A year and a half ago, I started up this thing called a blog. It was so foreign to me and I had absolutely no experience running a blog. I didn’t even really know the magnitude of what people could make blogging. I just wanted to help people, specifically, helping moms be able to stay home with their kids and quit the 9 to 5.
For me, it wasn’t about money, it was about changing lives, showing women they have a choice. It just so happens that I make great money doing what I love. If you want to get your message out and change the world, keep reading…
***I now make $140k-ish/month! See my current income reports here.
As the sole provider of my family, I can understand the extreme diligence that men and women alike, put forth trying to make money from home. It seems like something that only dreams are made of…not something real and tangible. But, the truth is, that you CAN make money from home (I’ve been doing that for over 17 years) and one of the best ways to make money from home, in my opinion, is blogging.
Yes, it’s a lot of hard work. No, it’s not a get-rich-quick scheme, but yes, it IS real. For years, I lived on $18,000/year. Now I make more than half of a year’s income in ONE MONTH. How? Blogging!
If you want to know if blogging is right for you, you’ll want to check out my post, 47 Reasons to Start a Blog (yes, everyone’s doing it; they just don’t talk about it).
Decided you want to start a blog?
Great! The next step is making some hard decisions. Here’s a complete guide that will walk you through all those decisions, cutting many, many months off your prep time.
Ready to sign up? Starting a blog is super easy and literally takes less than 5 minutes to do. Click here to get the best deal available online when you take that step, along with a full tutorial and video to help you get started. Please note: this low offer is the absolute lowest pricing they offer online. I wish it were this cheap when I started MY blog!
Right now, you can get hosting as low at $2.95! They have you pay upfront and yes, you absolutely WANT to do that, so you don’t lose your domain name forever. It’s yours and no one can take it from you for as long as you purchase it in advance (I have 9 years on SarahTitus.com!)
The pricing is as follows:
- $2.95 for 36 months –> $106.20 (so cheap seriously! I pay that for ONE month on my blog now because my blog is so big; I’m jealous. LOL)
- $3.95 for 24 months –> $94.80 (great deal!)
- $4.95 for 12 months –> $59.40 (but I wouldn’t recommend this one because I see no point in starting up a blog if you’re just going to do it for a year and these prices next year WILL GO UP! Better to pay less now all at once).
Remember that you MUST click HERE in order to get this special deal and I’m not just saying that. Do your homework. The deal is only available through my link!
Done signing up? Awesome! Here’s my income report (the nuts and bolts and numbers of someone making $10,000/month blogging). And after you’re done seeing how it’s all done, you’ll want to snatch up a bag of tricks to implement on your own blog right away.
Be sure to design a logo for your blog. Rather than hiring a designer, here’s a logo kit that you can purchase very inexpensively and make yourself. Since it comes with PNG files, you can easily create something in Picmonkey to use!
Still haven’t a clue what you’ll write about? Not to worry. Click here to read the post, What To Do When You Run Out of Content Ideas for Your Blog. After reading that, you’ll never run out of great ideas again!
Another trick to knowing what to write about can be found here. On HubSpot, you enter in 3 nouns (any words you want) and it helps you come up with a really cool title, right, because a headline is the very first thing potential readers will see. It’s important to make a good one!
Don’t forget to write all your blogging ideas down! You’ll need to make a schedule, called an editorial calendar, to be consistent in your writing. Just try to do 2-3 posts a week to start, then add more posts as you can. You can get the 2017 free printable calendars here.
After you get that taken care of, you’ll need an entire blogging planner. I couldn’t find one that met all my needs, so I created my own! This blogging binder has over 180+ pages and is simply (but beautifully) designed, so as not to suck up all your printer ink!
What’s a blog without pictures. You’ll need some pretty (and free) beautiful photos for your blog. You can get 10 free stock photos by clicking here and entering special discount code: FREENEWSLETTERSUB at the end of checkout.
Next, you’ll want to research your competitors.
A couple sites to look up your competition are Alexa.com and SimilarWeb.com. Both give you different data and have different features. They will tell you things like how much traffic a site gets, where it’s coming from, where the traffic is going, are the readers male/female, how popular is the site and so on. To get a semi-accurate traffic count (nothing is 100% accurate like that, but it gives you a good idea: on SimilarWeb, multiply the visits by the page views).
Still want more recommendations? Which plug ins to install, which books are worth spending money on, where DO YOU get pictures anyway? Check out my blogging recommendations page, where I spill all that and much more.
Want sponsors to sponsor your site and throw money at you? You’ll need a low Alexa score. The lower the better. Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered there too! The very popular, How to Boost Your Alexa Score Organically Book is available within the Honest Bloggers Bundle, which you can find here! No tricks that will get you in trouble with Google. This is all 100% safe and sound advice.
After you get to 50,000 pageviews on your site, you’ll want to begin putting ads up (not before that time or you’ll lose trust with your readers!)
These are my favorite ad networks:
- Google AdSense – Find the two ads that do best on your site and keep them. Delete the ones that don’t do as well. There’s no point in showing an ad that doesn’t make you GOOD money!
- Media.net – What I love about Media.net is that you can put the ads where you want them. I like to put them in some of my more popular posts. You can customize the ad colors any way you want and Media.net will automatically A/B split test them to get you maximum results.
Afraid to start a blog? Check out my post, How to Easily Start a Blog With No Fear.
There you have it. That should get you from just starting out to well on your way to making a fantastic income blogging!
This is so inspiring (as I am reading 8 of your posts right now)… is this really possible? As a young wife, recent college graduate, living overseas with my husband in the military, many of my plans/goals are upside down… I have zero job prospects here and already wanted to start a blog, this makes it that much more of a dream to start. Any suggestions?
The great thing about blogging is that you can do it from anywhere in the world. My only suggestion would be to go after your dreams. Everyone laughed at me for going for blogging. 12 months later, I was making $10k/month. I’m not saying that’s normal for most bloggers, but I AM saying that you’ll never know unless you go for it. It could fail or it could be the best decision you ever make and the start up costs are so cheap, it’s worth it to at least try and see. If you are committed to it, and have a no-fail mentality, it can work. No one will live your dreams for you. Better to try and fail, then miss out on such a wonderful opportunity! Even if you only did make a couple thousand a month in 12 months, it’d still be worth it. <3
I just love your attitude….randomly came across your blog today and I’ll def be back. Thanks for keeping it real….there is no get rich quick I feel, but if you are willing to put in the work and keep an open mind the sky truly is the limit!!! Keep up the good work and encouragement 🙂
Absolutely. 🙂
Sarah,
Although I am not a mom, I feel like you are talking to me when you talk blogs and I was particularly interested in this article. Purchased and consumed your Alexa ranking book in about 10 minutes and I am now an avid fan and reading everything you have posted.
Question: If I do get my blog to rank under 100,000 on Alexa, then what are the next steps to getting sponsors? (And if you posted about this or wrote a book about this already just send me a link, and I apologize!)
Thank you for your time, talent and generosity.
RW
Welcome Ryan. 🙂 I’m so glad you find the information useful. You’ll want to apply to sponsor companies and for your site in particular, you’d want to pitch the local companies you want to work with. On my blogging resources page, under “Sponsored Posts Companies,” you can find links to my favorite 4 sponsored posts companies. There are many out there, some are scammy, so just be careful who you apply to. You can search around in Facebook groups to find out if a company is good as well.
How do you get paid? I understand you have to pay $3.49 for your blog monthly, but what is the process of you getting your $10,000 monthly? And who pays you? Thank you.
Great question Jasmine. You can see it all broken out here.
This is one of the most transparent, thorough, detailed and personable blog posts, I’ve read! 🙂 Awesome job! I love your dedication & commitment to you family and your make no excuses “can do” attitude. Keep believing ANYTHING… better yet… ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! 🙂
You HAVE to share the judges reaction, one year later…. 🙂
The divorce ended, so there wasn’t a way to show the judge that I made it, unfortunately, but the story can still encourage others! So glad you like the post. 🙂 Yes, all things are possible. <3
Sarah, how did you make enough money in the beginning to invest back into your blog? I’m just starting out, I got about 1200 page views in my first month, but not really making money. I would love to invest in a course or something but I don’t have the $$ right now. Any tips? simplynatureplusnurture.com
That’s great you are having good pageviews right off the bat! Making money takes time. I wouldn’t suggest monetizing (not even ads) until you hit 50,000 pv/month or you’ll lose trust. For a course, I wouldn’t suggest buying anything that you’re not 2,000% sure of. There are SO many scams and new bloggers lose the most money because they don’t know. I lost $2k when I first started blogging on stuff I didn’t need. Be very careful. I have a resource guide that can help when you’re just starting as well as a few books on Amazon for blogging. You won’t need more than that until you’re at least 6 months into blogging. And those resources are very cheap and very meaty full of content. 🙂 For making money to cover blogging expenses, I created roundups to sell in VA Facebook groups to pay for blogging until I could profit and make enough to support myself.
Hi! Love this post! I have been thinking about starting a blog for a few months now. I quit my job to stay home with my kids after my second was born. I am hesitant to take the first step because I’m not 100% sure what my niche would be but I’ve also considered a lifestyle blog so it’s not just focused on one topic. I am also wondering what is the best way to get/increase page views? Any advice would be so appreciated.
Sarah, I think I love you! I have been dreaming of this for a long time, but never had enough information. This is so step-by-step that I believe even I can follow it!!
However, I am way past ‘SAHM’ age, work full time, but need to supplement for retirement. How many hours a week do you spend in actual work time, from blogging, seeking advertising, planning, banking, etc…the whole enchilada. 😉 Thanks. Marla
Marla, since my ex-husband abandoned us a few years ago, I worked 80+ hours a week to get myself established and set up. Now, that I have things established well, I work about 40-50 hours a week. For the most part, just when the kids are at school or sleeping. Blogging for me, is a full time job. It’s hard NOT TO work it that much, because it’s a passion that I absolutely LOVE. When you’re so passionate about something, it’s not really “work.” 🙂
Hey Sarah! Thank you for being so generous and transparent…your story is awesome! Also, you have squashed the myth that a blog can’t be many things as that was my struggle with choosing just one niche. I’m in the midst of launching my lifestyle blog Jan 2016! Now, I feel like I can really soar in letting my blog reflect ME! As a fellow single divorced mom, thank you again for giving your fans so much value through your expertise and ever-resourceful posts! I share in your joy of your continued success! P.S. I was looking into email marketing services- do you have a preference? I found two that keep popping up: AWeber or Mailchimp. Thoughts?
Absolutely Maggie. <3 For the newsletter, I prefer Madmimi. I’ve been with them a very long time and when I was researching prices and comparing plans, they were the easiest to use, best customer service, and lowest costing service.
Thank you for writing this article. I am in serious need of extra income, and would love to start a blog. I’m not sure what I will talk about, but I do know I’m honest and real. I often feel like I can’t voice my true thoughts on other social media outlets, which frustrates me. I get bored with all the fictitious images that I feel most of us portray on social media outlets. My, ever present, thought about Facebook has been, “I wish I could make my page more unique/colorful/creative/artsy”. Maybe I’ve been missing my true calling all along. I’ve been told I should start a blog before. I think, with your help, I might just give it a whirl! Thank you so much for your advice. I would love to hear from you personally, if you have time.
Thanks,
Paige Phelps
I would say, you only live once….maybe you start it and it goes nowhere OR maybe you start it and you end up making $10k/month in 12 months like I did. I had no clue what was coming, but I was willing to take that step and try it. I can’t promise it’ll work out, but at least you’d know instead of going through life always wondering, what if…
Comments and emails are always me personally. I just don’t feel right about hiring it out.
Thank you for all of this information! I am overflowing with ideas. I pray that this is God led. I am putting it in His hands. I do have one question. Will I be able to start blogging quickly after purchasing the plan of choice with the service provider you suggested. I think the plan I’m choosing runs around $6 a month. Will there be more necessary things to add (plug ins?? Idk what that is?!?) which will be costly or can I just begin getting creative? I hope I’m not bothering you. You have a wealth of knowledge! Maybe one of your books would help? Recommendations?? Otherwise, I will sift through all the wonderful information you have provided right here! Thank you, Sarah! This could be life changing for me and my family. You are awesome!
Paige, many plug ins are free. Some are paid. I do have paid ones, but only a few. You will be able to get going after that, but you do want to purchase a theme. I’d suggest Genesis and a child theme. You can see all the things that I recommend here on my blogging resources page, most of which are free. 🙂 I would NOT suggest a free theme for someone who wants to make money blogging. That is something you want to pay for, along with hosting.
You are not bothering me. Please don’t think that! 🙂 Yes, I’d encourage you to go on my Amazon page (after you start your blog) and purchase whatever book pertains to you and what you want to learn. I have them each by topic, so you only have to read what you want and not what you don’t! The book that I would suggest most is, How To Turn Your Blog Into a Six-Figure Money Making Machine. You can pre-order it here on Amazon. This book will take you step-by-step through everything so you stay on course, doing the things you need to do, and not doing those things that are a waste of time!
I’m very much inspired from your blog!! I’ve been contemplating for quite sometime on blogging. I’m a new mom and I’ve gained quite some weight, and i feel as if blogging can be an inspiration to not only provide money for my family (I really hate being away from my little guy, since i work 2 jobs just barely getting by) but be an inspiration for myself and new moms!!! You truly are my savior with all your advice, thank you!!!!
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for all your tips. I am pregnant with my first baby, due in 2 months and I am a nurse. My income is essential to pay our bills, but I can’t imagine leaving my baby and coming back to work.
I am hoping that I can somehow find a way to make money from home, and this just may be it. Only problem is I have little faith in myself. So wish me luck!!
Thanks!
Tarryn
I’m not sure that you can make money from a blog within 2 months. Usually it takes about 6 months to a year to see income, but once you do, you start flying. With that said, it’s definitely worth investing in and then in time, you can make a full-time income from blogging and be home. I would just make sure you have a lot of posts scheduled for when you have your baby (congratulations!) and after, so you are not as stressed. Prepare everything out and have things set. Consistency is key in blogging. You go away for a while from your blog and so will your readers.
I LOVE YOUR BLOG! You have helped me in setting up my blog more than you will ever know. I have your page book marked and return here nearly everyday. Thank you so much!
That is great; I’m so glad Cassie! 🙂
Thanks for sharing! I just recently started a blog and am looking for any tips or tricks I can get. I had my first baby in September and would love to quit my job to be home with her and work on my blog full time!
That’s great Jackie and congratulations. Just be careful not to fall into the trap of following too many people. I wrote an article about it, which you can find here.
Hi Sarah!
You seem like such a lovely person first of all. Secondly, thank you so much for the inspiration! I am a young honor roll management and finance student. I have wanted to start a blog to inspire others for the longest time!
I still have some questions. When starting out, how exactly do you advertise your blog, how might people come across it? I apologize if this seems like a stupid question! It would be great if you had a chance to reply.
Megan, I’d encourage you to get my new book, as I wrote it with the specific intention of exactly what to do to get traffic and make money on a blog. It is divided up into chapters by the amount of traffic you have now, so it’s very easy to follow along, like a road map with step-by-step instructions to get you there! You can find, How to Turn Your Blog Into a Six-Figure Money Making Machine, on Amazon here.
Hey thank you for this! I’m about to move to a developing country where there basically isn’t any options for a mama. I look forward to getting going so that I can really bless others and especially my blessings. God bless I share your passion regarding mamas getting to stay with their babies!
Absolutely. All the best in your move! <3
Hey Sarah!
Is there a way i can send you a private message?
I’ve got some questions about blogging but don’t feel comfortable to share my personal info online.
Thanks!
Elisa, here’s my contact page. 🙂
Love this post! I’m recently started my blog and I’m hoping it leads me to a full time career. This is so encouraging!
I am enjoying reading your posts. Very inspiring and thorough. Instead of starting a blog, I thing starting an online store on eBay or Amazon is more me. I am having difficulty finding out where to buy products wholesale to sell. You mentioned you sold toys. Where do you find such merchandise.
Thanks.
Lori
Here’s a post of how to get free stuff to sell. If you’re looking to buy to resell, you have to be a good scout of prices (getting them at rock bottom prices so that you can sell for a fair price) and it really helps when you have a smart phone with an Amazon and eBay app on them to check prices as you come across things in the stores. My secret weapon was also Slickdeals and Craigslist.
I am 67 years old and need badly to supplement my retirement. I have wonderful recipes from my family and do lots of handmade items that are very tasteful and up to date. I know nothing about the blogging business. Do you make money from advertisers? I am so interested in doing something like this but I am so afraid I am not tech savvy enough to make it work. HELP!! My husband needs to retire do to health but we can’t afford for him to right now.
Thanks for this information. I’m really thinking about this.
Sarah,
Every time I look for blogging information yours is the one that pops out in front of me, is the clearest and easiest to read and follow and with the most enjoyable content.
Wish you had (and you may already I just am overwhelmed with all the info out here lol) a blogging coaching course to follow with support. I get overwhelmed with reading all that is out here and just wish there was something step by step and someone who could hold my hand to get me through the things that I get overwhelmed by!! (mostly technology related!!)
Again thank you for your contributions to this subject! I did manage to launch a blog … it needs a lot of work … but I broke through the fear of starting!!! Now to make it AWESOME!!!
Cheri, thank you. I’m so glad you like it! <3 I don't have a course, but I do offer personalized coaching for more advanced bloggers here or blog critiques as well here.
Hi Sarah! So after reading this I am serously considering starting my own blog so thank you! I was wondering though how much time do you spend on the blog that is not writing the actual posts? I know about how much time it take me to write things but I am wondering about all the rest of it, replying to readers, up keep, etc? TIA!
Brigette, there’s not really a set time. You can put as little or as much into it as you’d like. If you want to make money, the more time you put into it (especially at first), the more you can make, because it’s a huge learning curve.
This was very helpful. Thank you.
Absolutely Erin. Glad you liked it. 🙂
Hi Sarah, found you on Pinterest and am looking forward to reading all you have to say about working from home AND making money. Thanks for sharing! Aloha
Welcome to the site Betty! 🙂
Hey Sarah,
I’ve written before, but I’ve come up with an idea for a blog & I’m not sure if it’s too broad. Basically, it’s anything worth a mention: recipes, grandchildren, tiny Houses (my dream), starting over at 50, & anything else worth a mention! What do you think?
Awesome. I would love to learn.
Thanks so much for sharing you inspiring story. I appreciate all the information you share. I am trying to learn how to start a blog, and come up with the money to do so. Being an adult that grew up before computers, I have a lot to learn! I will keep reading your posts and love that you share so much with us! Thanks again.
That’s great Deb. So glad you are willing to learn. It is so worth it. 🙂
Hi Sarah, I really enjoy your blog and it helps me a lot as a new blogger. I just started on December 2016 and was hoping will make income out of it. Wish me luck!
Congratulations Monica! Welcome to the blogging world. 🙂 Your blog looks fantastic! All the best in your new journey. <3
Thanks a bunch Sarah! Recently I just got a job and I need that to support my blog. Can you give me some suggestions to help me keep this blog running while I’m working? Need some advice..
Hey Sarah,
You have seriously proved the saying: “Where there is a will, there is a way”. Despite all of your circumstances, you have built a wonderful high-earning blog. Congratulations for staying strong throughout your journey! I hope to perform my best and excel in blogging.
Thanks!
Happy Blogging!
Thank you. <3 All the best in your new endeavors. 🙂
Thanks a lot Sarah! 🙂
I have read this article and the ones linked backwards and forwards over the course of the last week. I had been stressing about bringing in extra income when I stumbled onto this post on Pinterest. I sat down and wrote out at LEAST 80 blog post ideas (enough to post three a week for a half a year before I run out of content.) I’ve checked out BlueHost in an effort to find out if the url I want was already in use or not. So I guess my question is, how do you start making money off of a blog? I mean, I have read your different articles on the matter and I’m still at a loss as to where to start without having foot traffic on my page in the beginning. Any advice would help so much. Thanks in advance!
Your first step would be to focus on getting traffic and simply meeting their needs. Help them, get them the information they need and the money will come in time as your traffic grows (here’s my last income report detailing how I get paid on this blog), but the first step is talking to an audience and helping them. One good example of how you’re making money is, as your meeting your audience’s needs, you’re referring products to them you believe in and that would help them. If they purchase, you earn a small commission. They don’t pay any more to buy through your link, but you earn a little bit and it adds up to be quite a lot in time. It’s a lot of building, but if you stick with it, it’s a beautiful life-changing thing, not only for you, but for the people you are helping. 🙂
This is the BEST article regarding starting your own blog that I have come across. I am going to start my own blog, as I need to be at home with my children but we need the extra income, and your no-nonsense real, useful points and resource will make a big difference. Thank you!
Absolutely Amy. I’m so glad you found it super helpful. Here’s a full guide on everything you need to know to start a mom blog. All the best in your new endeavor! 🙂
Thank you so much!
How long after you first got started did you start making money from your blog?
I am just curious; looking for a side job from another job and have been thinking about blogging for a while.
For each blogger that will vary. Usually a blogger can start earning small amounts of money within a few months. There’s just so many variables. Usually by month 6, bloggers are earning substantial income if they’ve been working their blogs hard. The longer you wait to begin monetizing a blog, the more you make in the long run because you build up that trust with your audience. Blogging should never be about money first, but putting people first. I just took a $5,000/month pay cut by taking all my ads off my site, so that my readers have a more pleasant experience. Readers come first. 🙂
What is the best place to have your blog? Years ago I tried blogger, but quickly got confused and stopped. I have also tried using wordpress (the free version). I would love to give this another shot, just not sure what place is best yo start.
Londa, if you are wanting to make a money-making blog, the best place is Bluehost. If you are looking for a hobby blog, I like Wix personally.
Hi Sarah. So it’s the middle of the night and I can’t sleep because I’m worried about paying my bills. It’s so ironic that I came across this post. I know that I would have plenty to post about with my love for DIY home-improvement and my distressed furniture business, but looking through all of your information it just seems so overwhelming. I feel like if I don’t read through everything I could make a mistake and end up paying money instead of money. I have prayed that God will send me an answer so I can get some sleep! Haha. Any advice?
Keep praying that the Lord will lead you. You don’t have to know all the answers before you begin. I started knowing absolutely nothing. With blogging, you kind of just have to jump in and see what works and what doesn’t and be will to adapt and grow from there. Praying for you. <3
Hi Sarah,
Great stuff.
I have tried your link “How to easily start a blog with no fear” but it seems to not work when I click on it. Is it in another location that I’m not seeing? I’m devouring your website. I know there are things I can do to add income here at home.
Thanks for the great content.
Wynette
Glad you like the post. 🙂 Sorry, the link was changed. It’s now here.
It was so amazing
Sarah ,
I have a blog but have no idea where to connect the dots. How SEO works, how to insert links, etc. Do you have any resorces that assist with the basics? I feel like I need to know how to do this before I begin all the posting and trying to increase my page views. Any suggestions would be tremendously appreciated.
Thanks,
Angela
I think the most important thing is getting in there and learning one thing at a time as you go. When I started, I didn’t know anything about blogging. None of my friends were bloggers, and there were no blogging courses out at the time that I remember. Not much in the way of free blogging info. either, so I just took one aspect at a time, learned it, moved on. If you wait til you have all the answers, you’ll never start. 🙁 Case in point, I still don’t have all the answers. lol. 5 years later. 🙂