What Is A Blog? Why You Need To Start A Blog This Year
What is a blog, anyway? What is the difference between a blog and a website? Does your business need a blog? Every day more and more people are wanting to learn how to start a blog, either to blog as a hobby, to boost their business, or to start a blog to make money.
If you are a newbie blogger, you may be wondering what the difference between a blog and a website is. I am going to explain what is a blog and why you should start a money-making blog right now.
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How To Start A Blog For Free
To learn how to set up a blog correctly so it can make money, enroll in my FREE blogging course today which covers everything step-by-step for beginners. 100% FREE training!
Plus, take advantage of this amazing deal on web hosting from Bluehost 60% off all plans.
- 1 Year Premium WordPress.org Hosting $2.95/month
- Free .com domain
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What Is A Blog? And What Is The Difference Between A Blog And A Website?
If you are confused by what is a blog and what is a website, actually, there isn’t much of a difference between a website and a blog.
Both are websites, but a blog is updated more often.
To explain…
What is a blog?
A blog is a website that publishes new content frequently, with posts appearing in reverse chronological order, either on the main home page, or on a separate blog page.
For example, my website is a website as well as a blog.
We have a main homepage which lists our services and various ways to connect, and then we have a blog page listing all of our blog posts.
A website doesn’t need to have a blog section, it can just be a website with information, and that’s it.
If it is just a regular website, it typically is updated less frequently, having static web pages of information that don’t change much.
What Is Blogging?
Mainly, ‘blogging’ is what you are doing when you publish content to your blog.
‘Blogging’ also refers to everything a blogger does in addition to publishing blog posts.
This includes the promotion/marketing aspects of promoting your blog on social media, writing emails to your mailing list, creating opt-on forms and sales pages, affiliate marketing and so much more.
Blogging is a big job, but it can be very rewarding and lucrative, too!
Website Versus Blog – Or Do I Need Both?
Whether you are an individual, a small business owner, or a corporation, adding a blog to your website is a wise decision.
That is, if you have the time to maintain it.
Maintaining a blog successfully requires a solid time commitment from you. You should expect to spend several hours per day on your blog, especially in the beginning.
Why Should I Start A Blog?
Whether you are a business looking to bring awareness to your products, or an individual looking for ways to make money online, having a blog is a great way to bring in revenue.
Quite often, a business will have a static website for their company, and then add a blog section for SEO and social sharing purposes.
Blogging about your company and services is an excellent way to get more exposure and customers for your business.
Both websites and blogs, when built with WordPress, can support just about any type of business model. Including running a complete ecommerce store.
There are free WordPress plugins that can turn any WordPress blog into an e-commerce site, a membership site and more.
If you are an individual, blogging is a fantastic way to make a bit of money on the side, or use it to earn a fulltime living.
I quit my job to blog fulltime two years ago, and am already earning over $140,000 per year doing it.
More Reasons Why You Should Start A Blog:
- Ability to be your own boss, never have to be an employee again
- Ability to work from home, or anywhere in the world
- Minimal startup fees unlike any other business (under $200!)
- Travel whenever you want
- It’s challenging, you will learn many new skills along the way
- You get to help people, grow your authority, and become an expert in your niche
- Blogging is used to promote any product or service
- And of course, the income! As a blogger, you get to make money via various revenue streams, and there is no salary cap, no limit to how much you can earn.
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Examples Of Blogs We Love
Here are a few fantastic blogs, all run by students and mentees of my blog school and/or my mentorship program!
All In My Head
Laura from All In My Head specializes in helping bloggers with email marketing and social media marketing, and her gorgeous website is packed with helpful tips and tricks! Laura recommends my Influencer Marketing course saying:
“Chelsea of HerPaperRoute.com has the most amazing blog and her courses are literally sooo helpful. I find them so easy to follow, and the results have been amazing since getting involved with her courses. Her course gives you so much. It’s amazing how much info is crammed into it!
If you’re looking for the most complete guide on how to make money as an influencer, how to grow your brand and reach new heights in your biz, then you need to check it out.
From Divas To Diapers
Shemeida runs this smart and witty blog offering advice and resources for fellow mompreneurs. “I’m a wife, and mom of four providing comedic relief for the adventures we take on our way to becoming mompreneurs, because we all have to laugh when monetized blogging starts to drive us insane.”
Check out her post How To Crush It As A Social Media Influencer, where Shemeida provides fantastic advice on how to make it as an influencer, including recommending my Influencer Marketing course to anyone looking to break into the industry:
“You will be coached on Influencer Business tactics to take actionable steps towards your goals. Truly a gem of a kind, Chelsea is a Marketer and Social Media Micro Influencer with knowledge and 10 years of experience to guide you along your path to brand sponsorships.
You’ll learn Affiliate Marketing, Social Media Marketing and Strategy Development to drive traffic to your blog of high converting content. Chelsea will show you how to combine it all to get listed as an in-demand Influencer by major brands.”
On Budget Moms
Jessica is a personal finance blogger helping moms earn, manage and save money, while improving your overall money mindset with positive money affirmations and advice. Jessica attributes my course Be Your Own Blog Boss as The blogging course that changed her blog into a career:
“I was blown away by how much value Chelsea adds to just one course, this was exactly what I was searching for, a one stop shop where I could invest once and have all the tools I needed to be successful.
I was dreading the thought of having to purchase a course for each thing (I needed to learn) and then try to navigate and figure it out on my own. Luckily Chelsea’s course has it all, and it is laid out in a way that is easy to follow. This course has changed my blogging life.”
Imperfectly Mama
Victoria runs this incredibly helpful resource for moms, where she blogs about parenting – specifically parenting with a mental illness. In her post Before You Start A Blog, Take This Course she recommends my course Be Your Own Blog Boss for anyone looking to learn how to start a blog and monetize it into a business:
“There are so many courses to choose from, and I know it can be way overwhelming. I bought a handful of courses and there was one in particular that I owe a lot of my success to: HerPaperRoute’s Courses..
I have bills and a brand new baby to take care of. My money is precious, and I know yours is too. If you’re going to invest in any course, I cannot recommend Chelsea’s course ENOUGH!”
How To Start Your Own Blog From Scratch
Now that you know what is a blog, are you ready to start a blog of your own blog?
Using WordPress you can very easily create a website yourself, or a website and a blog at the same time.
To learn how to start a blog, enroll in this free course for a step-by-step guide on how to set up your own website in minutes, and add a blog as well.
Starting a blog is not difficult to do, and anyone can start a blog.
To start a blog, the first thing you need is to decide on a domain name and purchase it, along with your hosting.
Normally, it costs about $14.99 per year to register a domain name, and about $7.99 per month for hosting.
As mentioned, today you can get a huge discount to start your blog!
Click here to take advantage of this amazing deal on web hosting from Bluehost 60% off all plans!
- 1 Year Premium WordPress.org Hosting $2.95/month
- Free .com domain
- Free email account
- Free SSL Security
- 1 Click WordPress install
- 24/7 support
Once you have registered your domain and hosting, follow our start a blog guide, which will help you set your new website up.
And then follow our guides on how to monetize your website and make money blogging.
Free Blogging Resources
Once you have registered your domain, enroll in my FREE start a blog course, which will help you every step of the way. From there you can follow all of my money-making guides. And be sure to get your FREE HerPaperRoute Profitable Blog Toolkit, by signing up HERE!