Chances are by now you’ve read loads of articles about how to start a blog and make money blogging.
So why read another?
Because information is power. The more you read, the more you know. And the more you know, the less mistakes you’ll make.
I’ve been blogging for over 15 years now, since 2003. Yep, I know that’s a pretty long time, right? And, the thing is there are sooo many mistakes I’ve made that I reckon, actually I know I could have avoided if I’d just had the knowledge.
The good news is that this doesn’t have to be you.
Here I’m going to cover how to start a blog to make money. I’ll cover everything I know and wish I knew when I started my blogging journey.
Now, before we get going, I’d like to say that if you’re feeling overwhelmed right now, I understand. With so much noise out there starting a blog can feel daunting.
But stick with it…blogging is a great way to make money, especially as a stay-at-home mum.
The hours are flexible, you can work from anywhere, and it can be very rewarding especially when you know your content’s making a positive difference in your reader’s lives.
I promise, if I can do this, you can do it too.
Right, let’s get this show on the road.
Find a blog niche
It’d be nice if we could blog about everything we love. But unless you want to start a lifestyle blog, which gives a bit more room to blog about more than just one topic, it’s best to narrow down your niche as much as possible.
And if you do launch a lifestyle blog, generally one topic should be the main focus, whether it’s parenting and lifestyle or beauty and lifestyle, etc.
Why box yourself into a niche? Well, for starters it’s more than likely your readers won’t be interested in everything you are.
Secondly, it’s so much easier to position yourself as an expert and create products.
But, more importantly, it’s less of a challenge to pinpoint who your target reader is, which in turn makes creating content a breeze. When you know who you’re writing for, you’ll have a clearer idea of what to write about.
How to choose a niche?
Okay, now it’s time to get your thinking cap on. When it’s all nice and quiet and the kids are napping or down for the night, grab a cup of coffee or tea, a pen & paper, and get brainstorming.
What are you passionate about? Are there any blogs and mags you love reading? What subjects do you know something about?
You might think you don’t have anything you could blog about, but I promise you do.
If you’re a new mum, you could start a blog about how you’re coping with motherhood. Or maybe you’re trying to get or have gotten your finances in order? If so, you could blog about budgeting and saving money.
Get at least 5 to 10 things you’re interested in down on paper. Don’t worry about whether you’re an expert or not in any of the niches you jot down.
Now that you’ve got some ideas out there, think about how you can niche down further.
Let me explain…
If you’ve got fitness written down, rather than blog about everything to do with getting fit, why not consider blogging about getting fit after having a baby?
Or perhaps you love cooking? Okay, how about focusing on healthy meals for toddlers?
Examples of blog niches
Here’s some examples of mum bloggers who’ve niched down really nicely and created blogs with target readers in mind.
Rachel from A Mother Far From Home helps mums take the chaos out of parenting.
Cerys from Rainy Day Mum shares activities parents can do with their kids from birth to 5 years old at home.
Alison at Not Another Mummy Blog has a lifestyle blog with a focus on motherhood.
Now having said all that, this isn’t to say you can’t change or expand your niche further down the road. I started with fashion and expanded into lifestyle.
It’s really not worth sticking with a niche when deep down you’ve realised you’re not actually enjoying creating content for your blog. You’ll only feel stuck, miserable and you’ll probably give up after a while.
Also remember, you can always start another blog focused around another niche.
Can you make money blogging in your niche?
Waaay back when I started blogging, no one knew what a blog was, there was no social media, so I had no way of knowing if I could monetize my blog.
Thankfully things have changed. Now there are lots of ways to research if there’s an audience for your niche and if you can make money.
Let’s jump right in to some of the ways to do this:
- Check if there are other blogs in your niche. Do they have affiliate links and banner ads? Are they selling products?
- Are there any Facebook groups based on your niche? Do they have at least 5,000 followers or more?
- Are questions being asked about your topic on Quora? Can you blog solve these questions?
Okay, have you got more than one niche you can make money from? Brilliant. Choose the one you’re most passionate about.
If none are feasible, not to worry. Just repeat the process until you find a niche that works for you.
Also, don’t be put off if there are quite a few bloggers already in your niche. It means there’s a readership for what you’re interested in which is fantastic.
Start a blog with WordPress
To blog you’re gonna need to use a blogging platform. A blogging platform is software that you can use to publish your content and I would suggest this is one of the first things you think about.
I personally recommend using WordPress which is the industry standard. There are other platforms such as Moveable Type, Wix, Squarespace, and Blogger.
I started off on Blogger. Within 6 months, a friend advised me to buy a domain name and move on to a self-hosted platform, because in his own words, “you don’t own your content when it’s hosted on someone else’s platform”.
And he was right!
At the time (which was 17 years ago), Moveable Type was the best option, but very soon, WordPress became the superior software and I switched.
WordPress is used by the majority of bloggers for good reason. It’s easy to use, it’s powerful and there are lots of themes and plugins available.
Register a domain & find a host
Try and keep your domain name as short as possible and broad enough to give you the flexibility to change your niche if needed.
Once you’ve decided on a name, you need to register it and you’ll also need a hosting company to host WordPress so you can publish your blog.
You can use this link to register your domain and get hosting starting at $2.75 per month from Hostgator.
I personally recommend Hostgator and I’ve used them since 2004. They provide 24/7 customer support and offer a 45 day money-back guarantee, in case you change your mind. Hostgator also provide a super easy one-click WordPress installation that’ll save you soooo much time.
Install a theme
This is the most fun part for me. I love installing a new theme and tweaking it.
WPZoom has some really nice magazine-style themes, which I use as they’re so easy to customize and Bluchic offers lots of gorgeous feminine themes.
For this blog I use Astra. It’s lightweight, also easy to customize and it’s free.
You can upgrade to Astra Pro for extra features and I do suggest doing so when you can. With more customization options, having a premium theme sets you apart from the crowd.
Set up Google Analytics
When you start a blog, it’s important to know who’s coming to your site, how long they’re staying for, and what content they like. Having this data will help you know what to write and how to grow your traffic.
To do this you’ll need a tool to track your traffic. Google Analytics is fantastic at doing this. It can tell you the gender, age, location of your readers and so much more. And it’s’ free. Yay!
Just open an account, install some code and you’re good to go.
I really recommend this free Google Analytics course for beginners to understand what Google Analytics is all about and how to use it.
Create a mailing list
The most effective way to connect with your readers is via email. And it’s way more effective than social media.
Subscribers who sign up for your mailing list want to stay in touch with you and want to know what products you’re selling.
So, building an email list is one of the most important things you need to sort out as soon as possible.
You can wait for a maximum of 3 months to start your email list, but I’d say, don’t leave it longer than that. And in those three months, consider creating a freebie to offer your readers as an incentive to sign up for your newsletter.
As far as email marketing platforms go, I like ConvertKit, they’re easy to use and make setting up automated emails so simple . They offer a free service and I recommend giving them a try. You can use this link to sign up for free.
Start writing
To avoid staring at a blank screen wondering what and when to write, it’s best to create an editorial calendar.
To find content ideas, read blogs in your niche.
What are they writing about?
What are their most popular posts? You can use BuzzSumo to find out this info.
Can you create similar posts with added value by covering things they’ve missed?
Once you’ve got at least 10 blog ideas, schedule them into an editorial calendar with a publish date. I like to use Google spreadsheets for this, but you can use Trello, Evernote, Google docs…whatever works for you.
Write one in-depth blog post a week. If you can manage two, that’s wonderful but if you can’t then once a week is perfectly fine. It’s more important that you’re consistent and you show up.
Being consistent is possibly the hardest part of blogging, so aim to put lots of effort into showing up and giving your readers the best content you can muster.
Promote your blog
You’ve written all this amazing content. Now, it’s time to get readers to your blog.
Don’t spread yourself thin. Be focused with your marketing efforts especially on social media.
Claim your handles on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, but choose just one social media platform to master.
Pinterest is proving to be excellent at generating traffic. Here’s a great video covering how to use Pinterest effectively. But if Facebook or Instagram is more your thing then go for it.
What I will say, however, is that it’s really important to get an audience to actually visit your website. In my experience platforms like Instagram are poor at sending traffic back to my blog, so make sure you keep that in mind when deciding on a social media strategy.
Connect with other bloggers
Connecting with other bloggers can be really helpful as they’ll often share their tips and tricks as well as share your posts with their readers.
Schedule some time to read bloggers in your niche, leave meaningful comments on their posts, and share their content. Also join relevant Facebook groups, and commit to building relationships with fellow bloggers.
Some good Facebook groups are Becoming a blogger and Mom to Mompreneur.
The bottom line is this…
It’s very easy to start a blog but blogging itself takes a lot of work. While it can be lots of fun, there are times when you’ll feel sooo demotivated, especially if you’re not seeing the results you want or expected.
Pay attention to how you feel and always remember why you started this journey. Everything I’ve covered in this post is important to get started but your mindset is the most important component of all.