How to Start a Blog and Grow a Business

How to Start a Blog and Grow a Business – Angie Cruise Blog

How to Start a Blog and Grow a Business

I’m not typically a “how to blog” blogger. In fact, if you’ve followed me for awhile, you know that I really like to steer clear of all of the “

.” But, I keep getting asked how to start a blog, so I really want to give it a shot.

Umm…can I be totally honest here, guys?

I’m probably the last person you should be asking.

But…maybe that’s why I should be sharing, right?

I started my blog 2 1/2 years ago, because I felt called to write. I’ve felt that calling most of my life, but I finally felt like I had a message worth sharing.

So, I dove in and started a blog. Don’t get me wrong. I did a

of research, first.

I read posts written on how to set up a blog, how to market your blog, how to grow your readership, and how to monetize your blog. For months, I bought every course that was recommended, and implemented most of the advice I heard.

Trust me. This isn’t the story of someone who had no idea what she was getting into. I had a long-term plan and goals that I wanted to accomplish with this blog.

I followed all of the expert advice to a “T.” And…fell flat on my face.

This blog had turned into something entirely different than I’d envisioned it. I knew if I kept it up much longer, I’d quit and never look back. That’s not what I wanted, so I did something a bit unconventional.

I threw nearly all of it away. All the knowledge I had about starting and running a blog. Basically, I started from scratch and decided to do things

I’m still confused at the fact that so many people ask me how to start a blog. In my mind, I’m technically doing it all wrong. However, it’s working for me. The tips I’m going to share are those that have helped me fall in love with blogging again and grow a legitimate business out of it. I want to help you do the same, so let’s get right to it!

This post contains affiliate links. To learn more, see my full disclosure

1. Set Up a Self-Hosted Blog

I’ve already written a huge, long post about how to set up a self-hosted website, so I’m not going to go into detail on that here. If you need help with that part, either

, or search Pinterest for the other thousand blog posts sharing the exact same thing. This was the most challenging part of blogging for me (I’m not a techie at

), but having a self-hosted site is worth it if your goal is to build a business.

With a self-hosted WordPress site, you have a lot more options for customization, which makes it easier to monetize through ads, sponsored content, affiliates, and even a storefront. My blog has changed a lot in the last two years, and I’m confident in the fact that I couldn’t have done 90% of it without a self-hosted site.

Disclaimer: there are small costs associated with this format of blogging. You’ll have to pay for hosting and a domain (I use

for both). You may also have to pay for a blog theme to get it all set up and looking pretty. It’s what makes your blog look like

My website wouldn’t be recognizable without my theme. (I use

Tweak Me V.2 by NoseGraze

, if you want a customizable suggestion).

Setting up your blog will take work, but don’t let this step keep you from jumping in. Don’t let perfection stop you from ever publishing your blog. While you want a clean, pretty face for your blog, you don’t need to strive for perfection on day one. Publish it when it’s good enough, and make tweaks as you see what your blog actually needs.

2. Decide What You’re Blogging About.

I really don’t like the popular blogging advice telling new bloggers to “niche down,” and only blog about one thing. Maybe that’s good for some people who have a very specific idea in mind, but I think in general, that gets a bit boring.

If I’m searching for living room organization ideas (for example) and find a great blog post, I’m going to click on their home page and start digging around for more great posts. I get

when I see a variety of posts that can hold my interest and help me really get to know the blogger. But, if every single post is strictly about household organization, I’m most likely not going to come back again and again.

For me, blogging is about building a community and connecting with like-minded individuals. It’s a way to express my interests and share them with the world.

It’s important to know what you want your blog to be about, but I don’t think you should get super specific. Especially as a brand new blogger.

When I re-branded my blog and started doing

, I chose a handful of topics I can write about over and over.

, and trying to balance it all.

My advice: choose a few topics you love, and write about each of them. But, unless you can talk about only

aspect of your life over and over, every day, on social media, in emails, and on the blog, I don’t recommend “niching down” to an extreme.

3. Start Collecting Emails.

The number one advice I want to give to

hoping to make money on a blog is to start building your email list from

Start building your email list

day one. That way, on launch day you have a list of people waiting to hear from you!

So, how do you start an email list? I wrote out a full post on the subject

, but here are the bullet points:

Pick an email service provider (I highly recommend

Decide on a killer opt-In that will entice the readers you want to attract (think printables, courses, private groups, etc). Be sure to make it something

Set up a landing page via your ESP (this should be a built-in feature on most)

on the internet. Your blog landing page, your instagram bio, your facebook page, pinterest, everywhere!)

4. Be Choosey with Classes

When I first decided to start a blog, I took a

of classes. I got a great deal on a bundle of courses desgined specifically for bloggers and I jumped at it.

Over the next 6 months, I slowly and methodically went through every course that caught my eye. I implemented as many changes as I could, and learned a

Still, there aren’t many I’d recommend anymore. Honestly, I couldn’t even give you the