Disclosure: If you make a purchase through the links posted below, I may receive a small compensation. Read the full disclosure.
I’ve been getting a few e-mails lately about how to go about starting a blog, how to get readers, what to blog about, etc., so I thought I’d address some of them here. Let me tell you I am probably totally not the most qualified person to ask about this, but I’ll certainly won’t let that stop me from answering your questions ;).
1. How do I start a blog?
Although I use WordPress (.org NOT .com), I would recommend starting a blog with blogger. It will seriously take you two seconds to get started. You can set up a template right in blogger and have your blog up and running super quickly. Later on if you decided you want to switch to a self-hosted blog in WordPress.org, it’s easy to switch (at least I thought it was). Or if you want to go right to WordPress.org, I recommend using bluehost as your web host and starting there. Wordpress.com doesn’t allow ads, sponsored posts, etc. so if that’s something you are interested in or want to promote your business, don’t opt for WordPress.com because they could shut down your blog.
2. Should I buy my own domain name?
If you really think you are going to enjoy blogging and plan on sticking with it, then go for it. You can buy one at GoDaddy for fairly cheap and this way you can make sure no one steals your blog name while you are deciding. If you have no idea what I am talking about, having your own domain name means you are “ilovemydogs.com” instead of “ilovemydogs.blogspot.com”.
3. How do I get people to read my blog?
Well, that’s the million dollar question in the blogging world. If it was easy, we’d all be The Pioneer Woman now wouldn’t we? But seriously, I recommend a few things: blogging often, blogging about lots of different topics, commenting on other blogs (with your blog link of course), participating in link-ups, sponsoring big blogs(*), etc.
4. But only 10 / 100 / 1000 people read my blog. I want MORE.
Don’t blog for “numbers”. Blog because you love it. You’ll attract more people! I don’t have google friend connect (GFC) because I am not on blogger, so I really don’t know how many “followers” I have. But it doesn’t matter to me. I blog because I like it!
5. Should I use word verification to keep spam comments out?(**)
NO! I personally am more likely to leave a comment on a blog without word verification because I have so much trouble with these codes. You don’t want someone who wants to comment on your blog to leave annoyed because they spent ten minutes trying to type in a word verification. Honestly, sometimes I just give up and don’t even comment ;(.
6. But I don’t have anything to blog about?
I am certain you do. That’s the beauty of having a blog. You can blog about whatever you want. Babies, wedding planning, college life, kids, books, movies, tv shows, subscription boxes, make-up, current events, ANYTHING you want. Again, it’s your blog. Don’t blog about what you think people will want to read, blog about what interests you.
7. How do I make money from blogging?
I did a post called Blogging for Money a while back that might help you out. I will tell you that just having like AdSense ads probably aren’t going to make you a ton of money. *Maybe* a few dollars a day? And that’s if you have a fair amount of readers.
And now you know everything I know. Maybe more than I know ;). If you have any more questions or any blogging tips or tricks, I’d love to hear them! I’m always game for learning new blogging stuff!
