Starting A Blog
I started my first blog over 8 years ago with a hope and a dream, and no direction!
Boy, how I wish I had the info I do now! The first few years of blogging I felt like someone blindfolded me, gave me a general idea of where I was suppose to go, spun me around a few times and said, “There! Figure it out!” Yeah . . . I tried, and failed over and over. Finally I found some amazing resources and determined this was it, time to get serious! I’m hoping you can avoid the pitfalls and mistakes I made with the tools and services listed below. With them you can start out strong and make an impact (and income) quicker than I did! Ultimately it’s all about passion. If you have passion for something you can be successful, and everything I mention below will be your building blocks, the foundation for making your blog great!
My opinion of the products listed are 100% my own. My recommendations are based on purchasing and using the products and sites myself. I would never recommend something I don’t believe in, or have never used. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Blogging 101
Sadly, the course I took when I started this blog is no longer available. It was by Abby over at Just A Girl and Her Blog.
If you’re brand new to the blogging world, the hardest part about it all is figuring out what to do first. What’s most important? What you need to spend your time, energy, and money on.
Before taking Abby’s course I knew a lot about a few key blogging points, and little to nothing about everything else. And it’s SO HARD to figure everything out by yourself. You could do it, maybe, but it would take so much more precious time, time you could be working to implement it all if you were taking the course.
Don’t worry though, even with the course I took no longer available, I found some options to help get your blog up and running.
How to Start An Online Business: A budget Friendly Checklist
This is a series of several free blog posts to read that walk you though some of the basics to blogging. She’s actually fairly comprehensive in my opinion, and if you’re tight with a budget starting out then I’d definitely take a few hours to sit down, absorb the info she provides, and take lots of notes.
Want the most comprehensive, walk you through the whole process, set you up for success course out there? Look no further than Elite Blog Academy.
Elite Blog Academy
Only open twice a year, Elite Blog Academy is ran by one of the best bloggers in the industry, Amy Soukup. Amy is a rockstar in the online world. The girl knows how to start an online business. While this course is expensive, it literally holds your hand and shows you not only step by step how to start your blog, but also how to monetize it from the very beginning.
My mom actually took this course and loved it. She’s now making a great income from the products she made while taking the course. I was able to snag the syllabus and look through it and truly, I don’t think there’s a better full and comprehensive blog start up plan out there. If you have the money to invest, this is the course that will get you up and running efficiently the fastest.
Ruth also has a great podcast all about business tips and growth help, and the book she released last year is one of my favorites!
WordPress.org
This is the best platform for running your site on. It gives you the most control and the best ability to monetize your blog. Other sites you essentials “rent” space and thus the site owns your work, and can take it down at any time. Don’t put a ton of effort into something that can be ripped from you. wordpress.org (not .com) allows you complete control.
Restored316
This is a site with feminine WordPress themes for female entrepreneurs. I had always ran free themes on my sites prior to purchasing a Restored theme and wow, I had no idea what I was missing! Their themes are so user friendly, significantly more than the free themes I used in the past that came with absolutely no help. Any questions I had about installation or aesthetics were answered promptly and their instructions were always easy to understand. This blog is operating 100% how I envisioned it to because of Restored316. I’m currently using the Glam Theme.
SightGround Hosting Service
I know way to much about hosting services. I started out with HostGator for my first blog. In the beginning they were good but as the years have passed I’ve found their quality to have deteriorated significantly, until just recently (I still have my fist blog through them.) they gave me horrible customer service. I will be switching my first blog to SightGround soon! I’ve also had Host Daddy and although they are okay, they’re just not up to par with SightGround.
Hover Domain Service
Domain service is where you “buy” your website name. Once it”s yours, it’s yours forever. You can purchase your domain name from SiteGround, but one thing I learned from Abby in her course is it’s good to diversify your account info so if for some reason one of your service providers goes down you still have info for your site with other services. You don’t want to lose what you’ve worked so hard for!