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When I first considered the idea of creating a blog that made money, I was skeptical.

I started my blog as a portfolio to show my potential employers my graphic design, writing and editing skills. I wasn’t concerned about growing an audience, consistently writing blog posts, or creating social media engagement.

So I did what I did best: I asked my cousin for advice.

While I try to limit my badgering to a minimum where my cousin Jessica is concerned, I’m appreciative to have the chance to approach her with my questions about websites, marketing, and establishing my career as a graphic designer. She had the following advice:

So I went, and in some cases still, at a snails pace. I’ve focused on increasing my Pinterest engagement and conversion while trying to provide quality content for my audience.

But now that I’ve established my website a bit more and developed a strategy for Pinterest, I knew it was time to invest in myself a bit.

Seeing as how Black Friday deals are approaching, I thought I’d give back some advice for anyone looking to start a blog. Maybe it will be your goal for next year.

Take a look at each of these programs or tools to help you start a blog. Each of these tools has helped me establish my blog’s niche and marketing strategy over my first few months of starting a money-making blog.

Grammarly

Expected Black Friday Deal: 55% off Premium plans

If writing isn’t your second nature, try Grammarly. Grammarly offers grammar and editing suggestions to your blog writing, whether you’re writing long- or short-form posts.

Grammarly offers a free and premium option. If there are more than 3 people you require access to your blog documents, I’d consider opting for the business plan but if it’s only you, the free or premium option is great.

The free option offers basic editing, such as punctuation and tense suggestions, as well as clarity and tone.

The premium version offers a more in-depth analysis. It not only focuses on basic edits, but it also delves into helping you create a consistent tone of voice and clarify your purpose for the article.

Squarespace

Expected Black Friday Deal: !0% off any plan

I recommend using Squarespace for all of your blogging needs. Squarespace is extremely user-friendly and easy to use and navigate. You won’t have to delve into much coding unless you want to do anything that a Squarespace template doesn’t already have access to changing on your site.

I’ve used a variety of web hosting sites, from Wix to Wordpress to making my site, and I’ve not known any hosting system that I’ve liked more nor was more intuitive. I wasn’t second-guessing about if some portion of code was wrong or if I had tagged or miscatalogued one of my posts.

The only concern I see many people have is the price. Blogging isn’t cheap in the long run but it can be easier for many people, which is why I suggest Squarespace over any other web hosting site. By taking advantage of this deal, you can at least rest easy that you saved some money and a future headache.

This Black Friday deal is available at checkout towards any of their website plans with the promo code GIMME10.

Do you offer a Black Friday deals for your blog and your affiliates? Maybe you’re savvy at finding the best Black Friday deals and I haven’t mentioned it in my post. Leave me a comment about other helpful Black Friday deals to start a money-making blog today!

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