I did hire Fiverr for my logo and to do a couple of things for me such as adding a contact form, however, I need so much more help!! I am on the waiting list for EBA but to be honest, I don’t really have $1000 laying around. I work full time but I really want this to work!! Also, the guy from Fiverr said I cannot ad adsense until my site has been up for 6 months! Plus even after watching tutorials (youtube) on how to add these codes to my WordPress… sad to say I just don’t get it. Any advice for me? I know I seem like a sad case right now. lol
I recently found you on the Do You Even Blog podcast and it has given me hope that perhaps I can turn my blog into something profitable and not just a hobby.
Its: http://www.ridewithashleigh.com
I quit my six figure job as a lawyer to lead a life of travel, freedom and adventure but I’m doing so in with meaning and purpose and I want to help other stuck corporate professionals to do the same!
Thanks again
Great stuff as usual!
I wish to have read this content before I started my blog.
It is never too late I am considering making changes in my websites completely based on this method.
When a website goes down offer almost the exact same thing and this’ll give you a nice boost to start
Rosemarie, this is a great informative article and I recently purchased your Blog Starter Workbook, which has been a great resource to help me learn how to start a blog.
hi
Excellent article thanks. Everything is very affordable. I love your posts.
I love the resources that you have for bloggers. So well thought out and very doable even on a tight Mommy time frame. Thank you
Thanks for inspiring me to start a homeschooling blog! Your concise writing style makes it so much easier to take those necessary action steps. Thank you!
Awesome post! I used this to get started and I just wanted to thank you!
You helped get me ideas in order and gave me some inspiration along the way to keep going. I WILL make this my job and I will have you to thank for it.
Thanks for your inspiration!
I just started my blog: mymommyheart.com
Hope to grow it and grow with it 🙂
This has been a lifesaver on starting up my blog! I wanted to create a space for nursing students during this pandemic. Being in healthcare is so challenging right now and can feel so isolating. I hope I am able to provide some great content! Thank you!
I love your advice, but I was a bit confused on the web designer you recommended. It says in this article it cost about $250 for a website design, but her current price right now for a website is 2,000! I don’t have 2,000 dollars to spend on a website. Do you have any other suggestions?
Hey Hannah! Seems that the prices have increased. Honestly, she’s an incredible designer. I’ll be checking around for options for the newer bloggers though!
Hi Rosemarie! I LOVE your blog! I read it all the time!! Thanks for this helpful post! I am getting my blog (www.thebudgetingmommy.com) set up and your blog has helped a lot! Wishing you a beautiful day!