Do you ever wonder why some people blog? Understand the truth about blogging before jumping into it. Blogging serves everyone differently. Some people write to write, others try to make money, and others simply do it because they enjoy it. These are all great reasons! I personally have three motives for blogging and three tools to help you start blogging.
What does “Blog” even mean?
According to Google, a blog is a “web-log”. Some say it serves as a personal diary or platform for personal opinions. Yet, businesses write blogs to support their products, and people write blogs to teach about their talents or interests. In other words, it is informal writing compared to published books. You do not have to have a degree in English to write a blog, you don’t even need to have a high school diploma, anyone can write one and that’s the truth about blogging.
4 Reasons to blog
If you want to get into blogging, understand WHY you want to write one. Back in 2009ish, I started writing a blog. Frankly, I had no idea what I was doing. Blogging was fairly new back then. I could have taken many angles with my blog; however, my first intent was to teach people about joy. I had recently gone through a depressing season with infertility and wanted to help others get through times like these. Then somehow it transformed into wanting to share the lessons I’ve learned in life to help others save time. Since then, I’ve pretty much kept with that theme.
1. Gives you a voice
The main reason I started a blog was that I wanted a voice. When I’m in a conversation I tend to listen more than speak. I have learned a tremendous amount about people just by listening to them. However, at times when I do speak, others see it as a chance to speak too. Interrupting others is rude, in case you didn’t know that.
Listen up, speaking is not the only way to be heard in this world. People can voice themselves through music, dancing, drawing, cooking, and frankly any hobby or craft. The truth about blogging is that blogging gives you an instant voice through writing without interruptions.
2. Processes information
Writing to me is like therapy. It forces me to think about what I want to say and how to say it. When I get thoughts down on paper, it helps me see what is going on in my life. It’s kind of like journaling. Then when I blog about it, it helps me figure out what I want to say to others to help them in a similar circumstance. Blogging assists me in processing a challenge I am facing.
People learn through stories. If I can share a story of a challenging time in my life where I learned how to navigate through it or something miraculous happened to me to solve it, I want to share that information with others! Testimony is powerful. When we can relate to other people, things happen. Healing happens. Inspiration happens.
3. Remembrance
The other reason I blog is to leave a part of me on this planet. I know that sounds kind of corny, but think about it. A lot of the time when I blog I think about my family. When I’m long gone I still want them to be able to see me, hear me, and learn from me. Whether it’s through a blog post, YouTube video, or social media post, I want my family to be able to see that even though I passed on, I am still here with them.
4. Make extra money… the truth about blogging
Many bloggers blog to make some extra cash. If you can make money on your blog, I see it as a bonus, not as a steady stream of income and that’s the truth about blogging. There are A LOT of blog posts that tell you how to make money and how easy it can be. But don’t be deceived. Making money by blogging isn’t going to happen overnight. First and foremost, keep your day job. For dollars to roll in, it’s going to require time, energy, research, MONEY, and lots of testing. I’m not writing to deter you, I’m just giving you a heads up that it can be harder than people portray… which they are probably selling a blogging course.
I have spent some bucks on a few courses and found them helpful. Did they put me at the top of Google or give me the magic secret to making money? No. But they did give me an education on how it all works, which is super huge to understand. Just know, that there isn’t one course that covers all. Blogging is always changing. I highly recommend YouTube and courses that have had many positive reviews.
3 tools to get started blogging
If you want to get started writing a blog it’s going to take a little money. You can try to go free, but at some point, it’s going to require some dollar bills. The amount of money you spend depends on what you want.
Here are some things you’re going to want to think about:
Domain name.
This is the website’s address. It must be unique. Think of a few ideas then head over to Domain.com and check to see if it’s available. You can buy your domain at domain.com.
Publishing platform.
This is where you make the website or blog. The platform allows you to design your site and blog on it. WordPress.org is the most popular and it’s free! However there are some plugins (these are like apps on your phone) that can cost money, yet, most are free. Other publishing platforms are Wix, Squarespace, and Blogger. I personally prefer WordPress.org.
Hosting.
This is what connects the domain name to the publishing platform and puts it out there for the world to see. Hosting will cost you money. I highly suggest Flywheel. The people are way cool and it’s easy to use. Hosting is paid for on an annual basis.
Connecting the domain name, publishing platform, and hosting all together can be tricky. If you can’t figure it out on your own, you can hire a webmaster to do it, or you can watch videos on YouTube. Just like that, you’ve got your blog or website for that matter!
Learn from a trusted teacher
If there is anything you get from this post it’s this, there are A LOT of courses out there that claim they can help you, I’ve fallen for some of them and have lost a lot of money. My bad. However, there are a couple of really good ones! My first recommendation is to check out Start A Mom Blog. Suzi does a fantastic job at teaching. She is funny, super smart, and her husband now works with her. They are very down-to-earth and easy to understand. Hands-down, start with her first. You can learn more here.
Wrapping the truth about blogging up
Keep it simple. Only get what you need. You can always add things later. First and foremost, understand why you want to start a blog. After you have that figured out you’ll have a better idea of what you need and who your audience will be.
Before you go, check out these other great posts:
- How to Relax: 4 Reasons to Enjoy the Silence
- 5 Important Ways to Measure Success without Numbers
- How to Build Confidence & Courage: 5 Easy Ways
- How to Start Volunteering: 4 Tips to Succeed
- How to Fight Stress: 5 Tactics Most People Forget
