Okay so I published this blog August 20th 2019, all for the sake of seeing what my posts looked like with my website design. I had honestly meant to officially “launch” the 1st of September as I was still learning the ropes. While writing this it’s the 10th of September so honestly I don’t really know where to count my launch anymore (lol). But anyway here’s what I learned in my first month of blogging.
I wanted to write a “What I learnt” post now instead of later because I feel like a lot of bloggers don’t tell you about the chaos of starting and figuring out how to run a blog. They just tell you about when they start making money. And since I’m in the midst of this chaos and just had a Pinterest break through (more on this in a moment) I NEED to share my findings with you.
I’m going to break this post up into the usual sections. Hosting, Mailing list, etc. So feel free to skim through to find what you need.
Hosting
Okay so I decided to go with BlueHost when I was thinking of starting a blog. I don’t know if it was much of a me decision though because every blog post I read at the time suggested them. When I went to the wordpres.org site they also suggested them so I thought they were the best bet. While I have to say that their service (in my experience because I called them about a billing issue) was great I don’t know if they’re the best value for your money. Most bloggers have an affiliate link and you get a couple dollars off your first plan that’s great! …..Well not really.
The plans go from 12 months- 36 months. All in all you could be spending around $200 USD give or take according to the plan you choose. I specify USD because I, like many other people, am not from the US. Meaning there’s conversion rates involved. As a broke college graduate and starting freelancer I could definitely not afford to part with $200 USD for hosting so I went with the 12 month option.
There’s a catch
Have you looked at the fees BlueHost is going to charge you when your subscription has to be renewed? Well boy oh boy take a LOOK.
Yup you read right.. I love Blue Host. Their interface is great and easy to use but unless my blog starts making me at least $200 USD by the end of my 12 months I need to find another hosting provider lol. This being said it does light a fire under my butt to get to working and start getting those profits!
Recently I’ve been doing research on SiteGround and Namecheap. I have not used any of these but their offerings seem better than Blue Host so check it out.
My Advice
Don’t just read someone’s blog post “How to start a blog for blah blah” and blindly do their step by steps. They’re making money from that link so of course they won’t say the full story. Go to the site (through their link if you want. Help the blogger afford their hosting lol) and look at ALL their rates. Not just the introductory prices. On this blog we’re smart about our money!
Your Email List
Well after I got my hosting I listened to the same bloggers and chose the mailing platform their recommended. In my case it was Constant Contact. I saw the $20 monthly fee and told myself that I should be able to afford it as I try to build my list (hahahaha okay sis.)
I joined their site for their free trial to test it out. Warning! To try their free trial you need to give your card info or paypal info. After joining I was then informed (through their FAQ section) that to cancel my account I had to call their offices. What site have you ever joined where you had to call to cancel??
I’m sorry but this turned me off completely. International calls are expensive in my country or any country actually.
In their FAQ section I also found out that after your free trial your account is basically paused until you’re ready to pay. This sounded great until last Saturday when paypal told me that $20 was charged from Constant Contact.
Is It Worth It?
After calling (sigh I still had to call) I was informed that the account would only pause if I call and say so. You can’t message them about billing issues you MUST call. I simply asked for a refund and told them to cancel my account, which they did but not without questions.
It was then I found out why they insist you call. At this moment they attempt to offer you discounts so you stay. I was offered a 60% discount for my first year which I think was probably a good deal but at this point I was turned off. Plus I didn’t even bother to learn how to use their software since I found a better alternative for someone like me who is trying to save money.
I’m not saying their product is bad, it’s probably great! But after experiencing this complicated (and expensive because international calls aren’t cheap) I couldn’t justify using their service. I have to mention though that their customer service when you call is great. The guy who dealt with me was awesome.
What I use
I use MailerLite. Why? They are free until your first 1000 subscribers. Their system is super easy to use and their designs are attractive and modern. I have tested their mailing system on a couple of emails and they all turn up in the main inbox. And changing information and adding customization is amazingly easy.
I know this sounds like an ad but it’s not lol. I don’t have an affiliate link (yet wink wink) but I really love their platform.
I’ve never had to call them about an issue though so I don’t know what their service in that department is like. But so far I love it! In the last month I also got my first few subscribers. They have awesome tracking capabilities to see if people have opened your emails and if they clicked any of the links inside.
[mailerlite_form form_id=2]By the way why not join my mailing list? I post helpful guides about creating and managing your business. Let’s grow together!
I have read countless blog posts about Pinterest in the past month and a half. I am DONE. They all say the same thing. Get Tailwind, have keywords and buy their book or course on the topic. Okay I get that you’re trying to make money but can any of them provide some actual information that’s not already out there? Makes me wonder if their books or courses have any useful information or if it’s just the same thing.
Don’t get me wrong, you’ve gotta invest in yourself and your company. It’s the only way you’re going to grow but most of these bloggers out here are using the topic like a cash cow and they don’t seem to get that you have to provide useful unique value FIRST for people to trust you enough to invest.
TIP: In your first month of blogging focus on views and quality
My Humble Advice
So in the past two weeks (let’s remember I’ve been online for less than a month) I’ve done a little experiment.
Firstly I got the tailwind free trial (they don’t ask for payment info upfront hint hint constant contact) and decided to do the advised posting they told me and re-pinned on my own a bit.
I got some traffic but not a lot.
My takeaway is to not use pinterest like you used it before as a regular user. (duh lol)
I then said screw you tailwind! I’ll come back to you in a couple months! And took control over my pinterest. I created new pins with a new design (because why not, you have to do this often enough anyway) and posted these pins about 3-4 times a day to multiple boards that related to the topics. And in-between those pins I posted about 50-70 of other people’s pins of the similar topic for the day. (My number could be a lil exaggerated lol I didn’t actually count but I know I pin more than 10 per pinning session.)
What Does This Do?
This tells pinterest that I’m active so they boost my posts and by sharing so much similar stuff to my boards, Pinterest leans more about what my boards, pins and profile is about. Therefore my pins started showing up for the relevant topics when I searched for them. And in the suggested pins under my pin I started seeing pins of the same nature. Before pinterest would just guess based more on the picture background and the suggested pins had nothing to do with what I pinned about.
Now, if relevant pins are now being suggested under my pins this means that my pins are now being suggested under pins of the same type. BOOM! I cracked the system! ….Well sort of lol.
Just Try It
All I know is that I’m now getting way more engagement on my pins and more clicks to my blog which is the goal. So try this. I know you might be saying that you have no time but if your dashboard is already optimized to see stuff similar to what you’re re-pinning then it takes less than 15 mins to pin about 20 of other people’s pins and a couple of yours to your boards.
(hint: just repin your older pins. It’s easier to track the numbers.)
Do this when you have a break at work throughout the day and you’re engagement should increase.
Finance
In the beginning of my first month of blogging, I was trying to set up everything I’ll need for when I start making money on this blog. Until I realized… I didn’t need to.
This blog is a baby at the moment and I should really be focusing on getting more readers. To join affiliate programs I need to have readers. Even amazon has a trial period where you need to make a sale in order to be a part of their affiliate program. If I have no readers how can I make a sale and remain in the program?
Due to this thinking I decided to hold off on the running around to get all my legal stuff done and take things as they come. It’s good to plan and be prepared but like I said in my post How To Start a Graphic Design Business, you have to be mindful of your mental health and stress levels. There’s many steps to running a business and not everything can be done right as you start.
My First Month of Blogging was Interesting
All in all I’m really glad I clicked that launch button early and got some hands on experience being a blogger. Sometimes the only way you can learn and plan is when you actually start.
I hope this blog post wan’t the regular ole ‘what I learned’ post and you found some useful information that can help you with your own blog baby.
If you have anything you learned and want to share with me then leave a comment! Remember to inside your blog link so I can check you out.
Pin for Later! Others can find this information useful!
