This blog post is a simple and easy guide to help beginners create a blog. Congratulations on taking the first step. So many people think about starting a blog but don’t take the first step. Blogging is a very rewarding hobby and also a great way to create a side income.
With consitent effort you can easily make $1000/month or more from you blog while only working on it part time. And eventually you may be able to replace your current job and live the dream of blogging full time.
How to start a blog quick start guide
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Come up with an idea
If you want to create an idea you don’t have to reinvent the wheel by coming up with a totally unique idea. I recommend you go through your browsing history to see what items you search the most in the last week. Maybe you research a lot of pet supplies, maybe you enjoy decorating, or maybe you love crafts. Its important to pick something that is a topic you enjoy so that you will be motivated to stick with it and not get bored after the first couple of weeks.
Next you want to make sure that it is not a seasonal topic. For example skiing is seasonal, most people only think about skiing once the snow starts and in the summer maybe they have different hobbies. The problem with seasonal blogs is that they will only have traffic during a few months in the year.
A great trick for this is to go to google trends and type in the topic and review the statistics for the last 5 years.
Here you can see that if you type in skiing and change the time to view the search results for the last 5 years you will see a lot of peaks and valleys. This means it is seasonal. Also you can see below that it is mostly just northern states that research skiing because these are the states where it snows.
So go through you search history and write down several ideas and check them out in google trends.
Choose a name for your blog
So now that you have chosen your topic of interest its time to choose a name for your blog. The best way to think of a domain name is to brain storm lots of ideas. Don’t overthink it just start writing it all down.
The next step is to see if these names are available or if they are already in use. So go to Bluehost and go to domains and type it in. It will show you if the name has already been purchased.
It’s important to select a domain that will end with .com and don’t purchase a domain a subdomain such as .net or .ca. Make sure to keep the name short and don’t hyphenate or use unusual spelling. You want to select a simple and easy to remember domain name.
Get web hosting with Bluehost
The next thing you want to do is get a hosting company, the one I use is Bluehost. Bluehost is one of the top hosting company and you can get started for just $2.65 a month. Anyone can use Bluehost even if you are a complete beginner. I have use many other hosting companies and Bluehost is by far my favourite. They have the best customer service and prices.
So what a web host does is think of it as a piece of digital real estate. Its the land that your website, which represents the house, will sit on. If you want to make money as a blogger its important to have self hosted blog. Resist the temptation to use blogger or the free WordPress platform. If your blog grows you will eventually have to transfer it over so save yourself the time and start off on the right foot. With blogger you don’t own your own content so it can be taken away from you but with Bluehost you own your own content.
Don’t worry setting up a hosting plan with Bluehost is super easy. And if you ever get confused and have questions you can always contact their awesome support team. Make sure to take advantage of their chat feature. If you want to take advantage of a good deal make sure you click on the Bluehost links and they will offer you a special deal that’s only available on my blog.
Why I like Bluehost:
- If you purchase a 12 month hosting plan or longer you can get a free domain name.
- You can get amazing rates if you sign up for longer plans like the 36 month plan.
- amazing customer service.
- Its easy to use.
- You will be self hosted, which is essential for making money.
- being self hosted is more appealing for both readers and companies.
Bluehost has offered me this great deal for my readers. So click the link here to be redirected to Bluehost to get started now. I really recommend signing up for at least the 12 month or longer period. There are so many more advantages. One bonus is that its more affordable, you will get a free domain name and you you will also get lower pricing.
Signing up for 12 months or more is a lot more convenient, because you won’t have to deal with an expired plan everymonth. Which trust me is not a good way to start blogging, it will only add more work and discourage your. If your blog goes down and you forget to renew then you risk loosing traffic.
Now that you are pumped and ready to get started you just need to follow these steps.
- Go to Bluehost and click on the “Get started now” button
- Click on the package you are interested in
- Enter the domain name you want to claim
- Then fill out your payment details
- And finally create a password
Here is how to set up web hosting with Bluehost
Click here and then click the “get started” button
Choose the hosting plan that you want
If you are just getting started its okay to choose the basic plan. Its easy to upgrade. You just need to chat with a representative and they will easily transfer you over.
Enter in your domain name
If you are ready to enter in your domain name then you can go ahead. But if you still haven’t decided on the perfect name yet then just select the “I’ll create my domain later” option. You can take advantage of the free credit at a later point when your ready to get started.
Now its time to create your hosting account
Now you can select from the account plan what kind of plan you want. I really recommend taking advantage of the 36 month plan. You will get the best price and it will be the easiest for you because you won’t have to remember to renew your billing.
Do I need package extras?
You really don’t need these if you don’t want them and plus it will save you money to not get them when you are just starting out.
Set up WordPress
So because Bluehost is so great they will automatically install WordPress for you. WordPress is definitely the platform you want to choose especially when you are just starting out. There are many different platforms on the market but WordPress is by far the best in my opinion. It has so many great plugins to customize your site and there are lots of great tutorials online that you can use to your advantage, which is helpful when you are new and are looking for advice on the internet.
Design your blog
You want to choose something clean and simple and easy to read. To choose a theme just go to “Appearance” and then select a theme from the list. You can either choose a free theme from the WordPress library or buy a theme online. I recommend the Acabado theme from income school, because it loads quickly and is easy to use.
To upload a custom theme:
- Go to Appearance
- Select themes
- Select add new
- Upload theme
- Choose theme and upload the zip file
- After your theme is uploaded then click activate
The benefit of getting a paid theme versus a free theme is that they are easier to use. The offer installation and trouble shooting support from the author. And also your blog will look more professional.
Now start writing
You want to start writing content for your blog so that you can start making money! Some people wait until they have developed a bit of traffic but really there is no reason why you can not start monetizing your blog right away. Even if you just make a couple of dollars it will motivate you that you are going in the right direction.
If you are looking for other great blogging links then make sure to check out my recommendations page. Its full of links to all the products I use for blogging as well as the courses I have taken.
