How it all began

Welcome to HowToStartABlog.com!

My name is Steven Chang and I’ve been a web developer since 1996 and have been blogging since 2003.  I started this website because I, like many of you who are just starting, did not have a good understanding of what a blog is, how to start one, and how to just blog!

What really inspired me to create this guide is from a true story.  My wife was pregnant with our first born a few years back.  She went on maternity leave, stayed at home and quickly got bored.  She wanted to pick up sawing, then jumped to knitting, but it was too straining on her eyes.

Since it was her first pregnancy she was doing tons of research in pregnancy.  I suggested to her that maybe she ought to try starting her own blog.  “Hm… a blog sounds like fun, but what should I blog about?” She asked.  One thing I’ve learned in my life is that if you asked the right question, you will get the right answer.  How much more fitting would starting a pregnancy blog be at that time!  Thus, her first (she also runs another joke blog) blog was born in May, 2007.

Believe it or not, in less an hour I step her through registering her own domain name, getting it hosted, setting up the blog software and customizing her blog – she was ready to start blogging!

I gave her a list of keywords to blog about, she blogged about twice a week (later died down a lot, especially when it got close to her due date), I helped her set up a mailing list and monetization on her blog, and her blog turned from a hobby to a little money maker (yes, making money is just one of the many benefits that can come out of blogging).  To this date she averages $60 – $80/month just from advertising revenue alone, and she now only blogs once a month on average!  She could stop blogging and still make this much from advertising!  You may think $60 – $80/month is nothing, but she is happy that our son’s diapers is paid for, and when he’s potty trained we will have a college savings fund set up for him!

In any case, a blog is a great tool for communication, whether it is for personal or business.  I use blogs more for business and it has definitely generated more income than my wife’s blog.

Now without further adieu let’s getting started on how you can start your own blog… for fun or profit.

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