Gorgeous Q: How And Where To Start A Blog

This is another interesting email question from a reader that I’d like to share to everyone .

Good day!

My name is Kristine. I am one of your blog readers/followers. I am a big fan of your works as well. I would like to ask if you could give me some tips on how and where to start a blog (an interesting one like yours =)). I am a “stay-home” mom of two and one of which is a special child.  It is difficult to find a nanny and I couldn’t entrust them to anyone so I chose to be a full-time mom.  However, I still want to help my husband on our expenses and I find blogging as one of the best way I could do to help him.  Since writing is one of my passions and at the same time I could still look after my kids while working.  I really appreciate your time reading this Ms. Earth! Looking forward to your response.  Thank you very much and God Bless you and your family.

Hi Kristine, Thank You for trusting that I can give you useful inputs about this topic.  Incidentally all the question you have in mind and any other questions about blogging and how to earn with your blog can be answered at the 7th iBlog: the Philippine Blogging Summit (iBlog7) that will be held on April 1-2, 2011 at the University of the Philippines from 8am-5PM.

I will be a speaker in that event and I will be talking about  Blogger Ethics: How To Be A Blogger with Integrity.   I am encouraging you Kristine and all bloggers out there (just starting or long time blogger) to attend the said event.  You will definitely learn a lot and what’s great is that you will meet the people behind the blogs you read and other bloggers in the country.

Now back to your questions.

Where to blog?
You can start by using free blogging platforms so you can familiarize yourself with the basics of blogging such as writing, editing, customizing, and personalizing your blog. There are many free platforms you can use but the most popular ones are Blogspot, WordPress or Tumbler , I suggest you use Blogspot or WordPress if you intend to have your own website  under a paid host.

How to start a blog?
Once you visited any of those site (Blogspot, WordPress or Tumbler) there will be a prompt there asking if you want to create a blog. Just follow the prompts as they show and there you have it you have a place to write your thoughts (ergo blog).

BUT WAIT!
Before you start your blog be clear of your intentions and make sure you can handle all the responsibilities that comes along with it. Since, you specifically mentioned you want a blog that earns/ make money with your blog ask yourself this important question:

• What can you blog about that will make people visit your blog?   Do you have anything special to offer to your potential blog readers/followers that they haven’t seen from the other blogs? If you answered no, then your earning potential will be possibly be low because they can get the information you wanted to share from the others who blogs or blogged about the topic you want to blog.  If yes, then by all means go ahead and blog about that useful and unusual topic you have in mind  and make sure you stay on course to keep your readership and start earning from your blog.
• Do you have the heart and passion for sharing ideas and writing? If yes, then go ahead your off to a good start.  I started blogging because I wanted an outlet for my passion for sharing information and writing them down.  If no, maybe you can do a photo blog  or expect not to earn as much as you think you can or you want to.

How to make money with your blog?
If you signed up and created a blog from the above free blogging platforms mentioned don’t expect to immediately earn as soon as you put your blog up. Its not a one-click thing and the money doesn’t just come as soon as you have your blog up.   Making money with your blog takes time, patience, perseverance and a lot of hard work (which include good content, applying SEO techniques and good internet connection, among others) .

Before you make money with your blog make sure your blog has content.  Before getting approved at serving international blog advertising platforms or paid/sponsored posts networks they require that a blog is at least 3 months old and updated at least not less than 3 times a week (its best to update daily!)

If your blog is 3 months old with at least 4 times a week posts then you can try serving blog ads  from Google Adsense or from Nuffnang.  You can also apply to write paid/sponsored posts from international companies like Payu2blog, Blogvertise, Sponsored Reviews, Review Me among others (these are the ones I trust and usually use and pays on time) .

REMEMBER TO APPLY ONLY AFTER YOUR BLOG IS 3 MONTHS OLD WITH at least 3 post a week if not, you are just waisting your time and their time!

Now if you were approved from the above sites then you are on your way to making money with your blog.  You will need an online bank to receive the payment you will get for serving ads or doing sponsored or paid blog post. Paypal is the most common and the most trusted online money account system I know and the only thing I use.  You can sign up for a Paypal account here.

That’s all I can tell you for now, you will learn as you go along.  Make sure to read blogging tips online do Google Search on tips and tricks and make sure to have a unique content that will make people visit your blog.   Make sure to attend the iBlog 7 too!

Good luck with the blogging and I hope I answered your question.

Stay gorgeous everyone!