I started a blog almost 9 years ago and I quickly fell in love with it! It started off as a hobby and a creative outlet and as time went on, I played with it more and more, and as of December 2015 this is our family’s full time income. So whether you want to start a new hobby, invest in your writing skills, or make a little side income for your family…a blog can be a terrific way to do any of those (or all of them)! Here’s my beginner’s guide to blogging: 

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How to get started blogging

Here’s the question I got: “I cannot tell you how often I look to your blog and podcast for inspiration and reinforcement in my motherhood, marriage, and homemaking. You and your creativity have inspired me to want to start my own blog also talking about homemaking. With that, I have many questions. Not all of which I will bombard you with, but for starters, how did you start your blog? How did you come up with the idea for your first post? Where did you draw your inspiration from?  Thank you for what you do for your fellow mothers and wives. You’re truly a light in God’s world.”

I have two huge passions that I love teaching people about – homemaking for God’s glory and blogging and online marketing!! I don’t get to talk about my passion for blogging, marketing, and product ideas very often so this is fun for me! 

First thing I want to tell you about: Jason and I do have another side business that is sitting in our back pocket that we WILL one day get back to. It’s called Our Work at Home Life and it’s where we started to, and want to get back to, helping women and families build a blog or business for ministry and/or as a side or full income. 

If you are listening to this and you’ve toyed with starting a blog but haven’t started yet, then I want to direct you to our guide How to Launch Your Blog for Under $100! We also have a free course you can go through on launching your own blog or business where we go more in depth! 

So when I started my blog, I was just writing about Jason and I and what we were up to. I would share pictures from our weekend, what I made for dinner, etc. It was basically like my online diary and it was purely a hobby. But when I started realizing that I like writing recipes and sharing my latest meal planning tip.

Slowly, I realized that my love of teaching was marrying perfectly with this new online platform. And slowly, I started realizing my true passions within homemaking. It was little by little and still to this day, my writing changes and evolves with the years. 

So don’t feel like you have to have the perfectly polished idea to start off with immediately. It can change and grow, as it should as you change and grow! 

What is your passion?

The very best place to start is with something you are passionate about. Starting a business takes a TON of time, energy, and love. You will spend hours and years building this thing – make sure it’s something you are passionate about! Otherwise, you will quickly get burnt-out.

Feel free to think outside the box! My main blog, Young Wife’s Guide, is not something you would classically think of as a business. My blog focuses on Gospel-Centered Homemaking and encourages women to live for God! It’s a VERY small niche and is more ministry than business.

I started writing about Gospel-Centered Homemaking because it’s a passion of mine. I have spent 5 years so far deep in the trenches writing about it, developing products around it, and living and breathing it. Some days it absolutely feels like work, but that passion for the subject keeps me going.

What do you have a passion about? Bible journaling? Gardening and canning? Cooking? Family life? Reading? Planning? Party Planning? The options are endless! When I ask what you’re passionate about, what is the FIRST thing that pops into your head?

Where do I draw my inspiration from? 

My inspiration comes from all the areas that I want to learn from! For example, I’ve been reading a lot about gratitude this year and cultivating a more thankful heart because it’s something that I personally need to work on. 

So as I was reading a book on gratitude, I was making a list of things that I want to work on. Boom, that was a perfect podcast episode outline and was in fact the last episode. 

I am constantly working on my own skills with the home, for example meal planning, grocery budgets, fighting overwhelm, and that then becomes the fodder for my blog.

And honestly, the more you write and the more you brainstorm ideas, the more they will come! So don’t get overwhelmed with ALL the ideas out there!! Pick one blog post idea, WRITE it, and then see what comes out of it. 

It’s far better to write a mediocre blog post that everyone forgets about than to never start in the first place! Don’t let the fear of perfection stop you from getting STARTED!! 

Links & Resources: 

• How to Launch Your Blog for Under $100
• Our other blog: Our Work at Home Life
• Strategies for Launching and Growing Your Blog or Business
• All my favorite business podcasts

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