blog Archives - Page 9 of 10 - the frugal millionaire

The Beginner’s Guide to Blogging

You guys, I have something special that I’m in the process of creating for you.

I am creating a guide for beginner bloggers that will help you navigate the world of blogging. This is the guide that I wish I had. And I’m not just going to “remember” what I did as far as getting my blog set up, I’m going to purchase another domain name and take detailed notes to share with you on what you need to do after purchasing your hosting and domain name. You know, the technical, nitty-gritty stuff. I can’t tell you how many times I stared at this screen when I first started my blog. I didn’t know what to do, yet at the same time I felt very overwhelmed on all that I could do. It’s confusing, and my book will show you what to do in an easy, step-by-step process.

The Beginner’s Guide to Blogging: What It Will Include

How to choose the right theme for your blog and get it up and running
The technical stuff when it comes to setting up your blog
How to monetize your blog from DAY ONE
What pages you need to create right off the bat, and how to create them
How to get your sidebar organized and what you should include on it
20+ blog prompts for your first month or two of posts so you never run out of ideas (including posts that you can make money on right away)
AND MORE!!!!

This guide is intended for those of you that started a blog within the past six months or have just purchased your domain name and hosting.

The guide is going to be released on Tuesday, January 12th, 2016. Mark your calendars!! Here’s how it’s going to work:

FREE for Brand New Bloggers: Purchase your blog domain and hosting through my Bluehost link (your domain is FREE and hosting is just $3.49 per month through my link!!) either now or in January, and you will receive my guide FOR FREE!!!!
FREE for Bloggers Who Purchased a Blog through My Link Already: If you’ve already purchased your domain and hosting through my link (either last week or last year), I will email you my guide on January 12th! So, if you want to get started with your blog before the holidays, feel free to purchase it now and you’ll get my guide on January 12th in your email.

A quick note: I am notified of new domain names when a blog is purchased through my Bluehost link. However, please send me an email with your domain name and email address directly so I have it on file.

For All Bloggers: If you already have a domain name and hosting, but would like to use my guide as a resource, you can purchase it from me starting on January 12th. Price TBD.

Since the guide is not yet completed, I would love it if you would comment and let me know what you would like to see in this guide! I’ve read a lot of “Beginning Blogging” books and articles and I want mine to be different. It’s going to include exclusive information that took me months to learn, it’s going to be easy-to-read and refer to, and best of all it’s going to get you set up on the right foot for blogging success!

If you’ve been wondering if you should take the leap and start your own blog, now is absolutely the time! I have a goal of making $10K per month within one year (October 2016) and I would love it if you hopped on this challenge with me! Even if you don’t want to be a professional blogger, you can create a blog and use it as your portfolio to land online jobs, such as writing, being a virtual assistant, designing and more. The world is online and it looks as though most jobs are headed in that direction. There is no better time than now to make your presence KNOWN in the online space!

So, to get in on this, determine what type of blog you want to create and sign up through Bluehost (you can read my tutorial on How to Start a Blog which will walk you through setting up Bluehost), then email me (sbrooks52111 @ yahoo.com) saying you signed up and what your blog domain is. I will then get you on the list for my blogging guide which will be released on January 12th, 2016!!

You can now PRE-ORDER my book here!

How to Stay Motivated When You First Start Blogging

When you first start out blogging, you probably have a few weeks or months worth of material that you want to write about. It’s hard to start out at first, but once you get into a groove, creating content becomes second-nature. However, it’s very normal after a few months of blogging to wonder, “Why did I start this blog again?” “I feel like no one is reading it except my mom,” and “I don’t know if this was worth it.”

I am here to tell you that it IS worth it!!!

As my regular readers know, I did not start my blog as a hobby. While I’ve made some wonderful friends and love the blogging community more than ever, my primary reason for starting a blog was to earn an income. (Do you want to do the same? Read my tutorial here on how to start a profitable blog. You’ll receive a discount by using my link!) And, I am happy to report (2 1/2 years in!), that I finally was able to quit my full-time job to focus more on my blog! Woot! If I can do this, so you can!! Just give it time! 🙂

Here are five ways you can keep up the momentum when you first start blogging.

The Two Ways I Doubled My Pageviews in One Month

One of the ways I plan on reaching $10K per month in one year is through my blog. That means I need to get serious about it and view it as a business. While I’ve said on here before that my blog has been a business from the start and that I didn’t start this blog just as a “hobby” blog, my actions were saying otherwise. I prioritized freelance work over blogging and was never consistent in how often I was posting. I would get burnt out and post a few times a month, regain steam and post a few times a week, and then get burnt out again. I’m sure anyone who blogs can relate.

I started really getting serious about my blog again in September 2015. Since then, my pageviews have doubled.

As of September 2016, I am consistently bringing in $1000+ per month through my blog only! No more freelancing for this gal!

You can view my latest income report here!

If you’re interested in starting a blog of your own, head over to my tutorial on How to Start a Profitable Blog. With it, you’ll receive a special discount through Bluehost, a FREE domain name, and a copy of my book – The Beginner’s Guide to Blogging – for free!

How to Write Faster and Increase Your Productivity

I often get asked how I’m able to “do it all.” Though, sometimes it’s not so much a question but more a concern (hi mom!). Well, I’m here to tell you that while some of my days are long, I honestly think I’m doing a really good job in the work-life balance. Everybody’s busy. But the truth of the matter is if you want to accomplish something, you will make time for it in your day. That’s why I freelance and blog (and work FT and am a mom), I want to. It’s something I enjoy doing and I’m growing a business, so I put in the work.

Before I get started with today’s post, I wanted to see if anyone would have any interest in reading some sort of guide/eBook on how to better manage your time so you can accomplish all of your goals? (Title TBD.) I’m currently working on a FREE eBook as a “Thank you” for signing up for my upcoming newsletter, but after that I’d love to create an actual eBook that goes in-depth and gives readers something to learn from and take away. If you don’t mind, let me know in the comments what you think of that idea or if you think it’s too overdone.

If you’re new to blogging and freelancing, or if you’ve been at it for years but want to increase your productivity, this post is for you. The secret to getting a ton of work accomplished is by learning to write fast and focus. I’m not saying you should sacrifice quality for quantity (in fact, you should never do that), but I am saying you can learn to write quickly so you can make more money per hour, accomplish more each day and have more free time with your family.

How to Make Time for Side Hustles

I tend to have a lot on my plate, just like all of us. I’m a wife, mom to two little girls, I work full-time, I keep my house clean regularly, I cook dinner most nights of the week and more, yet I still have time to freelance write and blog. I have a goal of making $10K per month within one year (so, by October 2016) through freelancing and blogging. That’s a l.o.t. of money, which equates to a l.o.t. of work.

One of the things I get asked is how I am able to balance all of it. Interesting fact- but I don’t feel like I work all the time. I bake something usually once a week, John and I watch TV every night before bed, I go to bed early (like I’m asleep by 9:30 early), and I never work when my girls are awake and with me. Every once in a while, John will watch them for an hour or so on a weekend morning, but for the most part I like to be with them and fully engaged when they’re up.

How Blogging Changed My Life

Are you happy?

I would consider myself a pretty happy person. While I’ve had struggles just like the next person, I try to focus on the positives in my life. While I’ve always been happy, my happiness has increased significantly over the past few years and I attribute it to a few different reasons.

September Freelance Income

I set a goal a few weeks ago of making $10K a month within one year. To clarify, that is one year from October, not September, since I set the goal toward the end of September. But, it’s kind of funny (well, ironic maybe?) that this month was my lowest freelance income month in a while (and by “a while,” I mean three years).

However, I am committed to being open and honest with my readers. In a way, it’s good that I’m basically starting from nothing, as hopefully I can encourage those of you who also don’t have a huge clientele that this can be done.

So, let’s take a look at my freelance income for September.

10K per Month in One Year Challenge

Hi everyone! How is everyone’s week going? It’s Friday, so that’s a good sign 😉

My week has been great! A week full of work with a little bit of fun mixed in (a trip to The Fresh Market for pumpkins, fresh coffee and dessert!) – nothing better. Tomorrow I’m working from home and plan on relaxing this weekend with my family. My girls have been so tired all week after daycare, so I haven’t seen too much of them and I want to make up for it this weekend with lots of quality time. Cami, my 3-year-old, has actually been asking to “go rest” when she gets home from daycare, and she usually ends up falling asleep for the night 🙁 This is at roughly 6pm, by the way. (Perhaps this is why she wakes for the day at 5am, haha.)

Today I wanted to elaborate a little bit more on my “Life Update” post from earlier this week regarding my goal of increasing my freelancing and blogging income to $10K a month within one year.

July Freelance Income + a Change of Direction

Hello everyone! I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted and I know I’ve totally lacked consistency the past few weeks. I will say – while I love my new FT job – I do find myself short on time lately. I’ve managed to keep up with my freelancing work and keep the house clean, and any extra time I have is devoted to my husband and daughters (just as it should be!).

However, that doesn’t mean I plan on stopping blogging completely. In fact, I’m hoping to do just the opposite. But first, let’s take a look at my freelance income for July.

The advantages of taking a blog break

As you may have noticed, I haven’t blogged in over a week and a half (or worked, for that matter!). I’ve been in Arizona for the past 9 days spending time with family and friends, watching my sister get married and spending quality time with my husband. It was glorious! My parents are such a big help with the girls and it was nice to have a little break from the day-to-day life here in NC.

Instead of scheduling out posts and working ahead on projects, I decided to just take some much-needed time off from everything. I didn’t work, I didn’t blog, I didn’t look for jobs and I barely read any other blogs or spent time on the computer. While I’m happy to be back, the break was just what I needed to get back into the swing of things.