THE BEST PRODUCTS TO START A BLOG
Starting a blog or any business can be an overwhelming task. How do you know what you’ll need to start?
Do you need to take courses to start a blog?
What if you aren’t technical? Can you start a blog or a website?
How do I find time in my full life to start a profitable business?
The questions are endless. The internet is flooded with information on how to make money online and if you aren’t careful you’ll get in over your head!
When we started blogging in 2015, very few people were blogging about blogging. Even fewer entrepreneurs had courses on blogging, marketing, and selling online. People were figuring things out as they went!
Today, the market is FLOODED with courses and some can cost you tens of thousands of dollars. The good news is you can find the information you need for free if you are willing to dig OR you can purchase books and courses in pieces and learn as you go! In the end, I think your success in blogging depends on YOU!
Sure, I believe in taking courses. I am constantly learning and working my way through a course but I don’t believe you need to spend thousands of dollars to get started and be successful.
I believe in staring with cash and growing slowly. You can grow a thriving online blog with minimal capital. I’ll show you how we did just that!
THE PROBLEM IS INFORMATION OVERLOAD
The problem with starting a blog or a website in today’s market is the overwhelming amount of information on blogging. How do you know where to start? How much do you invest? What do you do first?
I think the biggest misconception about starting a blog is that many people think if they buy an expensive course they will automatically have a successful blog. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.
A successful business solves a problem for your customers. A successful blog solves a problem for your readers.
Solving a specific problem for your reader within a blog takes time, intention, and hard work.
WHY DOES INFORMATION OVERLOAD HAPPEN?
I think oftentimes we see people making money online but we don’t see the time and effort they put into the work. We don't know about the 3 or 4 other businesses they started before they made their current business work.
We don’t see the endless nights and early mornings someone put in to make a business profitable. We don’t see the team around them who helps make things go. Remember, no one comes to success alone. We all have a team behind us in some way shape or form.
The truth is, the learning curve is steep and we have to be willing to just TRY. Throw yourselves out there and run with an idea. Fail and try again. Make a mistake, learn something, and go again. This is part of the process.
Do your homework before you buy a course or ebook. Think about who you are buying the product from.
Do you know someone who has bought this course or product?
What is there experience?
What are your goals? Does this course or product help you reach that one specific goal you are leaning into right now?
Have you started a blog? If not, be sure to buy a course that walks you through the beginning steps of niches, branding, and content. This is an important building block you don’t want to skip!
Take your time. Courses aren’t going away anytime soon! You can buy one course or ebook at a time. Don’t feel pressure to buy everything at once!
THE MINIMALIST BLOGGING PRODUCT LIST
I recommended starting with the basics. I like to keep my business minimal. We started with cash and spend money with cash we earn.
Keeping your expenses minimal means you get to keep more of that hard-earned cash! It also means you have more cash to invest back into your business! It’s a win-win all the way around.
A portion of my profit every quarter goes back into a new course or ebook that will help me grow. I am strategic about what courses I take and how we grow.
Here is what I recommend to get you started:
Purchase A blog or website. We recommend starting with SquareSpace.
Email Marketing. We use MailerLite.
Start a Mom Blog Course. I love Susie’s courses. She is a fantastic teacher and breaks everything down into bite-sized pieces. I love that her courses are affordable and you can buy new courses from her as you grow! Start with her course on Niche’s and work your way up!
As you start to grow and have a dozen posts or so you want to think about getting more traffic. Pinterest is a great way to build traffic to your site. If you are just getting starting with Pinterest marketing I recommend Pinteresting Strategies.
If you are not selling physical products, I love using HauteStock for quality photos. The price is great and you can use unlimited photos as a member. They also have some great graphics available too for members.
Once you purchase your site and start creating content, think about how to grow your email list. I recommend creating printables or a resource library to grow a list fast!
COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT STARTING A BLOG ON SQUARESPACE
Is SquareSpace good for blogging?
I love blogging on SquareSpace. The design is intuitive. It is a plug and play website builder. I don’t have to waste any time building or designing a blog from scratch. With SquareSpace, it is all done for me.
The design is clean and gives your readers white space. The back end of your site is easy to navigate. Plus, SquareSpace help is the best! You can find an answer to almost any question you have.
How do bloggers make money?
Again, profitable businesses solve problems for their customer. Be sure to build a business around a problem you are solving for your customer. When you begin to solve a problem and serve your customers (i.e readers) you can make money through ads, affiliate marketing, selling products or courses/ebooks, selling services, sponsorships, and so much more!
The crazy part is most bloggers and online business owners make money in a variety of different ways! Solve a problem, build an audience, and then figure out how too monetize.
What is the best SquareSpace template for a blog?
SquareSpace is constantly updating with new templates to try. We love the Brine template.
Go HERE and browse current templates!
THE LAST THING YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU BUY PRODUCTS AND START A BLOG.
Just Start! There comes a point when you have to stop learning and start doing. Don’t wait for everything to be perfect to start a blog or a website. You won’t know everything from the get-go. You will make mistakes. It’s fine! Do your best.