7+ best blogging tips for beginners: Interview 11 with Arfa, SheMeansBlogging

7+ blogging tips for beginners: Work from home & Make Money Online

Blogging can be so much fun and if you are on the track, it could become profitable soon enough! For example, this blogger makes $60000+ EVERY month and this newbie mom blogger makes $900 every month from a year old blog

But, there are so many blogging tips for beginners that it is often difficult to find the most reliable and successful blogging tips. 

A lot of bloggers get caught up with bad blogging advice and never become profitable.  *That makes me sad*

But, NOT YOU! Why?

In this post, you will find the best blogging tips for newbies. 

I am so excited to have Arfa of She Means Blogging with us today – she is going to share about her journey, how she started blogging, along with sharing the many blogging tips for beginners that helped her become a successful blogger today.

How to start a blog and make money

If you are thinking about starting a blog and make money blogging, this tutorial will help you start a blog today.

You can start a blog with as little as $3.95 a month or Rs. 276 a month (if you are in India, you can also opt for Hostgator for Rs. 350 a month) or go with the free options. However, I do not recommend using free options. You can read about other options here and here.

You can use this step by step tutorial to get your WordPress blog up and running. If you have difficulty in understanding the basics (like domain name, wordpress.org or .com, hosting etc), you can read this article on website basics.

If you do not want to invest in a website designer (which I did not, and created this website on my own), buy a theme builder like Elementor. It is super easy and is almost drag and drop.

Note: If you want to make quick cash to invest in hosting and domain (or even buy all inclusive but budget blogging course), check out this post on getting free money and living frugally to save money. You can also check out these websites that pay $100-200 dollars for contributing.

This is the 11th interview of our series and we welcome Arfa of She Means Blogging, who will tell you about her journey and share some of the most successful blogging tips for beginners and newbies. 

If you haven’t read the first few remote job interview, you can check it out

Work from home Job Interview #1 Meet Montse – Translator & blogger

Work from home job interview 2: Meet Drew Drew Duboff – Virtual Assistant

Voice over jobs from home interview #3 – Meet Julie – A voice artist

Work from home job interview #4 – Meet Jessica (Blogger and Businesswoman)

Freelance writing for beginners interview #5: Meet Lisa Tanner

Pinterest Virtual Assistant Interview #6 – Meet Yi Ming Lai

Mom blogs that make money, Interview #7 Meet Saranya

Start a freelance writing business, interview #8 – Meet Kevin

How to become a Pinterest virtual assistant, interview #9 – Meet Teagan

Interview #10 – Michelle, founder of Making Sense of Cents on how to blog

For those of you who have read the first ten interviews of our remote job series, you can skip directly to the interview about blogging tips for beginners.

If you are new to working from home, download this freelancing guide to success (click on the image below)

This post may contain affiliate links to products I trust. This means if you make a purchase using the links I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Let’s start

#1 Tell me something about yourself and your work

I’m Arfa and I’m the driving force behind shemeansblogging, where I use my blogging experience to help and encourage bloggers to achieve their awesome blogging goals.

#2 How did you get into working from home as a blogger?

It started when I completed my Masters in Mass Communication and developed my interest in writing. As soon as I shifted back to live with my parents, I knew that I had to do something on my own.

Basically, I started out as a freelance writer. I literally worked day and night when I was at the beginner level, and that was the time I decided to prefer the flexibility of working from home and still make money.

In addition to that, I continued writing on a free WordPress blog which was initially started in my University days. It was when my professor, who was the chief editor in the newspaper, asked us to create blogs to secure 10 marks.

That was the day when I knew blogging exists.

And, it was when I got eagerly passionate about freelance blogging.

While I was writing for freelance clients, and starting my blog, I found out that working for home is totally possible and is a great way to make money.

And, the best thing happened when I started making more than $1000 within 3 months of working from home.

Note: You can also check out the post on how to make money with hobbies, flexible jobs for moms, best ways to make money from home and the best ways to make money from home for college students

#3 Did you have any inhibitions about working from home? If yes, how did you overcome it? Did something help (any online resource)?

Well, it was mostly about setting schedules, making people understand that I work from home and also, dealing with the uninvited guest at times 😀

I think you learn the principles of working from home with time.

As every other person has their own routines, family members, culture, timings, etc. So, there’s nothing similar that work for each of us.

Most importantly, you need to take your job seriously. It’s kind of difficult to make people understand that working from home is still a job and you need to give your best time to make it work for you.

But, it starts improving with time, and soon, people will give you the space you need to work from home.

Note: Check out this post on Should I work from home and see for yourself if you are made to work from home

#4 How long have you been doing this as your main source of living? When did you start seeing money coming in?

I started my blog ‘shemeansblogging’ in the mid of 2016 but I only started paying attention to it from the past 1 and a half year.

As I used to be a part-time freelance writer so blogging was not my full source of living.

I would say, it took me a little longer to start generating real money but if I would have given my full attention to my blog from the very start, I think 6 months is the ideal time to see some money coming to your blog.

Note: Check out the post on how to make money with a blog for beginners where 17 bloggers share how they made first $500.  Also, check out this post on how to make $100+ with ads from the start without using Adsense. 

#5 Can you share the approximate (monthly or yearly) income from this online business? You don’t need to be exact – whatever you are comfortable with.

I don’t think that my blog is completely an online business yet as I have big goals in mind.

But, I would say that I’m able to make a safe income every year. That makes me excited for my blog growth every year.

Note: Check out my first ever income report here, I talk about how I made $1k+ in the first 6 months of blogging on this blog – How to make money blogging for beginners: Income Report [Sept-Dec 2018]

#6 What were the top 3 challenges that you faced while getting started?

This specific question goes deep as I think every blogger has to go through different challenges when they take the start. The same happened to me, but one thing that helped me throughout my blog journey was my sheer interest in blogging.

Not just the writing part, but actually knowing ins and out of blogging. I remember giving 10 hours a day to learn a new topic from scratch.

But, the best part was that I enjoyed everything about blogging. Let it be any new strategy, a new tool or maybe, a new broad topic related to blogging, or marketing.

I faced these challenges;

• The technical part
• Finding the focus
• A roadmap to follow

If you want to get started, note down what are the difficulties you’re facing at this time. I would highly suggest knowing your blog focus, and a roadmap to take you a step closer to your goals.

I am lucky that I had some amazing blogging friends who supported me and always listened to me.

If you’re starting a blogging business or just a blog, I highly advise you to become friends with bloggers who are at the same level.

You can join my community (Be Your Own Boss) and Arfa’s community (Blogger Camp)

Note: Summer is coming along and if you are starting a blog now, you may not get traffic easily. But, according to me, summer is the best season to start blogging and here is what you should do. If you are a mom, do check out this post on Want to start a mom blog? Here are 3 practical tips for you

#7 If you could go back in time, what would you change that would help you get where you are (now) faster?

I think that blog direction, clarity and knowing the right areas to focus on. This is very important to understand if you want to take blogging as a business.

Surprisingly, this was the reason I took the step to rebrand my money-making blog at the time when it was too risky to do.

It’s too common that we all make unintentional mistakes and we learn from them. But, we can’t deny the fact that things would have been better if we didn’t make those mistakes for the first time.

If you think, you’re making some blogging mistakes – think about it, and fix them.

I also published a post on my blog where I actually talk about why I rebranded my blog for success. So, this post would be a great help for anyone who’s in the same boat.

#8 What does a typical day of your look like? How much time in a day do you spend on this?

I start my day with prayers, exercise, and breakfast in the morning.

Around 10 a.m, I start working and then, continue it till 1 pm. Then, it’s mostly the other things like lunch, spending time with my mom, and other homely stuff.

Then, I start working again after 5 in the evening hours for 3 more hours. And, end up my day with dinner and then, usually a book, podcast or family gathering.

I wish I follow this routine every day but I have a short attention span so I struggle with that a lot. Sometimes, I shuffle my schedule and hang out. I usually take one day off in a week to relax.

It’s most likely 6 hours a day. Again, sometimes, it takes more hours if there’s something I wish to finish.

#9 What types of skills and/or tools are needed to run a blogger business successfully?

First, just be you!

Do things that you’re comfortable doing. Always be eager to learn new blogging things. A business mindset is so important to transform your blog into a business. Don’t feel shy to connect with other business bloggers, and ask them about their journey.

Have a long vision for your business.

• Be experimental.
• Be patient.
• Be creative.
• Be a risk-taker.
• Face the challenge.
• Be consistent.

If any idea strikes your mind, just do it. If you won’t do it, someone else would do it. Everyone is trying hard to grow online and become successful. Just keep going with the pace, and you will grow 🙂

When it comes to blogging tools, it depends on the blogging site. You can also check out these writing tools

Some blogging tools I recommend or love using on my own blog are WordPress.org, Genesis Framework for website design, Mailerlite, Google analytics, Google search console, Trello, and Tailwind etc

#10 Do you recommend any course, blog, etc which can help in this journey?

Not any course to be specific, but I would suggest subscribing to successful business bloggers, marketers and influencers. They share the wisdom of knowledge in their emails, and their blog content is always inspiring.

• Seth Godin
• James Clear
• Amy Lynn Andrews
• Neil Patel

Moreover, I would also recommend Genius Blogger’s Toolkit. It’s a wonderful resource for bloggers who’re trying to learn more about blogging.

#11 Last but not least, what should be the learning process (or steps) for someone aspiring to be a blogger?

The simple process should look something like this;

Step 1- Choose a niche and start your blog. Don’t wait for another year to make the decision. Just be sure of your blog niche, and start it.

Step 2- Set long-term goals and create a vision for your blog. All this goal setting exercise will help you build focus and clarity.

Step 3- Learn a new blogging thing every week. Start with website design, blog setup, website theme, Search Engine Optimization, content planning, Pinterest, facebook, twitter, image designing, affiliate marketing, blog monetization, traffic growth strategies, etc

Note: Check out the recommended blogging resources below. Scroll down and grab them now!

Step 4- Set deadline to hit one major goal every quarter. Some examples are to publish 30 posts in 4 months, get 5000 page views every month, build an email list of 500 subscribers, earn first $200, etc.

As a new blogger, it might be overwhelming to do all this at once. That’s why you should start focusing on important things first. Always learn to optimize and monetize your blog from the beginning.

Are you interested in free blogging tips? Enroll in my 11-day free email course to get bite-sized blogging tips to accelerate your blog growth fast!

This is a guest post by Arfa of She Means Blogging. She uses her blogging experience to help and encourage bloggers to achieve their awesome blogging goals. 

Best resources for blogging.

These resources will help you make money (without ads for bloggers) as well as increase traffic that will help you skyrocket your ad income.

BLOGGING 

• Ready Set Blog for traffic – It is an EXTREMELY underpriced course on how to make money with a blog for beginners. It tells you how to set up your blog, use Pinterest and implement SEO strategies. Using her tips, I have been able to rank on page 1 of Google. You can read my first income report here. 
• TSA – They are a bunch of resources by the owner of theSheApproach. Her books are amazing and filled with great information. You can get affordable (and, many of them are free as well) on affiliate marketing, boosting traffic, and Pinterest strategies.

SEO

• Easy backlinks for SEO and Easy on-page SEO. Excellent resources!

Pinterest

• Pinteresting Strategies – This is an affordable course that tells you how to use (and, how NOT to use) Pinterest to drive traffic. Using this, I have been able to get a 200% increase in traffic within 2 months.
• Pinterest Ninja – Well-known bloggers stand by this course, and I am going to be investing in it myself sometime soon. Check it out here

Affiliate Marketing

• Affiliate marketing for bloggers – The ONLY resource I have used, which taught me everything required. I also understood a lot of things that I were doing wrong and could have been dinged by Google. Thank god

Don’t forget to pin for later…

Best Blogging Tips for Beginners by Arfa in brief

1. You need to take your job seriously. It’s kind of difficult to make people understand that working from home is still a job and you need to give your best time to make it work for you.
2. One thing that helped me throughout my blog journey was my sheer interest in blogging.
3. If you want to get started, note down what are the difficulties you’re facing at this time. I would highly suggest knowing your blog focus, and a roadmap to take you a step closer to your goals.
4. Make blogger friends
5. Three basic things you should know before you begin blogging – blog direction, clarity and knowing the right areas to focus on. This is very important to understand if you want to take blogging as a business.
6. Avoid these blogging mistakes
7. Do things that you’re comfortable doing.
8. Always be eager to learn new blogging things.
9. A business mindset is so important to transform your blog into a business.
10. I would suggest subscribing to successful business bloggers, marketers and influencers.
11. Always learn to optimize and monetize your blog from the beginning.

Blogging tips for newbies and working from home

Do you have questions on blogging? Did we miss out on a blogging tip for beginners that you would love to share? Comment below and let us know

Also, grab this list if you are looking for other online and offline work at home jobs