Since you’re on the internet, you must have heard of the potential of blogging to earn you a full-time income on part-time hours. Who doesn’t want the freedom to spend more time with their family or travel or do meaningful things while earning a decent living?
As a practical person, I was hesitant to jump on the opportunity because I don’t feel comfortable up and quitting my job. But being tied down by my office job really made me realize my priorities lie with my family, and so here I am trying my hand at blogging. My goal is to build it up as a side hustle so that I can eventually do away with my day job. Because I want to be financially responsible to my family and I want you to be to your familly as well, here is how to start a blog on a budget.
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Why choose blogging?
I’ve explored other ways to earn money online or work from home, but blogging provides me with the greatest potential to earn money with modest time and financial investment in it. In other words, it’s the “safest” side hustle for me as a new parent.
This isn’t to say that blogging is easy (but then again, neither are any good things in life). Instead, with the willingness to put in the hard work upfront and to also go into blogging with a plan, I am changing my life so it is the way I want it to be. Here’s how you can start your path to profitable blogging on a family-friendly time and money budget.
Figure out your purpose for blogging
If you want blogging to succeed, you NEED to figure out what you’ll be passionate about for years to come. They can be things you’re either good at (eg. quilting) or are invested in learning (eg. how to be a eco-conscious parent). The key is you’ll need to love these passions enough to be doing it constantly, whether writing about it week after week on a blog or creating things like crafts or meals.
And if you want to make money from your blog, you need to figure out how you can turn this into a business. Now before you start envisioning all those dollar bills or cringe at the thought of selling things, this just means what you’re writing about is actually helping people make a transformation that they would be willing to invest money in (like better health, more money, learning a new skill, etc).
You also need to be able to put in the hard work to make this happen. Blogging does not come easy, and especially in the beginning, things will get overwhelming. If you are a strong person, then great.
Sign yourself up for hosting.
If your purpose for blogging is all personal with no intention of making money, then you are by all means welcome to use a free blogging platform like WordPress. com or Blogger.
But if you really do want to make money from blogging, then going self-hosted (like I do for this site) increases your credibility.
Confused about the two? With the first option, in exchange for a free website, all of your content is owned by the platform and businesses that may want to work with you may be hesitant. If you go self-hosted, you own your site outright and opens the doors to partnerships with brands and other moneymaking opportunities.
Now you may be concerned at how much this will cost (and rightfully so), so let me assure you that it’s not that expensive!
You may have heard of different companies out there, the two major players being SiteGround and Blue Host. I’ve actually experienced working with them both and recommend Blue Host for several reasons:
- SiteGround is known for their customer service (which I can vouch for since I’ve used it many times), but the fact that I kept running into tech issues that required me to contact them started to get annoying. I want to focus my time on blogging!
- No issues so far with Blue Host
- As user-friendly and easy to use as SiteGround
- 30-day money back guarantee if you don’t like it, or prorated if you decide to switch over after the first month, so you don’t have anything to lose
- bigger savings on the cost of the hosting
Speaking of the cost of hosting, the going rate is about $7.99/month. That’s a bit pricey to the tune of $100/year if you do the math.
BUT…I’ve discovered a one-second hack that no one’s talking about (because they probably don’t know!) that gets you a steal of only $2.65/month. That comes out to about $30 for an ENTIRE YEAR of hosting! That’ll save you 65% off!
You might find other bloggers who share that they can get you discounted to $3.95, so, really, this is the best deal around. But I don’t know how long this hack works so you should get on it while it lasts!
Here are the steps to get web hosting on a budget:
Step 1. Go to the Blue Host homepage
(Use this link to get the discounted rate.) Below is the homepage. Click “Get Started Now.”
Step 2. Select the basic package
When you’re starting off, the basic plan should be sufficient.
Step 3. Enter your domain name
Create a domain name on the left or put in your existing domain name on the right. If you are creating your domain name, it will tell you if it’s available or needs to be changed on the next page.
Step 4. BEFORE you enter any info in, scroll to the package information
The top of the page will ask for your account information, but don’t click or fill anything out yet! Scroll further down to the package section. The default options include free set up, domain registration, domain privacy protection, back up, and security. You will see that it costs almost $300 for hosting (which is a lot for me).
Instead of typing or clicking anything, move your cursor up.
A pop up will offer you additional savings. Click yes and you should see that the cost becomes less than $100. For THREE years. That comes out to about $30 a year. Boom, you just saved yourself $200.
Now pat yourself on the back because you’ve taken the first steps to creating your online business!
If you’re serious about blogging, then start a blog on a budget on Blue Host today. I also provide more tips on how to set up your online business for success in my free email course. It walks you through the steps to be more intentional with your new business, which saves you time and money so that you can spend it with your family.