Ah…blogging. When I started two years ago, I had no idea what I was getting into. I also had no idea how much I would love it! Blogging just felt right. I loved writing and was contantly getting the urge to write. The topics and ideas came to me day and night and at the most inconvenient times. I have even pulled over onto the side of the road just so I could get a paragraph or phrase written down, and I have gotten up in the middle of the night because I had a whole blog post floating around in my head that needed get on paper. I just could sleep until I wrote the whole post! Coming up with posts was easy. In fact, I have so many things I want to write about that I think it will take years for me to get through them all. I actually have a whole list in a notebook, and the list keeps growing. While writing posts came easily, blog branding took a little more time for me.
This site contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here.)
Learning about Blog Branding
Learning the most effective ways to promote my blog…took a little research and trial and error. Fortunately, I have found several techniques that have helped my blog grow. I am writing this post in hopes that I can help other new bloggers just as I was helped by other bloggers when I first started. Perhaps, a new blogger (maybe you) will stumble across this post as they are doing their own research on blog branding.
Blog branding: How to Get your Blog Noticed.
Step 1: Before you can promote your blog and brand, you first have to determine your brand.
You can figure out your brand by asking yourself these questions:
What is my niche?
A niche is what your blog is specifically about. Make sure you get this down first so that you can match your style and logo to your niche.
Since my niche is about mindful living and nutrition, I like to use beautiful restful flowers and kitchen items in many of my post images, and my books.
Here is a picture of my ebook to give you an example. See how this image of a fork and a flower fits my niche?
Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals eBook
What is my color scheme and style?
I have always liked shades of pinks, greens, and teals so I went with this look. I also picked two fun fonts that I tend to frequently use. My favorite fonts are Great Vibes and Arimo. Once you pick your color scheme and fonts, use then often. Use them on your logo, graphics, Pinterest pins/boards, Instagram, and promotional items.
What will your Logo Look Like?
Next develop your logo. I developed my simple logo using Canva. Again, I picked my favorite colors. (These were actually the colors I used in my wedding 15 years ago!) I figured I better pick colors I love no matter what the trend because I will be looking at these colors and logo for a long time.
I chose a simple logo since my blog is about slowing down and being in the moment with mindfulness.
Step 2: Get Your Brand Noticed By Promotiong your Brand
Now that you have your brand identity, you can start promoting it.
Three of my favorite ways to get your blog noticed
1. Continually post your brand look on social media and pinterest.
I have my brand logo at the top of my facebook page as well as on all my Pinterest board covers. People will gradually start recognizing your look. Over time, your blog will become familiar and recognizable to your readers.
2. Add your Logo and color scheme to Business Cards and T-Shirts.
This one is different than many of the other tips I have come across, but I have found that business cards have helped me immensely. Business cards are perfect for those times when your blog naturally comes up in conversation and the person you are talking with wants to know how to find your blog. I have actually found many readers this way. Along with the business cards, I also had a few Mindfulness in Faith and Food T-shirts made. These Logo T-shirts are great conversation starters. (Positive Promotions makes cute logo t-shirts for businesses.) After these t-shirts spark an interest, I can hand the person a business card so that they can easily find the blog.
3. Purchase fun logo items to hand out at events.
Businesses do this to promote their company, but many bloggers haven’t realized how valuable this techniques is when it comes to promoting a blog. Because I have a faith-based nutrition blog, I like to use my giveaway items at events like health fairs and church events. I decided to purchase these cute salad cups from Positive Promtions because they went well with my niche and brand. These cups have been used several times already. I participated in a health fair and gave all the guest these Mindfulness in Faith and Food salad containers. Those salad containers were a HUGE hit, and I recieved many new subscribers during that ONE health fair. More recently I gave the salad containers to each teacher at my daughter’s school as a gift for Teacher’s appreciation week.
Positive Promotion Salad Container with Dressing and fork compartments
So do you have a mom blog? Try giving out your promotional items at family festivals or family focused events. Do you write a food blog? You can give away promotional items at food festivals or Farmer’s markets. The possibilities are endless.
You can also give away this items as an extra thank you when someone purchases another product. Your readers will use the items around other people who will also see your blog logo!
I get my blog promotional products from Positive Promotions. I like them because they have a HUGE variety of fun and unique items…like my salad containers.
Take Home Message: Be Creative
There you have it…. my top three ways to get my blog noticed. I hope you found these ideas helpful. The take home message is be creative! You can find so many ways to get your Logo and blog out there.
I Want to hear from you!
What creative ways have your gotten your blog and brand noticed? Please share your ideas in the comments! If you found this post helpful, please like, pin, and share!
If you have ever read a blog, you have probably seen an affiliate link. Affiliate links are links in a blog that takes you to the website where you can buy the product. These links are helpful for the reader because they can easily buy or read about the product that the blogger is recommending. These links, however, benefit the blogger too. The blogger can make a small commission everytime a reader buys the product by clicking on the link in the blog post. This is a fantasic way for bloggers to make passive income through their blog.
Make Money Through Affiliate Marketing
This site contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here.)
How to Become a Blogger Affiliate
A blogger can apply to become an affiliate through affiliate networks or directly through the merchant. Once you become an affiliate simply add links to your blog whenever you talk about a product you love. I usually just write my post first and then add affiliate links where ever I notice I mention a product.
So say my blog is accepted as an Amazon Affiliate. For my next post I talk about Mindful eating, and I mention my favortie mindfulness books. I can get the amazon link through the amazon affiliate program and add the link to my blog post. Whenever someone clicks on the Mindful books link and buys the prodcuct or any other product within 24 hours of clicking on my link, I will get a small commission for the sale. This is affiliate marketing in a nutshell.
*One important note: Make sure you are promoting items you love and use. People will come to trust your recommendations if you are honest and authentic. Isn’t the whole point of blogging to tell people about the things you know about and love?
Steps to Making Money through Affiliates
So you now know the basics about affiliates. Let’s talk about how to make real money through affiliate marketing.
Step 1: Get the Right Host
The first step to affiliate marketing is to get the correct blog host. You need to select a self-hosting company like Bluehost if you are planning on using affiliates. Then, you need to get wordpress.com (not wordpress.org) if you plan on making money with your blog. Next you You will also need to purchase your domain name. (My domain name is www.mindfulnessinfaithandfood.com). Fortunately your domain name is included when you purchase Bluehost. You can also set up wordpress.com through Bluehost as well.
By the way, if you decide to use Bluehost through my link, let me know, and I would love to support you by promoting your first post through some of my platforms. (as long as it’s family friendly).
Okay, now for the good stuff! Now that you have your blog, you can apply to become an affiliate! (Some affiliates require a certain number of page views before approving your blog).
Below are my personal favorite affiliate programs if you are wanting to make money:
The Share-A-Sale affiliate program has become one of my favorites. I like Share-a-sale because you pick which companies you want to partner. Because Share-a-Sale has over 4,500, you can pick the companies and products you love and use. Some of the merchants on Share-A-Sale include Etsy, Tailwind, and even Share-a-Sale. Yes, I said Etsy! You can filll out an application with Shareasale here. After you join Share-a-Sale, browse the companies and apply to partner with the individual companies you love.
2. CJ Affiliates
CJ affliliates works similarly to Share-A-Sale in that you can pick which companies to partner. I am a huge fan of the lists of companies you can partner with through CJ Affiliates. Some of the companies include 1-800-Dentist, AMCMouse.com, 24 Hour Fitness, and many, many more.
3. Amazon Associates
You can find almost anything on Amazon, which makes Amason my go-to affiliate for many products. You can find a link on Amazon to about any product you are talking about on your blog. For this reason, I think a blogger looking to make money should definitely apply to be an Amazon Affiliate.
Another perk to using Bluehost is that later you can apply to be a Bluehost affiliate. Sometimes people want to start a blog like yours and want to know what host you use. Tell your readers how you started your blog and share your Bluehost link. So if you are using Bluehost and love it; tell people!
This is technically called a friend referral program. Ibotta is a FREE app that sends you rebates when you shop. In other words, Ibotta pays you to shop through their app! Sooo it’s free AND you make money by purchasing your everyday items and groceries!!! Oh and one more thing, you also make money everytime someone signs up through your affiliate link! Okay another one more thing (last one more thing, I promise), when you sign up through an affiliate link like this one, you get $10 for signing up! Oh, and if you don’t have a blog you can simply post your referral code on Facebook or send an email to your friends with your referral code.
Sooo its free, you get paid to shop, you get $10 for signing up through my affiliate link, and you get paid when others sign up through your link!!! I call that a win, win, win, win, win situation!
Ebates is similar and is just as awesome as Ibotta. Again, it is FREE, you get paid to shop, you get $10 for signing up through my affiliate link here, and you get paid when others sign up through your link! Yep, another win, win, win, win scenario.
Blogger Products: Best Results come from Blogger Affiliate Programs!
Beginners guide to affiliates including best affiliate programs adn affiliate programs for health and wellness bloggers
Why Do You Make More from Smaller Affiliate Programs?
I write post using affiliate networks and large companies because I like the variety of products available. However, as far as commissions go, I have made more money through small individual blogger and website affiliate links.
I believe I get the most commission from these smaller affiliate programs run by bloggers for several reasons:
1. I adore the programs I talk about and readers can feel that. You can find some amazing gems among bloggers!
2 The products sold by bloggers are unique, and you can only order the product from their website. You can’t get the same product on some big website like Amazon. Because the product is exclusive to the blogger’s website, readers often need your link to find it. In other words, you are finding these hidden gems for your readers!
So to recap…
It is a good idea to apply to become an affiliate on large affiliate networks so that you can find a large variety of product for your readers,
BUT
you should be searching for unique gems among bloggers who sell products. Look for products that you think your readers would like to know about.
7. Faithful Finishlines
Faithful Finishlines is an example of a smaller affiliate program run by bloggers.
This is an excellent faith-based weight loss program run by two bloggers. Since I am a faith-based dietitian, I knew my readers could benefit from knowing about this program. This is also one of my most profitable affiliate programs.
8. “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook
If you are looking for one of those unique products, we have one at “Mindfulness in Faith and Food”. The ebook is perfect for busy families who are struggling to get healthy food on the table every night. This book shows you how to make a month of healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes ALL in ONE DAY! You can read more about the ebook affiliate program here.
9. Pinterest Ninja
If you are new to blogging and want to learn how to massively grow your blog through Pinterest, I recommend purchasing “Pinterest Ninja,” then becoming an affiliate! This ebook helped me figure out how to succeed on Pinterest as a blogger! I talk all about how much “Pinterest Ninja” helped me here.
Step 3 Write A Post and Add Your Affiliate Links
Now that you have joined affiliate programs, you can start using them in your post. So just start writing post and adding links using your affiliate programs.
Step 4: Add your Affiliate Disclosure Statement to Every Post
FTC requires that you disclose that your posts contains affiliate links. To comply with FTC, make sure you add an affiliate disclosure statement before your first affiliate link shows up in the post. I usually write a short disclosure near the top of my post, and I provide a link to my more detailed disclosure page. Amazon Affiliates has their own specific statement they want you to use. I have added that statement to my disclosure page and to the sidebar of my blog so that it shows up on every post as well. Below are the steps to adding a text like a disclosure statement to your side bars.
Adding a Disclosure Statement to The Sidebar in Bluehost/Wordpress
Select on Themes in your Dashboard
Click on Widgets
Select ‘Texts’ and drag and drop it into your Widgets area
Add the Disclosure statement in the text box.
So to recap, I have a short disclosure statement near the top of every page, a link to a disclosure page on every post, and an Amazon Affiliate disclosure statement on the side bar of every post.
I hope you found this Blogger’s Beginners Guide to Making Money through Affiliates helpful. Please feel free to comment or contact me if you have any questions. Do you have affiliate programs you love? I would love to hear about the gems you have found.
A Guide to Affiliate programs including an affiliate programs list and affiliate programs for health and wellness bloggers
As a blog-from-home mom, I don’t purchase much for my blog, but Tailwind is a must! Tailwind is a pinterest scheduler and if you have had a chance to research blogging you know Pinterest is the #1 key to growing your blog. To grow your blog on Pinterest you need to pin often and at the best times of day WITHOUT being “spammy.” Pinning at the perfect times all day is almost impossible for many moms who blog in their spare time.
This site contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here.)
This is where Tailwindcomes in. This scheduler pins your pins for you at the best times!!!! Schedule your pins at the first of the week or even at the first of the month, and Tailwindwill make sure your pins are getting pinned throughout the day, everyday.
In other words, you are growing your blog on autopilot. Talk about passive income!!!
How to Grow Your Blog
Bonus: Tailwind Tribes
Plus you can join something called Tailwind Tribes. These Tribes allows bloggers to help and support each other. Basically for every pin you add to a Tribe, you must schedule someone else’s pin to one of your boards. In other words, you are pinning each other’s pins and thus increasing exposure of your pins! People will see your pins on other people’s Pinterest boards and possibly pin your pin. Then someone will see that pin and pin it again and so on and so on.
You can see why Tailwind is a must for bloggers who are trying to grow their blog AND still have time to do all the other things mom’s have to do.
This site contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here.)
Before you Start Your Blogging Routine
Hopfully you have already set up your blog, and now you are ready to start a regular blogging routine. If you have not set up your blog, I recommend registering your domain and setting up your blog through the hosting site Bluehost.
Now that you have set up your blog you will need to do a few things before starting your monthly blogging routine. So here they are!
The 5 Steps You Should Take Before Starting Your Regular Blogging Routine
Step 1
You should get a Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest Business page and link these pages to your site.
Step 2
You really do want to sign up for Tailwind! Tailwind is a Pinterest scheduler. This has been so helpful for me. I am able to schedule the pinning of my posts to all my pinterest boards months in advance. I am also a member of several Tailwind’s tribes. Members of the tribes basically pin each other’s pins! You can do all this through Tailwind. You can schedule 100 pins for free. They don’t even ask for your credit card for the free trial. Click hereto try Tailwind for free. After the free trial, I decided Tailwind was sooo worth purchasing, and I am the type of blogger who uses mostly the free plugins, themes, etc. So this is coming from a blogger who doesn’t purchase much.
Step 3
Purchase the “Pinterest Ninja” ebook! Really, I couldn’t purchase much when I first started. In fact, the only things I really feel like you should purchase in the beginning are:
Pinterest in the number one platform to grow your blog, and you will need to know how to use Pinterest effectively. I looked into many courses and ebooks. I knew I wanted one with the best reviews and within my very low budget. “Pinterest Ninja” fit the bill so I purchase it, and I was amazed with how helpful this ebook was. I highly recommend this purchase (and so do many other successful bloggers).
Step 4
You will want to start requesting invites to Pinterest group boards. These are boards where many people pin to the same boards. We also pin each other’s pins. These boards are a great way to get your pins seen. Some group boards are open to any topic, and some are niche specific. For example, I am in a Pinterest group board specifically for dietitians.
Are you looking for a Pinterest group board to join? I have an “any topic” group board called “Best of the Blogs”. To join my group board, just follow “Mindfulness in Faith and Food” on Pinterest and follow all the requirements listed at the top of the “Best of the Blogs” board. To request a group board invite, just send me your Pinterest Profile URL through the “contact me” form on Mindfulness in Faith and Food.
I also have a niche specific Pinterest board called “Mindful Living, Health, Wellness, and Faith.” This board focuses on the wellness of the whole body: mind, body, and spirit. If you talk about any one of these topics, feel free to contact me.
Step 5
Next you will want to start requesting invites to Facebook blogging group boards. Like Pinterest boards, some group boards are open to any topic, and some are niche specific. I am a member of several faith-based blogger group boards as well as dietitian blogger group boards. I am also a member of a faith-based nutrtion group board. Talk about specific. Bloggers support each other on these boards. You can ask your questions, share blogging experiences and opportunities with each other, and read and share each other’s blog posts.
I also have a niche specific Facebook group board called “Mindful living, Health, Wellness, and Faith Bloggers.” Similar to my niche specific Pinterest board, this group focuses on the wellness of the whole body: mind, body, and spirit, and is open to bloggers who talk about any one of these topics. You can apply to join this board here.
On a personal note, I try to write Facebook comments about other blogger’s posts often, instead of always talking about and promoting my blog. I know how much it means to get that comment on your blog so I try to do this for other bloggers. I noticed something interesting when I started doing this. Although I was trying to support someone else’s blog, bloggers started supporting my blog in return. So I recommend you do this as well. Don’t do it expecting someone to recipicate. Genuinely support other blogs, and eventually you will notice others supporting you as well. One of the many reason I love blogging is that other bloggers are not the competition. Engaging and supporting each other actually helps your blog become more successful! Isn’t blogging a beautiful way to make extra income?
Step 6
If you are interested in monetizing your blog, you may want to apply to become a blogger affiliate associate. A blogger affliate associate is someone who partners with a company and promotes the company’s products on their blog. When someone buys something after clicking on the company’s link in your blog post, the blogger affiliate gets a commission from the sale. The Share-A-Sale affiliate program has become one of my favorites. I like Share-a-sale because you get to pick which companies you want to partner. Because Share-a-Sale has over 4,500 companies, you get to pick the companies and products you love and use. I only write about products I naturally talk about in my blog, and I only choose companies I actually love. Some of the merchants include Etsy, Tailwind, and even Share-a-Sale. Yes, I said Etsy! You can fill out an application with Share-a-sale here. After you join Share-a-Sale, browse the companies and apply to partner with the individual companies you love.
Where does he get this stuff?
I definitely don’t make enough to get a Bugatti (not even close!) and move to THE LA, like my son says, but it’s nice to be able to make a little money on the side.
So now that you have these important tools in place, you can get into a writing and promoting routine.
What I Do the First Week of Every Month
The first week of every month, I write several blog post drafts. I keep these posts in draft form until I am ready to post. I often write 4-5 posts that are related to each other in a series.
But before I start writing each Blog post, I try to remember to pray. I pray that I am still following God and not just my own wants, and I pray that I say the things God wants me to say. I pray that my blog finds the people who need to read them and helps somehow.
If you have read some of my past blogs, you know I like to practice mindfulness. I feel that pausing to pray is a way to stay mindful of God’s presence and a way to stay mindful of THAT very moment. When I pray before I blog, I focus on the joy of blogging and live in the moment.
After I have written 4-5 individual posts, I am ready to post one blog post each week.
By the end of week one, I am ready to post one of the drafts. I pick one to post, and then I follow the steps below. I do these same steps each week for the blog posts I have pre-written.
My Weekly Routine
Step 1:
Proof read my blog post
Step 2:
Add pictures to the Blog by uploading my pictures or using ImageInject. ImageInject is a plugin on my page. With ImageInject, I am able to easily search for free images and photos and insert them into my blog.
Step 3:
Add any links to my past-related posts.
Step 4:
Add an affiliate disclaimer at the top of the post. An affiliate disclaimer just lets the reader know that you will get a small commission if someone purchases a product you mentioned in your post by clicking on the link on your site.
Step 5:
Add a Copyright note at the bottom of the post.
Step 6:
Add any affiliate links for products discussed in my post. (My affiliate program recommendation is Share-A-Sale)
Step 7:
Scroll down to the Yoast SEO notes at the bottom of the blog. I make corrections to my blog based of the Yoast SEO suggestions. Yoast SEO is a plugin that makes your post as search-friendly as possible.
Step 8:
Change my Meta Description. A Meta Description is a snippet that summarizes your blog post content. The search engine shows this description under the title when the searched phrase shows up in the description. You are more likely to pop up when someone searches for your blog topic when you have an optimized meta description.
Step 9:
Add tags to the post. Tags are a list of the specific items/subjects discussed in your post. The Tags are keywords and points you have discussed in the blog post. When you are reading a blog, tags are often listed at the bottom of a post to help you see all the topics and items discussed in the individual blog post.
Step 10:
Develop Pinterest friendly graphics and Instagram friendly graphics. You want your Pinterest Graphics to be vertical images. You can create these graphics using apps like Canva. Add these graphics to your blog. When you upload the Pinterest graphic, make sure you add subject words about your pin to the “Alt tags” of your pin image. (There is a spot to do this in WordPress)
Step 11:
Hit the Publish button. Your blog post is now live!
The Next Steps Involve Promoting your Blog:
Step 12:
Share your blog on your personal and business Facebook pages.
Step 13:
Remember that Pinterest image we developed in step 9? You can post that graphic straight from Canva to Pinterest. Once you have posted your Pinterest pin to a board, you have to add your link to the image. You can do this under the little edit pencil on your pin. You should add a great description while you are editing as well. Remember you can now use hashtags in your Pinterest descriptions. This will help your pin show up when people are searching in Pinterest. If you have added the pinterest image to your post, you can also pin your blog straight from your blog using your pin buttons (You can find a free plugin on WordPress that will add sharing buttons on your posts).
Step 14:
Use Tailwind to schedule your pin to be posted on additional boards.
Step 15:
Add your Pin to Tailwind’s tribes, and schedule other bloggers pins on Tailwind.
Step 16:
Support other bloggers in your group boards by pinning their pins to your own Pinterest boards.
Step 17:
Post the image you created for Instagram on my Instagram page. Again, you can post this image directly from Canva.
Step 18:
Promote your post on all your Facebook blogger group boards. I made a list of all my Facebook group boards and all the participation threads of each group. I put this list in a clear notebook sleeve. Next, I use a dry erase marker to mark when I am finished with a Facebook group thread. The marker will wipe right off of the sleeve when I am finished so that I can use the Facebook group thread list again for the next blog posts.
When I am participating in Facebook group threads, I want to genuinely support other bloggers. I try to carefully read and provide authentic and encouraging comments to other blogger posts. If you are looking for a Facebook group board to join, I have a niche specific board called “Mindful Living, Health, Wellness, and Faith Bloggers.“ If you talk about any one of these topics and would like to join this group board, you can request to join here.
Step 19:
Email your subscribers about your new post. Tell your subscribers a little about the post and about anything new or interesting happening on your blog. Mailchimp is my email marketing company. You can use Mailchimp for free for up to 2,000 subscribers. Here is another tip. Some of my post offer free printables for signing up to Mailchimp. When someone joins the Mindfulness in Faith and Food Family, they get three free printables: the 7-Day Mindul Planner, the Healthy Lunchbox Checklist, and the Mindful Lunch Box Notes.
You Are Finished! Now What?
Step 1-18 usually takes a whole week. When I have finished with steps 1-17, it’s time to post another blog and go through the steps again.
The ways you can promote your blog are endless. You can use Bloglovin’, Twitter, G+, Mix, and so much more. I have done a little with these, but I would like to do more at some point. My advice would be to promote on just a few Social Media sites, especially Pinterest at first. You don’t want to get too overwhelmed when you are first starting out as a blogger. You can build a following much better if you put most of your energy in just a few areas.
And there you have it, my blogging routine. I hope you have enjoyed this series. Are you interested in starting a blog? I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!
This site may contain affiliate links (see full disclosure here)
How to Start a Blog when You Feel Called to Blog
Starting a Blog from Scratch
In Mindfulness in Faith and Food’s call series, I have talked about finding your call by using the clues checklist. I explained how clues, signs, and circumstances lead me to believe blogging was my call. Perhaps you feel like starting a blog is your call as well, but you don’t know where to begin. Don’t worry; I can walk you through the steps I took to start a blog.
When I started blogging, I was starting from scratch. My blog facebook page and pinterest account had zero followers! I didn’t even have a personal Instagram account! I remember looking at my zero followers on my facebook and Pintertest pages and thinking, ‘how am I ever going to get people to read these blog posts? Jump to seven months later, and I am so surprised at how much the Mindfulness in Faith and Food blog has grown. Since I started from scratch, I thought a post about how to start a blog from scratch might be helpful. So here are the steps I took to start a blog from scratch:
Step 1: Pray
I believe we should remember to pray before every choice we make. When I pray, I ask God to lead me and help me know what is the right thing to do. Praying before working on my blog helps me feel closer to God and helps me remember why I started blogging in the first place. I also pray that I am careful with my words and write words that God would want me to write. I am sure I mess up at this sometimes, but I hope that I focus on what God wants me to say instead of letting my emotions, insecurities, and biases rule the blog.
Step 2: Determine your Niche
Your niche is the topic you feel knowledgeable and passionate about. This is the topic you are going to discuss in your blog. Your topic can be broad like “being a mom” or specific like “how to save money with a big family.” My blog is called Mindfulness in Faith and Food, and discusses nutrition as well as what I call my personal “God Moment” stories. I also emphasize the importance of mindfulness in our eating habits and in our faith journey. See why the name fits so well? You will pick your name in the next step.
Along with figuring out your niche, you should probably think about why you want to start a blog in the first place. Knowing why you are blogging will keep you motivated during the times when you aren’t making money or getting as many likes. When you are in a blogging slump, focus on your purpose.
So why are you blogging? Do you just want a place to record your thoughts? Are you hoping to help others by teaching, inspiring, or encouraging your readers? I am hoping my blog provides tools that are helpful to other’s lives, and I hope my ‘God Moment” stories provide hope and encouragement that just maybe God REALLY IS working in our lives TODAY. When times are hard and our faith and hope is weak (I have been there), I cling to these stories. I remember God really DOES care, LOVE us, and is truly INVOLVED in our life.
Step 3: Determine your Blog Name and Domain
After you determine your niche, you need to pick a name. You may want to make a list of possible names in case your first choice is taken. You can use this name to come up with your domain name. This is the blog web address. The web address is sometimes a variation of your Blog name. Fortunately, my blog name wasn’t taken so my blog domain name is www.mindfulnessinfaithandfood.com. I registered my domain name through the hosting company, Bluehost.
Step 4: Pick Your Host Site
I picked Bluehost, and I am so happy I went with them. After researching, I felt Bluehost was the way to go. You can use other free platforms, but if you even think you MIGHT monetize your blog one day, I would go with a selfhosted platform like Bluehost. Self-hosted means you own your blog and the content. I also like Bluehost because I can take care of several steps on one site. I was able to register my domain through Bluehost and install WordPress. Plus you can get your domain name for free if you decide to use Bluehost! Since I was just starting out, I picked the least expensive Bluehost package. I figured ‘why spend a bunch of money before you are making money?’ If you want to look through the great Bluehost plans click here.
Step 5: Install WordPress
Next I installed WordPress. This is WordPress.org NOT wordpress.com. WordPress is a website creation tool. In other words, you build your blog through them. You can install WordPress through Bluehost. You just need to login to your Bluehost account adn click the wordpress icon to install!
Step 6: Select a Blogging Theme
Now that you have WordPress you can play around and customize your blog. You do this on the WordPress Dashboard. I would first select a theme. Again, I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money on this blog since I wasn’t making any money yet, so I picked one of the free Themes. I picked the “Twenty Fifteen Theme.” I think this is a nice free theme and seems to work well for blog style websites.
Step 7: Pray and then Write a Post
Again, I pray for me to know what God wants me to say, and that I remember that my true purpose is helping others. Now you can write your first blog posts! I decided to write several posts in draft form before going live with my blog. I wanted my blog to have a little substance and depth before the blog was viewable. Having 4 or 5 post already written before going live just looks nice and more established.
Step 8: Write an ‘About Me’ Page
You don’t have to do this yet, but I think having a place where readers can find out about you and your topics helps establish your blog’s identity. You can always write a short ‘About Me’ page, and go back to make changes as your blog evolves.
Step 9: Add Plugins and Play around with the Appearance of the Blog
Now you have to play with the appearance of your blog and add plugins. A Plugin is software that can add specific features to your blog. Plugins are a BIG part of creating your desired blog, and many plugins are free. I recommend adding plugins for “sharing buttons” so that readers can share, pin, and like your post by simply clicking a button. I used the “Ultimate Social Media” plugin for my sharing buttons. “ImageInject” was one of the first Plugins I added. With ImageInject, I am able to easily search for free images and photos and insert them into my blog.
I also installed a subscriber sign up form through Mailchimp. People sign up to receive email updates whenever I publish a new post. These are just three of the many plugins available.
You are Now a Blogger!
Setting up my blog takes time. I played around in the WordPress dashboard until I was satisfied enough with the blog to go live. I am still often making changes here and there as I learn more and more.
That is it! Now you have a blog! The next steps are to promote the blog and look into monetizing your blog.
So you have a blog, now what?Check out my blogging work schedule to see what things you should be doing each month, week, and day as a blogger.
Did you find this post helpful? Did you decided to go with Bluehost through the links on this blog? If so, let me know so that I can celebrate with you by being one of the first to promote your blog through one of my social media accounts!
This is an adaptation from a story in the book, Faith, Mindfulness, & Nutrition. You can get the digital copy or the paperback version of the book here.
This post contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here)
Seeing God’s presence today through little signs from God.
I Noticed a Change in Me
After I prayed THAT prayer from part 3… the one when I told God I was ready to do what God wanted instead of what I wanted), I first noticed a change in me.
I truly wanted to know what God wanted me to do each day. Since that prayer, I TRY to remember to pray EVERY morning. Each morning I ask, “God, please help me see the needs of others today.” Do you know God did start giving me little opportunities to serve throughout my daily life? Check out the blog “We Ran Out of Gas” for one example.
I also started trying to pray in the car and pray before I entered any new environment. I started trying to be more mindful of God’s presence in every room I entered. Notice my blog is about Mindfulness? Do you see where all these circumstances are leading?
After Praying THAT Prayer
Because I am more mindful of God’s presence, I have noticed more “God Moments” in my life, and now I have even more “God moments” to share on this blog! If you read part 3, you will remember all of this started because I read a book called The Narrow Road: Stories of Those Who Walk This Road Together (International Adventures). This is a fantastic book about a man praying and waiting for God to lead him in almost every aspect of life. I highly recommend reading The Narrow Road: Stories of Those Who Walk This Road Together (International Adventures). Because of this book, I started incorporating prayer and listening to God in my everyday moments. (I truly think God lead me to read this book because God knew the reaction I would have. You can see this story in Part 3)
You can read more specific “God Moment” stories by clicking on the links below:
Should I Share My Personal “God Moment” Stories with Others?
I was so thankful that after saying the big prayer, God seemed to be showing me small ways to serve throughout my day, but I also felt like God was leading me to do something specific (part 3). But what? Would I get any signs from God? While I waited…well, I became impatient. I decided to actively write down a list of some of my accomplishments and talents. ‘Maybe I can use some of my talents to serve God,’ I thought. I jotted down that I enjoy writing and had written nutrition columns for the local newspaper in the past. But how in the world could I use this to serve God? Blogging wasn’t even on my radar at the time.
Still I thought, ‘well I do have several personal God stories that may encourage others. What if I could somehow share some of these personal experiences I have had with God through writing?” Could sharing these personal “God Moments” be my calling? But how would I know that this is something I should do? My goodness, I could do so many different things, how will I EVER know what God thinks I should specifically do?
Signs from God: The Answer is “Yes, Share these Stories.”
Then Sunday rolled around again, and I went to church. Guess what the sermon was about? Our pastor did a sermon on telling your personal call or God story. Well if that wasn’t an answer to my question, I don’t know what was.
In the sermon, the pastor said that a person’s personal call or God story has one of the greatest impacts when you are telling someone about God. In fact, a person’s personal story is only 2nd to the Bible when you are trying to tell someone about your faith. How amazing that as soon as I thought about sharing my personal stories and experiences with God, our pastor started talking about how important it is to tell YOUR personal story! So I decided I did want to write my personal stories down in one place so that I can use them somehow later.
Another God Moment: Finding the Time to Write
The next obstacle was finding the time to write. You see, I couldn’t write while the kids slept because I slept in the bed with my 3 year old (I know I should never have started that habit, right? I was just so tired of the nightly sleeping battles, and I just gave up. My son would go to sleep easily if I was lying with him. Sigh.)
The problem was that if I got up for anything, even to go to the bathroom, he would wake up and cry, “hold mommy, hold mommy!” How was I going to get up and begin writing again? I wanted to not only write, but also, pray and read God’s word more often. Do you know that when I decided to get up to write, my son didn’t wake up! I was able to write, pray, and read about God while my son slept! Could this be yet another of the many sign’s from God?
Doubt and Fear and then More Signs from God
Now, if I was stronger I would not have needed another nudge from God, but unfortunately fears and doubt began to creep in. I had written some of my stories, but I began to think, ‘do I really want to SHARE these stories with others?’ Just when I started backing away, God called me again. Literally right after I started backpedaling and doubting, two of the sermons talked about answering God’s call and even emphasized telling our own personal stories. The words and phrasing used in the sermons spoke to me so clearly that I had chills. Were all these coincidences signs from God again?
Finally Ready to Take Action
Okay, finally I was willing to take action. I still didn’t know what to do, but since our pastor had inspired the idea, I decided to send my written stories to our pastor. This was a total leap of faith. I don’t normally do things like this. These stories were personal, and I felt silly just sending them to someone. This was several years ago, and I still wasn’t familiar with blogging yet. In fact, the pastor was the one who mentioned blogging. (He is a lot younger and more tech than me 🙂 ) Turns out, the pastor had been contemplating starting a church blog, and he was even more encouraged after I sent in my stories that our church should start the blog. Maybe even the pastor was receiving signs from God?
And so a church blog was started. I became one of the admins for the blog. I didn’t know anything about blogging, but I wanted all the amazing stories from church members to get shared somehow. Church members would send their stories, and I would post. Now church members had a place to share their personal call story. After all, like the pastor said, “a person’s personal story is only 2nd to the Bible when you are trying to tell someone about God.”
More Coincidences: The Leap to Starting MY Personal Blog, “Mindfulness in Faith and Food”
This church blog was established years ago, but I still never considered starting my own blog. Then two things happened…
I was still writing down all my “God Moments” as well as any lessons I had learned over the years. I decided I wanted to organize all these stories for my children. So I started working on a little book that I would only give to my children. (See there I go, writing again!) I wanted my children to feel inspired and have hope that God is there even in the tough times.
“Hmmm, Should I Start My Own Blog?”
As I was organizing all of this for the book for my children, I thought, “hmm, some of these stories are so encouraging and give so much hope; I wish I could share them somehow. Well, I could start a personal blog? Then maybe a few more people could see all this ‘stuff’ God has done.” Just like most thoughts, at first I didn’t think much of the idea. But the next circumstance would make me think much more seriously about blogging…
Our Church Combined Faith with Nutrition
I was still working on lessons for my children’s book when one day a church staff member asked me that since I am a dietitian I would be willing to become the coordinator of a new church wellness program. The program was called “FAN: Faith, Activity, and Nutrition”. The goal of the FAN program is to promote, encourage, inspire, and provide opportunities for a healthier life within the church. The FAN program focused on helping the whole person: body and soul. I loved how FAN incorporated scripture, spiritual health, and physical health into their messages. I usually didn’t get to incorporate my professional background in dietetics with my faith in this way, and I loved it!
Again, “Hmmm, I Could Start a Blog?”
When I became the FAN coordinator, I dusted off my nutrition materials (I was currently a stay-at-home mom) to see what I could use for FAN. As I was looking through all the handouts, articles, and client books I had developed, I thought ‘this information is not helping anyone just sitting on my computer or in my desk! I need to find a way people can have access to this!’ Again, the same phrase ran through my head, “hmm, I could start some kind of nutrition blog! But if I started a blog, I would also want to talk about my faith and God experiences. Would combining faith and nutrition even work as a blog?Wait! Look at the FAN program, this program incorporates both!”
Signs from God: Everything Was Falling into Place
And this is how the idea of a faith-based nutrition blog was formed. Everything seemed to be falling into place for me to start blogging. I was already organizing nutrition and faith articles for FAN and my book for my children, and I was already incorporating faith with nutrition at church. The fact of the matter was I was already writing about faith and nutrition, why not go ahead and blog? The timing just seemed right.
My Vision for the Blog Seemed so Clear
The next part might be harder to explain, but I will do my best. My vision for my blog seemed so clear. Let me explain the opposite of clear, so that you can understand what I mean. When I was trying to decide on a name for my private nutrition counseling, I struggled with finding a name and my brand. For one, I wasn’t being true to myself. I settled for something generic, but I cringed when I said the name. The name wasn’t bad; the name just didn’t ever feel right.
When I decided to blog about God and my passions, the name almost immediately fell into my mind. I wanted to call the blog, “Mindfulness in Faith and Food.” I am still relatively new to blogging. In fact, I have only been blogging for about half a year, but this blog still just feels right.
The Creation of Mindfulness in Faith and Food
So I decided to do it! I started a blog. All my past writings- journal entries, nutrition handouts, God stories, and partial books have found a home on this blog. Who knew that I was writing for this blog for so many years and didn’t even know it!
Signs From God: The Ripple Effect
Now, looking back, I can see the ripple effect from each of these events that lead to writing a faith and nutrition blog. Each, by themselves, may not seem like much, but you put everything together from part 1-part 4 of this series, and the sheer number of signs and coincidental circumstances are impossible to ignore!
A Recap of the Ripple Effect
My passion for writing since childhood (See Part 2)
My weight struggles as a middle school child that initiated my interest in nutrition (See About Me)
Even more signs from God? Just when I was contemplating that perhaps sharing all my personal “God Moment” stories is my call, the sermons were about sharing your personal God stories (Part 4).
The church blog was started after I took a leap of faith and sent our pastor all of these God stories (Part 4).
I started organizing all my God stories and lessons for a book for my children. This gave me the thought, “Maybe I should share these amazing stories in a blog?” (Part 4)
Meanwhile I was introduced to the FAN program, which combined faith and nutrition. I loved this, and a concept of a faith-based nutrition blog was born. (Part 4)
Have you noticed any signs from God or coincidences that you think are leading you to your calling? Are you feeling God’s call to serve in some way? Maybe you are even feeling called to blog?
Do you feel called to blog, but don’t know where to begin? My next post goes through the steps to start your own blog. You can check it out by clicking on this link: “How to start a blog when you feel called to blog.”
About Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC
Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC focuses on how to live your healthiest, happiest, most meaningful life through faith-based mindfulness and evidence-based nutrition. Several branches fall under the Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC umbrella. One is Mindful Vending, which is one of the few dietitian owned and operated vending companies in the nation! Ngo is also the author of several books including Faith, Mindfulness, & Nutrition, Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals and The Nourishing Meal Builder. You can also find evidence-based nutrition articles, recipes, convenient healthy snack lists, inspiring faith stories, and faith-based mindfulness techniques on her blog, Mindfulness in Faith and Food.
. This is a fantastic book about a man praying and waiting for God to lead him in almost every aspect of life. I highly recommend reading