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Blogging 101: How To Start A Blog

How did I begun blogging? Honestly, I can’t remember the details. I can’t even remember my first blog post. But this blog is not my first blog, this is not even the first title of this blog, this is far from what it was 10 years ago. OMG!!!!! I am a blogger for 10 years now.

I do remember though that whenever I had the chance to learn something new, I have this urge in me to share it to world. So it has been the fire that keeps this blog alive, the need to share and help others. Sorry na, may pagka epal talaga ako most of the times. I even opened a “tech” blog back then pero hindi ko naman na maintain.

How To Start A Blog? I am often asked by my friends, FB friends and followers. And often than not, I am lost for words. It’s not easy to summarize 10 years of blogging. But I do want to help. I want to encourage people, specially moms to start a blog.

Why start a blog? For one, it’s a great breathing post. Whenever you feel the need to talk but there’s no one to talk to except your baby and the dirty dishes (or unfolded laundry), a blog is a good listener.

Another reason, blogging, specially mommy blogging is very rewarding and somehow profitable. A year supply of detergent? Who would say no to that? Or even a month’s supple of your favorite milk. Those freebies can really help stretch the budget! And the event invites which is a good motivation to dress up and wear lipstick. Blogging builds confidence too.

Lastly, for me, it brings back a lot of memories, specially of my kids. It’s like a photo album only filled with words. What was it called? ah DIARY! When I feel down, I read my blog posts, and I feel better instantly. Blogging is therapeutic and you don’t have to pay that much!

I thought about my answer to question “How To Start A Blog” for a long time. And I feel like this is the best way to answer that question.. by answering a series of questions.

What do I need to do to start a blog?

Do I need money? Yes and No but we will get to that later. What do you really really really need to start a blog? What is that one thing you need to start a blog?

You need an EMAIL to start a blog.

That’s how you will start your blogging career or blogging journey. An email will be your access to everything. Already have a personal email? I would suggest not to use that.

Get a new email, the same name that you plan to use for your blog.

Blog name right away? Yes, its’ like having another child, you need to name it. If you can’t think of any name, just use your name and add Mommy or Mama.

3 MUST DO IN NAMING YOUR BLOG:

It should be short.
Check godaddy.com if still available as .com
Check gmail if the name you choose is still available.

Trust me on this threes, this is 10 years of blogging experience talking.

Where should I blog? WordPress?

So I heard to be a blogger, specially if you want brands or company to notice you, you need to start a blog in WordPress. NOT TRUE!

So I heard WordPress is more professional than any other blogging platforms. NOT TRUE!

I’ll make this simpler for all of you, in WordPress, you need to invest more money but you have access to almost anything that you will wish your website to have. But it doesn’t mean that it’s the only way to start a blog. Sometimes, the price plus the technicality of it discourages upcoming bloggers.

I prefer and always encourage new bloggers to use Blogspot or blogger.com. It’s a platform by Google and it’s free to set up. Using your new email, create a blog at Blogger.com

How much is the initial money that I need to spend to start a blog?

You can start a blog for free. NO COST At all. Just follow these steps:

Think of a blog name.
Create an email using that name.
Sign up at Blogger.com and name your blog.
Start blogging!

But blog with blogspot.com?

I want the same as my idol bloggers, their own dotcom.

That’s the good thing about blogger.com, you can have your own dotcom while using that platform. Not all people knows that. You just need to buy your own domain (that’s what it’s called) and a little click here and there and you have your own!

Here’s a detailed blog post on how to>> How to use your own dot com in your blogspot blog.

You will need at least 800 Pesos if you want your own domain name. But if you are lucky, godaddy usually have a sale of 50 pesos per domain. You will need to renew that domain yearly, rate is around 800 Pesos yearly.

What to write first to start blogging?

Kailangan ba English? Pwede ba ang Taglish? Hindi ako magaling sa grammar.

Kahit ano po. It’s your blog, your wordings. I prefer using taglish but since I also have readers that are not Filipino, I use English most of the times.

Hindi magaling sa grammar? Hindi din po ako magaling sa grammar. In fact, bagsak ako sa Comm subject ko in college. Practice makes perfect. And reading too!

What to write first? Start by answering these simple questions:

Who are you and name at least 3 things that you love doing.
Why did you start a blog?
Name at least 3 topics that you will most likely to talk about and how frequent do you plan to write on your blog?
A year from now, how do you yourself as a blogger? How many posts have you written by then?

How about Social Media? Facebook Page? Instagram and the likes?

If you really want to take blogging professionally, I highly suggest creating a Facebook Page, Instagram and Twitter page for your blog using the email and name of your blog. It’s called branding which can be discusses in another day, another blog post.

Ipon Challenge For 2018

O kumusta ang wallet nyo pagtapos ng Pasko at Bagong Taon? Paldo pa ba o impis na? After all the expenses from 2017 Holidays, I know you are looking for tried and tested Ipon Challenge For 2018. I collected a few Ipon Challenge that people did last year (so awesome to say last year when it really is just a few days ago haha).

Ipon Challenge For 2018

52 Week Ipon Challenge. I think this is still the most effective Ipon Challenge of all time. It works well for Filipino with weekly salary. You can start with 10 Pesos and increase the savings by 10 Pesos as weeks passes by. If you start on January 6, 2018, by December 2018, you will have 13K Pesos. If you want to download the file for this one you so can see how much you need to save, check out Mommy Blogger Pehpot.

24 Week Ipon Challenge. If you happen to receive your salary twice a month, then this Ipon Challenge For 2018 is the best for you. Depending on your sweldo, you can try 100, 500 or 1000.

That’s how much you can save if you start with 1000. This one is best for people who’s take home is 100K and up.

Invisible Money Ipon Challenge. This is the simplest challenge and most fun actually. May variations ito. Pwedeng invisible 50, invisible 20 or invisible 10 and 5 (pang bata yan).

Sa invisible 50 Pesos Ipon Challenge, all the 50’s go straight to your alkansya, easy as pie! Nag viral yung girl na sa loob ng 5 months, nakaipon sya ng 40K pesos.

For 20 pesos, syempre all 20 pesos hindi nyo pwede gastusin. Yung isang nakita ko online, 1000 Pesos in 8 days lang.

Teach your kids to save din using this challenge. Tell them about the invisible 10 pesos coin or 5 pesos coin Ipon Challenge.

Syempre, all this Ipon challenge won’t be possible kung hindi ka magtitipid ano. For tipid tips, I have a few that you should read at ng matuto kayo magtipid:

Paano makatipid sa pag go grocery? Spend less on groceries by readin this tips>> 5 BASIC GROCERY SHOPPING TIPID TIPS

Financial tip from a mommy of 5 kids (with monthly house amortization and car loan haha)>> 5 Financial Tips To Help You Stay On Track With Your Budget

Goodluck sa Ipon Challenge ninyo this year! Please share the post to inspire other people to make ipon!

Blogger Rate Card: 3 Easy Steps

I have been asked, not just once, by mommy blogger friends, how to answer a sponsored post inquiry. I am often asked “Ano ba ang isasagot ko?” And I usually answer, send them your Blogger Rate Card. Most of the times, they don’t have one.

Honestly, sponsored post inquiries or collaboration inquiries are a bit challenging to deal with. You want the project to push through but you also want to receive a fair amount for your effort. Let’s deal with the pricing later. Let’s deal muna with how to reply to inquiry emails.

I usually reply with “Please tell me more about the project/campaign.” This works well if the inquiry did not mention about honorarium. If they reply with the scope of work and still no mention of the honorarium, that’s the best time to reply with your Blogger Rate Card. I know, I know, you still don’t have one! Basically, that’s the whole point of this article babe, I am gonna teach you how to make a Blogger Rate Card and a little bit on the pricing part.

3 Easy Steps To Create Your Own Blogger Rate Card

Step 1. Blog profile and audience profile. Create a 2-3 sentences about your blog, mention keywords about your usual topics. Is it about kids in general? homemaking? Food and recipes? Your blog profile should be short. Save your long introduction for your media kit. Also ready your logo as it is an essential part of your blog profile.