How to start a blog…and, why I decided to start one!
Many of my family and friends are wondering why I decided to start a blog. And some of you may be wondering “How to start a blog?” The simple answer is that I knew that I had a wealth of “education” knowledge and I wanted to share what I know with others.
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How my Education Path led me to start a blog
I was both a teacher and a principal throughout my 32-year-career in public education. And now I am a Director of a Grant Program at our local Community College.
When I was a teacher, I ended up teaching all grades from Kindergarten – 6th during my 17 years of teaching. I will admit, a few of the grades were in combination classes, BUT that adds even more knowledge. My favorite grade by far was first grade.
Then I was a public school administrator for 14 years; first as an Assistant Principal and then a Principal. I learned so much about teaching and learning during those years. As well as what it takes to be a school administrator and leader.
My exposure to blogs
Another reason I got interested in blogging was that I was reading more and more blogs through Pinterest and when searching the web for teaching blogs. AND, my sister has been writing a cooking blog for about seven years and she loves it.
One thing I noticed about “teaching” blogs was that most bloggers were youngish teachers and many were selling their products on the Teachers Pay Teachers site.
Well, I’m not a young teacher anymore, and I’m not interested in selling on Teachers Pay Teachers. I am meaning no criticism at all to that retail site, I know teachers personally who love to order digital products from them. And I think it is fabulous that the company has provided a forum that helps creative teachers supplement their incomes.
So how would my blog fit in with the world of education bloggers?
So, where did I fit into the blogging world? Then it hit me that I had the years and years of experience that leads to wisdom. And possibly many new teachers could learn from that wisdom.
You see, I am able to provide information from the perspective of both a teacher and an administrator.
I have worked in a large suburban K-8 grade school district that had about 23 schools, in a very small unified school district (only 3 schools; elementary, middle and high school) a medium-sized unified school district and in a two-school K-8th district. Each of these experiences gave me a vast amount of knowledge.
Now, back to information about blogging.
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What about monetization?
So, I’m sure some of you are wondering about monetization and if that is something I am working towards. The short answer is both YES and NO.
Making money will be nice, but it was not my primary motivation. I have been learning so many things about blogging lately, and one of the main concepts they all stress is that blogging is a LONG game and you won’t make any decent money for at least a couple of years.
I am fortunate in that I don’t need the money to survive and that I can take the time needed to build this blog correctly, not trying to rush things. So, for now, my primary motivation is to be a place “where teachers thrive and learning grow” (which is my tagline). Blogging is giving me many new things to do and learn which is very good for my brain too (wink).
So far, my process of monetization will be using a combination of affiliate links and my own creation of both digital products and courses. That could change or be expanded in a few years. I have a few of these digital products in the works, so stay tuned.
What does it take to set up a blog?
So, how to start a blog. The first thing that you will need to
After that, you will need to select a name for your blog and secure the domain name. Just warning you, your first five choices may not be available. Many names have already been grabbed up and are not available. A handy site to check for domain name availability is sitechecker.org.
After you have your domain name, you will need a hosting site and a platform.
What do those mean? I remember when I was first researching this idea, that was my first thought.
Well, the hosting site is the company that “holds” your website in its server. It has systems in place to keep your site secure and sends it out into the world wide web.
Blog Hosting
Disclaimer; I am an affiliate member for Bluehost. If you go through my link to make a purchase I will earn a commission. This in no way affects the cost to you.
The hosting company I use and recommend is Bluehost. I have been very happy with their service and I highly recommend them. There is a monthly fee for Bluehost that they require you to pay in an annual payment. It is all clearly explained on their website. If you are interested in signing up with Bluehost, here is a link to their site.
Platform
The platform company is the actual software that creates the way your website will look and how you will be able to add text and photos and other items to your site.
One of the most popular and highly respected is WordPress. I use WordPress and have been very happy with the ease of blogging using this platform. I recommend WordPress as a great platform for beginning bloggers. They are connected to Bluehost so when you join Bluehost, your WordPress software is included.
Whatever platform you select will require that you select a “theme” to use to get your site up and running. There are both free themes on WordPress and others you pay for. This is an example of “you get what you pay for.” The free ones are fine, but you will get many more features with a paid version.
Personally, I had some challenges setting up my theme to get it the way I wanted it to look. I’m older than you, so I am a little technology challenged. So, I went to another blogger who was recommended to me.
Part of her business is to help bloggers get up and running. So I purchased her services and have never regretted it. She (and other bloggers) have suggested the Genesis theme since it is robust and loads quickly, so that is what I use.
But if you are “giving it a go” on your own, experts say that the Divi theme is a good one in WordPress and that it is relatively easy to learn (or so I’m told). I don’t have personal experience with it, so I am merely repeating what I’ve read.
Other initial purchases to set up your blog
If you have a goal down the road of earning supplemental income, you will need to establish an email list right away.
The reason you need to do this right away is that it takes time to build a subscriber list. And your email list will become your true fans and be the backbone of your online business.
The most recommended software that I have seen is ConvertKit, which is the one I use. This has a monthly cost also. ConvertKit has a number of options to choose from, the most expensive offering the most services. Currently, I am using the least expensive option. There are other companies available also.
One FREE email service/software is called MailChimp. It has a few limitations that ConvertKit does not have, but if you need FREE, it is sufficient until you are earning an income from blogging.
I have not used Mailchimp before, so I am not qualified to give any further opinion on it.
Other things to keep in mind
In order for people to become a subscriber to your blog site, you will need to create and offer FREE items. This is where ConvertKit comes in to play.
It easily loads your “freebie” and allows you to create a “form” to embed in your posts (articles) to entice your readers to provide their email address to get the “freebie” (also called a “lead magnet” and/or “opt-in.”
Here is an example of an “opt-in” or “freebie” or “lead magnet”.
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Then ConvertKit keeps your list of email subscribers, sends them emails you create and offers various other services.
There are loads other things to learn about blogging.
As you delve into blogging you will discover that there is so much to learn about the platform than just how to start a blog. It can be a hobby, a site to connect with family and friends, it can be a way to provide supplemental income, or it can be a way to earn a full-time income.
There are a handful of people who are earning over six figures annually with their blog. Mind you, they work very hard at this, and as they get larger, they often hire staff to help them.
Do you think you are interested in blogging? If so, please subscribe to Bluehost using the link above.
Do you have questions about any of this information? Do you feel like you now know how to start a blog? Feel free to ask in the comments section below and I will get back to you soon.
Until Next Time,
Your Teacher Buddy
