How Stay-at-Home Moms Can Run A Successful Blog [Step-by-Step Guide]

Thanks to technology, it is no longer difficult to find work right from your home. We can see how the blogging industry has been booming ever since and filling in the need to make a living for people who may otherwise find it difficult to go out in the physical world to perform a job.

Technology is not the only factor owing to the bloom and burst in the blogosphere. A lot of it also has to do with moms being ever-so-determined to make a living or contribute an income to the household – even with a baby and bottle in hand!

If you’re new to the idea, you’re probably wondering about what makes mom’s like that so successful and profitable in their blogging endeavors. Well, this is exactly what we’re here to discuss today.

Here are few tips for moms to break into the blogosphere and create a blog that has the potential to make money.

1. Establish whether or not it’s in you

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I’m not going to advise all moms to jump into this business just because they think it may be an easy way to make money. Be warned, it is NOT easy. To be sure you can make it work, you need to ask yourself the following questions:

• Can I take out even thirty minutes from my day for something I can do alone?
• Do I have the time required to dedicate myself to my blog/business every day?
• Do I have the self-motivation required to deal with rejection and failure and move past my mistakes? (very important for entrepreneurs)
• Am I creative? Can I come up with great ideas?
• Do I have the basic skills needed to regularly write (or blog) about my topic?
• Do I have the basic skills required to monetize my efforts?

If you’re more than willing to take the leap without letting any of the above conditions get in your way, you might be a blog-ready mom. Only you know best what you’ll need to make it work and whether or not it’s in your, as well as your family’s, best interests to make it happen.

2. Figure out your niche

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The next most important question to ask is: what are you going to write about? If you’re a little lost, try to think of areas that you know you are skilled at (or have knowledge in) and you think would benefit your targeted audience as well.  The more passionate you are about your subject, the better.

The reason why it is crucial to dig deep into a subject you know well and are quite passionate about is because given the amount of competition that exists to make a steady income, keep your readers motivated, and publish volumes of content to keep up with search engine standards, it can be easy to give up.

A subject that you’re passionate about will automatically add fuel to the fire and never let your desire to keep up with your blog burn out.

3. Be realistic

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One thing moms often miss out is that their dream and passion to create a robust blog also has to be realistic. It certainly sounds fanciful to say things like “you should pursue your passion” and start blogging away. However, as we mentioned earlier, it’s important to consider whether or not what you’re offering would benefit your target audience as well.

For example, you could be passionate about famous old hairstyles worn in the Victorian time period, but if your target audience (assuming you have one – and you certainly should) is not interested in such a topic, there’s really no reason to spend an enormous amount of effort researching and writing about it.

Furthermore, you have to be realistic about what the search engines require. For example, Google could rank your blog based on how old it is, how well-placed the keywords are, how authoritative the information provided is, load speeds, frequency of content, and several other factors that can’t be ignored. Here’s a helpful list of Google’s Ranking Factors by Backlinko.

4. Peek into your competition

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Once you’re mind is set on a domain – and by domain we mean an area of interest (not the web word) – the next step is to research away your competition. My advice would be to pick out a few “top blogs” and come up with a list of favorite blogs. Of course, you don’t have to copy their style. You could come up with something entirely new. However, knowing what you’re up against is always the best way to be prepared before you begin.

5. Pick a platform

You can get started with a free platform like Blogger or WordPress. It’s best to first “explore” your area of interest and writing ability, and then move on to the premium stuff. However, if you’re serious about making money, it’s best to start on a platform like WordPress.org that will allow advertisements on your website. A hosting fee will be required, but if you wouldn’t mind paying for a cup coffee in a year, you wouldn’t mind paying the fee either!

WordPress.com, on the other hand, is completely free. However, advertisements are not allowed on this platform. Regardless, using this as an “intro to blogging” and then transferring to WordPress.org later, is not a bad idea either.

Blogger.com is nice too. But, in my opinion, it gives you less control over your blog and the headache of transferring to WordPress (when you decide to make serious income) is just not worth it.

If you’re going with WordPress.org we recommend Bluehost as a reliable hosting service.

6. Start blogging

Finally, when your website is all ready to be rolled out, start sharing what you love! Create posts about your niche and don’t forget to add cool photos or images along with it. Humans are visual creatures and they love – well, visuals!

In this step, you’ll be experimenting and exploring a lot (which is good). Make sure you also use analytical tools such as Google Analytics or Crazy Egg to map out what your audiences like, dislike, or prefer. Of course, the key to a successful blog is always amazing content! Try to give it your all and then figure out where you need to improve. Apart from using analytics, feedback is always great to get to know what makes your readers smile or frown.

Once you start growing a steady traffic to your website, that’s when the monetization should begin!

7. Start monetizing

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Not every mom is into earning money through a successful blog. However, if you’re willing to pay a little more time and effort to it, an extra income wouldn’t hurt. There are several ways you can make money including using Google Adsense, Amazon links, Banner Ads, Affiliate marketing, selling a product or service, and other methods.

We’ll warn you though. If you start earning piles and piles of cash in a few days, you’re one of the lucky few! It could take years of experience, practice, and networking to get it right and start making a solid and consistent income. Patience will be required!

These are just a few rules you should have in mind when you get started with your all-new robust blog. The journey to a successful blog is indeed a long one! So, we’ll update you with more tips and advice to let you know where to go from here.

Guest Author: Ashleigh Everston is a social media trend analyst for a  start-up that offers peakdissertation.co.uk. She has a pure love for sweet tweets, interesting pins and more. When not roaming around in social channels, she spends her free time with her favorite books and novels.

The post How Stay-at-Home Moms Can Run A Successful Blog [Step-by-Step Guide] appeared first on Jeffbullas’s Blog.

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