Beginners Guide To Starting A Blog

In this article you will learn how to start a blog if you are looking to building a business using blogs.

Are you a beginner and do you want to learn how to start a blog and start making money while at home?

Setting a blog as a beginner is a big step to becoming financially free. When you search the web you see a lot of blogs online and you feel overwhelmed asking yourself can I build this for myself.

Yes, its possible. But imagine taking the courage to start a blog and in the next 6 months how your life will change from setting up your blog.

You can escape from the so called 9-5 day job that doesn’t allow you to spend time with your family, travel the world the way you dreamed of and spending your income the way you like. 

A blog can help you do all these. If it can happen to many like Michelle Schoerode, Alex and Lauren and many others why won’t it do the same for you. Take the step and start a blog now and you will thank me latter. 

I will like to tell you that those who started as a beginner to build their blogs had the same thought you have now. Then over the years after they started, their blogs become so amazing that if a new beginner sees their blog will still think the same way you thought as a beginner.

 

If you start building a blog now, in the next two years that blog will look outstanding and everything has to do with the mindset.

When it comes to building a blog the very first step is for you to have a very clear mindset. Don’t think you can’t do it, but to take the first step of action.

STEPS TO TAKE TO START A BLOG

1. Find your niche

This is the very first step and important aspect when starting  a blog. 

Finding the right niche for you determines the success of your blog. There are so many niches out there that many bloggers are making money from every single month. 

The most vital thing is for you to choose what gets you motivated and excited. Choosing the right niche helps you determine who your audience will be and how you can build relationship and pass important information to them using your blog.

If you want to start a successful blog and use your blog to make money getting the right niche to attract the right audience to you is all that matters.

There are thousands of niches out there in which you can make money from. As for me I have taking years to practice the skill I have and I have used that to be able to launch my online business and put my knowledge in a blog.

You can like wise do that. You need to ask yourself some few questions to help you know what niche you want to focus on. Ask yourself questions like:

• How do you like to do?
• What keeps you motivated and excited?
• What types of problems have you encountered and solve?
• What are your hobbies that you enjoy doing?
• What are your experiences in life and your journey?

Answering these questions can help you decide what you want your blog to talk about.

Once you have chosen a niche to focus on, it doesn’t stop there. As your blog begins to grow, you can either expand in topic or you can narrow your topic. This all depends on you because a few month after your blog has been set up, you would have become an expert and start earning from your blog.

Here are few niches you can look at to chose from:

• Finance, saving, and investment.
• Lifestyle, fashion and beauty.
• Health and fitness.
• Travel
• Relationship and self-help

This are a few. To get 100’s of niches you will love to choose from, click her to get them free.

2. Choosing your blog name

Now that you have gotten a good niche to focus on, the next step is to look for a good name for your blog. As the bible will say, a good name is better than gold. 

Your blog needs a name. The name of your blog is the domain which your audience will type to be able to locate your blog and read your content.

When getting a name for your blog, make sure is something that anyone can remember and pronounce. Here are some tips you can follow when you want to give your blog a name.

• Let it be related to your niche topic. For example, if your niche is all about lifestyle. The name you want to name your blog, let lifestyle be part of it.
• Use free name generators on the internet to help you have various choices of words you can select from to include in your blog name.
• Add some verbs, prefix or adjective words to your blog name that will sound presentable to your audience for them to remember. E.g thelifestyleblog.com, mumsparentingteam.com, beautytobehold.com, crazyfashiontricks.org.

You can definitely look for a good name for your blog that will make your website standout from the so many competition.

Use this formula, niche + random name + prefix. This will allow your audience to know what niche you are focusing on and with a little style that comes from the prefix and random name attached to it.

3. Lets get your blog started

This what you have been waiting for. Now you have the niche to work on and the name to name your blog. Right now we dive into setting up your blog.

When it comes to setting your blog, there are two things you need to ensure the successful setup of your blog. You need a platform to house your blog and to host your blog. These two can be categorized as the blog platform and the hosting platform.

The blog platform is where your contents and everything about your blog can be seen, while the hosting platform is where your blog is to be hosted for it to be seen on the internet, Without the hosting platform you blog can’t be seen on the internet.

It is the hosting platform that makes it possible for people to see it online. 

The blog platform is know as WordPress while the hosting platform is Bluehost.

Each platform are compatible with each other and you need both for your blog to come alive.

There is a free WordPress platform you can use but I will advise to go for the paid version.

I regretted ever starting my first blog with a free WordPress site and at the end I lost most of my content.

How much then does the hosting platform cost.

Bluehost is more preferable because its affordable and anybody with a low budget can start with Bluehost. WordPress is also the best tool for any beginner who wants to start a blog. Its easy to use and to navigate with it.

How much does it now cost to host a blog:

• Bluehost platform – $2.95/month
• WordPress – Free
• Theme – Free or $35-$89

This are the 3 major things you will need to get your blog up and running.

Now lets look at the step to take to get your blog on the internet.

1. Create an account on Bluehost

To get started you need to get an account on Bluehost. To do that click on the host site to sign up now.

2. Choose a hosting plan

The next thing is to now choose a package plan of your choice. Bluehost starts with a package plan of $2.95/month as as basic plan. It all depends on you which you want. I will advice you go with the basic plan and as you grow you increase your plan.

3. Get a domain name

Now that you have selected a package you want, the next thing is for you to get a domain name. Getting a domain name is another vital step when it comes to creating a blog. Your domain name is the name of your website. It all depends on you the type of domain name you want for your site.

You should know that when choosing a domain name, you select a name from the niche you are going to be creating your content from.

For example, lets say you are in the weight loss niche and you are focusing on keto weight loss. You can have a domain name like ketofitness.com, ketolifestyle.com, keepfitwithketo.com.

Just have it in mind that the name has to be a choice of your own and focused on the niche you are going to be building on.

There are good platforms that offers a free domain name service for you to choose. The best one out their is Bluehost.

You have select a package now choose a domain name of your choice. If you have gotten a domain name you will like to use, then you can register it under Bluehost and they will set it up together with your hosting.

Once you have setup your domain, the next thing is to create your account. Not to worry if you don’t have any domain name ideas. You can create that later.

After you have filled your personal details, the next is to head down to the package plan. Choose the basic plan  which will show a total amount for a whole year you will be paying.

Once that is done you now head to the package extra. Note one thing, if you have selected a free account, the option domain privacy + protection won’t be displayed. This option is what you should only be selected while other options should be unselected. 

The reason why it is selected, it helps your website to be protected from spammers and also your details will be protected.

Almost, there. 

The next step after choosing your package plan is to head down to putting your payment details.

Put in your credit card details and click on the check box for you to comply and agree with Bluehost terms and conditions. 

Once you have done that you click on submit.

Congratulation, you have made to the end and now you are ready to create your blog.

This step is the major step. The name of your blog is gotten with the hosting service. Now let’s dive to installing your WordPress site.

4. Create your WordPress Site

Remember, you will be taken straight to a create account page for you to create a new password before proceeding in creating a WordPress site. 

After you have created a password, then you need to login.

Login to to begin creating your WordPress site.

After login in, you will be taken through some tutorial steps which you need to skip until you get where to click get started to set up WordPress.

Click on get started with limitless customization.

Until you get to where you will be prompted to put in the name of your website and tagline.

Once this is done, a few other options will be asked of you. Such as will you be adding new contents to your website, how do you want to set your homepage which you need to set it on static and then lastly, you will be asked if to connect to WordPress. Click on the yes button to connect.

5. Confirm your email address

Now you have set up your WordPress and before doing any other thing, you need to confirm your email address. Bluehost sends you a confirmation email for you to confirm you are the owner of the email and for you to be able to access the Bluehost dashboard.

This step has to be done immediately, though you have a period of 14 days to do that. I advise doing it immediately.

6. Login to your WordPress Dashboard

Before you login, there are two ways to go about it,

•  First, go to Bluehost.com and login using the email address and password you used to set up your Bluehost account. When that is done you will be taken to Bluehost dashboard, then click on login to WordPress.

• Second, once you have logged in to WordPress from Bluehost dashboard following the first step, on the dashboard of WordPress by the left corner click on User and create a new user by click on New User. Set a new username because this is what you will use to enter directly to WordPress with going through the Bluehost dashboard. The next step you type in on the address bar your www.domainname/wp-admin. It will take you to the WordPress login account. Then you type in your username you just create with your password you have already set and you will be taken straight to WordPress dashboard.

7. Bring your blog to life with contents

Now its time to put things in place on your blog. I will explain every step you need to know to bring your blog with contents. This is how the dashboard looks like.

Here are steps you need to take to set-up your blog content.

Step 1: Choose a theme – You theme is the design of your blog. This shows how your blog is going to look like when visitors come to your blog. WordPress comes with free theme which are very nice and also you can upgrade theme if you want to.

I will advice buying a new theme because sometimes free theme has some limitations. There are good and amazing themes out there. One I recommend should be Divi theme. Divi theme helps you to customize your theme the way you want. You have control off everything on your blog. It comes out with an elegant look. Another, amazing thing about Divi is that you have a lot of access to a wide range of theme templates inside Divi.

If you are low on a budget, you can use a free theme for the main time until you can get a paid theme. One of the best free theme out there is Flash by ThemeGrill.

To choose your theme, click on appearance on the dashboard by the left menu and select theme.

Step 2: Setting – This is where you change the settings of your blog. Yu can familiarize yourself with the options. One thing you need to note is the permalinks. This is where you need to change the post tile how its suppose to display on the address bar. So. you set it on post title. 

On the general option this where you set date, time your website name and tagline with other general options. Put in your website name and tagline.

At least those are two aspect of the settings that needs to be changed before any other thing.

Step 3: Plugins – This are very important to your blog. Without them some functionalities on your blog will be affected. What plugins do helps to customize, put your site in order and protects from spammers. They protect your blog. 

They are good for your WordPress website. They help to keep your website safe, fast and secure. Without plugins there are some functions that you won’t be able to do with your site. They also make your site look beautiful and organized.

Plugins like Yoast Seo, Askimet, Jetpack, WordFence, Wp cache and other functional plugins that also helps in integrations, forms building, receiving emails etc.

Step 4: Pages – Your pages are also important. They appear above the blog which is know as the menu. They are very useful because that is where your About us, contact page, home and legal pages are setup. You need this pages to comply with the authorities like google.

Step 5: Post – This where you write your post. The post is like an article or a particular subject. This where the visitors of your blog comes to read the information your provide. On the dashboard you click on Post, then click on add new post before you can begin writing your first post.

8. Write your first post

Now this is where the blog starts. Once you are able to write your very first post, you have totally created a blog.

What is your first post made off. Your post should address who you want to serve. Now I said when choosing your domain it has to be from the niche you want to focus on. It could be health, make money, religion, relationship, weight loss etc. There area lot of niches out there.

Your post should be written in that direction.

To write a new post click on post and then add new, then you will taken to where you put your title and where to write.

You can write on any topic of your choice. But ensure that you are writing valuable contents that will make your audience want to come again to your blog to read more.

When you are writing a post don’t forget to put in quality images that makes your blog post attractive. You can also embed good training videos from YouTube that your audience will love to watch and also learn a lot from it.

Always build a relationship with your audience with your contents. You can also tell stories. Stories about yourself and that should also be in your about page.  Stories inform, entertain and also sell. Entertain your audience with stories and they will stick to your blog than yo imagine.