Have you ever wanted to start a blog? Or wondered what it takes to run a successful blog? I get emails all the time from women who want to start a blog or who have recently begun a blog and feel lost.
This is will be an ongoing series for those of you who want to know more about how to start a blog or desire to take your blog to the next level. I’m excited to share my experience with you!
I began this website back in 2001. And before that I had a small website where I sold handmade baby items. And before that I had a site called, Keepers of Their Homes… which really eventually became A Virtuous Woman!
Anyway, I’m one of the old timers.
I was just 24 years old when I started writing online and over the years I’ve learned a lot! I’m excited to share what I know with those of you who are interested in blogging – whether you want to blog as a full-time ministry or even as a way to support your family financially. Or both!
Running A Virtuous Woman is one of my passions! I believe with all of my heart that God called me to blog here at A Virtuous Woman. I remember way back in 1997 having this dream in my heart to run a website. The thing was, I had no education, no computer experience at all and very little working knowledge. But I had the one thing I always tell my kids that will take them further than anything in this life and that’s DETERMINATION.
When I started A Virtuous Woman computers and blogging in general was quite different. I had to teach myself code and build my own website from scratch! These days, with WYSIWYG {what you see is what you get} editors, blogging is so much easier.
A lot has changed over the years, but my love for blogging has not. It’s so easy to get started. If I can do it, anyone can.
For me, blogging was a way I could encourage other moms through my writing. From the time I was a little girl I knew I would “grow up” to be a writer.
You know you’ve been called to ministry when it’s not easy. I was a teenage mom. I wasn’t able to finish high school, I wasn’t good at anything except writing, and I wasn’t even that great of a housekeeper. And for some reason I felt in my heart this pull to teach other women. Crazy, right?
To see how God has worked over the last 15 years, and to know how many women have been touched by this ministry, not because of anything I am or have done, but because of everything God is and has done… it’s a powerful thing!
How to Start a Blog
Getting started blogging can seem overwhelming, but it’s really a simple process. I’m sharing my step by step how you can start blogging as a ministry. Be sure to let me know in the comments what questions you have. I’d love to answer your questions!
1. Decide WHY you want to start a blog.
What will be the purpose of your blog? Here are some reasons you may want to start a blog:
- to encourage other moms
- share your crafting skills and tutorials
- to hone your writing skills
- create a platform for the book you hope to one day write
- to write Bible studies for young women
- to create and share recipes your family loves
- to share how God has transformed your life
- share fun kid’s activities with other moms
There are as many reasons to start a blog as there are people. I began A Virtuous Woman because I believe Proverbs 31 is relevant to today and I wanted to teach women how to apply Proverbs 31 to their lives. One of the first articles I wrote was the 10 Virtues of the Proverbs 31. Fifteen years later, the 10 Virtues of the Proverbs 31 Woman is my purpose statement and helps me to stay on topic when writing new blog posts.
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If you’ve heard it’s easy to make money blogging and that’s the sole reason you want to start a blog, I can tell you right now it will fail. You have to have a passion for what you are writing about. I’ve been writing under the umbrella of the 10 Virtues of the Proverbs 31 Woman for 15 years. I never get tired of it and I never run out of ideas.
What could you write about every day for the rest of your life? That’s what your blog should be about.
It’s true that you can make money blogging and blogging is a great option for women who want to work at home. But, the money doesn’t come immediately. It takes a lot of work up front! However, it’s definitely possible to make a good living if you work smart and work hard.
2. Choose a domain name, registrar and hosting company.
I’ve been using GoDaddy.com to both register my domain and for hosting for about 14 years now and have been very pleased with their service. A lot of my blogging friends are hosted through BlueHost.com and love them.
Your domain name is the URL address of your blog. For instance, my domain is: avirtuouwoman.org.
The hosting company is where your website lives.
WordPress is the best platform for your blog. Some folks will recommend other systems or companies like Squarespace. If you do decide to start with another platform, I’m fairly certain you’ll regret it later.
You could create a free blog on Blogspot.com or WordPress.com, but if you are serious about blogging, it’s better to go ahead and get things set up right in the beginning so you don’t have to go through the headache of moving your blog later if you decide you want your own domain. Your blog address would look something like this: BestBlogEver.Blogspot.com or BestBlogEver.Wordpress.com.
But the thing is, you could start your own self-hosted website for less that $10.00 a month! It really is better to own your own blog right from the start. And instead you’ll have your own website address like: BestBlogEver.com. See the difference? You can name your blog anything you want – as long as it doesn’t already exist and you’ll be the sole owner of it.
Choosing the name of your blog can be a lot of fun and challenging. Give it some good thought. Ask your friends for ideas. Pray about it. And then see if the domain is available. If it is, grab it!
You can go to the hosting company of your choice and check for domain availability. It’s not hard. Once you purchase your domain name, you can set up hosting and install WordPress with a click of a button. If you aren’t sure how to do that, you can call the support number for your hosting company and they will be happy to walk you through it.
3. Choose your blog theme/ design.
This is where it starts to get fun. Once you’ve purchased your domain name, set up a hosting account, and installed WordPress, you’ll want to choose a theme. A blog theme is basically the way your blog will look.
WordPress has a lot of free options which are great when you first get started. WordPress really is press and play. You’ll find the free themes in your Dashboard under “Appearance.”
If you want to give your blog a custom look, you’ll likely want to purchase a theme. But it’s totally not necessary until you feel your ready!
Some of my favorite places to find pretty themes are:
I have used themes from each of these companies over the years. I am currently using a theme from Pretty Darn Cute which requires the Genesis Framework – or Parent Theme. Genesis is amazing and I highly recommend it! Basically, this means you need a parent theme which is like the framework that your child theme is built on. It’s not hard – you just install the Genesis Framework and then install your theme and activate it. Once your theme is activated you can customize the header, colors, and more. I’ll talk more about that in an upcoming blog post!
4. Write your first blog post.
Writing that first post is a little scary, but just jump and say hello to the world. Create ell your future readers a little bit about yourself on your About Page. And really, just start writing. You may want to write several blog posts before you start sharing your blog on social media and with your friends. But either way, just write what’s on your heart.
To write a blog post in WordPress, in your Dashboard click on “Posts” in the left menu and “Add New.” The WYSIWYG editor is simple to use. Click “Add Media” to upload photos to your blog post. Play with the buttons a little to figure out what they do. No one willsee your blog post until you click “Publish” on the right side of your blog post text editor.
Whether you want to use blogging as a way to minister to other women, make new friends, build a business, or just as a hobby, it’s a great way to share what God is leading you to say and do. And you just never know where blogging will take you, who it will bless, or where you’ll end up.
If you’ve felt pulled in the direction of starting a blog and it just won’t let go, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
Plus, let me know any questions you have and I’ll answer them!
P.S. If you found this article helpful, would you do me a favor and share it to Pinterest? Thanks so much!!
P.S.S. The links in this blog post are affiliate links which means I get a small commission if you purchase a product through my links. I only recommend products I use or have used in the past. Thanks for your support!
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