Do you want to start a blog? Have you been thinking about it for awhile but just not made the leap? Or has the thought never even crossed your mind? Nine months ago the thought had never crossed my mind. Not once. It was my husband who came to me with the idea, but the idea wasn’t for me it was for him. He had listened to a podcast about starting a website and it intrigued him. He went ahead and signed up with BlueHost and started his site. I watched him design his layout, helped with some pictures, and I thought it looked like fun. But then I was stumped. What should my site be about? The doubts started creeping into my head, “why would anyone read what I have to say?”, “I’m not an expert on anything”, “is this just going to be a waste of time?”, “can people seriously make money with a blog?”. Thanks to the encouragement of my husband and the inspiration from many other awesome bloggers, I jumped in and decided to give this blogging thing a try and I’m so glad I did. Now I want to pass on some encouragement to you and get rid of any doubts that are stopping you from starting a blog!
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Excuse #1 – What Would I Blog About?
This is the number one question I get asked about when I encourage people to start a blog. Most people think of a blog as a “Mommy Blog” where you’re blogging about what happened during your day, post cute pictures of your kids, etc. And while there are many successful Mommy Blogs out there and that’s definitely a niche, that’s not the only option by any means. When I say “start a blog” you could also interpret it as “start a website” or “start an online business”. If you have a blog on your website, that simply means there’s a section of the site that is regularly updated with new posts or articles. I consider My Income Journey a website about how to make money and save money from home and the blog is simply one feature of the site. Don’t limit your ideas to a traditional “blog” of the early 2000’s. Now, what should your site be about? Let’s get brainstorming!
What do you love to do? This is the easiest place to start. It’s fun to write about something you’re passionate about. My passion is for trying new things and making money from home. What about you? Photography, biking, shoes, cats, poetry, decorating, computers, archery, chess, sewing, the list can go on and one. Any of your hobbies, skills, passions, interests, etc. can make an awesome site. If you can’t come up with something you love to do, then here are some other ways to pin down a great idea.
Use Amazon. Basically every blogger is an Amazon affiliate and most likely you will be too. Head to Amazon right now and click on departments. You’ll see a list come up with sections like “books, toys & games, electronics, office products, sports & outdoors”, etc. Click on a section that either interests you, you already have knowledge about, or you know you could make money with. The section doesn’t have to meet all three of those requirements, just one. You can make money in any niche, you can become an expert on anything, and your topic doesn’t have to interest you for you to make money or be successful. Now, let’s get more narrow in your niche because something like “sports & outdoors” is much too broad. Under the “sports & outdoors” category, I see “golf, cycling, climbing, leisure & game room, etc.” I’m going to click on “leisure & game room”. The section about “Arcade Games” catches my attention and I now have my niche site idea. How does this turn into a blog or website? It’s easy! Just think of all the posts you could write about on this topic! Product reviews, history of the games, decorating your game room, the highest rated ping pong tables, gift ideas, best games for little kids, etc.
Get Inspired From Other Bloggers. There are multiple reasons I post income reports, but one of the main reasons is because I love reading other blogger’s income reports. They inspired me! A second reason is because when I started selling stock photography I wanted to know how much people actually made doing this and I couldn’t find a realistic answer anywhere! I could find the extreme claiming “make thousands per month while you travel” and the other extreme (which was the majority) saying it was a waste of time. So I wanted to fill that void with posting my income, but I would never have considered it if I didn’t see other bloggers do it first. Find a blog or website you love and take inspiration from it, or fill a hole in something you’ve searched with no luck. Like I said before, any good idea can be turned into a profitable site.
Excuse #2 – I’m No Good With Computers
I am not a programmer, I’m not an SEO expert, I’m not a graphic designer. Thankfully you don’t need to be any these things to create a professional, successful site. Follow my “How to Start a Blog Tutorial” to learn how to get hosting, set up your blog, install WordPress, and pick a design with the Total Theme. All of these companies have awesome help resources, videos, call and ask questions, and they are easy to use. You don’t need to know how to program in order to customize your site to just the way you want it. With the Total Theme you can drag and drop elements where you want them, and even edit your site in preview mode to see just what it looks like. It really isn’t technically overwhelming and anyone can do it!
Excuse #3 – Can I Really Make Money with a Blog?
The short answer is obviously yes. Otherwise, I would not be writing this post and there wouldn’t be so many bloggers out there. I mean, it’s fun and all, but I’m not doing this for charity. I want to make money and I want you to make money too. I love reading other bloggers income reports. The amount of money some bloggers make is mind-blowing! And while I hope to some day be in that category, even earning an extra couple hundred or thousand dollars a month makes blogging worth it! If you want to read some inspiration income reports here are a few fun links: Smart Passive Income, Making Sense of Cents, Pinch of Yum, Coming Up Roses, Pro Blogger, Just a Girl and Her Blog, and My Income Journey. The best way to make money with a blog is through affiliate marketing. Check out my recommended affiliates here. You can also use ads, sponsored posts, freelance writing, and more!
Excuse #4 – What if I Don’t Succeed?
What if you fail? Let’s say you spend hours writing amazing content, you design a beautiful site, you share your posts on all the social media platforms….and then nothing. No visitors, no money, no rewards, nada, zip. Nothing happened. No really, nothing. Other than the time involved, blogging is almost a no-risk business. You can start your blog for as little as $3.95 for professional hosting through BlueHost, that’s about as low-risk as a business can get! If I told you there was a business opportunity you could do from home for less than $100 and you can grow this business to making thousands or tens of thousands per month, would you hesitate to get started? Of course not! That’s why I’m so excited about blogging and highly recommend it. You can start you site in your spare time, you have complete control over your content and how much time you spend working, it’s very inexpensive, you can do it from home, and the reward possibility is huge! Besides, you aren’t going to fail. If you put in the work and treat your blog as a business, it will succeed. There’s definitely no reason to let the fear of failure stop you. You’ll never know how successful you can be if you don’t try.
Excuse #5 – I Don’t Have the Time
Nobody does. Let’s be honest, who do you know that has too much time on their hands? Nobody. Because if we do have time, there are millions of ways to fill it. Before starting My Income Journey, I was a full-time mom to three kids, selling stock photography, teaching piano lessons, running an Etsy shop, and of course all the daily chores of laundry and shopping and cleaning and on and on. Now that I’ve started My Income Journey, I’m still all those things. Nothing has changed. I work on my website when I have time. I write down goals for each of my jobs and do what I can to accomplish them. I still put my family first and some days I don’t get any work done until the kids are in bed. But that’s how life is and it’s okay. As I see my blog grow it motivates me to use my time more wisely so I can do the work necessary to have this site be a major source of income for my family. If the only time you have is an hour a day, you can start a blog. If you can dedicate 20 hours a week vs 5 hours a week then your blog will grow faster, but either way you can be successful. My blog was profitable within 3 months of launch and has made me extra income every month since. Don’t let the excuse of “not enough time” stop you from an enjoyable, satisfying, profitable new path!
I hope that you’re now out of excuses. If you need help knowing how to start, head to my step by step tutorial by clicking here. Go ahead and make the leap and get started today, you’ll be glad you did!
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Great post! There were some great tips here to help new bloggers like myself! 🙂
I have been blogging for a little over two years, and have not regretted a minute of it! It has been a lot of hard work and a learning process. Many bloggers quit after one year. I think if people do the research first, to know what they are getting into, they can make a better informed decision.
Very informative post. I know a lot of people who have hesitated over starting a blog. My problem isn’t starting them it’s keeping up with posting on a regular basis.
In the beginning, my biggest roadblock was “What am I gonna write about?” Eventually I sorted it out and it’s been 3 years and I’ve never regretted it! 🙂
Wonderful post! That sounds like that conversation I had with myself before starting my site. It’s best to just do it. 🙂