Since I’ve been blogging for over a decade, I get asked a lot of questions about how to start a blog. Over the years, I have noticed that there are three main things that are stopping people from starting a blog. In today’s post, I wanted to address those three reasons and what you need to do to overcome those excuses and get started on living your life.
1. Information overload.
Just like with many projects, whenever you start, you want to try to get as much information as possible. This can lead to information overload which will leave you feeling overwhelmed
- Domain name. Also known as your URL or your web address.
- Hosting. I personally use and love Bluehost but you could also use siteground, host gator, dream host, or you could even go with a free blogging platform such as blogger. (More about that in a second.)
- Blogging platform. I use and highly recommend WordPress.
Luckily most hosting sites offer all three of these items in a package deal so it does not take that long to get started.
2. Waiting for the perfect time.
If you fall into this category, guess what? There never will be a perfect time. Perfection is an illusion and the last thing you should be doing when it comes to chasing your dreams is sitting around waiting for the perfect this or the perfect that. It’s never going to come!
You don’t want to be that person that is sitting around a year from now thinking, if only I would have started a blog sooner.
If you’re waiting for a sign then this is it. Get off of your but and do it now.
3. You think it costs too much money.
It doesn’t help when there are so many bloggers out there sharing how much money they spend on their blog in order to make it a success. I can garuntee that the majority of these bloggers did not start out spending a lot of money.
Yes. Blogging can cost a lot of money, but there are many free options as well.
If you plan on quiting your current job and make blogging your full time career then I highly suggest that you use a paid hosting and blogging platform. The reason for that is because they offer so many more option than what you will get with a free platform like blogger.
On the other hand, if on using blogging as a side hustle to make a couple extra hundred dollars a month then you can probably do everything that you want to do using a free blogging platform.
Now I want to clear up a misconception. There seems to be a lot of bloggers in the blogging community telling others that you can not make money if you are using a free platform. This is definitely not true.
I am not sure where this rumor started but I think it’s because there are many dishonest bloggers out there who are affiliated with the hosting companies that they are recommending. This means that they earn an income if you sign up for hosting using their link. On the other hand, free platforms don’t have affiliate programs. Therefore if they are telling their readers to use a free platform, the blogger will not earn any commission.
For example, I am affiliated with Bluehost. If you were to click on and sign up for Bluehost using any of the links on my blog, I would earn a commission from Bluehost. On the other hand, if you were to sign up for blogger using a link, I would not earn any money.
(This is one of the main driving forces for me wanting to teach others how to start a blog. While there are many good bloggers out there. There are also so many bloggers telling lies in order to earn extra income. While I don’t claim to know everything there is about blogging, after a decade, I do know quite a lot. My mission is to squash those lies and become a reliable source for anyone wanting to start their own online business.)
I started my second blog (diyhsh.com) back in 2010 using blogger. By 2013 I was earning around $1000 dollars a month from advertising alone. Shortly after that, in 2014, I ended up having a post go viral and earned around $14,000 in a single month while still using a blogger. That income was from my ads alone. I was also earning a couple hundred dollars every month from affiliate income (at the time, my only affiliate was Amazon) and I was also doing sponsored posts which paid (at the time) up to $500 per post.
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