How To Start A Blog: My Advice To Beginning Bloggers

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This post is a part of the Beginner Blogger Challenge hosted by Passive Income To Retire. The point of it is for “experienced” bloggers to give a few tips to those who are just starting out or who are looking to start out.

Because I know a number of people who are looking to start their own blogs/websites, I will try to make this a “how to start a blog” post as well as tips. If you have any questions, just leave a comment below.

How To Start A Blog

Many of these points are things that I wish I knew about when I first started. Doing these things from the beginning will save you a lot of time, frustration, and even money!

Own Your Blog

When you start blogging, you have a choice on what type of platform you will use. There are websites which will allow you to have a page (or pages) within their preexisting site. The big three are Blogger, Tumblr, and WordPress.com. If you are on one of these sites, whatever happens to them (hacked, bugs, shut down by government, etc) happens to you!

Also, they can shut down your space on their site whenever they feel like it (especially with Blogger). This is why I recommend that to anyone who wants to have a blog to establish their own website first! Here is how you do it:

Buy the Domain – I recommend using GoDaddy (I’ve purchased over 30 domains through them and have never had a problem). Once you decide on a domain name (this is a very important step), head on over to Godaddy (this is an affiliate link – meaning that I will earn a few pennies, at no cost to you, if you use it) and make it yours. They also have a great search feature that will let you know if a name is taken, and if so, what the closest available alternatives are.

Buy Hosting – Once you buy a domain, you have to have a place to store (or host) all of the files for your website. I have used Hostgator for nearly 3 years now and I love them! They have great prices – I pay about $6 or $7 a month, and I have about 30 websites hosted with them! They are also known for their reliable systems (my website has only been down twice since I’ve been using them), and great customer service – they have forums, an instant chat service, and a toll-free number.

If you use the coupon code “KNSFINANCIAL25” (with no quotes), you will receive 25% off of your order! So be sure that you sign up for a couple of years in order to take full advantage of this sale (it only applies to new accounts).

Install WordPress – WordPress.org is where you can find the version of WordPress that you can install on your private site. This is the most popular blogging platform (and is also used to create full websites), and it is completely free. They also have tons of plugins, themes, and basic support in order to make your site run as smoothly as possible!

Permalink Structure

This is the term that describes what the URL (or link) will look like with each blog post. When you first set up your blog using WordPress, it will make the links to your blog posts look like this instead of http://knsfinancial.com/taxes.

Now, which one would you rather deal with? It’s pretty easy to tell what the second one is about, and it is also easy to type, and say.

There are also other benefits, which are beyond the scope of this article.

Decide If It Will Be A Business Or Hobby

When you are thinking about how to start a blog, you need to know this right away. If it is a hobby, then make sure that you keep it fun, light, and don’t allow it to take over your life or your bank account. However, if it is a business, then you can evaluate each purchase on the basis of its value as an investment.

You should organize and present yourself as a business – this may mean spending time and/or money investing in a professional design, using emails from your own domain (instead of Yahoo, Hotmail, or Gmail), and spending time creating and refining a system of organizing files, contacts, wishlists, etc.

I would also recommend that if you see something that you want to use for your site, but it costs money, you buy it and start using it right away – if it’s worth the investment. Trying to change platforms, especially from a free, under-supported product to a more robust professional one can be a big headache. This is especially try when it comes to building an email list!

Learn/Understand The Basics Of SEO

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This is the art/science of writing and marketing a website, page, article, or even photo, in such a way that it comes up as one of the first choices when someone uses a search engine and types in the word or words that your item is about.

There is no point in doing all of these other things if no one knows that you are out there. Also, for many websites, the readers that come from search engines tend to be the ones that bring in the largest revenue.

Be Organized & Have Structure

Even if you start out with the idea that this is just a hobby, you need to be organized. Create subfolders in your email inbox, use a task list, share documents over the web so you can keep track of your ideas and other things.

Also, the way that you structure your website – categories, tags, posting schedule, pages – should be organized as well. Your readers will find it much easier to follow your story if you are organized.

Network With Others In Your Niche

The best way to learn about organizing your blog, trends, plugins and other software, affiliate programs, SEO (including targeting the right keywords), tricks, free tools, and everything else related to blogging, is to talk to people who are already doing it. Actually, that is the point of this “Beginner Blogger Challenge” – people who have been doing it, writing tips and lessons learned for the benefit of those who have less experience!

I have “met” – actually I did meet a lot of bloggers in person at the 2011 Financial Blogger Conference – a lot of great people by trying to network. I was amazed to find out that there are more than a dozen Christian personal finance bloggers…I thought I would be alone! I wouldn’t have known that if I hadn’t started to comment on the one or two blogs that I found, and then started to develop relationships with the writers and other commenters as well.

By networking, you can also find people who can help you with things that are outside of your expertise. I know nothing about coding, but there are quite a number of people who do in the Yakezie network, and so I know where to go when I have coding questions. Whenever there is a subject that I know pretty well, I try to lend my expertise as well – the definition of effective networking!

Support Others

Part of networking is supporting other bloggers and organizations. The point of doing this isn’t just to see what you can get out of people, but it’s a way for you to extend yourself and help people. Even if it is just giving feedback on a site redesign, the help of other people who are going through (or have already been through) what you are doing is so important.

Be willing to share what you know with others and don’t expect anything in return.

Here are 4 questions that everyone who participated in this “challenge” had to answer…

Q&A Time:

1) How long have you been blogging?

I have been blogging for about 2 years. I’ve had this site for longer than that, but I didn’t use it for blogging (actually, I’m still not sure if I do now).

I initially started off by posting bulletins and announcements from the IRS, and also adding other information to my tax guide. It took about 4 or 5 months for me to start writing consistently, and also to broaden out my topics to more than just taxes.

2) Why did you start blogging?

I was bothered by all of the people that I came across who knew nothing about personal finance. I started the website as a way to provide organized information that would help people gain control of their finances.

I want people to be able to find answers to their financial questions without having to wade through all of the garbage and attempts to sell something, which flood the internet!

3) How long did it take you to earn $100?

It took about 6 months to earn my first $100. After about a year the income became a little more steady.

I honestly didn’t know that it was possible to make money with a blog or small website, so I was shocked when I found so many people making more online than I do at my day job!

4) What is (at least) one thing you wish someone had told you before you started?

I wish I would have treated this as a business from the very beginning. I would have viewed spending money as making investments, and I would have saved a lot of time and energy, while making a lot more money!

I wasted time by trying to go the cheap route and then upgrade to the better option once I started making enough money. That’s not the way most businesses operate! There needs to be an initial investment in capital and manpower in order to get a business off the ground – the same is true with a blogging business.

photo by digitalart

Build Up Your Financial Security In Uncertain Times

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[This post is written by Derek from Creating A Passive Income. His goal is to explore every single passive income source there is and evaluate their effectiveness and revenue. If you’re interested in extra income, be sure to check out his site.]

There is a common piece of advice going around between parents and students. “Go to school, find a safe, secure job with good benefits, and you’ll retire well.” Let me be the first to tell you, this advice is terrible.

In our world today, there are fewer jobs than there are people, and employee turnover is higher than ever before. If you make a mistake or if your salary exceeds what is typical for your position, you might very well be on the chopping block. You might have your college degree, but guess what, so does everyone else.

The Typical Response for Financial Security

Occasionally, things just don’t work out with employment. It might not even have been your fault. The decline of the economy, the struggling sales of your company, or a transfer of ownership could be the cause of your job displacement. Whatever the case may be, you should have a financial plan in place so that you’re protected against total bankruptcy.

Once again, there’s some common advice out there – “To protect yourself from financial devastation after a job loss, you must have an emergency fund with funds equivalent to 6 months worth of expenses.” While I do condone an emergency fund, this alone will not protect you against complete financial failure.

After all, what if you just can’t find a job until month number 8? What happens then? You load up the credit cards? I hope not. The problem with setting aside a static stash of cash is that it is not regenerative. If you keep pulling money out and no more money gets put in, it WILL run out!

Financial Security 2

photo credit: Stuart Miles

The Best From of Financial Security

In these economic times, one really has no sense of security in a typical job. I’ve seen it too many times – people proclaim that no one can do what they do and that they’re too valuable to get rid of. And then….they get the boot….

Rather than depend only on an emergency fund for that potential job loss, I suggest that you focus on two more aspects of financial security.

1)      Live well below your means

2)      Build a residual cash flow

Live Well Below Your Means

My wife and I both work and we make a point to live off only one of our incomes. That way, if one of us loses a job (it’s happened before), we’re still completely fine financially. Maybe you can’t bring your expenses down to half of what you’re used to, but make an effort to reduce them and you’ll feel much more secure in the event that a job is lost.

Build a Residual Cash Flow

Instead of having just one or two incomes, why not go for three or four? That way, if one of your jobs says “see-ya”, it won’t be that big of a deal. My wife and I both have full-time jobs, plus she does photography on the side and I earn quite a bit of money through various passive income ventures. Now this is a true set-up for financial security, wouldn’t you say?

Perhaps you’re strapped for time and cannot possibly start another venture. If this is the case, then at least have some potential income options written down. You don’t want to lose your job and have no possible income sources. This is how you deplete your emergency savings in record time and make friends with the repo men…

Have you set up an emergency fund in the event of a job loss? Have you done anything more?

article photo by cooldesign

Why Financial Literacy Is So Important

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[The following is a guest post on behalf of Advisor World on the topic of financial literacy.]

How Important Is Your Financial Literacy?

Making informed financial decisions can be difficult. You have monthly bills to pay, and you might wonder where the money is going to come from. Most Americans have no idea how to control their finances. Therefore, it helps to become educated on how to better manage your finances.

What is Financial Literacy?

In order for you to be financial literate, you need to know how to deal with credit (and take advantage of credit card benefits). You should be aware of the process of saving money, and you must know how to budget your finances. You need to have a plan for how you are spending your money.

April Is Financial Literacy Month

President Obama has announced that April is financial literacy month. Financial literacy is the capability to comprehend basic economic provisions and conceptions related to your family or business. The White House wants to help Americans better understand their personal finances, so they are trying to help citizens become financially literate.

Ways To Get Started In Becoming Financially Literate

  • Read: Find information in books, magazines, and newspapers. Become skilled in the world of finance.

  • Be willing to make changes: You must be flexible. You cannot expect to spend money frivolously.

  • Be patient: You cannot become financially literate overnight. It takes time to get a grip on your finances.

  • Take a class: There are investing and financial planning classes that are offered. Check in your community to see what financial classes that you can take.

  • Get advice from other people: If you know someone that seems very financial literate, ask for their advice.

  • Look for help online: There are many online forums where you can discuss financial decisions.

  • Quit making excuses: Don’t complain about not having enough money. In order to manage your money effectively, you need to change your attitude and be positive.

Study Your Paycheck

Your education and job have a huge impact on your income. Therefore, when receiving your paycheck, you should know the difference between your gross and net earnings. Be aware of what you are actually bringing home.

Plan A Budget

After realizing how much money you are actually making, then you should plan a budget. Keep your checkbook balanced, so you can keep track of your money. Know exactly what you are spending, and set your goals accordingly.

Loans

You should not get a loan or borrow money unless you know that you can pay it back. You should not charge unnecessary purchases on your credit card. Interest can really add up, so keep your credit card balances low.

Save Money For Emergencies

You need to also save money each month. Sometimes, you might encounter emergency expenses, and having extra money available will keep you from having to take out a loan or put it on your credit card. Your emergency fund should cover 3 to 6 months of living expenses.

Know Your Credit Score

It is a wise decision to know your credit score. You can get a free copy of your credit report annually. You can keep track of your credit, so you can make sure it is accurate and up to date.

Being financially literate can help you secure the financial future that you deserve. You should make good financial decisions so that you can use your money wisely.

Photo by Salvatore Vuono