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Domain + Hosting
I bought my domain through godaddy.com. Domains range in price greatly but you can get one for less than $10 a year.
I host my blog through Blue Host where plans start at only $3.95 a month. I have been using them for nearly two years now and have had absolutely no issues. I highly recommend them.
WordPress is how I manage and design my site because I have absolutely no knowledge of code whatsoever. They are one of the biggest blog software providers. Â They do offer a free version through wordpress.com where you do not need a domain or hosting.
However, if you ever plan on monetizing your blog I recommend using wordpress.org and paying for the domain and hosting. WordPress itself is still free to use. I designed my entire site using other peoples blogs and youtube videos.Â
Alternatively you can hire this out to a web designer although I here this can get pricey!
Marketing
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is very important in order to appear in online search engine results like google and bing. I recommend using the free wordpress plug-in “Yoast SEO” for guidelines on how to best optimize each post.
For a more in depth knowledge of SEO and the best strategy for writing SEO’d posts that will rank in Google and other popular search engines I highly recommend the course Stupid Simple SEO by Mike Pearson. It is pricey but it is comprehensive and effective making it very worth the money.
Social Media
Social media is one of the best ways to get your blog out into the world and build a genuine community and connection.
Pinterest is my number one driver of traffic. It is a combination of of social media and search engine which can be very powerful. I pin between 20-40 pins a day right now and I am experiencing considerable growth. I use a paid service called Tailwind to help me keep up with all the pinning and reaching my audience at optimal times. I hesitated signing up for tailwind at first because of the added cost but it has freed us so much of my time plus I have seen huge increases in my blog traffic and Pinterest growth. It is well worth the added cost if you can afford it.
Tailwind pins to Pinterest automatically throughout the day during the times that your followers are online. Tailwind costs $9.99 a month if you pay annually OR you can pay monthly at $15 a month. Get a free month of Tailwind by signing up NOW.
Instagram is a great place to build a community and have daily, face to face, interactions with people. It is very difficult to grow organically now on Instagram though. I think it is a powerful tool but it takes a lot of time and hard work to grow to the point that it will bring you significant blog traffic or sales.
Mix is a newer site that holds some similarities to Pinterest. Although it is not as popular as some other social media platforms It does bring me a small chunk of traffic every month so I think it is worth using.
I have a facebook page for my blog where I share all my blog posts. I get more traffic from Facebook than from anywhere else except pinterest. Creating a page is good for sharing posts but it is also recommended to start a group where people can form a community around or blog topic and discuss and you can share your knowledge on a more personal basis.
Twitter is another great place to share your posts however each tweet is very short lived. Twitter is also great for sharing your thoughts and connecting with followers.
Graphics
I create all my graphics through a free site called Canva. It has hundreds of templates, stock photos and stickers. It is extremely easy to use and looks very professional. I recommend Canva to up your game and really stand out from other blogs.
Monetization
A great way to earn money from your blog is to join sites that connect you to brands and pay you a commission. ShareASale is a great one to join with 100’s of brands to connect too.
