7 Things you Need to Know Before Starting a Blog

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Hey Y’alls Blog Peoples!

If you are here that means you are probably thinking about starting a blog.

In fact you have probably been thinking about it for weeks or months and just aren’t sure if you can take the leap. Or, you’ve taken the leap, but feel stuck. Well, I’m here to help you out!

There is one tool that I think is vital in making your blog a success….dun, dun, dun…..

But first

Let’s get real, let’s talk about blogging for a hot minute. I’m gonna share with you the cold hard truths about blogging, so you not only know what you’re getting into, but then you’ll be fully prepared and know why this ONE TOOL can be HUGE for you! 

7 Things you Need to Know Before Starting a Blog

1. Know Your Why

I’m sure you have heard that blogging is hard, and maybe you haven’t, but it is harder than hard. But probably not hard in the way you are thinking.

Blogging is draining, emotionally and physically (especially if you’re already working a 9-5). So, know what your why is for blogging before you lay down the money. Why are you starting a blog? Because that’s what you’ll need to hold on to when the going gets tough.

2. Late nights

There will be so many, SO MANY, late nights. You’re trying to the post written, the pins made, and the links attached. Something you thought you’d be done with hours ago is taking longer than you think and you’re burning the midnight oil. I have done and thought it all!

But sometimes I look forward to those late nights, when it’s just me and the blog. ahhhh…

3. You will hit a breaking point

It’s a fact. You will hit a breaking point. A point in your blogging career where you think all is lost, you just have to give up, you’ve been pouring your heart and soul into this and it’s just not working the way you thought it was!

Don’t worry, you just have to keep going. Remember your why. Know that there are so many bloggers out there just like you. AND remember to take breaks and step away, WITHOUT beating yourself up about it.

4. Don’t let success get you down

What I mean by this is don’t let other people’s success get you down.

It’s like looking at your Facebook feed when you’re having a bad day because your scale says you weigh 5 pounds more than yesterday. You just don’t do it! Don’t go searching for other people’s successes and get down on yours.

You can’t compare your success to anyone else’s. Your blog is your own, things will always play out differently then others.

5. Don’t Think You have to Do it Fast

One of the things that I get down on myself for the most is that I haven’t gotten to where I want to be FAST! Blogging is not a quick scheme. It takes time.

I mean there are certain aspects that can be done fast, but getting to where you want to be fast is hard and can take time.

Yes, there are those people who brag about how they made their first $1,000 in 3 months. (Are they a blogging niche? haha.)

BUT those people are not as common as you think. There are several bloggers who make a couple thousand a month, doing what they love with a decent (not HUGE) audience and a small band of followers! Maybe it took them a year. But they’re doing it. Again, remember your why!

There is nothing wrong with you if you don’t do it fast. I mean, there are always ways to learn how to improve and better your blog. Just keep learning, absorb information, and keep plugging along! 

6. You’ll Get Better

Speaking of absorbing and learning information, remember that you’ll just keep getting better at it.

Blogging is definitely a talent. It’s something you can develop, something you can learn. Don’t be afraid to keep learning. Take free webinars, ask lots of questions, join several groups. The more you learn, the more you can do with it.

I read one of my old blog posts the other day and I almost threw up in my mouth! It was horrible. I have come such a long way in just 8 months.

Also, you will get faster. It used to take me 3 hours to make a blog post. Now I can do it in under an hour. Which comes in handy a lot when you are limited on time.

Give yourself a learning curve. Especially if this whole blogging thing is really new to you. You most likely will not get it right on your first try, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up!

7. You Can DO IT! 

Trust me, If I can do it, you can do it! Remember, the worst feeling is thinking about where you could have been if you had never quit! 

If this is something you’ve always wanted, go after it! Prove whoever wrong, especially if that person is yourself. You are only limited by your own mind! Be in it for the long haul and you WILL get there!

I made my first $500 in November, and it was an amazing feeling. I felt like all the hard work I had put into was finally starting to pay off! Try to picture that, it helps you get through those late nights and breaking points.

You can do it! (I’m pretty sure I tell myself that every day!)

Now, Let’s get back to that ONE TOOL that can get you started on your blog and get it all set up!

and that is……..*drum roll*

A good blogging course. More specifically Create & Go’s blogging course by Alex and Lauren. 

Didn’t think that was “drum roll” appropriate? …You might in 4 weeks when you finish this course.

I say this because I’ve been there. I’ve contemplated the blog thing for years. I wanted to start a blog back in 2013.

At first I didn’t start a blog because I knew nothing about it, and was completely lost on where to start. I was also at a low point in my life where I thought I could succeed at nothing (that’s another post for another time).

Then about a year after that I tried to start one with the small knowledge I had and it completely failed. Then I went back to daydreaming about it some more and occasionally browsing the internet feeling jealous while looking at other bloggers and their amazing lives, living the dream, and making thousands off their blog.

I wanted to punch a puppy. (not really…maybe).

Then as I was searching one day, I came across Create and Go and their course Build and Launch your Blog. I was interested, but I’m not an impulse buyer, so I took their mini 7 day email course and loved it. I was hooked.

I went on their website everyday reading every article I could find. I’m an over-analyzer, so I analyzed their emails, their story, their blog for a couple weeks before deciding to dive in and buy the course. And let me tell ya, it’s the best thing I ever did.

There are 3 reasons I decided to buy their course and why you should too! (and totally makes those breaking points easier!)

3 Reasons to take the Build and Launch Your Blog Course

My TOP reason

1. They’re real and they’re honest.

You know those people who you can just tell are being honest and real with you? Alex and Lauren are those people. They tell you like it is and they’re just honest. This is what first attracted me to them.

If they don’t know about something, they tell you they don’t know. BUT they stick to what they do know, Annndddd…it’s quite a lot. They also have videos of them just chatting the breeze with you to give you an idea of their story and what you should expect as a blogger. Not a lot of people would make time for that. This stood out to me and was important to me.

2. They gave me the confidence I needed.

You know how it took me 2 years to start this blog? Well, it didn’t take that long once I met them. I researched them for 2 weeks, then launched my blog 5 weeks later. So, in a 7 week time frame from when I first found them, I had launched my blog. The tools they give you in the course allow you to actually launch it in 4 weeks, but I took an extra week. They make it easy, and they gave me the motivation I needed to do it, and do it fast. (This is one of those fast parts I was talking about) They really made me feel like I could do it and that I could be successful at it.

The course breaks blogging down so it’s so easy to understand, especially if you have no experience, and they continue to give you encouragement along the way. 

I’ve gone back through their course sometimes when I have hit my breaking points and received the motivation I needed to keep going!

3. A monkey could make a blog after taking this course.

They make it soooo easy. I thought I knew what blogging was about until I took this course. You learn so much, so if you know nothing, that’s okay. You can do it. Alex and Lauren were not experts when they started their blog and now they have 2 blogs and are making over 100,000 a month, A MONTH! (I bet you wanna punch a puppy right now). That’s insane! You can read more about their story here.

They break it down step by step.

What you Learn about and What you Get:

• Access into their Private Facebook Group with other people taking the course (This Alone is Amazing because I felt like I had a support team for any question I have). 
• A 1-Month Launch your Blog Checklist
• How to get started on Bluehost
• How to get started with WordPress
• How to pick a theme and install it
• How to customize your theme
• How to narrow down your niche and pick a name for your blog
• How to design your blog
• How to add and create custom pictures for your blog
• How to create a brand for your website
• How to write a blog post, what to write, and when to write (This is huge because there is a certain way to do it if you want people to read your stuff). 
• How to make a click worthy headline (Also huge)
• How to set up an email service
• How to set up an opt-in to get subscribers
• How to get set up on social media (Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube). 
• How to create your own logo
• How to create your own pins for Pinterest
• How to launch your blog

And so much more!

They also have bonus videos for a look into their Pinterest Avalanche Course. I’m also in that course, and it’s also amazing, but that’s another post for another time. So, you basically also get free traffic lessons on how to get people to actually see your blog on the world wide web.

AND, (yes there’s more), they have a course about Make Money Blogging for Beginners, and they share an introduction into affiliate marketing as well. (I am also taking this course)

You cannot go wrong buying this course. I guarantee you that if I hadn’t bought their course I would be months behind where I am now. If you put in the work and do everything they say to do in the course, you will be successful. You won’t regret it.

I launched my blog 8 months ago and I’m now getting almost 10,000 views a month to my blog and that number increases every month. In November I made my first $500.

This is through implementing their strategies. The great thing about Create and Go is that they have several courses to help you keep advancing your blog. I highly recommend all their courses, but Build and Launch your Blog is a great place to start. (I’m sure I’ll end up buying their Six-Figure Blogger Course).

So, start checking them out and over-analyzing so you can launch your blog in 7 weeks. (OR LESS). Trust me, if I can do it, you can do it!

Save the Puppies!