Blogging has been one of the many great technology based hobbies available to us for quite a few years now.
Some can even make 7 figure incomes from blogs!
As you can imagine, it takes a lot of time and hard work to get to that point though. But don’t let that stop you!
All of the full time bloggers out there started in the same spot you’re in now. Itching to start their very own blog and always hungry for progress!
In this guide, I’ll show you how I got my blog started, which I learned straight from those successful bloggers.
And don’t worry if you don’t consider yourself part of the technology literate crowd. While being somewhat comfortable around a computer will help, it’s extremely easy nowadays to get started with your very own blog!
So follow the steps below to get your blog up and running in no time and start your journey to becoming the next great blogger!
Table of Contents
Why do you want to start a blog?
Whether you want your blog to eventually replace your 9 to 5 job or just be a place where you can log your thoughts and share ideas, you’ll have to start at the same spot and follow the same steps.
Whatever your motives are, you won’t get anywhere without dedication, perseverance, and patience. Blogging is by no means a get rich quick scheme.
Some people have more free time or are willing to sacrifice more sleep to build their blog. There is no right or wrong way to do it from the beginning as long as you stick with it though.
Yea, your blog might take longer to increase your pageviews and audience interaction, but as long as you’re still churning out content and always looking for ways to improve, you can maintain forward momentum.
Positive momentum will snowball and before you know it you’ll be above 100,000 page views in a month, I’m sure of it!
So once you establish your motives, you can dive into the actual process of getting your blog up and running!
Pick a Niche to Blog About
If you’ve considered starting a blog and have read this far, chances are you’ve thought about what you’d like to blog about.
You can blog about literally anything you want. That’s the beauty of blogging!
No one will be breathing down your neck telling you what to write about or how to write.
With that said, if you are hoping to eventually monetize your blog you’ll most likely have to write about topics that have large interactive audiences.
The Ways to Wealth sums it up perfectly. You can write about what you want, but you need to understand the potential of each niche in terms of fulfillment, demand, and profitability. The decision of what to blog about will come down to how you value those 3 variables.
Once all that self reflection and blog strategizing is done, you are finally ready to start your blog!
Pick a Domain Name
At this point, chances are you not only have an idea of what you want to write about, but you’ve thought about a name for your blog.
I know this is an exciting part in the process when you think of a name and start visualizing what your blog will look like, but I recommend to not get too ahead of yourself.
While a name probably isn’t going to make or break your blog, it can certainly have an impact on early performance.
You’ll want to pick a name that:
- Relates to your blog’s niche
- Isn’t too long
- Is easy to spell
- Is easy to remember
- Sticks in your readers’ minds
You’ll also need to make sure that the domain name you choose is available.
Check to see if your domain name is available here:
If you’re struggling to come up with a name, brainstorm some buzz words for the niche that you want to write about. It could also help to check out other blogs in your niche to see what kind of names are out there.
From there you can hopefully piece a name together.
After you have your domain name nailed down, you’ll have to register it to give you the right to it.
Sign up with Bluehost to get a domain name for FREE!
Get Your Blog Online
You might think that this next part gets difficult if you aren’t very computer savvy, but with the steps below it will be a piece of cake!
So to have your blog be “live” and available for the world to visit, you need to host your files on a server.
And if you do have plans to attempt to make money with your blog or would like to have that option down the road, you’ll want to go with a paid hosting service.
Trying to be cheap when it comes to hosting is a deathwish for your blog.
I would recommend using Bluehost if you want your blog to succeed!
Sign up for Bluehost
Bluehost is the #1 recommended web hosting company by WordPress.org (more on WordPress in a bit).
You even get a free domain name when you sign up with Bluehost!
It’s one of the most affordable web hosting services out there and extremely easy for beginners to navigate and get used to.
Thousands of bloggers use Bluehost and many of them bring in over $100,000 per year from their blog too!
It’s what I use for Frugality For The Win and I couldn’t be happier with it!
Sign up for Bluehost with this link to get our special price of $3.95/month!
Once you’ve made it over to Bluehost you’ll have to select a web hosting plan. For beginners, the Basic plan is the perfect choice. You won’t need anything more than what the Basic plan offers until you’ve grown your blog significantly.
You can get packages for 12 months, 24 months, or 36 months. I would definitely go for the 36 months package though if you’ve made it this far in the process since you’ve obviously decided starting a blog is an endeavor for you!
It’s also the cheapest per month when you commit to 3 years.
You’ll have a slightly more expensive investment upfront, but if you’re serious about starting, building, and maintaining a successful blog, committing to 3 years shouldn’t be a problem. In fact, you’ll most likely need 3 years to build it.
Bluehost offers some extra add-on options, but you really don’t need any of them other than the Domain Privacy Protection. For only $0.99/month, this just protects your private information from those out there that may be searching for it.
Set Up WordPress
WordPress is a website platform where you will build your blog into the masterpiece that you’ve been envisioning this whole time!
It’s the most popular website platform in the world for many reasons, and don’t worry about paying for it because it comes free with Bluehost!
All you have to do is set up a password and Bluehost will install WordPress to make starting your blog as easy as possible.
WordPress makes starting a blog extremely easy, even for the most technology challenged people out there!
Don’t worry about having to write any code. You can build a professional looking website without having to type a single line of code when you take advantage of all the features that WordPress has to offer.
More on what WordPress can do for you in a bit!
Pick a Theme
So you’ve taken care of setting up your web hosting and site platform with Bluehost and WordPress.
Now you’re ready to get to the fun stuff!
You’ll have to pick a theme for your blog, which is the first step in your site design process!
A theme is a framework for your blog and covers many design aspects of your site layout in one easy to select package.
It will provide you with page layouts, site colors, font styling, widget locations, and navigation menus to name a few items.
It’s also easy to modify your theme to your liking so you can design your site exactly how you want it. A theme will just provide you with a great baseline design so you don’t have to start from scratch.
I would suggest to pick a theme to start, even if you aren’t completely sure that you will stick with it. You can always switch themes at any point without much difficulty.
Once you’ve selected your theme, you’re almost on your way to building your dream blog!
Start Building Your Blog
You’ll be taken to WordPress where you’ll be asked to choose between a personal or business account. Choose “business”, especially if you have plans to attempt monetizing your blog at some point.
That will be the last click in the setup process, I promise. All that’s left to do is get rolling!
From here on out, you’ll create content and customize your blog site all from within this WordPress portal.
It’s where you’ll publish your posts, create your menus, change your site colors, and customize just about every other aspect of your site.
I could spend 10,000 words diving into what I’ve learned about WordPress and all that it has to offer to customize a blog exactly the way you want.
But before you overload your brain with information and instructions, I suggest just poking around on your own for a while.
Just a reminder though: DON’T GET DISCOURAGED!
You will get frustrated. You will maybe want to throw your laptop against the wall. Everything won’t come together in a day or a week.
Every blogger, 6 figure earners and those who blog as a hobby, goes through the same growing pains that you’ll go through.
Test out different plug-ins, which are applications that let you easily change your site without having to write any code. You’ll find many are very helpful in getting your site to look and navigate exactly the way you want it to.
So just get started and strive to be the best blogger you can be!
Set Your Blog Up For Success From The Start
You now know how easy it is to start your own blog.
But the real challenge is growing it into something thousands of people a day are checking out to see what fresh new content you’ve published.
For that to happen and to have a chance to build your blog into a passive revenue stream with 6 figure potential, you’ll most likely have to ditch the free theme and pay for a better theme.
A free theme is a good option in the beginning stages of your blog or if you are just looking to be a casual blogger, but paid themes offer much more in terms of customization and are basically essential to building a money making blog.
I recommend buying a theme within the Genesis Framework.
What is the Genesis Framework?
The Genesis Framework was developed by StudioPress and is the foundation for many great paid themes and provides you with a long list of benefits.
When you buy the framework and a supported child theme, your site will be extremely secure, optimized for search engines, easily supported on mobile devices, and highly customizable along with many other awesome features that you just don’t get with a free theme.
Your site will be faster and provide a better user experience when you use the Genesis Framework, which will keep your audience engaged and thirsty for more content.
And if you want to switch themes down the road, you’ll be able to easily convert your site to another Genesis child theme.
It’s pretty safe to say that if you want your blog to succeed, you’d be wise to invest the minor cost for the Genesis Framework and a theme within the framework.
I use the Magazine Pro theme that uses the Genesis Framework and I couldn’t be happier!
Check out this post from Dividends Diversify for another example of a Genesis Framework child theme (News Pro Theme).
Never be afraid to use the same theme as another blogger thinking that you won’t be unique either. That’s exactly what I did! You can customize so much when you use a Genesis theme that you can make it your own masterpiece!
YOU’RE A BLOGGER! CONGRATS!
Starting a blog is rewarding in many senses!
You get to build something that you have control over and can be proud of as it grows.
Blogging can lead to new connections, both personally and professionally. It can lead to a newly created personal drive within yourself too!
And of course, there’s the potential to make money from your blog and to eventually work from home as a full time blogger!
As long as you’re patient and put in the hard work, the opportunities are endless!
I’m extremely happy that I decided to start a blog, and I know that you will be too!
Leave a Reply