The most frequently question I get asked is:
How do I start a blog and make money blogging?

Here’s my short answer:
You don’t start a blog to make money, you blog for fun.

Saving money and sharing the freebies is what I’m passionate about. I started my blog for fun because it had become my hobby to find new freebies and coupons. Blogging was the best way to share my finds with the most people. I started my blog with no expectation that I would make enough money to replace the part-time job I held at that time. It just happened after several months of hard-work, and I am lucky that I found my niche in the blogging world and have experienced rapid growth that is uncommon for most blogs.

The truth is that most bloggers are “self-taught”, which means they spend hours and hours teaching themselves how to do things related to blogging. The best way to learn about blogging is to struggle through it yourself and learn as you go. The best resource to go to for help with all things related to blogging is BlogCoach.org. Anyone can learn how to blog, but they have to be willing to make the time commitment to teach themselves.

Blogging is not an easy way to make money. Most bloggers do not see that first penny in their hand for many months (even a year) after starting their blog. Blogging has become a wonderful work-at-home business for me, but it is not a piece-of-cake. I typically work 7 days a week, several hours a day (mostly when my children are asleep). It has also replaced all of my hobbies I used to enjoy simply because it is a huge time commitment and I do truly love it as much as a hobby. But it is still work, and some mornings I don’t really want to get up early to write a new post. But I push myself to keep up with my aggressive posting schedule to keep new content on my blog, and I do find it to be rewarding to help others learn how to save money and have some fun doing it.

I hope this helps answer some of your questions, and I’ll point you to my previous “Money 4 Mom” posts for more information.

Getting Started Blogging
Penny by Penny – The kick-off to the Money 4 Mom series and discussion about how blogging is a slow way to earn money, so you better be passionate about what you write about.

WordPress – I used to recommend Blogger (because it’s FREE) but I now actively discourage people from using Blogger.  The reason is that in May of 2010 Blogger’s little spambots flagged my blog as spam (which it isn’t) and I lost all access to it.  I then made an emergency move to Worpress and thankfully with the help of WordPress Blog Experts I was able to get my backup file restored and not completely lose all 3,000 posts.  The thing about Blogger is that they don’t offer any customer support.  If they lock your blog, there’s nobody you can contact about it.  Everyone who blogs on Blogger is at risk of losing their blog at any time for absolutely no reason.  It’s true – I’ve been there and I don’t want it to happen to you!

Monetizing Your Blog
Finding New Readers – Six tips on how to find new people to read your blog. Because growing your readership is directly related to growing your income for most bloggers.

Google Ads – A few tips based on what I’ve learned about Google Ads, also I share a blogging tip with you; how to get your hyperlinks to open in a new window.

Join Logical Media – My favorite affiliate program for free samples and offers.

BlogHer – I’m not longer with this ad network, but it’s a great one for bloggers to join because they help you grow your blog while monetizing your site.

Referrals
– An excellent guest post by Northern Cheapskate about yet another way you can make money on your blog.

Blogging Tools
Smarter Email with Gmail – Why didn’t I switch to Gmail a long time ago? It is truly helping me work smarter and I can still keep all of my old email addresses.

Google Alerts – The easiest way for bloggers to stay on top of who is blogging about them, and who may be copying them.

Tips from a Self-Employed Work-at-Home Mom
Your Blog is Your Small Business – Resources to help you treat your blog as your business, because that’s what it is if you are making any money!

Invest in Yourself
– Your blog is you and you are your blog, why investing in yourself should be a top priority.

Being Your Own Boss – How to work smarter and set limits on your blogging time.

Feel free to ask me a question, or suggest a future topic by leaving a comment for me here.

Turn your Blogging hobby into a business at Freebies 4 Mom

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