This post contains affiliate links. All content is my own!

A question I get asked a lot is how to get started blogging and how I got started?

Since blogging has literally changed my life and continues to, I really want to spread the wealth and share with other moms my story and tips to help them get started blogging too.

Let me start by saying:

Earning an income at home has always been a dream for me!

As I’m sure it is for many moms, I wanted desperately to contribute to our family income while staying at home to be present for our kids.

I’d endlessly researched ways to earn money from home for a long time before I started blogging. There were even some things I tried to do to make money from home before I started blogging.

While I was working on my teaching degree at home with my first baby I would do online surveys and focus groups to earn a little on the side. But, it wasn’t enough, not a full time or even a part time income.

My second baby came after I graduated and I was offered a teaching job. I felt so torn about leaving my little baby and putting both my kids in daycare to teach at a school with a longer commute than I wanted.

When I compared my would be teachers salary to the costs of daycare and gas for the commute it made even less sense.

Blogging was something I’d just started researching and seemed like the best way to easily make an income at home for a stay at home mom.

Taking the Leap of Faith to Start a Blog

I discussed this with my husband and he agreed to let me give blogging a shot for a while just to see what happened.

Starting a blog scared me. Period!!! 

Putting my voice out there scared me.

Jumping into blogging, something I new very little about scared me.

Taking that gamble that I may or may not earn money at home scared me.

But, I took the plunge, turned down that teaching job, and let my shear determination of staying at home with my kids guide me toward my goals.

Something amazing happened! After 1 year of hard work I started earning actual money. Not just the pennies and dollars I was making through surveys, but hundreds of dollars.

Then the hundreds turned into thousands and I was finally making a good part time income with my blog.

Here I am three years later, sooooo close to making a full time income with my little blog that I was so scared to start!

I believe that blogging is a great way for moms to make money! Not just chump change, but a part-time to full-time income from home.

Now I want to share my tips, advice, and knowledge that I’ve gained in my first 3 years blogging to hopefully inspire moms who desire the same.

Here are some of the steps I took in my first year of blogging that helped me get to a part time income. If you are new to blogging or thinking about starting a blog these are great points to think about as you grow your blog into a business!

How I Started Earning a Part-Time Income After One Year Blogging

Was Blogging for me?

The first thing I did was consider if blogging was for me. Blogging is something I believe is a legitimate way to earn money as a stay at home mom.

But, it definitely isn’t for everyone. It takes a lot of time, work, and persistence.

Your blog will be much easier to keep up if you already love writing and have topics you are passionate enough about to write a lot of content on.

For me I found writing to be a nice outlet as a stay at home mom. I was also very driven to make my blog work, putting in as much time and work as necessary to start earning an income.

Investing my Earnings

Making investments into a blog that isn’t earning any money can be scary! But, one of the things I started to learn as I went was the more money I invested into my blog, the more earning potential I had.

Running a blog is generally cheap. Hosting is the only thing you need to get started, which you can get for around $11 per month.

But, other needs do come along. Like subscribing to a social media scheduler, buying a blogging course, or having your site redesigned. Some of these investments will pay off big time, while others may end up not helping at all.

What I’ve learned is to research what you need, how it can help you, and investing your money wisely to help your blog grow!

I’ll be writing a post soon about my favorite blogging resources and the investments I’ve made that have helped me the most.

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Being Persistent

Creating an income through blogging isn’t easy. I don’t want to give anyone a false impression.

Blogging is really hard work with ups and downs. I’m sure all new bloggers have felt many times the urge to call it quits when they don’t make any money or when something falls through.

That’s why being persistent is one of the most important things I attribute to my success in blogging.

I can’t tell you how many times I have felt the urge to give up. Even today there are times when business gets slow and I start to feel the doubt creeping in.

But, to be successful in blogging you can’t have that mindset.

You have to be willing to keep writing, trying new things, and not letting the bad get to you.

Be Willing to Learn From Your Blogging Mistakes

We are all human and I’m sure even the biggest bloggers make mistakes. It’s our willingness to learn from those mistakes that determine success.

It’s okay to admit to yourself that you could have done something better or differently. Make changes where necessary and always be willing to learn a better way.

Push Through Your Fears

Irrational fears have always come up since I started my blog.

On day one it was just so scary to even put my own words online. Thinking that someone might actually read what I have to say. *Gasp

I am totally over that fear now. But, they never stop coming. Now I am terrified of doing online videos. Someone might actually watch a video of me talking, which seems pretty scary.

This is something that I know I will have to push through over the next few years and that’s okay. Blogging is all about doing things that are scary!

Network with Other Bloggers

I learned quickly after I started blogging that bloggers are some of the most supportive people you will ever meet.

They are not out to get you, they are not your competition.

Building close relationships with other bloggers will only get you farther.

Not being afraid to reach out and ask how to do something or for a course recommendation.

The worst thing that can happen is they say no or don’t respond. But, then you might meet some really amazing people with invaluable advice to give!

Believe in Your Strengths

I could not have gotten through my first year of blogging without taking inventory of my strengths daily, weekly, monthly.

Make sure you are looking at your accomplishments no matter how small. You got your first email subscriber, posted your first post, figured out how to connect your blog to Google Analytics, met a new blogging friend.

Instead of getting stuck in negative space surround yourself with your blogging accomplishments.

Delegate Tasks

Blogging can get overwhelming fast.

So much to keep track of from writing posts to scheduling social media.

One of the things that helped me from going crazy the first year was delegating my tasks.

Now you don’t even have to do this through a real person.

Being willing to pay for services like Buffer (a program that helps schedule Tweets and Facebook posts) is a great way to take some of the work off your shoulders.

Finally Earning an Income

It took all of the above to get to a place where I was earning an income with my blog.

I started pretty early taking a few blogging courses, applying for blogging campaigns, and reading everything I could about ways to improve my blog and traffic.

After persistently trying to work with blogging networks and brands I got my first campaign in exchange for product, then my first campaign in exchange for a couple hundred dollars.

Since then I’ve continued to take courses, learn, and improve my blog. Now I am making an income in several different ways. Through affiliate programs, sponsored posts & social shares, and ads.

 

I’m so excited to share more about blogging with you! I’ll be sending blogging tips and my monthly income report to my email subscribers, so make sure to sign up if you are thinking of starting a blog or just starting out and looking for inspiration.