In case you are new to my blog, I earn around $30,000 a month blogging so this, of course, leads to many blogging questions. The other day I received a question from a reader who doesn’t have a blog. His question is what sparked my idea to create this blog post, as I’m sure there…
In case you are new to my blog, I earn around $30,000 a month blogging so this, of course, leads to many blogging questions.
The other day I received a question from a reader who doesn’t have a blog.
His question is what sparked my idea to create this blog post, as I’m sure there are plenty of other people out there who are in the beginning stages of thinking about starting a blog.
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Here is a snippet from his email:
The main reason I’m reaching out to you is that as much as I find your current experience and success inspiring, I’m more interested in your blogging past and beginnings (since this is where I find myself). I’ve read all the “blog beginners guides” that I could find on your site… It is the psychological “start up” that most haunts me. Would you mind sharing a little more on your beginnings?
Below are different things I think you should think about before you start a blog:
Do you want to blog for money? Or are you looking for a fun outlet?
When I started my blog in August of 2011, I definitely did not start it with the thought that I would one day leave my day job to pursue full-time freelancing.
I started blogging so that I could have an outlet.
It was a few years after my dad passed away, and some other bad things in my life were happening as well (I wish I could share what happened, but I am public now so that wouldn’t be good).
I wasn’t doing great with my finances either, so I really just needed a way to write out my feelings. I also wanted a way to keep track of how I was doing. It’s still entertaining going back to my posts from the beginning and laughing at myself.
If you are starting a blog, you need to be honest with yourself and see if you want to blog for profit or if you want to blog for fun.
How much money do you want to spend upfront?
You can start a blog for very cheap and sometimes even free. Or, you can spend a lot of money.
If you decide to start on Blogger, then your cost could actually be free. However, there are many negatives to starting on Blogger. If you want to blog for profit, then definitely do not start on Blogger. Check out the link at the bottom of this article titled Should I Use Blogger or WordPress for more information on that.
I recommend that everyone start on WordPress. It’s not expensive, and it can really help you out in the long run. Even if you are not starting your blog for profit, having a blog on WordPress means that it is YOURS. Check out the article that I reference below for more information on that.
If you decide to start your blog on anything besides Blogger, then your costs will typically include:
- Hosting – I think you can often buy hosting through Bluehost (yes, that’s my affiliate link) for less than $5 a month.
- Domain – These are usually around $10 to $15 each year.
- Design – The amount of money that you spend on your blog design can vary greatly. You can do it yourself (it would then be FREE!), or you could hire someone. There are cheap blog designers out there who will work for $100, and then there are others where it will cost thousands.
Do you even like to write?
If you want to start a blog, then I hope you like to write. Writing on a blog is different from writing a college term paper, but you have to remember that it is still writing.
Many people stop blogging after just a few months because blogging can be a lot of work. It takes time to write a quality blog post, it takes time to connect with others on social media, and so on.
I will say that it is all worth it though! For me, I love blogging, I love social media, and I love everything else that goes along with it.
Are you okay with everything being online FOREVER?
You might think that you can just delete a post and that it would be gone forever, but that is not the case. There are websites out there where you can look at posts that have been deleted and look at archived versions of a website.
This is why they say that everything in the online world is permanent and why you should always be careful with what you are saying.
Do you like people?
I used to read a blog (it was more of an entertaining read), where the author absolutely HATED people.
I don’t even know why they had a blog. They would openly say that they hated everyone and everything. If someone commented on their blog, they would yell at them. It was honestly the craziest thing ever, and it made no sense.
If you are wanting to start a blog, then you should at least kind of like people. Even though almost everything related to blogging is done online, you do still have to interact with people. You might interact with others in your niche, your readers, clients, and more.
Blogging is great, and one of the great things about it is the community. I love the blogging community and everyone in it.
Why did you start your blog? What tips do you have to share for someone who wants to start a blog?
If you don’t have a blog yet, do you think you’re ready to start a blog? If you are, check out these articles below:
- How To Start A Blog – In this article, I give detailed instructions about you can actually start your blog by buying hosting, a domain, and setting all of that up. This is a good article for those who want to start blogging on their own because you want to learn or because you have limited funds. It is very doable to do it all yourself.
- How To Make Money Blogging – If you are interested in making money through blogging, then you are probably curious as to how that is actually done. There are many different ways to make money blogging, check out this article if you are interested.
- Should I use Blogger or WordPress? – Tips on How to Move – I started my website on Blogger, and it was great in the beginning, but I think you are really holding your blog back by sticking on Blogger. Move to WordPress now!