# Starting a blog



## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

Didn't want to hijack the other thread, but I have been reading it and staring one to make a bit of extra income sounds great! I know you don't get rich off it but even a couple hundred bucks a month or 2 would be better then none. So my question first is how do you get started? I will have a ton more of questions. So be ready! Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Rebecca


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## katlupe (Nov 15, 2004)

Merks said:


> Didn't want to hijack the other thread, but I have been reading it and staring one to make a bit of extra income sounds great! I know you don't get rich off it but even a couple hundred bucks a month or 2 would be better then none. So my question first is how do you get started? I will have a ton more of questions. So be ready! Thanks for any advice you can give me.
> 
> Rebecca


Have you set up the blog yet? What exactly do you plan to do with it? It is hard to make money with it if you are just starting it. Get it going first then worry about making money on it.


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## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks for the tip. Not real sure as I really don't specialize in anyone thing. But I do always look for new things to try doing and was thinking something on the lines of that. Basically showing people it's ok to do new things. Most of the things I have been trying lately are things that make you more self sufficient and more frugal. I have not started it yet as I need to come up with a name for it.


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## katlupe (Nov 15, 2004)

I didn't mean to discourage you. Blogging is great and I love it. You are right to take time to discover your niche to write about, choose a good title and most important is to post often. Weekly. I can't tell you how many awesome blogs I go to that have not been posted on in months. It kills them. 

Frugal, self-sufficient is good, that is what I basically write about. People like those subjects even if they don't do them themselves. Good luck! If you need any help or have any questions you can ask here and I will try to answer them or find the answers for you. Or you can PM me. 

katlupe


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## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

You didn't discourage me, I guess I wasn't so clear in my first post, so let's try this again. What site would be a good one to start your own blog on? How long can the title of your blog be and how short should I keep it?


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## katlupe (Nov 15, 2004)

Merks said:


> You didn't discourage me, I guess I wasn't so clear in my first post, so let's try this again. What site would be a good one to start your own blog on? How long can the title of your blog be and how short should I keep it?


I like Blogger. It is free. You would first choose a title and they will tell you right then if it is available or not. You need a title that is catchy. 

Like mine is _Homesteading On The Internet_ - it is longer than some and shorter than others. My other one is _Solar Baby_ - you know what it is about before you even go there. 

Look through other blogs to get a feel for what you want. Join The Blog Frog and you can meet tons of other bloggers and learn what to do and what not to do and get more followers and comments on your blog. It is fun but it takes some work.


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## AnnieinBC (Mar 23, 2007)

You can go to Blogger.com or Wordpress.com to start your blog. I like Blogger (for now) as I am not the computer minded....

It doesn't really matter how long your blog title is, check mine out (under this post) mine is pretty long, lol. You want your title to be descriptive of what you are going to write about.

The most important thing is to get good content on there, and to post on the blog consistently. Once you have lots of good content, you can start trying to make some money off of it. You can sign up for Google Adsense so that you will have their ads on your pages.

Good luck with your blog, and make sure you come back and post the link to it, so we can check it out!


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## AnnieinBC (Mar 23, 2007)

Looks like Kat and I were typing at the same time....


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## katlupe (Nov 15, 2004)

:smiley-laughing013:


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## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks guys, now I am going to have to pick my tiny mind for a name LOL. Like I said I would like to write about my experiences trying out new things that will help our family become more self sufficient and frugal. I want to let others feel ok when trying new things and also feel ok when they fail at their first time trying it. Over the past 2 days I have made 2 different kind of cookies that take no eggs, ya never know when SHTF you might be short on eggs, the kids loved them and so did DH. Tonight I made my first batch of laundry detergent, now mind you I was a bit confused on how much of the ingredients I needed for a batch, so I am now the proud owner of enough washing soda for 72 batches LOL That would be 3,744 washes LOL I thought I was buying enough for 12 batches!!! Opps, well you can see from that I am no stranger to making mistakes when trying new things and I would like to let others laugh with me at mine and laugh at them selves at theirs. So now the name...........Hmmmmmmmm?


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## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

I was thinking about something like "Frugal Bloopers" Only problem with that is I don't always mess up YAY for me LOL While I am setting up my blog, can I rename it if before I complete it if I don't like the name?


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## katlupe (Nov 15, 2004)

Merks said:


> I was thinking about something like "Frugal Bloopers" Only problem with that is I don't always mess up YAY for me LOL While I am setting up my blog, can I rename it if before I complete it if I don't like the name?


I think so but am not positive. It may end up having the original name in the URL. I have seen people who have changed the blog name but have some other name as the URL.


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## caroline (Sep 29, 2009)

I am prolly pretty dumb, but what is the point of the blog and how do you make money at it?


Do you just start writing about yur day, kids, pets or what? And why would anyone care about my life----:help:


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## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

caroline said:


> I am prolly pretty dumb, but what is the point of the blog and how do you make money at it?
> 
> 
> Do you just start writing about yur day, kids, pets or what? And why would anyone care about my life----:help:


Thats what I am trying to figure out.


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## katlupe (Nov 15, 2004)

caroline said:


> I am prolly pretty dumb, but what is the point of the blog and how do you make money at it?
> 
> 
> Do you just start writing about yur day, kids, pets or what? And why would anyone care about my life----:help:


You can write about whatever you want. I write about my off-the-grid life on one of my blogs, explaining how to set up a small system that is affordable. The other, I write about canning, gardening, my new nonelectric toaster, cooking on a wood cook stove, my critters, my problems, my dreams, frugal living, etc. on and on.....whatever catches my fancy that day. I even write a fictional blog. 

There are many, of what is called, "mommy blogs". They are huge! All about their children and how they raise them, what they do, if you have a problem and how you solve it.....whatever. And yes! People do care about your life. You just don't know it yet. Visit The Blog Frog and it is a whole world of bloggers. And they are blogging about all kinds of things. Whatever you are interested in...........there is a blog to be written and people will come to it.


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## Halfway (Nov 22, 2010)

katlupe said:


> You can write about whatever you want. I write about my off-the-grid life on one of my blogs, explaining how to set up a small system that is affordable. The other, I write about canning, gardening, my new nonelectric toaster, cooking on a wood cook stove, my critters, my problems, my dreams, frugal living, etc. on and on.....whatever catches my fancy that day. I even write a fictional blog.
> 
> There are many, of what is called, "mommy blogs". They are huge! All about their children and how they raise them, what they do, if you have a problem and how you solve it.....whatever. And yes! People do care about your life. You just don't know it yet. Visit The Blog Frog and it is a whole world of bloggers. And they are blogging about all kinds of things. Whatever you are interested in...........there is a blog to be written and people will come to it.


They are good blogs and you keep it interesting enough to keep readers coming back. How much time do you spend researching or gathering yourself?


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## katlupe (Nov 15, 2004)

Halfway said:


> They are good blogs and you keep it interesting enough to keep readers coming back. How much time do you spend researching or gathering yourself?


Well for me, being on the computer is no hardship or time consuming. I turn it on when I get up and work on and off it all day. For instance I spent most of my day today listing cds in my Bonanza booth. So I can start a post in wordpad and it doesn't take too long. Many times I am working on some household chore or project and come back to the computer every now and then. 

As for researching, for Solar Baby I am writing mainly from my experience. I have to be sure to get it right.........since I have *men* reading that one too. Can't make a mistake or they will point it out real fast! For Homesteading On The Internet, that is basic daily stuff that I do or that just crosses my mind to share with others. Since I put my email on there, I am getting questions and I try to address it through the blog post. If one person questions something, I figure there is interest there. Cooking posts really get attention.


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## caroline (Sep 29, 2009)

I still can;t figure out how you make money on a blog!


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

You make money by having pay per click advertising on your blog. The amount you make depends on your topic. My wife and I have about 10 completed sites up plus the two in my signature ( Need to get those going). Look at this site http://www.mortgageunderwriters.com/ see the words highlighted in blue. Each time someone clicks on those we make a little money. Scroll down the page and see the google ads. We earn money when someone clicks on those links. They don't have to buy anything.....

You can also sell stuff or at least link to stuff to sell. Click on the Kindle link in my sig.... See those Amazon ads. if you click on those and buy something I make 4 to 6% of the sale.
I am building some bat houses for a fellow 800 miles away and put up this blog to show him my progress as it is faster than e-mailing photos. I stuck some ads on it, because it is easy.. http://jbsbirdhouses.blogspot.com/
I sold tomatoes last spring and put this blog up so folds could read about my maters. http://tomatoinformation.blogspot.com/2010/03/black-krim.html I made some money off folks clicking the highlighted words, google ads and some folks bought gardening books.

Again, what you make depends on your topic. A click on a mortgage term pays about 4 times what one on a tomato site will.

Info on the google ads here

Info on highlighted words here

Look at my sites... Do not go hog wild clicking. They don't like that.

Note this site has google ads toward the top. Support the site, but don't go hog wild.. Click to see how it works... "DID I SAY DON'T GO HOG WILD"


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## katlupe (Nov 15, 2004)

caroline said:


> I still can;t figure out how you make money on a blog!


You make money by putting affiliate links on it. If you have gone to my blog, Homesteading on The Internet, as you scroll down the side, you will see a box that says "Search Amazon." If you put something in that search box it would take you into Amazon and if you made a purchase I would make a commission on it. My last sale there was for about $72. and I made about $3. Not much but it adds up over time. 

If you look further there is a link to a website that sells grain mills. He pays me a monthly fee for that little ad. 

Sometimes I have written a post and it will have a link in the text that will take you to the product on Amazon's page. If you purchase it or anything else there at that time, I get another commission. 

Some people have Google adwords or other affiliate links. Like on this forum, do you see the ads on here? They are usually Google adwords. 

On my Solar Baby blog, I had an affiliate link to a Solar Pathfinder tool that costs around $600. and someone bought it and I received a check in the mail a month later for $53. and I had no idea that anyone had even bought something coming from my blog.

Another thing is that I will write a review of a product and put a few links in the post that take you to their site. They usually pay about $10-$20. I wrote on post about a product I purchased from Emergency Essentials, and they contacted me to ask me to let them put it on their blog. I said yes. And they sent me a $20. gift card. 

There are a lot of women who write "Mommy blogs" and they get sent products free to try and also free for giveaways on their blogs if they write a honest review of the product. 

You can also direct traffic to your webstore or ebay store or wherever you are selling products. Blogging is a goldmine right now. Companies are hiring people to write blogs for them. 

I hope this answers your question. But if you need anything explained, feel free to ask.

katlupe


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## caroline (Sep 29, 2009)

I had No idea! I'm definitely going to look into this. I have a lot of time on my hands in the winter.

Thanks so much for your answers.


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## AnnieinBC (Mar 23, 2007)

Great post Poboy! I'll second the "don't go hog wild" thing with clicking ads. Google doesn't like that and if they think the clicks are done only with the intention of making the blog owner some money, they can yank your account.

And I don't think you are allowed to say anything like "Please click my ads" they don't like that either....


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

I love reading blogs about homesteading and country living. Caroline, you may be surprised how interesting your life is to others who have similar interests! It is a great way to share ideas.


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## katlupe (Nov 15, 2004)

shanzone2001 said:


> I love reading blogs about homesteading and country living. Caroline, you may be surprised how interesting your life is to others who have similar interests! It is a great way to share ideas.


Me too! Not only that, but besides homesteading readers, the other readers love our homesteading blogs. It surprised me too! Many live in big cities and want to know all about being self-sufficient or at least what they can do in the city. I find when I do a post on a recipe, I get a lot of traffic. So just start writing and you will find that readers and followers will come.


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## AnnieinBC (Mar 23, 2007)

I agree. I have a lot of readers that are living in the city. Not all of them want to move out to the country to raise their own food and animals...some of them just like to read about someone doing that lol.

If you develop really good content on your blog, you will get readers!


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## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

Po boy I am confused. Your sites are domain named sites? you pay for that site each month? Please fill me in. Where do we get the best domain site that can help us make the webpage? and for the blogger sites is there a certain templet you should start out with to later be able to add the advertisers?


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