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Ready to start your own blog and earn money from it? Check out my step-by-step tutorial: “Beginner’s Guide: How to Start a Blog in 2023” – it covers everything you need to know!
Blogs have always intrigued me. For as far back as I can remember, I have always wondered how to start a blog.
However, at that time in my life, I felt lost, and quite frankly, I didn’t know where to even begin. It became overwhelming really fast.
Unfortunately, I gave up as quickly as I began because fear set in. Am I a good enough writer? Can I really make a full-time income blogging? Can I do this?!
Nonetheless, I had to shake off my fears and so, I decided I would give it another try.
Not only would I try, but I also decided I want to help people like me get started, and hopefully, you can pursue your dream a lot sooner than I did.
How to Start a Blog as a Beginner?
Being a beginner in the blogging world isn’t necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary, blogging is a pretty even race for everyone.
For instance, some people may have started a blog two years ago and haven’t seen any form of success, while others could have started three months ago and are already hitting their monetary goals.
If you are willing to put in the work to get the results that you want, the sky’s the limit.
Of course, blogging isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. If you devote time and energy to learning your craft and put what you’ve learned to use, you can achieve your goals.
Does it Cost to Become a Blogger? / How Can I Start a Blog With No Money?
Some companies allow you to blog for free. However, user experience tends to lack due to the low bandwidth you are provided.
Furthermore, if you would like to monetize your blog, free blog sites have low monetization potential.
Alternately, although starting a self-hosted blog is not free, it can be very affordable. Especially, since there are so many discounts and coupons you can find to help you get started. (I have some listed below for you)
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through these links. This is at no additional cost to you and helps me continue to create content for my readers. I only recommend products or services that I personally use and believe in. Thank you for your support!
How to Start a Blog:
- Pick a Niche
- Choose a Name for Your Blog
- Find a Blogging Platform or Content Management System (CSM)
- Get a Web Host
- Setup Your New Blog
Pick a Niche
A niche is simply the topic that your blog is going to focus on. It is important to choose a niche for SEO purposes.
SEO is Search Engine Optimization. Specifically, SEO is what search engines like Google and Bing use to determine if your blog posts will be featured on the first-page search results or not.
Top Paid Blog Niches in 2022
- Digital Marketing
- Food
- Personal Finance
- Health & Fitness
- Parenting
- Tech/Coding
- Personal Development
- Side Hustles
- Career Development/Job Hunting
- DIY
Choose a Blog Name
Next, you need to choose a name for your blog. I think it’s best to choose your niche before the name of your blog so that you can use your niche for ideas.
Such as, for a fitness blog, you could name it “Get Lit and Fit” or “24/7 Fitness.”
For instance, my blog name is a play-off of my last name. You could do something like that as well. If you can’t think of a name, don’t panic!
Be patient and take your time. Although, you could always try a blog name generator if you’re absolutely stumped.
Once you have chosen a name, it’s time to secure your domain name. (If it is available)
I use NameCheap for my domain name. They are very user-friendly and affordable, and they are always running a special. Try NameCheap now for a discount on your domain name.
I LOVE NameCheap. I have never had any issues with them.
Pro Tip: Always be sure to choose a domain name that ends in .com. It is the most common and the easiest for your audience to remember.
Find a Blogging Platform
Now that you’ve chosen a name for your blog, it’s time to get your blog content online.
Essentially, a blogging platform is where you will create and store all of your blogging content.
There are several hosted options for you to choose from such as Wix, WordPress.com, Squarespace, and more. However, WordPress.org (not to be confused with WordPress.com), is self-hosted and the best free platform overall.
Also, Hosted platforms can be limiting in terms of creativity. Furthermore, not all of their plans are free. If you are anything like me, we need to save money wherever we can. Thankfully, WordPress.org allows us to do that.
Most importantly, hosted sites basically own your content and they can do whatever they like with your content.
On the other hand, WordPress.org is a free self-hosting and full-hosted Content Management System (CSM). Therefore, you can publish content on WordPress without purchasing any additional services. Also, WordPress offers several free themes and plugins to customize your blog or website to fit your style and personal needs.
I strongly suggest using WordPress.Org for all of your blogging needs.
Get a Website Host
According to Hubspot, A blog host provides web server space for your blog website to live online. This service stores your blog’s files, data, and website code in a server that then allows your site to be accessed by anyone and from anywhere in the world.
In addition, your website host is responsible for ensuring that your blog is running at a speed that accommodates your blog’s traffic and is functioning as it should.
Can I Become a Blogger Without a Web Host?
If you decide that you would prefer to host your own website. Keep in mind that hosting your own site can be both costly and time-consuming. In fact, some servers can cost you thousands of dollars. Not to mention the fact that you will have to service your server if it breaks down or if it can’t handle the amount of traffic coming to your website.
On the other hand, you could use an online web host instead. Online hosts have several options that can fit any budget. Additionally, they are also able to handle the traffic your site receives. They also have help desks and tools to help you when/if you ever run into any issues with your website.
Below I have listed a few web hosts I have used myself or heard nothing but good things about.
Bluehost
Bluehost is easily one of the most popular web hosts for bloggers. They are highly trusted and revered within the blogging community. Furthermore, Bluehost offers some amazing features such as:
- 24/7 Customer Support
- Free and automatic WordPress integration
- Drag and drop functionality
- AI-Driven templates
And much more!
Also, if you use any Bluehost link on my site, you will get a special discounted price of just $2.95 per month!
Hostinger
I currently use Hostinger as my web host, they are very reliable and I have never experienced any lag or problems. Not to mention, Hostinger offers an extensive amount of features that are extremely helpful for your blogging needs such as:
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Unmetered Traffic
- Ability to host multiple websites at once.
- Free Weekly Back-ups
And MUCH more!
Also, if you use any Hostinger link on my site, you will get a special discounted price of just $2.99 per month!
How to Setup Your Blog
Next, you will need to make the website your own. The best way to do that is to install themes and plugins that fit your needs best. WordPress has a wide variety of themes and plugins. When searching for themes it is a good practice to search for keywords that pertain to your blog.
For example, you could search for “blog” as a generally broad search option. Or, you can niche down and search for niche-specific themes like:
- Fitness
- Magazine
- Store
- Beauty
- Fashion
Some themes come with pre-installed plugins which is great. Be sure to verify that all plugins are useful to what you would like to accomplish on your blog. Remember, using too many plugins can make your website slow or lag. So, be very selective when it comes to plugins.
Write Content
Finally, it’s time for you to start writing content for your new blog! If you are anything like me, this could be both exciting and scary for you. Many people believe that to be a blogger you must be a good writer. That is not always the case.
I encourage you to Just Start. Your greatest achievements are on the other side of fear. Your writing skills can improve with time. But, you have to get through the fear and imposter syndrome to achieve your dreams.
Before launching your blog, I encourage you to write at least 5 solid blog posts.
Addition Resources On How to Start a Blog
After your blog is all setup, if you need additional step-by-step help starting your blog, you might consider investing in a blog course. Blogging courses have been a very helpful resource for me.
However, please be aware that not all courses are created equal.
One course that I FULLY support is Suzi’s course. Suzi has created several courses to walk you through step by step how to start your profitable blog from scratch. Some of the things I love about her courses are:
- Blogging Templates
- Freebie Ideas to Drive Traffic to Your Blog
- Lifetime Access to All Future Course Content Updates
- Support Access
Suzi has helped over 100,000 students on their blogging journey. Several of them are making thousands of dollars each month by following what they have learned from her courses. Check out her courses for yourself here.
Are You Lazy or Pressed for Time?
If you are working full-time and have a family and/or are pressed for time. Or, if you are just lazy and would like to have someone write your content for you. You could check out Fiverr and have someone write your content for you.
Fiverr is also helpful for logos, artwork, digital marketing, and SO much more!
Disclosure: I have only used Fiverr for logo creation in the past. I haven’t used it for any other options myself yet. However, many of the content writers on Fiverr receive very high reviews. If you decide to go this route please only work with people with good reviews and samples of their work.
How Do Bloggers Get Paid
Bloggers get paid using one or more of the methods below:
- Affiliate Marketing
- Ads
- Sponsorships
- Selling Products
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate Marketing is when you find a brand or product that you love and would like to share with others. If the company has an affiliate program you can share links to the products or services and refer people to use the products or services.
The person that you refer the product to will NOT have to pay any additional fees to purchase that product at all. However, you will receive a commission for that referral.
Ads (Google and Mediavine)
Have you ever visited a website and seen ads in random places? When those ads are viewed and clicked you can receive compensation for that. Some people use companies such as Google AdSense and Mediavine for this.
While Google AdSense is relatively easier to qualify for, they also tend to pay a lower rate. However, they are still a good source of passive income.
On the other hand, Mediavine is much harder to qualify for. To qualify for Mediavine, your blog must have had at least 50,000 sessions in the previous 30 days (per Google Analytics). That means at least 50,000 people would need to visit your blog each month.
Although it is harder to qualify for Mediavine, it is worth it because Mediavine will pay you a much higher rate than Google AdSense.
Sponsorships
Sponsorships are blogs solely focused on a brand or product from a specific brand that you are paid to write content for. You can obtain sponsorships by brands reaching out to you to collaborate or you could reach out to brands you love to collaborate with. Sponsorships can bring in free products or up to several thousands of dollars, depending on one how much you negotiate your rate to be.
Selling Products
Lastly, you could create and sell your own products. Whether that be your own merch like T-Shirts or Mugs. You could also sell your own courses, digital products, or eBooks. The options are endless. Just make sure the products you sell are good and align with your brand.
Ultimately, Anything you sell, sponsor, or offer to your audience will reflect you and your brand. I only offer brands that I have used myself or know someone that uses the product. Always be honest and offer quality products to your supporters.
Conclusion
Thank you so much for reading my post about how to start a blog. If you made it this far and would like to know more about me, You can learn more about me here
.
Do you think you learned how to start a blog? Was there anything else you would like to learn?
Which would you like to learn more about Affiliate Marketing or How to set up BlueHost or Hostinger step by step? Leave a comment to let me know what you would like my next post to be about.
