How To Get Started Blogging

Today I’m so excited to have a guest post from my friend Crystal Paine! Crystal is a wife and homeschool mom of three, but you may know her best as the Money Saving Mom. She is the best-selling author of Money-Making Mom: How Every Woman Can Earn More and Make a Difference, and the face and voice of MoneySavingMom.com. Crystal will be a speaker at the Business Boutique this year!

I hope you enjoy this conversation with Crystal and get to know her better before the Business Boutique event this November.

— SPECIAL INTERVIEW WITH CRYSTAL PAINE —

What made you want to start your blog, MoneySavingMom.com?

When we found out I was pregnant with our first baby, I had to quit my part-time jobs because I was so sick from my pregnancy.

I always had an entrepreneurial spirit, so I decided to start using all that time I had just sitting and lying in bed at home wisely and get creative with ways to increase our monthly income—even if it was just a few dollars each month. I knew every bit could help.

I started researching, reading, and watching what other people were doing. And then I jumped out and began trying little things: taking online surveys, selling on eBay, participating in online focus groups, and more. I got braver and started my own online businesses: a website selling custom products and another business selling books. I tried my hand at writing e-books and even self-published a few booklets. As you can probably imagine, most of these were failed business attempts, but I learned so much along the way—lessons that made me who I am today and contributed to the success of where I am today.

In the process of doing all of these things, I discovered blogging . . . and even though it was slow going at first, I was hooked! I loved to write and I wanted to help other moms who were in the same kind of position I was in. I wanted to share my knowledge of how to stick to a budget, cut costs, and live on less. More importantly, I wanted to instill hope and encouragement in the hearts of other women.

After trying several different niche blog ideas, in 2007, I started MoneySavingMom.com, thinking it was going to be another side gig. Little did I imagine, it would soon turn into a full-time income for our family!

What was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome that?

I think my biggest fear in the beginning was the fear of failure. I didn’t want to pour tons of time and effort into something that never went anywhere.

Here’s the thing I’ve discovered, though: Failure can be a blessing in disguise. I feel like I am where I am today because of all of the times I failed. I committed to learn and grow from failures instead of being utterly defeated by them.

What is one of the first things a woman can do to set her blog up for success?

I think you need two things in the very beginning to set your blog up for success: passion and consistency.

You need to be passionate about your content. I always tell women to think about what keeps them awake at night or what subject they could endlessly talk about and never tire of. That is what you should be blogging about.

Every business goes through five distinct stages. Find out which stage your business is in with our free assessment.

If you try to blog about something you’re not passionate about, you will quickly lose steam. You want to find something you could write about for the rest of your life with enthusiasm! Readers will see how excited you are about your topic, and they will be drawn to that authenticity and excitement.

Secondly, you must be consistent with your content in the beginning. Once you decide to start a blog, it’s important to write consistently. Decide on a dedicated number of posts per week and stick to it. Maybe it’s once per week, three times per week, or once per day. Decide what you can realistically stick to and do it. Readers will drop off your blog if your writing is sporadic. They want to come back to a blog each week and be able to expect fresh content.

Why do you feel it is important for you to speak at this event?

2016 is actually a self-proclaimed Year of Rest for me. As such, I’m choosing to be very careful and selective about what I say yes to when it comes to my business. I’ve said no to most opportunities, but I chose to say yes to speaking at Business Boutique because it encompasses everything that is my heart’s calling. I have a desire to equip women to chase their dreams, discover the best version of themselves, and make money doing what they love so that they can make a bigger difference in the world.

I love that this event will be touching on a wide variety of important topics as a business owner, including faith and balance, and I’m so excited to be a part of this event!

______________________________________________________

 

It’s hard to start a business, and it’s hard to keep it up and running while you’re in the trenches. But here’s the thing: You don’t have to be on this journey alone. With the right training and support, you can create a successful business—and you don’t need a degree to make it happen. 

For the complete plan on how to start or grow a business and make money doing what you love, pick up a copy of Business Boutique.