This post is all about how to start a blog.
You have probably heard of the stay-at-home moms who make an incredible amount of money from their blogs. Or someone who has traveled the world and made a lot of money showing people where they have been. It doesn’t matter why you decided but that you ultimately decided to start a blog.
You’ve come to the right place but what are the steps to actually start your blog?
1. Research & Pick A Niche
2. Choose a Blogging Platform
3. Decide on a Domain Name
4. Publish your Blog
5. Design your Blog
6. Start Blogging
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How To Start A Blog That Makes Money
1. Research & Pick a Niche
The very first step to starting any blog is research and then picking a niche.
A niche in the “blogging world” is your content.
Many people will tell you to pick anything that you can write about it. That’s true BUT you need to write about something that will make money. For instance, a blog about college will make a lot more money than a blog about treadmills.
When I first started this blog, I looked into what other people were writing about on Pinterest. If I found 10 blogs that consistently write about my preferred niche, I knew it could make money. I highly recommend you do the same.
Another thing to remember when picking your niche is the present and the future. You are going to want to start small. Meaning, if you want your niche to be about College in the future, write about dorm decor at the start.
Google scans your site to figure out what you are writing about. If you are writing about dog collars, cups, and college, Google won’t know what you are talking about and you will not rank. So let’s get into what qualifies a niche as “good.”
What Makes a Good Niche?
- You can write at least 100 different blog posts ranging from 500-2000 words each.
- You are passionate about the topic.
- Other people are blogging about it.
Some different niches are:
- College
- Fashion
- Making Money
- Cooking
- Fishing
- Dogs
Once you have your niche you can move on to step 2.
2. Choosing A Blogging Platform
A big mistake I see a lot of new bloggers make is choosing the wrong blogging platform. New bloggers will often sign up for free platforms like Wix or Blogspot but they do not see the disadvantages. We will get into them below.
You need a self-hosted WordPress site and I repeat A SELF-HOSTED WORDPRESS SITE.
If you have already done some research and are deciding between WordPress and Squarespace, you can read this post on my experience with both. However, I ultimately decided on WordPress.
Disadvantages Of A Free Platform:
- You do not own your content.
- Premium Ad Networks will not work for you unless you own your site. Meaning no $$$$.
- You do not have full design and SEO control.
So what platform should you use?
99.9% of bloggers, including myself, use a self-hosted WordPress site. If you are still considering using a different platform and want to make money, I highly advise you to do research.
Why I love WordPress:
You can get hosting for your blog as low as $2.95 a month. That is SO cheap compared to the other ones and Bluehost works directly with WordPress.
You have FULL control to design, SEO, and everything in between. I would not have been able to grow my blog without it.
Hosting tutorial (Bluehost):
Hosting is where your website is stored.
I went ahead and included a tutorial on how to host your site on Bluehost.
Step 1: Go to Bluehost
Click “Get Started.”
Note: They may change their homepage but the process remains the same.
Step 2: Choose your plan
The next step is to choose your plan.
You can choose the plan that fits best for you but I started with the basic and just upgraded it when I needed to. I recommend you do the same unless your situation is unique.
Also, keep in mind, you will be able to install plug-ins on WordPress.
You will also find a blue symbol with the word “chat” on it at the bottom right of the page. If you are stuck on any steps, just contact them. I love their costume service so you shouldn’t have any problems.
Step 3: Pick a domain name
You should see two options either create a domain or use a domain.
If you already have a domain picked out and paid for, you can enter it here. Otherwise, I suggest just hitting “I’ll create my domain later.”
Step 4: Create Your Account
This step is asking you to input your account information.
Again, I would wait to add any add-ons or upgrade your account.
After you finalize the payment, you will be asked to put in some information like password and tagline. You can change those at any time. Go through them until you get to the Bluehost dashboard.
Step 5: Log in through WordPress
You should see this on the screen.
Once you do see this screen, click on “WordPress” in the top right corner.
This will take you to your new WordPress site.
You should see this screen.
Once you see this screen, you are all set.
I recommend you go through each tab and try to familiarize yourself. I got a little scared when i first saw everything but now I can teach a 3-year-old how it works. You will be able to, too.
3. Choose A Domain Name
A domain name is the name of your site. For instance, mine is “Wereadulting.com.”
The domain name can feel like the most stressful part of the whole process but you got this.
A couple of things to keep in mind
- Make sure to get a .com domain. It may look unprofessional if it doesn’t have a .com address.
- You want people to remember your name so keep it simple and easy.
- It should relate to you or your content so people immediately know what it’s about.
5. Design your Blog
YAY! You’re finally at the next step to designing your blog.
WordPress will offer you free themes but I tend to think they look pretty bad. You can find tons (and I mean tons) of WordPress themes on Etsy. Themes can range from $20 – $2,000 but I recommend at the start, buying a cheaper one.
*If you do buy them on Etsy, make sure they work on WordPress.*
Each theme you buy should come with separate instructions on how to upload and download the theme.
themes I’ve Used:
I had this theme above when I first started my blog and I loved it!
Saroya Designs – my current theme is from here.
Lovely Confetti – a theme I uploaded when I set up someone’s new site
4. Publish your Blog
Yes, I recommend you publish your blog before you have any posts.
You want Google to scan your site ASAP and it can only do that if the site is published. The only people who will be seeing your blog at the start are your mom and some friends.
Don’t wait around until your blog is perfect to publish it because the truth is, it won’t be. I’m still changing mine and you will change yours.
6. Start Blogging
Now that everything is complete, start blogging!
As a reward for making it this far, I HIGHLY suggest you post content on Pinterest and then look into getting tailwind in the beginning. 😉
Congratulations! You have learned how to start a blog that makes money!
I would love to check out your blog or answer any questions you have about blogging! Feel free to email me at hello@wereadulting.com or leave a comment!