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If someone would have told me that I would be a blogger and I could make an income blogging, I would have thought they had lost their marbles. I was convinced blogging was a waste of time and a joke.
No seriously, I had no idea how fulfilling and awesome blogging as a mom really could be. After only 7 months, the blog was making over $4,000 a month!
Just the insane number of mom blogs you find on Pinterest should have told me how fantastic blogging is for mom life. It’s the easiest way to connect with the world of moms and blogging is probably the easiest and best way to make a side or full income.
But like me, so many don’t really understand this until they finally jump in or finally come across a blog post that makes it all click. I am hoping this article can be that for you because I know this will be game changing for you.
Once you start, every time you work on your blog, you are investing in your future. As your blog grows, you will be able to reap the benefits (aka money) of your hard work for years! As long as your blog is live, every post you write can make you money indefinitely.
Now after jumping aboard both motherhood and blogging, I want to share with you the can’t beat perks or blogging, what I learned and how you can do it too. I will tell you exactly how to start and what you need to focus on to make money from the start, specifically passive income.
That’s right, passive income, which means that even if you aren’t working, your blog is making you money 24/7. Write about what you love and make money while you are at home enjoying all those baby cuddles.
Why I love blogging
So let’s first talk about why blogging is truly the ultimate job because I want to make sure you don’t just pass this up like I did so many times, because I just didn’t really understand it.
1. You get paid to make to do what you love
The beauty of blogging is that you can blog in ANY category. From DIY, expecting, parenting, eating healthy to fitness, gardening and music. Whatever you love, you can have a blog about. Let’s say you are a painter, make-up artist or even an accountant, you can utilize the skill set you already have to create fantastic content for your blog.
Many moms are bloggers, but you can also have what is known as a mom blog. If you don’t want to write only one topic. You can have a lifestyle blog. This means that you blog about your family, your house and life. Any good trip, project, or tip that relates to being a mom can form the foundation of a great blog post.
2. You can do it on 100% your time, anywhere
Blogging can be done when you want to do it. You never have to follow a schedule. You can also do it anywhere. Work early in the morning at a coffee shop or at home, work during nap time or late at night. Any other job will have some time restraints.
As a mom you will start to see how fantastic this point is. If your kid is sick, then you don’t have to call in sick. You just don’t work on your blog that day but the blog still makes you money that day.
You can even blog throughout your day. Just bring pen and paper to brainstorm and outline a post or your laptop and write. Waiting at a doctor’s appointment, in your backyard, while breastfeeding, or in your car waiting to pick up your kids. This means, you can be working and making money during your everyday.
3. You make money now and later
You aren’t being paid an hourly rate. Instead, you write posts and those posts will continually bring in money 24/7. With most jobs, you will make a fixed amount every hour. With blogging, you are building something that can continually make you money even when you aren’t working on it.
4. You are investing in your future
Not only can you make money right now with blogging, the longer you blog the more passive income you will have in the future. In other words, as you continue adding more content to your blog, your blog can make more money every month. As your blog gets bigger, you can make even more. To put this into perspective, some bloggers who have been building their blogs for five years now make $40,000 a month.
5. Anyone can blog: You have the perfect skill set
Since you can literally blog about anything, you don’t need to have a specific resume. You just need to be you. People read blogs to connect with another human being on a topic they want to learn about. Be yourself and blog about what you love.
6. You don’t need to be techy
If you have written a document in Microsoft word, you have the tech skills you need. Blogging is done using WordPress, which is essentially Microsoft word in a different format. You get WordPress by signing up with Bluehost, which will host (make live) your site. You never have to deal with code. There are pre-made themes and layouts so it is simple and easy.
7. It is the perfect mom job for you
As a mom, it is so hard to juggle everything. One way a lot of moms have found that really helps them make an income and be able to be the mom they want to be is blogging. It is so easy to have a blog that even if you just want a side income, blogging is for you. The beauty of blogging is that you can make it as full time as you want and continually change how much you work on it based on your time and schedule.
As an expecting mama, start yours today so you have everything already set up before baby arrives. This will allow you to blog with your newborn. As baby gets bigger, nap time will be a fantastic time to blog!
How do you make money blogging?
It is actually quite simple once you start your blog. You have four main income methods that you can utilize. It might be hard to envision how you will accomplish all of these but once you start writing your posts, you will start to envision all of the ways your can blog can start earning money.
1. Sign up for ads
Once you have a site and write your first few posts, you can sign up for ads. Start with Google AdSense. It is free to sign up, just make an account. Then you can add AdSense ads to your site and you will earn money when people view and/or click the ads.
Now you might think to yourself, how will I get people to my site? Pinterest is your best friend here. After you start your blog, make a Pinterest profile for your site. Make boards in that area. Whenever you write a post, always include pictures in your post and pin them to Pinterest.
2. Promote products you love
For every post you write, you will probably talk about products in the post. Almost every company such as Amazon, Target, and Home Depot have what is known as an affiliate program. You can sign up for these for free and then get special links.
When you write a post on for example on anything DIY, you can use special links on the whole list of items needed. Another example is if you write a post on the best baby items of 2018. Every time you mention a product you love or found useful, use these special links and the company will pay you a small commission if the product was purchased with your link.
You can also promote other bloggers’ products that you think are awesome and earn a commission.
3. Sponsored Posts
Absolutely love a product or company? Reach out to them and offer to do a sponsored post. You will also get free items that will help you in writing a review of the item or line of items.
4. Make your own products or courses
The idea of making your own products or courses might sound overwhelming and but you don’t need to do it to make money. If you decide to, this is a down-the-road item that you can tackle once you have some posts out and can envision the direction of your blog.
As you continue writing posts, you will find what you like to write about and what you want your blog to be all about. As you continue, you will start to see how you could make products (eBooks, planners, courses, cookbooks, apps and more) on the same topic that your audience will love.
Remember, you don’t need to do this right away or ever to make money. It is just another income stream you can utilize. Just by signing up for ads and affiliates you will start to earn money.
How do you start a blog?
The biggest hurdle for me was actually just making my site. It seemed so challenging when in fact it was simple. I waited for months hemming and hawing over if I could do it or if I would be good at it. Looking back, I wish I realized sooner that while signing up and making a blog seemed all techy, it really wasn’t.
Here I have tried to break down the process, so it is simple for you to complete. Once you complete these steps, you have a blog. Start writing up a post, add in a few pictures, then hit publish and you are a blogger!
- Go to Bluehost and click get started now
- Select a plan
- Pick a domain name
- Enter account information
- Enter card
- Create a password
- Pick a theme
- Start blogging!
The Details:
1. Go to Bluehost and click get started now
Go to Bluehost and on the main page click get started now.
What is Bluehost? Bluehost is a company that runs your blog. They will host it (make it live on the internet). They give you a domain name (name of your site). They will also install WordPress on your site, which is where you input all of your posts and images that you want on your blog. Do NOT go and buy WordPress, you get it when you sign up for Bluehost.
Why Bluehost? There are a ton of different hosts out there but I found that Bluehost to be one of the most inexpensive and easiest to use. Additionally, Bluehost is one of the only hosts that sells both domain names and hosting. With most others you have to purchase them separately which is (A) more expensive, and (B) way too confusing.
2. Select a plan
Once you click get started, you can pick which plan you want. My advice is that you just want the basic plan. You can always upgrade if you need to. However, the basic plan really has everything you need to blog.
3. Pick a domain name
A domain name is your site name. For example our domain name is momsmartnothard.com. You want to pick a domain name that doesn’t limit you as you’ll want to be able to write about anything in the future.
Therefore, a lot of people pick site names that describe an overall theme. This is what we did. We knew we wanted to write for moms and always provide smart solutions, thus we came up with MomSmartNotHard. Another good way to go is to use your name, which allows you to literally write about ANYTHING. Or draw inspiration from a favorite quote or phrase.
To see if your site name is available, just type it into the box, new domain, and click next. If it is free, you will be able to continue. If it is not free and already taken, you will need to type a new one in. This step could take some time as almost all of the common names are taken. While there are sites out there that can suggest available domain names, I never found them to be helpful. So just be persistent.
4. Enter account information
Here, you will put in some basic information and pick the length of time you want to have Bluehost. While the 36-month plan is $2.95 a month, I highly recommend the 12-month plan ($4.95 a month). Your overall cost for the 36-month plan is $118 whereas the 12-month plan is only $71. Your initial investment is lower and 12 months is the perfect amount of time to allow yourself to explore blogging and decide whether or not it’s right for you.
The one add-on you want to get here is domain privacy protection. This hides your personal information. I’ve heard horror stories of people who didn’t purchase this and ended up with endless emails, phone calls, and text messages from solicitors. This is the best $12 bucks per year you’ll ever spend on your blog.
5. Enter card
Pay for your plan to create your site and the real fun can begin.
6. Create a password
This will be the password you use to log into your site to add posts, images or edit. Create one you will remember and write it down.
7. Pick a theme
One of my favorite steps, you get to explore all of the themes and pick which one you want for your site. Once you pick one, you can then edit the text and switch out the images to customize your site.
8. Start blogging!
Yay! You are officially a blogger. Sit down write your first post and hit publish!
What are the next steps?
Now that you have a blog, you want to sign up for some free accounts.
- Sign up for Pinterest to be able to pin your posts
- Sign up for Amazon Affiliates, they have no real requirements on how developed your blog has to be and is the perfect way to start earning money.
Now, just keep writing and watch your blog grow!
Making a blog meant maternity leave didn’t end
Blogging was and is still the only way I could have it all. Be the mom I wanted to be while still having a fun career.
Once baby arrived, I couldn’t go back. Maternity leave could not end. Therefore, I needed to get creative fast. I searched the internet and found a lot of jobs that would have sucked.
Then I came across blogging. I finally made the leap and spent some time going through the process of making my site through Bluehost.
Once I did that, I started writing and found what I loved to write about. I picked a name that would be able to grow with me and the blog.
I then found another mom to blog with, which made blogging a blast and allowed the blog to be more of a resource to moms as now I had another set of brains and experiences behind the site.
I never thought I could make money blogging, but now I can get paid to do what I love. Be a mom and share my experiences online like so many other moms.
Be confident in yourself, invest in yourself. Start a blog today and watch it change your life. I can’t wait to visit your blog <3
Thanks for reading! If you found this article helpful, please share in on Pinterest and Facebook
Dr. Trina Fitzpatrick is a wife, mom, blogger, and a breastfeeding advocate. She is the co-author of the Week-by-Week Bump Smart Course, the Nesting Planner and the Breastfeeding Handbook. She attributes her success at breastfeeding her own children into toddlerhood with working with lactation consultants in the hospital in the early stages and on a weekly basis afterwards. By writing at MomSmartNotHard, she educates mamas-to-be on all things pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding. Read more about Trina.
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