Blogging 101: How To Start Your Own Blog

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When I tell people that I’m a blogger, I get a lot of questions.  People are really curious how it works, and of course, how to make money doing it.  Blogging is not a get rich quick venture but it can be a good source of income.  In general you get out of it what you are willing to put in. It takes time and energy to create good content and grow your readership.  The good news is, there is very little overhead cost and almost no risk jumping right in and giving it a try.  You can start it out as a hobby to see how you like it and get feel for what direction it might take you in terms of generating and income.  It is very do-able to blog part time and still bring in money.  I know a lot of bloggers who have full time jobs outside of the house and blog because they enjoy it.  It also provide an extra stream of income which is never a bad thing!

I’ve been blogging since 2008.  I jumped right in without a single clue what I was doing.  I just learned as I went.  Even after all these years, I still have a TON to learn but have been able to stay home with my kids while still contributing to our income. If you’ve ever thought about giving blogging a try, I encourage you to do so!   Here are some of my tips for getting started (you can find other tips in my Blogging 101 Series):

1.  Pick a niche and come up with a name — What are you passionate about?  Are you knowledgeable on a certain topic?  Blogging works best when it’s something you love and it can be ANYTHING!  Once you’ve decided on your niche, come up with a great name.
2. Secure a domain & hosting service — You can register your domain name for $10 a year as long as it’s available and get free web hosting at places like blogspot.com.  There are drawbacks to this though.  Most companies looking for sponsored posts will want your blog to be self-hosted which basically means you pay for a hosting service rather than parking for free.  Your website URL is the first thing that stands out — if it’s mommieswithcents.blogspot.com rather than mommieswithcents.com it can give off the vibe that you don’t think your blog is worthy of the expense to stand on it’s own.When I started out, I used a free hosting site.  It became clear after awhile that I was very limited in what I could do with it.  I switched to WordPress and chose a hosting service.  Moving my site over was stressful and one of the reasons I recommend starting out doing it from the beginning!  Right now, iPage is offering their essential plan for $27 annually for the first year.  That’s only $2.25 a month and it INCLUDES your domain name!  That is a steal! At that price, there is no reason not put your excuses and fears aside and jump into the blogging world! iPage is great for beginners. Create a professional-looking website with just a few clicks, using a variety of dynamic themes and templates. No programming or HTML experience needed!
3. Create content — Once your blog is set up, start creating content!  They say “Content is King”.  It’s what your readers keep coming back for and what ensures a good following.  Good content is sharable — something your readers will want to tell their friend about

What are you waiting for?  You are just 3 easy steps from starting your own blog!

Feeling lucky?  I’m giving away a one-year iPage Essential Plan!  Enter to win by filling out the form below.

A complimentary product/service was provided for this review, however, all opinions expressed are my own.  I was not compensated in any other way.  See Mommies With Cents disclosure policy for more details.

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