How to Start a Blog

Do you want to learn how to start a blog?

Hi, my name is Tiaan. I’ve been blogging for more than eight years and love every moment of it. Blogging helped me find my first job and earn money on the side.

When I was learning how to create a blog back in 2010, it took me some time to find all the right information online, and I had to look for it on different websites. That’s why I’ve created this free step-by-step blog tutorial to teach beginners how to make a blog fast and easy. It’s not as complicated as many people think.

Why are you starting a blog?

Do you want to communicate something, like a message or an idea? Do you want to build a community around your love for a cause? Do you want to keep your followers and fans updated on what’s the latest with your brand? Do you want to explain how your product or service works and why people should buy it?

A blog can help you inform, educate, promote and even sell, but only if you are clear about your intention from the start.

Hence, take some time to figure out your message and the purpose of your blog. In the meanwhile, here are several reasons why many people make a blog and enjoy blogging:

• To enhance writing and thinking skills
• To establish expertise
• To increase self-confidence
• To network with others in the industry
• To make money blogging

There are many ways to make money by starting your own blog; you can sell products and merchandise online or place ads and receive compensation from brands by promoting their products and services – considering that 61% of online customers make purchases based on recommendations from a blog, this could turn into a highly profitable endeavor for you.

A quick primer – Blogging for beginners

All in all, there are four important steps to making a blog quickly. I’ll go into details on how to start a blog on WordPress later, but for now, you can review these steps. If you are familiar with these things, you can create a blog in 15-20 minutes or even less:

• Carefully select the best blog platform
• Find a perfect web host and get a domain name
• Design your blog
• Find as many useful resources as you can
• Blogging platform

The first thing you should do is find the best blog site. There are many of these, with all kinds of different features, but I use and recommend self-hosted WordPress.org. It’s one of the biggest and easiest blogging sites and it allows you to design your blog with ease. Simplicity is key here.

Web host and a domain name

Free blogs have tons of limitations and downsides, but self-hosting a blog on your domain allows you to fully own your blog. That’s why you should seriously consider hosting a blog on your own domain. I tested Bluehost, a web hosting company that provides you with a free domain name, and I recommend them to all new bloggers.

Design

If you decide to go with WordPress, you’ll get a chance to enjoy multiple free WordPress blogging themes. Go with the one that’s easy to customize and looks professional to some degree.

Useful resources

The more you know about social media and online experiences, the more prepared you will be to step into the blogosphere. Remember, the big fish always eats the small one, so keep learning and improving if you want to stay ahead of the curve.

Step #1: Select a perfect niche for your blog

Before you learn how to start a successful blog, you must first find your niche, figure out how to make it profitable, and figure out who your ideal readers are. In short, a niche is a topic that you write about most often, or even exclusively, in your blogs. Niche blogging is creating a blog to advertise to a particular market. Niche blogs are easy to monetize and they usually contain affiliate links, advertisements, etc., and that’s mostly how they become profitable.

How to choose a niche for your blog

To become a successful blogger, you will have to choose the right niche and work on attaining the highest form of knowledge within that topic. So pick the one that appeals to you—the one you are passionate about and most interested in. Strive for success, happiness, and recognition. By choosing the niche of interest and having your own point of view, you’ll be able to differentiate your personal blog ideas from the competition.

Step #2: Choose a blogging platform

For many new bloggers, the availability of free blog platforms such as WordPress.com, Blogger or Tumblr is tempting.

Free platforms

For many new bloggers, the availability of free blog platforms such as WordPress.com, Blogger or Tumblr is tempting.

By keeping your blog on a free platform, you let the platform own your name. You’ll be subject to their rules and restrictions. If you are looking to learn how to make money with a blog, they may limit or prohibit ads on your blog, or they may even place their own ads. If you’re serious about blogging, you’ll want to move away from free blog sites.

Self-hosted platforms

Self-hosted platforms allow you to run a blog using your own domain. Aside from following your domain registrar and web hosting company’s rules, you’re fully in charge of your blog and its contents.

You have several choices when it comes to self-hosted systems (also called a Content Management System or CMS). The most popular is WordPress.org. This option is called self-hosted because you will use your own web hosting space and name. If you use our recommended hosting company, it will cost just a few bucks per month for the webspace (hosting account), and you will get a FREE name (domain) for the first year. The actual CMS is usually open-source and free.

Although I mentioned some free hosting options, the best course of action is to own your blog, especially if you will be using your own copyrighted material (articles, drawings, photos, etc.). Pay a small amount of money every month, about the same as a Starbucks coffee, and you will build your own equity. If you plan to sell products, services, music, or anything else via your blog, then this is the best way to go. Many hosting providers can help you maintain an e-commerce blog.

Step #3: Pick a domain name

Your domain name will be the name by which you will be known online, no matter what niche you choose. It’s your unique address on the Internet. Your domain will be yours as long as you continue paying the annual fee ($10 to $15 for a .com domain). Users who know your domain/URL (uniform resource locator) can simply type it into their browser’s address bar. Others will be able to discover you through search engines such as Google and Bing, so you definitely need to find a unique moniker.

Your domain name may be the highly popular “dot com,” or it may be country or niche-specific. The general rule is to go for a “dot com” domain, but some of the other extensions can work. For example, “dot net” or “dot me.”

If you can’t find the domain name you like, Bluehost will let you choose a Free Domain later. That will give you time to do some research and thinking.

Step #4: Get a web hosting account

After choosing a domain name, selecting reliable hosting services will be one of the most important decisions you make. To a great extent, the functionality and performance of your site will depend on your blog hosting. The host makes sure your site is available 24/7 to potential readers and it’s where your files are stored online.

Most hosting companies also offer domain registration services. Some people keep their domain name with the registrar company, separate from the hosting account. I recommend keeping it all under your hosting account for hassle-free management and maintenance.

Web Hosting Providers reviews

The wrong web host can cause many problems with your blog. Just imagine choosing a mobile company that has no reception. Your web host is a major piece of the puzzle to creating a successful blog; therefore, you must choose a reliable provider.

Based on our survey, a reliable provider is Bluehost. 99% of blogging experts suggest using it with WordPress.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a blog?

Some people still don’t know what is a blog? A blog (in the early stages called “weblog”) is known as many things—a digital magazine, diary, newscast, collector’s meeting place, a showcase for your art, information sharing, teaching hub, a place to learn and…well, almost anything you want it to be. A typical blog combines text, images, videos, and links to relevant pages and media on the Web. Blog readers can leave comments and communicate with the author. In fact, dialogue and interaction are a popular part of a blog’s success.

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