[pinit]Have you ever thought about starting a blog? If you’re anything like me, you thought about it a hundred times, but never knew where to start. Or maybe you thought you didn’t have the time to start a blog. Well I’m writing this post today, to hopefully help you eliminate both of these concerns and break the inertia. Let me first of all say, whatever you do, don’t let intimidation overtake you!
I must be honest and tell you, every step of the way has been intimidating for me. Whether it be the techy side of blogging, that I never knew existed! Or, just the thought of how time consuming some aspects tend to be. But, what I have done every step, and am continuing to do is just take a deep breath and say, I can do this.. one step at a time. And, by the Grace of God, I have been. 🙂
Now, the tricky part is to find out what these “steps” are. Well I gotta tell you, when I thought about starting a blog a few years back, I asked a friend of mine who had a very pretty, well done blog how she did it. Her response was that she had a really good friend who is a graphic designer. That was kind of a let down for me, as I did not share this same friend and knew I was going to have to tackle this blog by myself. So, I did what most people do and said… Oh I’ll start it another time. In other words, I procrastinated. And, before I knew it a few years went by!
Well I got the blogging itch again a few months ago and again started doing some research. So, my first stop was to my friend’s blog who I mentioned before. And, I clicked on her designer info, only to find out that she charges $500+ for blogs. Now after seeing all that goes into creating a blog, I see that she is worth every penny! But, at the time, investing this money, without a guaranteed ROI was not an option. So, I continued my own research and I was led to Abby @ Just a Girl and Her Blog. For some reason, I was immediately drawn to her and could sense her honesty and genuineness. I wanted to reach out to her and ask…how did you do this?! Her blog is sooo beautiful and professional! And, it was then that I stumbled across (or divinely led to!) her e-book, Building a Framework- The Ultimate Blogging Handbook.* After reading more about it, I knew that this was a MUST HAVE to start my blog. So, I bought the book and golly was I right! This has been and still is my blogging handbook that I consult every step of the way. Abby and her husband Donnie so masterfully lay out all of the details of not only starting the blog, but they go into great detail on how to grow the blog with social media and then even explain how you can profit from the blog! And, she provides step by step instructions for everything!! She is so transparent. I honestly feel like she is my friend and is right here with me coaching me through the process. And, to think I have never even met her before. I am so totally grateful for this book and the time and thought that went into creating it!!
So, if you haven’t guessed it yet, the 1st Must Have is:
Building a Framework- The Ultimate Blogging Handbook*
You will notice there are a few different options when purchasing this book. I initially purchased just the book alone, because that was all that was available at that time. Then Abby re-launched the book and added in video tutorials and video interviews with blogging experts. She also offers a special Mastermind facebook group for those who purchase the Advanced or Master Package. After a few weeks of stumbling along on my own, I needed some additional encouragement and insight, so I upgraded to the Master Package. I definitely recommend this as a way to go! Abby really opens up the door and lets you in the secret world of blogging. 😉 And, not only do you have access to all the success secrets, its allows you to connect with other experienced and super successful bloggers. So, there you go.. Must Have #1!*
Now we move on to Must Have #2!*
You Must Have a hosting platform. This is one of those techy aspects, that I didn’t really understand. But, to break it down simply.. this is where your website lives. Think of it as the Host is the Home. Or maybe Host of the Home? 😉 Either way, I looked around at different successful blogs and a common theme thread throughout was Bluehost* was being used as the hosting platform. And, at $3.49/month, I didn’t figure this price could be beat, so I signed up! Now before you do this, you will need to pick your domain name. This is the name of your site.. for example, mine is www.favoredmom.com. You’ll definitely want to spend a little bit of time, coming up with the perfect name that suites your site and the message you would like to get across. Just be sure not to fall into analysis paralysis! This is when you overthink the name and are afraid to make a decision, so you just keep putting it off. I did this for about a week and then eventually went for it! One piece of advice that was offered me, is to check a couple social media sites to see if the name you’re thinking of is already taken. For example, on Instagram, “favoredmom” was taken. But, I was able to use favored_mom. So, when people search for any variation of “favoredmom”, my account comes up. So, now as you’re thinking of a domain name and considering Abby’s book*, let’s talk Themes.
The 3rd Must Have* for starting a blog is a Theme.
A theme simply effects the look and functionality of your site. You can think of this as the layout of your home. I still have a lot to learn in this category. But, so far I have been very pleased with the Theme I found at Studio Mommy*. And, she always has awesome sales. So, go check her out! 😉
Now, the 4th Must Have is strictly my opinion. 😉 After 3 months of trying to figure out how to juggle my existing responsibilities and now crank out constant blog posts, I started looking at other bloggers to see how they effectively managed their time. And, that’s when I came across a 14 Day online course by Crystal Paine, called Make Over Your Mornings*. Crystal owns a very successful blog, Money Saving Mom, she travels around and speaks to different organizations, homeschools her 3 kids and still manages to find time to exercise and keep her house clean! Whew! Now that sounds like Super Mom if I ever heard of one! Well, I knew I could definitely learn something from this women, so I got this course and am actually going through it right now! I gotta tell you.. it is stretching me.. in a good way! 😉 I just know that I will be a better person and a better blogger once I finish it.
So, just to recap, your 4 must haves… You need a handbook*, you need a host*, you need a home* and last, but not least, you need some help* to keep it all together!!
**If you have any questions about the specifics of the above mentioned resources, please let me know! I am here to help and encourage you to follow your dreams… 😉
*This post contains affiliate links, noted by asterisks. For more information, see my disclosures here.*
