A 5-step guide for busy moms who want to understand how to start a successful site on a budget.
My blogging income in January was 14,757. While that is a record for me, I have been creating a full-time income since 2016 and a healthier part-time income because 2014 from home throughout my site, even as a busy mother with two toddlers in the home.
Despite this awkward reaction to my unconventional business, no one could be surprised than I am that I'm able to generate a stable income from home by blogging.
I never started out to make blogging a business. As soon as I began GrowingSlower at 2011, two or three weeks after my oldest was born, it was only to fulfill my personal dependence, yes need, to write. As a recently stay at home mom, it was also a link to the outside world and an chance to share all I was learning about straightforward and frugal living.
It was years before my website began earning any substantial income, quite by accident, and at that moment I realized that just maybe I could have the greatest of both worlds.
I could use my love for writing to authentically share my passion and experience to help other moms reach their family and financial goals. And at precisely the exact same time, I might help my family by earning a much-needed income.
In reality, my blogging income played a key role in helping people escape debt in under a year. Blogging has allowed me to afford to remain at home with my kids as I've transitioned to blogging professionally.
It is not easy, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Picture Credit
Here's what I know. If you've got a passion you are longing to share with the world, if you're prepared to work hard, and if you start out after a couple of straightforward tips for starting your site that the right manner, you can make an income blogging, even in the middle of a hectic family life and on a tight budget.
Looking back in my blogging trip, I could just imagine how much more fast and easily I might have reached this point if I could finally have known when I started what I know today about how to become a successful blogger and make money doing it.
But because that is not feasible, I am sharing everything I have heard with you, which means that your route will be that much smoother. Nothing could make me happier than to help out yet another busy mama who is wanting to begin her blog. Therefore, here we go!
Almost daily, I receive mails from busy mothers who have been curious about blogging for a while but aren't sure where to get started or how it can be turned into an income. They love writing and have numerous ideas they wish to share with the world through blogging and earn an income at the same time.
If you have been thinking about blogging, then don't wait another day. Start currently , which means that you may begin growing your blog and your income. Here's an extensive guide for how to begin a booming blog on a budget.
It is a beautiful moment in history where you are able to share your passion with the world from your dining room table, and make an income doing it. All you need to do is start! Image Credit
How to Start a Successful Blog on a Budget
All these 5 steps to start your blog will require no longer than an hour to complete. Then you will have all the basics set up to start sharing your message with all the entire world!
1. Choose a Host
The first step to beginning your site is to decide on a host. A"server" is a business which houses your blog online and enables it to be seen by your own readers.
There are free alternatives out there. I started out on the free blogging platform Blogger. Regrettably, this was a huge mistake that actually held me back from growing my readership as well as my earnings until I eventually switched to self-hosted WordPress October 2014. That is when things really started to remove!
Before I switched to a paid WordPress host, I wasn't a bug on Google's windshield. Now it's my #2 visitors resource.
I always assumed it could be too expensive to pay for hosting for my website. But this isn't the case. Starting a blog is very reasonably priced.
(I'm an affiliate for Bluehost because they give reliable, cheap hosting for new bloggers. I earn a commission if you buy a hosting plan through a few of my hyperlinks.)
If you are just starting out, Affording Motherhood readers receive exclusive pricing as low as $2.95 per month for hosting if you click on one of the hyperlinks in this informative article!
For a new blog, I recommend choosing the starter program and then updating as needed. Most likely, you'll be just fine with the newcomer hosting for quite a while.
That is why I opted to cover hosting:
It is MUCH less expensive than I envisioned. (My search traffic has increased by 1928% because I changed!)
Many more options for creating a user-friendly, professional-looking site.
More options for income through goods, advertisements, and sponsorships.
Very simple to utilize.
In other words, there is a reason WordPress is your many popular blogging and website platform on earth. And to use it, you need to pick a host. It only requires a couple of minutes to get set up with a host.
Bluehost offers automatic WordPress installation included with the price of your hosting plan. They've a great reputation for customer support, cheap hosting, and also are ideal for new bloggers.
Consequently, if you would like to start a profitable website on a budget, then your first step would be to go over to Bluehost and then select your plan. Click the get started now button, and I'll walk you through the basics of how to have your blog up and running.
I previously used Black Chicken and WP Engine because I want more managed hosting now and a greater plan. These are more costly than other possibilities, but I have had a terrific experience with them equally. Switching in the future if needed whenever your visitors grows is very simple, provided that you start out on WordPress.
2. Choose a Topic
Chances are if you've been thinking about blogging, then you already have in mind that the subject you'd love to write about. But with all these sites out there, is there room for yet another one about your favorite topic?
Here's what I genuinely believe and have seen to be authentic over and over. You have a unique story and perspective. If you are willing to authentically share that in your site, and just be you, you won't have any difficulty locating a faithful group of readers and create a fantastic income.
Additionally you might have heard that you need to decide on a specific subject in order to produce an income blogging. I have not seen this to be necessary. It is not like there's a list of successful blog themes out there which you must select from.
You will find successful bloggers making part-time and fulltime incomes in a massive variety of classes, especially"lifestyle sites" which include fashion, budgeting, food, religion and more. So, whatever you're into you can create a successful site about.
You will surely be the most effective if you blog about something that you are genuinely enthusiastic about. It goes back to writing in the context of your distinctive story.
3. Choose a Domain Name
A domain name is the internet address people will type in for your site. For instance, the domain name for this blog is affordingmotherhood.com.
The price for a domain is about $10 to $15 for the year. I suggest buying your domain name via the server which you have chosen to utilize, for simplicity sake. This will spare you the extra step of connecting your domain name to your server.
Bluehost offers a completely free domain name registration with their hosting plan.
In this step, you're essentially choosing what to name your site. That could appear a bit daunting. But it's not tough to modify your domain name down the street if needed, so don't stress over it also much.
There appears to be a fad now of individuals using homemade titles so if your stuck, start there.
Just enter your domain name in the small search box to find out if it's available.
The next screen is where you officially select your hosting package. You can choose out of a one, a couple of plan together with a few other options.
Next, enter your credit card info to cover your hosting package.
Follow the directions to set up the password to your account.
4. Install WordPress
WordPress is the blogging software that I use along with nearly every critical blogger out there.
If you're using a host other than Blue Host, at this time you would need to set up WordPress. However, with Bluehost, that is done automatically for you.
You'll then be asked to choose a login name and password for your own WordPress account.
For better security, don't use'admin' or your blog name for the Username.
An significant notice...at this stage you are going to be asked to decide on a theme. I will explain more in a moment about why this is significant and what to do .
Congratulations! You just started your own blog!
5. Decide on a Theme
A motif works with WordPress to restrain the way your site looks.
Here are a few of the reasons I picked a paid motif:
Higher quality theme by design professionals
Updates for latest internet changes, guidelines, and security
No risk of concealed malicious code
Ongoing support
The very last thing you want to do is put time into customizing your theme and then find out a couple months later that it doesn't comply with the latest upgrades, or worse yet has a few hidden code that is compromising your blog and your small business.
For my theme, I use and recommend Elegant Themes. You can get an annual membership, beginning at $89, and you also gain access to all their themes. (I recently upgraded to the lifetime membership because I am not going anywhere.)
That means if you start customizing a theme and recognize it is not exactly what you had in mind, you aren't stuck. You can just download another one of their dozens of topics until you find the one that is ideal for you without any excess price.
Elegant Themes has excellent support and beautifully designed themes (like in both amazing to look at and simple to use), and they're continuously updating their library and resources. On top of that, they are always here to answer questions if I encounter an issue.
(Everything you need to know about choosing colors, fonts, and Developing a logo)
6.
Collecting the email addresses of your loyal readers is one of the very important measures to growing your traffic and your own blogging income.
Imagine you've just printed your new and completely amazing blog post. You simply know that this is going to go viral. Would not you like a massive set of hundreds or perhaps thousands of people that believe on your message to see it straight away?
That's why you need an email listing. It's free to begin one.
When I started out I used MailChimp for my email management system. It's plenty of good attributes. On top of that, it's free up to 2,000 subscribers and up to 12,000 emails every month. No credit card required.
How much does it cost to begin blogging?
So, based on the above recommendations, your overall cost to begin blogging for earnings is roughly $160 to your whole first year. When you look back to my meeting with Gina Horkey, this is similar to the 171 she invested to begin her successful freelance writing company.
Can you start a site at no cost? Yes. In my experience, you will not find the entire fruits of your job until you create the small investment to start your blog the right way.
There are several different companies you can begin using such a little startup cost which provide you with the flexibility of working from home.
7. Monetize Your Blog
I understand what you're asking yourself.
I completely get it! Blogging is not the most usual career path, and it may be a small mystery once you first begin, but I guarantee it is all completely untrue.
If folks ask me about how I make money blogging, I use the magazine analogy. When you buy a magazine subscription, odds are the publication isn't even covering its costs to print and mail you their magazine.
Rather, their income largely comes from sponsors that put ads or posts on their pages.
With a website, you supply free articles to your readers, while sponsors pay you to include their advertisements inside the post.
Along with advertisements, you can even earn income through affiliate networks, sponsored articles, writing novels, and generating related products and services.
One of the chief ways to make an income blogging is via placing ads in your articles, very similar to magazines. Image Credit
Of course, bloggers can make a vast range of incomes, and the majority of it is dependent on getting started the right way and then continuing to stick with it.
I have already shared which I make a full-time revenue blogging, but what about other bloggers?
In her 2016 post, Amy Lynn Andrews estimated that bloggers can make around 1 percent of their page views a month. Consequently, in case you've got 30,000 pageviews, you might expect to earn about $300 per month. In my experience, that sounds a little low. I usually find myself everywhere from the 1 to 3 percent range.
In her publication, blogger Ruth Soukup notes that the tipping point for earning $50,000 annually is about 300,000 pageviews per month. But if you just need some part time income, 25,000 to 50,000 pageviews can get you about $10,000 to $15,000 each year.