If you would have told me a year ago that I would be blogging, I would not have believed you. Writing is something I have always enjoyed, but I didn’t always have time to get it done. After having three kids and being a stay at home mom, I wanted to finally make the time for ME.
I wanted to make time for myself and have something I was passionate about-other than my family. 😉 I put so much time and energy into my family, every single day. Don’t get me wrong, that is what I LOVE doing, but I also had energy to do something that was just for me. Something that didn’t have sticky peanut butter and jelly fingers all over it. Something that could not be drawn on with purple marker. Something that I could do during nap time and after my kids went to bed.
I decided to combine my love for writing and wanting to help people and create a blog. I knew that I liked to write with a conversational-type feel, which is one reason why blogging made sense for me. I also am passionate about our law enforcement lifestyle and felt resources for us (wives) were few and far between. So deciding on a niche to write in was pretty easy for me.
I will say that I am the least techy-person you will ever meet. I watch a lot of You-Tube videos, late at night, and I am not ashamed to say it! I have only been blogging 9 months, but I have learned so very much in such a short amount of time.
Now, when do I find the time to actually blog with 3 little monsters running around?
How to Blog with 3 Kids
I will first say, I am a stickler for my schedule and routines. I keep my time for blogging pretty protected. I love my event-filled days with my kiddos but I also look forward to my evenings when I work on my blog, in my own little corner-office of the world.
Second, if you want to be successful at blogging with kids in tow, then decide if you will be more accomplished at night or in the early morning. Maybe you would rather set an alarm for 5 am and work until your kids wake up. I personally choose to keep my kids busy during the day, make them super tired, so they are ready for bed at 7 pm, and I work until about 11 pm at night. I used to always be a morning person, but with the crazy shift-life of a police officer, I got used to doing things alone in the evening. And I swear, as soon as I pop a contact in my eye in the morning, my kids hear it and wake up. So waking up early, is harder, but it can be done. I just prefer to work at night now. It calms me after a long, busy, spit-up covered day.
Next, let me say, that if I can find the time, then so can you! Now that I have a routine, it really is not that hard. I am SUPER passionate about this little blog of mine, so making the time is important to me.
If you want to see EXACTLY how I plan out my day, so you can try it too, then be sure to download your free step by step guide. All it is, is a break down of my day and how I organize my week. I try to focus on different tasks each day, so that I am not so overwhelmed. I have so many ideas and so many things to work on, that if I looked at an overwhelmingly long list then, I may feel a little defeated. But, since I know, on Friday’s I write my newsletter (to send out on Tuesday), then it feels much more manageable.
Staying Flexible
One thing to keep in mind, is that you have to allow your schedule to be flexible. Yes, I set aside time each and every day to work on my blog, but not at the expense of my kids. I have an editorial calendar set, a month in advance, and blog posts completed. So that allows wiggle room for days that my family needs me and I just can’t get to that time I set aside. Last week, for example, my son was teething something fierce. With my husband working late, I just could not put the baby down. He wanted rocked for hours. No problem. I had my blog posts and newsletter done, which were my two most important tasks. So I soaked up some sweet baby time and let it roll.
Is Blogging for you?
If you are reading this post, then you may already have a blog and you are looking for advice on how to get it done with little ones around. I hope my step by step guide helps you!
But what if you haven’t started this journey yet? Are you looking for a way to stay home with your kids? Or do you already stay home and want a little side hustle of your own?
There are so many reasons to get started if you want to be a blogger. But the first one should be because it is something you want! As a busy mom, you need something for yourself. I sure did and I love the doors blogging has opened for me. Don’t let time be a determining factor. You can absolutely find the time. Yes, my house is messier. Yes, I spend less time doing other things, like watching T.V. at night, but now I realize how much time I have in the evenings to devote to my website.
How can you get started?
Blogging is great because it does not take much money to actually get started. I knew what “niche” or topic I wanted to write about early on. This is the first step to really getting started. You need to have a clear idea of who you want to write to and what you want the main focus of your blog to be about. Once you have that, you can begin brainstorming website/blog names. Once you have a totally awesome blog or brand name, it is time to protect it. I used GoDaddy.com to search for my domain name “proudpolicewife.com”; I made sure it was available and I snatched it up quickly. You don’t want someone else coming up with the same name and buying the domain before you. Don’t spend a fortune on this. I spent $9.99 on my domain and not a penny more. There are people in the domain world that buy “good website domain names” then sell them for a high price. Please don’t buy those; brainstorm something else.
Once my domain name was purchased, I signed up for a self-hosted WordPress account through Bluehost. I absolutely love Bluehost. They are super helpful and have fantastic customer service! Honestly, any issue I have ever had, I got to talk to someone, quickly I might add, and I received help. I highly recommend Bluehost for starting your blogging journey!
Once you set up WordPress, you can pick a theme to design your blog. You can choose a free theme or a paid version, but I also recommend starting with a free theme. They are perfectly fine and you can always change themes once your blog begins to grow.
Write at least 5 strong, content-rich posts. You can’t launch your website with no content. Go back to who you are writing for. What do you think they want to hear? When you figure that out, you can start writing.
Once you have your theme designed and a few strong posts, you will be ready to launch. Starting social media accounts (for your blog) is a great way to share your content with others. Don’t be afraid; just put it out there. When I launched, my blog was far from perfect (still is) and it is always a work in progress. I make updates and changes all the time, as I see fit.
I also HIGHLY recommend taking a blogging course if you are serious about making blogging work for you. I could NOT have a successful blog today if it was not for Elite Blog Academy. Elite Blog Academy (or EBA) is hands down the BEST and most comprehensive blogging course out there. It does not show you any technical aspects of blogging, but it should me how to grow my social media following, write strong blog posts and more! It is worth every penny and more!! The course was developed by Ruth Soukup, a New York Times Bestselling Author and Blogger.
If you are interested, you can sign up for the EBA waitlist here. They will take new applicants in March, so be sure to be on the waitlist so you can get all information about when enrollment opens.
Overall, being able to blog while being a stay at home mom, is all about balance. You have to find that healthy balance that works for you. But, let me say this, I am not balanced with a clean house and healthy meals 24/7. I have just come to terms with the fact that some priorities are higher than others and not everything will be perfect. At the end of the day, my kids are happy, healthy, well-fed, and I am glad I got my “mommy time”. Blogging has made me a better mom and wife!
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