This Post was originally on my other blog HillaryNicoleRoberts, but since I am combining blogs, I decided to move it over here.
Many people want to start an online business, and that is great. Blogging is different from other business in that there is a low barrier to entry. There are only a few things that a person needs to get started with blogging. Starting my business has been one of the best things I have ever done. You can read here how I got started. The problem is when people think that it is easy. People always seem to think that I write and offers and money starts flowing magically into my bank account. While that would be nice, that is not that case. Most of the time people who seem to have overnight success have worked for years behind the scenes. Blogging takes a LOT of hard work to get it off the ground. To be able to have a successful blog a few things that you need. Some of them cost some money, but they are worth it.
I know when I started a few years ago I was still on disability and I did not have a lot of money to spare. I did not have anyone to talk to about what investments I should make, and I made a lot of what were to be expensive mistakes and when you are only getting a few hundred dollars a month a “mistake” is a hard thing to come to terms with. Even if you are just getting the breadcrumbs the government doles out to the disabled community; it is difficult but not impossible to start a business. Below I am going to tell you what you MUST have to start a blogging business, so you don’t go almost broke like I did start out.
A computer
Now I have a MacBook Pro, but when I started, I was working on a laptop that was 300 dollars at Wal-Mart. It served my purpose just fine. I was able to get things up and running, and when my needs got more demanding, I upgraded.
Access to the internet
You need to be able to upload your posts to your blog. It doesn’t even have to be fast internet just enough so that you can post to your blog. I had the slowest speed cause that was all that I could afford. Alternatively, you could go to your local public library to use the computer there.
A self-hosted website
I know I know you are like why I should go to a self-hosted site when I can get blogger or Tumblr for free? I will tell you why. With self-hosted word press blog, you can do ANYTHING you want to it. With others, you are limited plus you OWN your content when you have a self-hosted blog. Unless you are dumb like me and did not back up your blog, you can never lose your content. Also, you can monetize a self-hosted WordPress blog. I am not sure what you can do with Squarespace as I am not familiar with it, but I do know that if you plan on monetizing your blog, a self-hosted WordPress is best.
Something to take pictures with
I have a fancy DSLR camera now that confuses the hell out of me, but when I first started, I had an iPhone 4. Yeah, remember the crappy pics that thing took? And I had no idea what photoshop was so my pics were horrid. I am not self-critical it is the truth you can look through my archives on this blog and see for yourself. Don’t feel terrible if your picture taking equipment is not the best. When you start growing and seeing results you can always upgrade.
A Blog Hosting service
This is where your blog is hosted. I have been with BlueHost for years, and there have been some sticky moments, but overall they are ok. I have heard that SiteGround is amazing, but I am too lazy to make the switch. At the moment everything is working as supposed to and I go by the if it ain’t broke don’t fix it mentality. This is a must for a self-hosted blog. I know Bluehost has some cheap plans that are affordable to people without a lot of money to spend.
An Email list service thingie
When I started out, I used Mailchimp which is ten dollars a month if you have an opt-in you want to automatically send people. MailChimp is great for those just starting out. I have since upgraded to ConvertKit, but I can and do stand behind MailChimp for those of you first getting started. I know many of you are wondering why you need a newsletter. I will tell you why. Because if later you want to sell a product or service then you will have an email list to sell too. Think Of your email list as the people who are your “superfans” and will buy almost anything from you.
With these six investments, you will have what you need to grow and remember, don’t compare yourself to people who have been blogging since the LiveJournal heyday. If you are just starting out focus on YOU and when you start to grow and see more money from your blogging you can always upgrade! Don’t go broke paying for fancy-ass stuff like Leadpages like I did. First focus on growing your blog and email list. When you start to see results and money and your needs start to change THEN, you can upgrade and get the fancy ass software.
Interesting! Pretty much all of my “extra” money goes to books. I don’t spend anything on the blog itself. All my blogging is done on a 7 year old laptop that still works pretty well. I just got a phone, so now it’s easier to take photos. Being a broke blogger is hard sometimes.