How to Start a Military Spouse Blog

Who Should Start a Military Spouse Blog?

Well… a military spouse! Even a military significant other or military “s.o.” We all have a story to tell and blogging about my life has been awesome so I would honestly suggest to any military spouse or s.o. to at least try it. The start-up cost is minimal considering the cost of any other hobby you could do. In fact, if you get good at it, your hobby might pay for itself (and then some!) I actually make $3,000 working part time blogging!

What Do You Need to Military Spouse Blog?

Access to a computer, internet connection, patience, resourcefulness, and commitment. You will also need to be at least a little tech savvy (or at least willing to learn).  As I mentioned before, there are some startup costs associated depending on your ultimate goals. The most important thing you will need, however, is time. Time to research, time to learn, time to blog, time to promote. If you want to start a blog but just use it to update your family and friends on your life and make little to no money, then use a free platform like Blogger or Tumblr or just update your facebook status . If you’re looking to grow an audience beyond your relatives and get serious about blogging, then read on.

Why Should You Start a Military Spouse Blog?

It’s a great way to express yourself.

You can blog for yourself as I said before. Military life is hard and sometimes you just want to vent. You don’t have to blog with the goal of becoming a big name blogger. There’s nothing wrong with blogging just for you. That was the intent of blogging… to have an online journal. So, whether you just need a place to record your thoughts online or you want to share your life with the rest of the world, blogging is a great way to express yourself.

It’s (mostly) easy. With search engines, YouTube, wiki-hows, ehows, and countless articles (such as this one), starting a blog is pretty simple. Even for the least techie person in the room, there is an endless amount of resources, most of which are free, to help you start, grow, and maintain your blog. My first hosting company Bluehost walked me through all of the steps.

You meet great people. I’ve met so many people through blogging. Since I have a specific niche, I have met other military spouses who have become really good friends. Some have become really great friends (even though we’ve never met in person). From readers of my blog to other bloggers to business owners, blogging has allowed me to come into contact and connect with other people that I would have never met otherwise.

It allows for creativity  From the topics of your blog posts to the design of your blog, there are plenty of opportunities to express your creativity. Sometimes the highlight of blogging is looking for and/or creating the photo to go with it. There are so many free resources for you to get inspired now.

You learn so much.  When you first start blogging, it seems like a pretty simple process and you can keep it that way if you like. As you blog grows, you learn that there is world of web development, SEO, social media, blog monetization, etc. You are  constantly learning, growing, and building new skills and learning new terms.

3 Reasons NOT to start a military spouse blog

You want to be rich quick.

I’m not going to lie. Blogging like any job takes work. It’s best to set your expectations at a certain level and set realistic goals. Perhaps 0.001% of all bloggers have been able to be millionaires. I’m not saying it’s not impossible. it’s very doable but it will take time and effort.

You want to be a Rock Star

This is also a tie-in to money. If you’re blogging in an effort to become famous or becoming a published book writer, please understand that the chances are slim. I honestly, truly, am not trying to deter you from blogging. I just want to help manage your expectations. Again, not impossible, though. You may go viral (here’s hoping, right?)

You can’t handle criticism

Feedback will come in the form of comments (or lack thereof) and traffic stats. It’s as if you gave the public a big red pen and said “Here.. Grade Me”. There’s also the possibility that people will won’t like what you have to say, and that’s ok.  However, to be blunt, some people may be mean/rude/cruel/a**holes. Perfect strangers might troll you until you and everyone else hears their opinion. This is especially true with a sensitive subject as military life. Read the comment section on my blog post 18 Things Military wives (secretly) want to say to their Husbands if you don’t believe me. This may only happen 0.01% of the time, but it may happen.

If none of the reasons above apply to you, pat yourself on the back, let’s move forward.

Before You Begin…

Before you start building your blog, there’s some strategizing you have to do. A little planning ahead of time can make a big difference in the end.

Decide on a short term goal and long term goal. Ideally, both of your goals would be attainable. For your short term goal, I suggest making it easily attainable where it’s something you can control: i.e. blogging at least 3x a week, research SEO, coordinate all of your social media pages. The long term goal would be things like getting a few thousand views a month, a few hundred fans on social media pages, or the opportunity to do sponsored posts. Setting some goals beforehand will help keep your focus.

Choose your narrative. If you want this blog to purely be about military life, that’s your decision. Make sure you’re going to be okay with writing about military stuff… all of the time. My advice is this: Military life will always be temporary. it’s also one slice of the cake. What are the other slices to your cake.  Even if your spouse decides he or she is going to be in the military for a career for 30 years, military life has an expiration date. What will you write about once that chapter is over? I’ve seen people given the pink slip, divorced, or decided abruptly that the military wasn’t for them. If you want to keep up this blog long-term, I would suggest choosing a story that has military life as a supporting role. Your life should be the star: spouse, mother, child-free, fashion, gossip, recipes, advice, diy, humor, organization, I could go on and on.

Pick a name. Names are really important. It should be catchy to help people remember it and at least somewhat reflective of what the blog is about. Let’s go back to the previous point. I highly suggest choosing a name that is reflects on you.

To put it in a simpler terms, it is your prerogative if you want to name your blog: airman’s/sailor’s/marine/soldier’s wife/fiance/girlfriend/life/confessions or army/navy/marine/air force life/world/family etc. but truly think about your personal narrative to the world. I am a firm believer that military spouses have their own identity and military life should take a supporting role. (I know I’m repeating myself, but I want my point to be clear).

Getting Started:

Now all you have to do is choose a host (I highly recommend Bluehost.  They are so afforfable, and I used them when I first started blogging), setting up a domain, choosing a platform, and picking out your theme (My theme is “Marilyn by Bluchic, so chic and affordable!).

If you just thought “What is she talking about?”, move on to Part 2; 4 Steps to Starting a Military Blog.

Or if you just want some blog tips, see how I went from 0-100,000 monthly pageviews in 30 days or my 5 *can’t miss* tips to grow your blog…fast.

RELATED:

How I Made $3000+ a Month As A Military Spouse Working From Home

Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. I have used all of the products above and recommend them because they have been helpful and trustworthy.