How to Start a Mom Blog while Pregnant (& stay home!)

 

How to Start a Mom Blog and Make Money (So you can be a Stay-At-Home-Mom!)

Start a mom blog, Mama!

It’s is a fantastic way for new and pregnant moms to to begin earning an income and still be able to stay home with their babies. 

I know, because I did it! 

How to Start a Blog While Pregnant

Two and a half years ago, I was pregnant and had a one-year-old.

We made the decision for my husband to go back to school, which meant he would have ZERO income.

My options were: go back to working outside of the home…or find a better way.

I started searching for ways to make money at home and I found blogging.

Let me stress something here…

I AM A REGULAR PERSON!

Me ↓

I’m not a special case.

I’m a normal girl who was raised on a below-average income, got married, worked for below minimum wage, had a baby, and started a mom blog.

I seriously had no blogging experience, I NEVER considered being an entrepreneur, and I had literally NO clue how to start.

But I did. I went for it. 

And if I can do it. You REALLY can to.

Fast forward…

Not even 3 years later, my husband is in the middle of his very expensive graduate program and we now have two little ones running around.

I make a full-time income, we are debt-free, have significant savings, and plan to buy a house as soon as my husband graduates.

And I support every bit of it financially…

with my blog…

all while staying home and raising my kids full time.

And I’m living out the job of my dreams:

Encouraging pregnant and new moms in between snuggles and silliness with my babies.

This is not at ALL what we expected when I decided to begin blogging.

But it’s very, VERY cool. 

To be honest, I really don’t want to blog about blogging. It’s not my jam at all.

I much prefer writing about babies and helping young women navigate pregnancy.

But at this point, I feel like it would be selfish not to share.

I want to tell the many new mamas reading my blog how it’s possible.

Because trust me, if it’s possible for me, it’s possible for you.

REALLY.

If you really want to be able to stay at home with your baby, DON’T write it off as impossible.

IT’S NOT.

With a bit of determination and some tips from a mama whose been there (me!) you can totally achieve your financial goals and then some, while also raising your family in your home.

The very best thing you can choose to do right now is this:

Go for it. 

And I’m about to tell you exactly how to do it!

How to Start a Blog While You're Pregnant

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for details.

First things first…

Your blog can be about whatever you love.

I’m not JUST talking about how to start a mom blog here. That’s what I love to write about, but you choose the niche that suits YOU.

If you’re a mom (or about to be) you can start a mom blog that’s not a mom blog. 

And you can really be successful.

Let’s talk about the basics…

How do blogs make money?

This is the big question.

To make it short and sweet:

There are many ways to make money blogging.

Arguably the easiest and most passive ways to make an income blogging are through advertising and affiliate marketing.

Ads: Brands pay to use the space on your site to show readers products and services that they might be interested in checking out.

Affiliate Marketing: Brands pay you a commission for recommending a product, much like an employee in a store is given a commission for sales.

The upside here is you can choose to only promote products you already use and recommend, so there is no sketchy motive.

Other forms of blogging income include writing sponsored posts, selling digital products or services, writing freelance articles, or working as a blog virtual assistant.

There are many, many more opportunities, but this gives you a general idea.

Why You Should Start a Mom Blog

Reason #1: 

You can stay home with your baby. 

I’ve heard so many young women say they “can’t afford” to stay home with their babies, even though that’s what they’d really love to do.

But it’s simply not true. 

Blogging is a completely legitimate career and way to make money.

Raising littles is a job of it’s own, so doing both makes you basically a supermom. 

Reason #2: 

It’s something for YOU.

When you’re a new mom, it’s easy to lose yourself in all the mommyness.

Blogging is an amazing way to challenge yourself, learn new information, grow, share your thoughts, and then see a reward at the end of the day. 

Between changing diapers and doing laundry, we mamas need an outlet.

Building your own business is 100% YOUR thing and you will feel incredibly proud of what you’ve created.

It’s a fun and creative outlet and comes with a community of other bloggers working toward the same goals!

Reason #3: 

You get to share YOUR viewpoint.

You might struggle to feel like you have something worth writing about, but trust me, you do. 

There’s nothing new under the sun…

Except YOU.

Your voice matters. YOUR experience may be exactly what another person needs to relate to. 

And you don’t have to write about something crazy-new.

The classic topics are popular and successful for a reason: people are always looking for that information! 

So why can’t YOU be the one to put it out there?

If you don’t know a lot about a certain topic, research it.

Use your own experience and opinions to create an entirely new resource.

How cool is that?

Reason #4: 

Finding information you need online (especially from REAL people) is the preferred way to do things now.

Think about it, when you want to buy some shoes would you rather discuss it with the sales clerk at the shoe store or read someone’s personal experience from the comfort of your couch?

How often do you read amazon reviews, blogs, articles, etc. before you buy something?

This platform is a convenient, easy, and fun way to share and learn information. It’s not going anywhere.

Reason #5: 

You can actually do this.

Two Recent Success Stories:

Two of my friends started blogs in the last year, both in different niches.

Friend 1 started strong, worked at it for a while, but didn’t get as far as she would have liked.

Friend 2 had a slow start and became overwhelmed pretty quickly. 

They both asked for my help. 

Within less than 2 weeks of buckling down and using some of the resources I’m going to share with you in this post, BOTH of my friends saw HUGE improvement.

Friend 1 is on track to apply for an ad network this month, only 3 months into using my suggested strategies!

Friend 2 completely revamped what she was doing and was accepted to a TOP ad network (they pay the big bucks) just 4 months after she started her blog!

She’s on track to make $2000 this month!

My point is: 

If the 3 of us (and MANY more) can do it, so can you.

You can make this work. You can be successful.

And I betcha you’ll fall in love with it too.

Why You Should NOT Start a Blog

Reason #1:

You won’t work hard.

Blogging is a JOB.

It does require work and effort.

But the awesome thing about blogging is you get to see your hard work pay off in BIG ways and A LOT of it becomes passive income once you get things up and running.

Reason #2:

You’ll give up.

If you’re going to “give it a try” and then give up when it gets hard, don’t start. There will be frustrations and days where you just can’t.

But if you KEEP going, you ARE going to see success. And it’s sooo worth it!

I won’t lie. Blogging ain’t easy…

But the “ain’t-easy” things in life are the things that pay off big time. 

Reason #3:

You refuse to change.

I know most people don’t like change. I don’t either. But it’s just part of life.

Be ready to change…frequently.

Google’s algorithm changes, Pinterest updates, you’ll change your mind or your ideas won’t work, you’ll change your niche or start completely over…

Change is hard, but it’s not the enemy.

If you’re going to make this thing work…be ok with learning how to roll with the punches. 

Reason #4:

You don’t like commitment. 

Remember those 2 friends who saw success?

They succeeded because they didn’t give up when it got hard.

But I’ve also known a few friends who gave it a try, but didn’t give it their ALL.

And you know what? They didn’t make it.

If you’re gonna do this thing…commit.

Go ALL in.

When I started, I promised myself that I’d try (like really truly TRY) for a FULL 2 years.

After that, I’d give myself the freedom to stop.

Well 2.5 years in and I can promise you there were days I wanted to quit.

But I didn’t let myself break my commitment and I’m SO glad. 

By my 2 year “blogiversary,” we were able to live on solely my income which had reached DOUBLE what my husband had been making at his 9 to 5. 

Make a solid commitment. 

Work to make it work.

Do not give up.

HOW to Start a Mom Blog

Speaking of making a 2 year commitment, this is how you do it.

When you create your website, you’ll be able to choose a hosting plan.

There are different levels and plans.

You get a discount for the 2-year plan!

This is exactly how I kept myself motivated. I paid for 2 years (and I NEVER spend money lightly,) so I was darn well going to use every cent!

Invest.

Invest in yourself.

Invest…or don’t start.

Honestly, you have to spend SOME money to start any business.

But I’m going to tell you exactly how I got by with spending the smallest amount possible that would lead to succeeding.

This is the hosting I used for 2 years:

SiteGround

They are fantastic and the only reason I switched to BigScoots is because my site got too big for SiteGround.

(That’s the kind of goal we are going for here, right?!)

SiteGround has excellent customer service, extremely little down time (sites crashing,) and all the resources you’ll need on the technical end for your first couple years.

For me, that’s a big selling point because I’m not “tech-minded” at all and the less I had to think about that part, the better.

I highly recommend starting with SiteGround. Check out their hosting plans here

The BEST Blogging Resources:

Starting a blog from scratch can be tricky. But there are some excellent resources to make the process easier for you.

Unfortunately…

In the blogging world there are about a thousand voices saying:

“This is THE way! Do it THIS way!!!”

It gets extremely overwhelming trying to figure out which way is the best way to go.

Well, here’s a secret…

There are about a thousand “ways.” To do everything. 

But here’s a tip: 

Block out the noise.

Choose something, stick to it, ignore everything else, don’t look back.

You will find people who will try to just sell you stuff so they’ll make money. Gross.

But I have 3 resources for you that are seriously (in my opinion) all you need for the first year or so.

These are genuine, trustworthy sources that WILL steer you in the right direction. 

I consider these the very best blogging resources for REAL mamas looking to start a mom blog from scratch. 

3 New Blogger Must-Do’s:

1. Start a Mom Blog: Blog by Number

This is THE starting point to start a mom blog from scratch.

I had nooo idea what I was doing or how to start a pregnancy blog, but Suzi walked me through everything step by step.

She’s the best. 

Unless you somehow already know how to build a website, structure blog posts, do basic SEO (search engine optimization,) create a Pinterest Business account, set up your small business for success, and about a hundred other important things…you won’t regret taking this course.

I seriously could NOT start a second blog without going back through my notes from my Start a Mom Blog course again.

There were things she taught me to do that I would have seriously thrown my laptop out of a window trying to figure out on my own.

This was the second of only 3 investments I made when I started my blog (the first was my hosting plan.)

Complete honesty: it is totally worth taking.

If you choose to start a mom blog, do this FIRST.

Check out her amazing course here.

2. Pinteresting Strategies

This was the third (and last) investment I made in my first year of blogging.

It is 100% THE reason I “made it” as a blogger. 

Carly, the creator of the course, learned how to start a pregnancy blog of her own a few years back and figured out the KEY to Pinterest traffic.

She’s the sweetest gal ever and she walks you through how to WORK Pinterest to drive major traffic to your blog.

(Traffic is the KEY to income. You need page views to make affiliate sales, get well-paying ads, etc.)

Pinterest is where it’s at when it comes to getting significant traffic for free.

In my opinion, forget other platforms until you’ve mastered Pinterest and Google.

All the others can wait. 

Carly’s course got me from fumbling around and guessing how to use Pinterest for my blog to getting GREAT traffic.

She teaches very smart strategies to doing things the RIGHT way (which is critical on Pinterest.)

After taking her course, my traffic took off and I was able to be approved by a great ad network within just a couple months.

This was without spending money on ANY other course, scheduler, or program used to drive traffic to my blog.

I would truly go as far to say that without taking this course you’ll have to be either a genius or incredibly lucky to see substantial and sustainable results in your first year.

Take this course.

Really really really.

That’s all I can say about that.

3. Carly’s Facebook Group

The last resource you’ve GOT to have (don’t worry, it’s free!) is becoming a member of Blogging Like You Mean It.

This is the Facebook Group that Carly (from Pinteresting Strategies) started. 

It is FANTASTIC.

It’s thousands of bloggers at every level asking questions, giving answers, commenting with advice, and encouraging each other. It’s just amazing. 

Go join it!

It’ll give you a great idea of how things work in the blogging world.

Why Blogging is 100% Worth It

Yes. Blogging can be hard.

It takes time and effort and heart.

But what new thing worth pursuing doesn’t?

And here’s another secret…

YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS.

(I tell myself this when I’m running. And I remind myself how I birthed two babies and started a successful blog. Surely I won’t die in the next mile…right?)

If you commit and challenge yourself to really do this thing…you can REALLY do this thing!

You will be so proud of the perseverance you’ve shown and, possibly more importantly, the REWARD on the other side. 

Do it.

Don’t give up.

Work to figure out the “how” and then do it. 

Blogging can legitimately change your life.

I’m proof of that.

At very least it can absolutely pay the bills and enable you to stay at home and raise your baby.

You just have to make the decision to do it. 

This is the Moment.

So…Now What?

Now…you DO it.

Get your hosting plan, invest in your blogging education, learn how to Pinterest, and GO!

Remember that you don’t have to be like any other blogger…be the kind of blogger YOU want to be.

It’s ok to learn as you go, but at some point you gotta just GO!

In 2 years you will be so incredibly thankful that you bit the bullet and did the hard thing.

You’ll be snuggling with your little one all morning, then creating new pins and updating old posts at nap times.

And you’ll love it.

Again, don’t just dive in without some direction.

That will be very frustrating. TRUST that you’re committing to make this work and therefore you WILL be making an income in the months ahead.

To do that, you’ve got to invest in your education (just like you’d need schooling before starting any other career.)

There’s A TON of stuff out there. You don’t have to buy everything (in fact, please don’t!)

But invest these:

Start a Mom Blog: Blog by Number To learn the ins and outs of how to go from “should I start a blog?” to “I have my own website! And it’s awesome!”

And

Pinteresting Strategies: To work Pinterest like a BOSS and make it work for YOU to make money. 

Your Personal Blogging Buddy

If you complete these amazing courses and still have questions, I would love love love to be your blogger wing-woman.

While these courses absolutely get all the credit for getting me from 0 to 100k pageviews a month, I then learned some tricks of my own that brought me to well over 350k pageviews per month and earning thousands in monthly income.

I offer personalized coaching where I’ll answer your questions, offer my pro tips, and even give you feed back on your website. Contact me for more details!

Ok, Mama, you’ve got this.

I’m so proud of you for making this commitment and really going for it!

You’re going to be amazing! 

Start a Mom Blog and Make Money From Home

How to Start a Blog While You're Pregnant

How to Start a Mom Blog and Make Money from Home

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