Hi, my name is Jo. I have been blogging and doing affiliate marketing since 2003. I also work in IT as a Systems Admin full time and do programming in my spare time.
My story is a bit of a unique one. In 2002 I was young and stupid and got married to a man that told me if we were married “it would be better”. This ladies and gentlemen is a bright flashing light that says RUN THE OTHER WAY!!!! But did I listen? No. Love would win the day right? Wrong.
It went south quick. Turns out I married an abusive man. Stuck, isolated from friends and family, and no job, I needed money to get out. Looking back I’m amazed I made it out alive. I’ll attribute that to being so young and not realizing the immense danger I was in being with such an abusive person.
In 2003 the internet was now practically in every home and I managed to convince him it would be a good idea to get the service. I then proceeded to find ways to make money online. I funneled what I made through PayPal and back to a bank account I had left open in my hometown. This way he would not find any paper trail that I was getting money and therefore a way to get away from him.
I worked for over a year building from the websites ground up and teaching myself how to code and work with the technology. I managed to save enough to move myself, my two cats, and my dog back to my home state. In addition to funding the move I had made enough to pay bills for a few months so I could support myself until I found a full time job.
I have since continued to work on blogs as a part time job, and put myself through school twice to get two degrees. Blogging and affiliate marketing have helped me through the tougher financial times in my life, and it also kept me afloat during the 2008 recession.
I started this blog to help others start out and create their own blogs. Sharing what I have learned over the years is what I would like to do, and is what I will continue to do as I build this blog up.
One thing I’ve found lacking in many “How to start your own blog” blogs is the more technical side of creating and running your own blog. I work in the tech industry so creating documentation is my thing. I will be adding tutorials/documentation on setting up and running blogs within the WordPress platform as time goes on.
