How to Start a Blog

This post contains affiliate links, which means that BOTTLESOUP may profit from the purchase of products linked to from this article. 

It’s a pretty common phenomenon: parents who end up staying at home with their children eventually get bored and want a way to earn income without leaving the house. It’s the ideal situation, and many, many websites are dedicated to finding work at home jobs for WAHMs (work at home moms).

A lot of moms waste time looking for surveys or other types of “work” online, but here’s a secret: you can make a solid income from blogging online. It won’t happen overnight, but if you’re passionate about a subject (maybe it’s parenting, maybe it’s food, but it could be anything!), you should get to work on creating a blog today. Working your blog is about more than writing content; it’s about community. Over the years I’ve made friends and developed relationships with my online tribe of readers and blogging peers. So in a way you get much more than just a way to earn income: you get the opportunity to connect with others from all over the globe.

Ready to get started? Here’s a step by step guide to setting up your first income earning blog:

Decide on a name and niche.

This will be the most difficult part, I promise! Think about your passions, what kind of advice people ask you for, and what you think you could spend a lot of time discussing, learning more about, and sharing with others. Parenting is often the default blog choice, but it could be anything else! Some mamas & papas use their blog as an opportunity to reclaim a previous hobby or interest. Dig deep! There’s no wrong answer. For BOTTLESOUP, I didn’t come up with the name on my own. It was something my husband just happened to say as he was sterilizing bottles in a pot of boiling water. And I fell in love with it.

Get a Self-Hosted WordPress website.

While it’s tempting to start with a free blog or maybe just purchase the URL, it’s a bad idea for your long term strategy. Remember, blogging is more of a marathon than a sprint. To have the best opportunity for income and growth, you’ll want to start your blog with a self-hosted WordPress website. For your self-hosting, I recommend Bluehost. It’s what I use here on BOTTLESOUP. Once you sign up, you can install WordPress in just one click (and if you don’t know what you’re doing they have 24/7 tech support). They’ve always been super helpful, and it’s just $3.95/month for unlimited hosting. You can sign up for this offer here.

It’s easy to setup your blog with Bluehost. Here are some step-by-step instructions to make it even easier.

Step 1: Sign up and pick a plan

Visit Bluehost’s website…

And choose the plan that best suits your needs. I like the Prime package because it includes lots of support. Which is great if you’re new to blogging. Every single interaction I’ve had with a Bluehost team member has been amazing. They are just one great part of blogging.

Next step, securing your domain name! This part can be frustrating, especially if you fell in love with a name that’s not available. So be open to being flexible about your domain name choice. Another thing to consider is whether or not the name is available on social channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and others. Make sure you check all the avenues you want before you commit to a blog name and URL.

Next up…pay for it! While the upfront cost can be a little scary, it’s important to remember that your blog is something you will own and be able to profit from. Consistency is key to having a successful blog. The worst thing you can do with a blog is abandon it because you don’t know what to write. Just write. Make a commitment to yourself to publish content and to keep it going. When I started BOTTLESOUP, I had just a few readers: my husband, my parents, and my best friend. Since 2013, this blog has grown tremendously. It’s now been read by almost 2 million people all over the world. But that wasn’t the case on Day One. It’s reality now because I kept going. Sure, I took breaks. But as we near our five year blogging anniversary, I’m glad I made the decision to persevere.

Once you’ve signed up, you’re on to the next step!

Step 2: The fun stuff

Congratulations on your new blog! Now you get to choose what your blog will look like. Pick a theme that best suits what your blog will bring to the Internet. Plan to have lots of pictures? Choose a theme with that in mind. More content heavy? Look for a theme that works best with lots of text.

Once you’ve selected your theme…you can get started with the WordPress dashboard. The Content Management System (CMS) is pretty straightforward, but the great thing about Bluehost is they’ll help you every step of the way so you can get right to blogging.

 

Write your first article!

Then push publish. Just do it! Then, share the link in the comments below. I’d love to support your new blog

Create a schedule.

Decide how often you’ll post, and jot some post ideas down. The best blogs write content consistently. But if you’ve followed these 4 steps so far, you’re off to a great start! And for what it’s worth, BOTTLESOUP doesn’t follow a strict schedule. So be kind to yourself and just keep pushing along if you miss one of your deadlines.

Install Google Analytics & Google Adsense.

(Until you work your way up to bigger and better things!)

You’ll earn passive income through Google Adsense, and Google Analytics will provide you with all the stats you need to pitch your blog to individual advertisers.

For planning and educating yourself on becoming a full-time blogger, I wholeheartedly recommend becoming involved with Facebook groups for bloggers. Don’t be afraid to try out a bunch of different groups before you find one that feels like your tribe. Facebook blogging groups are often a wealth of information, but like anything on Facebook there’s some not so great content, too.

This is a super simple version of “how to start a blog”, but feel free to reach out to me in the comments or via email with any questions you may have. I can’t wait to see the blogs you create, and I wish you lots of success with your WAH venture 🙂 If you started a blog thanks to this post, tell us about it! We’d love to read your new blog.

Happy Writing,

Mrs. Bottlesoup