How I Quit My Job and Doubled My Income With This Blog

Last summer, I nervously walked into my bosses office and sat down to tell him I was quitting my job. I wasn’t leaving for another position or company, but to stay home with my children and continue running my blog. (scroll down to follow the step-by-step guide to start your own)

It sounded kind of crazy.

Like any time you make a big leap, I wasn’t sure I was making the right choice. In fact, I think the larger part of my gut told me it was a horrible idea. But I trusted the other side, had weighed the options carefully, and was willing to jump in and give it a shot.

Since then, I have grown my blog income by 425% and make double (sometimes more) what I did at my office job. Plus, since I work for myself, I work when and where I want and I definitely work less than a 40 hour work week. Usually my days look a lot like this:

It’s a story you’ve probably heard before. After all, there are plenty of bloggers out there telling you their story and how they are making a ton of money on line. If you’ve been wondering if you can do the same, I want to tell you that YOU CAN.

Is it easy? No. Is it fast? No. But working at home and making your OWN money without anyone ever telling you that you can’t have the afternoon off to take your kids to the doctor is worth it.

It is more than worth it.

If you want to start a blog, I’m here to show you how. I have worked hard to explain it all in great detail to walk you through the process from the very beginning. To start your own blog in just a few minutes, click here and I’ll show you exactly how.

Bonus Tip! Take the course, Building A Framework: The Ultimate Blogging Handbook. You will learn everything about launching a successful blog from the very beginning, no trial and error. I would have killed for this when I started blogging!

But how do I actually make money?

There are three basic ways someone makes money with a blog:

• Ads :: advertisements that show up on your blog that companies pay to put there.
• Sponsored Posts :: writing a post for a company or product – example.
• Affiliates :: recommending products you love and if someone buys through your link you get a percentage of what they spend.

If you want to make money from home without a blog, I have a lot of ideas for that, too. Ways to help you make money on the side without a ridiculous amount of hustle just for an extra dollar. Check out the series here.

I know so many moms want to stay home with their kids. I know this because that is how I felt for so many years. I was able to make it happen with this blog and because of that, I really want to show you how.

Start A Blog Now

STEP ONE: Name Your Blog

Your blog name is called a domain. How do you decide what your blog name will be? Well, it really boils down to what your blog is going to be about and then choosing an easy to remember, easy to spell, name. You want readers to know what they’re going to hear from you when they visit your site.

If you haven’t quite decided what to call it, here is a great article with a planning worksheet to help you brain storm.

STEP TWO: Set Up Hosting

Being self-hosted is critical to your success if you want to earn money blogging. One way you’ll earn money on your blog is through affiliate links and ads. You’ll need to be able to place the affiliate links in your blog for products you trust and believe in. Being self-hosted will make that a snap.

It’s not free to be self-hosted, but it’s super inexpensive if you use Bluehost.

Bluehost is, in my opinion, the best hosting platform for new bloggers. I love that they will refund your money if you decide blogging is not for you. You aren’t “locked” into anything and you won’t find a cheaper option anywhere else.

It’s also super easy to set up your blog using Bluehost. Trust me, you want to be able to set it up yourself so that you don’t have to pay someone else to do it for you. It might seem a little complicated, but I promise if you just follow my steps it will be a breeze.

You have three options when choosing your Bluehost plan.

The plan I suggest is $3.49 a month for 36 months, paid up front. It drops the price of your hosting per year to just $41.88 a year.

Go to Bluehost now and click on the “Get Started” button. You’ll be asked to enter your domain name and then click “Next.”

Sometimes you’ll choose a blog domain only to find out it’s already taken. It’s frustrating for sure, but it’s not the end of the world. Think of lots of variations to try and just keep trying until you find something you love that’s available.

When you’re making your purchase through Bluehost you’ll be offered lots of services to buy that are extra and that you don’t need right now. Just choose not to select those boxes. The box you SHOULD check however is Domain Privacy Protection and it’s just .99. This will make sure your contact information isn’t made publicly available as the owner of the site.

STEP THREE: Set Up Your Blog

Now that you’ve chosen your hosting package, log into your new Bluehost account.

Click on “C Panel” in the menu.

Click on “One-Click Installs.”

You’ll be taken to a page that says “Blogs and Website Builders” and you’ll chooseWordPress. Bluehost has got your back from this point and will walk you through any remaining steps.

Super easy, right? You’re a blogger! Way to go!

When you log into your new WordPress site you’ll want to put some clothes (aka a “theme”) on your new blog! Once you’re logged into your new WordPress site, just click on the word “Appearance” in the left sidebar and then click on “Themes.” You’ll see lots of free themes there that you can use and I’m covering themes in the next part of the series here…

Here is part two on making your blog pretty.

Here is part three – resources for everything. (here are the tips for making money your new blog!)