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Blogging is a popular way to earn extra cash on the side! Do you know how to run a successful blog?
In this article we are going over the biggest topics regarding starting out blogging.
Before we begin, if you are new to this blog, we’d like to say a quick “hey!”, but also give a heads up that we have a free workbook that you can download to get a headstart on your financial journey. Might as well now than later!
As you may have discovered, blogging is a popular way to earn some extra cash, but are you actually ready to begin?
The reason this question is so important is because of the difficulty of blogging.
Now, you may say to yourself, “Well, all you have to do is write some article posts and the cash rolls in, right?”
Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy.
Pinterest likes to make you believe that blogging is the new and best way to start earning thousands of dollars every month. There are countless pins that promise methods, online courses that swear of certain monetizing methods, and articles that promise your success.
It’s easy to start, but few actually survive.
So, what is it that makes a blogger successful? What is it that you need to be prepared for to actually make money blogging?
We put together our top reasons why we’ve seen hundreds of new bloggers drop out! Check out the quiz below, take the quiz, then read through all the explanations underneath!
Let’s begin with a quiz!
Everything you need to know to run a successful blog!
Q1. Do you know what hosting is?
This is one aspect of blogging that will be new to most of you!
Hosting is essentially when a business provides you the ability to put your website onto the Internet. They can provide you a website domain/URL, and provide you direct access to WordPress.
Notice that there are multiple parts to this: First you need a domain (the website itself), then you need hosting, or the storage and service of the domain actually being put on the website.
This is where the information and data is actually stored! And, it is required to have.
One of the most popular options for hosting is through BlueHost, primarily due to it being inexpensive AND beginner-friendly! We’ve always used them and have always been satisfied with their services.
It’s incredibly easy to set up, because they give you a domain while signing up, and they set up your WordPress! It was a no-brainer on our part!
Q2. Do you know what affiliates are?
You’ll hear it from us and from nearly every other blogger out there: Start monetizing with affiliates. Don’t try to go all out with products and courses just yet!
Reason being, it will save you time and effort in the long run! You want to build an audience first, and you can monetize on the way with affiliates!
When you are an affiliate, you promote a product or service of another business’s to earn a small fraction. It usually takes quite a handful of visitors to your website to earn significant amounts of money per month, but that’s why it is great to establish your affiliates early before diving into other monetization methods!
If you are interested in joining some free affiliate providers, we have been loving ShareASale and FlexOffers!
But, if you are looking for even more, we have an article all about the best affiliates for new bloggers!
Q3. Are you a good writer?
Yes, this is a subjective question, and nearly all of you will think you’re good enough.
BUT, there more to it than just being able to type out some words on your computer and calling it good.
First, you need to have good grammar and know how to write in a compelling “voice”. No one wants to read a post with incorrect English! (It makes it less professional!)
Second, and the most important, is that it takes time.
Each article you make should been anywhere from 1500-3000+ words.
That could take you, at minimum, 2 hours to write, and it could take multiple days to make a thorough article!
Are you willing to spend that much time for a post that may not even earn you money?
It is also important to note that most people put out 10+ articles before publishing their website, and many go months without earning anything!
If you are a good writer, it will help you through this difficult time and make the transition to earning money much easier!
Q4. Do you have social media experience?
If you are new to social media (primarily Pinterest), then you are in for a learning curve!
Pinterest is the best way to get visitors to your blog, and it always is surprising to see new bloggers not setting up Pinterest early on!
Now, it does take a bit of time to get thousands of followers, but this social medial platform is where you need to start!
Don’t go bothering with Instagram or Facebook just yet. The whole point right now is to get people to your blog!
When it comes to Pinterest, many people just start with manual pinning. Unfortunately, this is incredibly time consuming, and can’t give you the full potential that you need as a new blogger.
Thankfully there are ways to automate posts to make this whole process so much easier!
So, before you publish your blog, get your social media accounts set up and with followers. You’ll be glad to start sooner rather than later!
Q5. Do you have support?
Blogging is time consuming, and it can take months before seeing any money come in.
That is exactly why you need some form of support!
Whether it is your husband, a friend, or a Facebook group, you need to seek out your motivator right now. Trust us, it’ll be worth having someone on board, especially when you need the motivation to keep going.
Q6. Do you have experience with marketing?
The end goal with blogging is usually to earn cash through a product! Whether that is through printables, an online course, or an ebook, you’ll need to find a way to get to that point of your blogging career!
But, how?
There are websites out there that can help you learn to be a better blogger, through courses, both free and for cost! Learn from experienced bloggers and on literally any topic.
We took a course before publishing and were so glad, because it will show you all the details you’ll miss when searching for “How to Blog” articles on Pinterest! Definitely worth checking out!
Q7. Are you in this for the long run?
When you start a blog you’ll most likely be signing up for at least 3 years of website hosting.
3 years!!
That means you need to be serious about this gig. There is no joking around, thinking you can do this side hustle for only a few months!
Plus, as said before, it can take awhile before you see your first dollars come in, and you need to be serious about blogging!
It can be totally worth it, but you need to be ready for what is to come! Time spent away from friends, learning new platforms, designing graphics, writing articles…it all takes a long time, and it can get tiresome!
So, just know that if you’re interested in blogging, you need to dedicate yourself to it for more than just a fun side hobby. That is, if you want to make an income from it!
Q8. Do you have a motivator aside from money?
If you are not tracking your money already, then you need to start right now.
Keeping an excel sheet of expenses and income, tracking your net worth, and keeping a budget are critical for new bloggers!
Especially, when it comes to tax season, and you need to lay out all of this information for taxes. No fun, but absolutely necessary!
Now, money should not be your only means for why you want to be a blogger! There are so many other reasons to start blogging, and money should not be the only motivator of yours!
Maybe you want to learn new skills, to boost your resume. Maybe you want to learn to be a better writer and graphic designer. Maybe you want to network and connect with other entrepreneurs across the country.
There are plenty of other motivators for being a blogger!
Do you want to have extra cash to go on vacations? Do you want to quit your 8-5 job? Do you want to earn side income while in graduate school?
The reasons are endless. You just need to find yours!
Q9. Do you know how much your first year will cost?
Ah, yes. The cost of owning a blog.
Now, it is important to note that every blog is different! Everyone spends on very different things, but you at least should get an idea before diving in and dedicating yourself to years of blogging!
Here is a short list of averages!
- Website hosting: $120 per 3 years
- P.O. Box (required for emailing): $80 per year
- Pinterest Marketing and Automation: $115 per year
- Website theme: $80 per year
- Graphic design platform: $50-$100 per year
- Beginners Course: $100 per course
- Email service: $30 per month
This isn’t even a full list, and many people easily spend about $1000 their first year on learning new skills, like coding, marketing, and designing! Do you have this much money set aside?
Q10. Do you know graphic design?
This is one of our most surprising skills that we have found to be necessary for successful blogging!
There are numerous platforms out there that have templates; some are free, most are not.
You can find all sorts of articles on Pinterest about how to make pins that are eye-catching, but what you really need is an easy way to make graphics, in the shortest time possible!
Why? Simply because you’ll be making dozens of pins each week, and potentially more graphics if you plan to have a YouTube or other social media account like Instagram. It can get overwhelming really quickly!
Especially if you are not blogging as your only method of income. Spending you few evening hours each day trying to figure out complicated graphic design will get monotonous and frustrating before you know it.
Which is why it is good to start learning now! There are courses you can take, articles to learn from, and free apps to start learning about color palattes and making great pins!
Let’s Summarize!
- Blogging is a great way to earn cash, and many make it their main source of income! But, it takes more than you’d think to be successful.
- Make your life easier by learning about Pinterest and tracking your net worth. Trust us, it’s best to start now than for everything to be overwhelming when you begin your new blog!
Thanks for hanging out with us! We continue to enjoy helping our readers achieve their passive income goals. Be sure to check out all of the other topics in our blogging series!
ThirtyEight Investing
All advice and opinions provided in this post are reflections on experience and are for educational and entertainment purposes only. Please see our disclaimer page details.
