Blogging for Beginners – How To Start A Blog To Make Money!

Have you ever wondered how you can make money from blogging?  Have you heard stories of people quitting their corporate jobs and instead choose blogging for a living?  Or how about you already have a great idea of what you want to blog about but have no idea where to start?

I have some great blogging for beginners’ resources for you today!

My blogging story:  I was a high school science teacher for 8 years and when my oldest daughter was born, I thought it to be best for me to stay home, rather than pay for daycare.  I always had dreamed of being a stay at home mom where I’d have fun cleaning and decorating and cooking and playing with the kids.  Well my June Cleaver dream wasn’t so much my reality.  I ended up having severe postpartum anxiety and had to return to the hospital twice after my daughter was born (once for a blood transfusion and once for a psychiatric evaluation because I was in a constant state of panic.)

After I figured out that my traumatic birth experience combined with previous miscarriages and underlying anxiety my whole life, I was the perfect candidate for the storm I endured after that birth.

During my therapy sessions, I was told that I must leave the house once a day as part of my recovery plan, since I was no longer working outside of my home anymore.  I had a tough time finding entertainment with an infant outside of my home, so I began to go deal shopping.  This was back in 2009 when the recession had hit and extreme couponing was the new trend.  I started following bloggers that were posting their weekly grocery lists and coupon deals and going and getting the same deals they did.  It gave me a reason to get out of the house, I knew I was saving my family money (especially since we transitioned into a one-income family at that time), and I got my money savings “high” – which I was desperately searching for in the midst of postpartum anxiety/depression recovery.

Then I began researching why these moms were publishing their deal lists, to begin with.  Like didn’t they have something better to spend their time on?  Turns out they were making money!!!!!

After I learned that, my new dream was birthed of starting my own blog, and eventually my work from home business.  I have a strong type-A personality and was not content with keeping house and changing diapers.  I needed some intellectual stimulation to pull me out of my anxiety/depression.  So during naptime, I read everything I could about blogging, took some courses, and started this long journey to where I am today.

When I started though, there wasn’t much in terms of courses you could take.  Plus I didn’t have a clue what I was doing or if it was even something worth spending money on.  Those of you who are starting blogs today have SO MANY more resources on how to do what I’m doing.  I banged my head against the wall, really for a few years, before I felt like I knew what I was doing or even made any money.

If you don’t want to bang your head against the wall for YEARS like I did, then take advantage of these AFFORDABLE beginner blogging courses that are taught by Crystal Paine.

Crystal Paine is the owner at MoneySavingMom.com.  She was one of the bloggers I followed early on that helped me get out of the house to find deals.  Now I’m proud to call her my blogging mentor and want to introduce her to you so that you too can have access to her knowledge as well.

She has created a handful of beginner blogging courses that I want you to check out below:

Blog Start-up 101

• Get the help you need to start your first blog with my easy-to-understand, easy-to-implement tutorials, and lessons!
• Avoid the headache of trying to set up your blog using the “trial and error” method.
• Take advantage of my 12+ years of blogging experience and learn how to set up your blog for success from the beginning!
• Save yourself HOURS of time with blog setup and get to the part you’re really passionate about—sharing your voice with the world!

Boy do I wish this was around when I started blogging.  I would daily hit my head against the wall (and sometimes just cry) and be like, “can’t someone just explain to me how to do this???!!!!”  Instead, it took me much longer, with more google research than I had time for and it took me way longer to set up that it does for new bloggers today – thanks to courses like this!  Please save yourself time, blood, sweat, and tears and let Crystal walk you through how to get started!

Branding Basics 101

• Have you set up your blog, but aren’t sure how to get the look you want?
• Are you ready to share your blog with the world, but need help finding your voice as a brand new blogger?
• Need help defining your blogging goals and your target reader?

I remember when I first started blogging, I was like branding, what’s branding?  I’m a science teacher!  I have no clue about marketing or business whatsoever!   I don’t need a “brand” for my blog.  Branding just seems weird and I don’t want to “brand” my site.

It was really just ignorance on my part – and I wish I had this Branding Basics 101 tool next to me when I started.  I would probably have a different blog name – and a better foundation from the start of what the goal of my blog was.  It’s so crucial to have this in place rather than sort of “go with the flow” and figure it out as you go – which is what I did.

Wordpress 101

• Are you ready to get your blog launched, but you’re wasting hours of your time trying to figure out WordPress?
• Do you wish you had someone to hold your hand and walk you step-by-step through WordPress so you can spend more time blogging and less time trying to figure out how?
• Do you find yourself held back from your blogging dreams because you just can’t overcome your fear of WordPress?

Again, if you don’t want to spend hours and hours researching YouTube videos on how to use Wordpress, keep it simple and just use this resource that will save you so much time and energy!   When I decided to learn how to use Wordpress, I didn’t know the difference between a category or a page, and why I needed tags.  I had no clue what plugins I was supposed to be using.  (heck, I didn’t know what the word “plugin” meant when I jumped into the world of blogging!)  I went through daily anxiety trying to learn all of this on my own.  Take my word for it – save yourself torment and let Crystal guide you on how to use Wordpress!

Email list setup 101 

• Do you wish you could send out email newsletters but you just don’t know what you need to have in place to make that happen?
• Does the thought of trying to figure out the technical aspects of email newsletters overwhelm you?
• Are you confused by the process of creating opt-in forms and putting them on your blog?
• Would you love for someone to give you step-by-step help to be strategic in your email newsletter strategy?

Building my e-mail list was one of the things I regret not doing sooner when building my business.  I would hear people telling me it was important, but I was too busy putting out so many deals each day (and not understanding WHY I needed an e-mail list) that I grew a list based on random giveaways and created an audience that wasn’t truly my “fans.”  I eventually deleted over 2/3 of my unengaged list and started over last year.  One of my main goals for 2019 and 2020 is to grow a list of real “followers” and not just addresses of people that “might” (probably not) open one of my e-mails.  Do this correctly from the start and you will save yourself so much time and effort in the coming years as you build your audience.

Build Your List 101 

• Learning how to grow your newly established email list can be confusing and frustrating for a new blogger. When you enroll in Build Your List 101, I’ll eliminate the frustration that comes along with trying to figure it out on your own!
• Discover the strategies that are used every day by the big-time bloggers to bring a continuous flow of new subscribers to their email lists—and how you can, too!
• Being a new blogger can be hard when you feel like you have no one to go to for advice. That’s why all of our courses come with an invitation to join our Your Blogging University™ student group—so you don’t have to go it alone! You can get your burning questions answered and network with other bloggers!

Once you get your e-mail set up (I started with Mailchimp because of the low cost, but now totally recommend Convert Kit because it has so many more options when it comes to offering opt-ins on my site.)  If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry.  Crystal will explain why offering opt-ins with freebies is such an important way to build your list.

Content Creation 101

• Do you have an organized system for keeping track of all of your blogging ideas and posts you want to write?
• Do you want to write engaging content, but you find actually creating blog posts to be a struggle?
• Do you ever wish you could have a checklist of what you should do before, when, and after you write a post?
• Do you ever find yourself uninspired as a blogger?

Two things I wish I had when I started blogging was a checklist of how to write a real helpful blog post (not just a short deal post) and an organized system to keep track of my content.  At that time I was just throwing out deal posts “hoping” they would stick and someone would purchase through my affiliate link.  There was a lot of “hoping” in my initial business strategy that will led me down the road of failed success early on.  I didn’t have an organized way to keep track of my content (I’m actually still catching up on that now!)  And I would have loved to have tips on how to strategize on how to create new content, and not just guess based on what I felt like that week.

Facebook Live Masterclass 101

• Are you ready to break through the intimidation of LIVE video so you can connect with your audience in a more real and authentic way?
• Are you looking for new ways to improve your site traffic so you can build your following and your email list?
• Are you excited to explore new tools to help you increase your earning potential?

I watched this in 2019 and Crystal gave me a boost to keep doing Facebook live videos.  I was ready to throw in the towel and give up.   I probably still don’t do them often enough, but it did give me hope that I wasn’t wasting my time with the few I put out a month.  Plus, you can re-use your Facebook live videos on other platforms like YouTube or video ads on your site!

Monetize Your Blog 

• If you have ever felt frustrated that you can’t figure out how to actually have a profitable blog…
• If you’ve ever wondered how people make a part-time or full-time income from blogging…
• If you’ve ever wished you could figure out how to quit your job and replace that income with blogging…
• If you have a blog set up and running and you’re ready to start getting paid for your time and effort…

One of the BIGGEST mistakes I made early on as a blogger was that I just wanted to MAKE MONEY and not do all of the hard foundational work of creating a brand and a consistent audience that cared about what I was posting. The “Monetize Your Blog” course is listed last for a reason, even though you will probably want to get this one first.  But PLEASE – get the basics down first before you try and become a 6-figure blogger earner in your first month (because guess what?  That is NOT going to happen.)  Blogging is not a get rich fast job.  You have to be dedicated and you have to NEVER give up, even though you will want to a dozen times or more.  If I gave up, then I’d probably be back teaching in a public school, not have the flexible hours I have now, be limited by how much money I make, and be bored out of my mind teaching the same material year after year after year.  Teaching 8 years in a row of biology was enough for me.

Or check out Your Blogging University to view all of the courses in one place!

Many more courses are coming soon!!

Once you feel like you have mastered the above topics when it comes to having a blog as a business, then you’ll need some ongoing mentorship and support – your blog tribe so to speak.  That’s where Your Blogging Mentor comes in.  I have been in this Masterminds group since it began and it was a total GAME CHANGER when it came to making more money from my business.

Check out my personal testimonial at the bottom of the page!

When you are a part of the Your Blogging Mentor Masterminds Group, you have access to:

• Live Video Coaching

• Monthly Projects

• Private Community

• Access to Crystal

Note:  This is not a mastermind group for beginners – be sure you’ve completed the courses above or have the knowledge of everything listed above before joining!

Last July we had a masterminds meet-up, and networking with the people below has made such a HUGE impact on my business.

Look at me up there by the arrow!  I’m super excited because we are meeting up again in March of 2020 with the sole purpose of helping each other reach our goals and grow our businesses to make more money!!!

Many people have asked me if I’ll ever go back, or want to go back into teaching.  While I do miss the kids, I don’t’ miss the day to day grind and the thought of grading one more biology lab report makes me want to vomit. 🙂  When I get to work comfortably from my couch each day by my woodstove and share what I love to do, make, eat, spend money on, etc, I know I have the dream job!  I can create my own work schedule and am still available whenever my kids need me!  I’m making what I need to so that there is zero doubt in my mind that I no longer want to be a teacher in a public school setting.  If this too is your dream, then please take advantage of these resources and get started on your new dream today!!

If you have been blogging for a bit and want to know some more about where I’ve learned my tips and tricks – check out this second page of resources HERE!