You’ve started working on your blogging business and you’re so excited, but you’re also exhausted and overwhelmed because there are these people in your home who want you to do something other than sit in front of the computer! Plus, there’s laundry to do, dishes to wash, bathrooms to clean, errands to run, meals to make, events to attend… and you’d really like to sleep, too!

You want to do a great job of this blog thing, but you also don’t want it to take over every waking moment of your day or steal your ability to love on your people, invest in your health, and get enough sleep.

So you might be wondering right about now: is it possible to have a balance between blogging and life?

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Becky emailed in and asked me this great question which I think can apply to so many areas of our lives — especially our blogs and our businesses:

I have your book Say Goodbye to Survival Mode and I love it. I have noticed lately that I want to and do start everything, but can’t seem to finish anything! It seems I can only wholeheartedly focus on one thing at a time, but I want to do so much!

Just a couple examples would be: I got a planner and used it for a few months then lost interest; I lost 15 pounds but gained 10 pounds back; I started to declutter my house and detailed it on a blog, which lasted for a whole 2 months; I coupon in spurts then stop; I spent 3 months reading a few books a month, and now I can’t seem to finish one.

I could go on and on, and this is all just in the last 9 months! I don’t know why I have all these ideas that I want to do, but can’t seem to find the motivation to finish anything! Do you have any ideas? I’d love to know what advice you would have. -Becky

I think this is a very common problem for many of us. So know that you are not alone.

And I definitely don’t have it all figured out. In fact, I feel like I’m constantly in a battle between my inner disciplinarian and my inner squirrel.

“Focus, Focus, Focus…oh, shiny things!“

I want so badly to be disciplined. But I also have this sort of free spirit inside of me that pops out and wants to do it’s own thing from time to time, which is why I’ve struggled to be a person who follows through with things.

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I’ve suddenly been seeing a ton of growth in my blog traffic and subscribers. My subscribers have jumped from a daily gain of ~20 a day to over 150 a day in the past week. It’s all relating back to a post I did which gave away a budgeting printable pack.

My blog expenses are growing rapidly with my increasing subscribers but I’m not sure my income is going to do the same over the next month. What would you do in this case?

I’m thrilled to see my subscribers and page views increasing, but I’m a little scared by the financial commitment I’m making to pay out a larger sum of money without the money guaranteed to back it up.  –Kaitlin from The Simply Organized Home

This is a fantastic question! Seeing blog growth is a big indicator that you’re doing something right. But what most people don’t think about in the early stages of growing a blog is that your expenses will also grow as your audience does.

It’s a wonderful problem, however, it can also be scary and overwhelming. You might worry whether or not you’re soon going to have to dip in your family’s grocery budget just to pay for your blogging expenses. You may wonder if your expenses are going to skyrocket and soon cost you more than you can afford — all while your blog just isn’t bringing in a lot of money.

If you’re worried about your expenses exceeding your income, I totally get it. I’m constantly having to be strategic and plan ahead to make sure that our income is growing faster than our expenses! And there are definitely times when it can produce stress — especially during periods when your blog has a huge growth spurt!

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I’ve heard from a lot of bloggers over the years who say things like, “I just wish I could get more people to read my blog! I love blogging, but it’s so discouraging when I work so hard and it feels like no one is reading!”

If you’ve ever felt this way, here are some practical ideas for ways to get more people to read your blog:

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Recently, with the launch of my newest course, 5 Days to a Successful Blog Launch, I’ve received a lot of emails from new and aspiring bloggers asking me what, exactly, is needed to start a blog.

You might be surprised (and relieved!) to know that it’s not a lot. 🙂 While my main blog, MoneySavingMom.com, is quite complex now, it didn’t start out that way.

Starting a blog off with only a few necessary components will enable you to really put your time and effort into building your brand, your content, and your audience without having to worry about more complex marketing systems and complicated plugins upfront. And I’m all about keeping things as simple as possible!

To start off, here are the few things I recommend you start with in order to get your blog up, running, and ready for content:
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In 2004, I started an online business. My long-term goal was to build something that would earn a part-time side income and allow me to stay home while my husband was in law school.

I never would have dreamed that 13 years later, I would be running a large blog, writing books, speaking to audiences around the country, and have a small team working for me.

Many times, people look at me and only see the accomplishments and success. What people don’t see is the hours, days, weeks, months, and years I worked very, very hard and saw little return on all my investment. They don’t see the many, many times I’ve come so close to shutting it all down from frustration and discouragement.

There have been some gloriously rewarding moments in the process, but there have been many more mundane and difficult seasons along the way. Continue Reading

I’ve talked to so many people over the past few years who really want to start a blog, but they are plain scared of actually doing it.

They have great ideas and dreams. They have big visions. They have high hopes and aspirations. But when it really comes down to doing it, they feel overwhelmed and scared.

Maybe you can relate? Perhaps you are asking yourself questions like:

• What if I start the blog and then nobody by my mom reads it?
• Do I really have anything to offer to the world that is different than the 152 billion-ish blogs currently in existence?
• What if I run out of things to write about?

Or maybe you’re feeling like you are just inadequate. You feel like you aren’t a good writer, you don’t have any special gifts, you don’t know how to set a blog up, the techie stuff scares you, and you’re afraid to market yourself to others.

If you have felt any of these things, here’s what I want you to hear: I get you. So, SO much!Continue Reading