Is your brain chock-full of ideas, practically bursting at the seems, but the thought of actually running a blog sounds intimidating? I felt the same way less than a year ago, when I was contemplating starting this website. Honestly, I am NOT a techy person. I do not speak computer. And in addition to being intimidated by the technical aspects of running a blog, I was SCARED to share my story with the world. While running a blog will require some effort on your part, and it might even require you to be vulnerable. But you know what? It is totally worth it if you are looking for a way to make some extra money (or even a full time income). And there is good news. Setting up a blog is EASY. Really. If you have ten minutes to spare, you can set up your blog right now so that you can start sharing what the world needs to hear from you. Here is how to start a blog.
When I started my blog, I personally used BLUEHOST to host our website. I haven’t had a problem with them. And considering that they have some of the lowest monthly rates in the business, I actually thought they were PERFECT for what I needed until my blog grew. When I first set up this blog, even being technologically illiterate, it took LESS THAN 10 MINUTES. I am convinced that if you are computer savvy enough to use basic social media, you are savvy enough to start and keep up with a blog. I’ve set out how you can get started in 5 easy steps.
HOW TO CREATE A SELF HOSTED WORDPRESS SITE IN MINUTES
STEP 1: Click this banner below.
Then click “get started now” and choose your plan. They offer 3 plans: Starter, Plus, and Pro. For me, the starter plan was perfectly fine for starting out. You will likely need to upgrade as your blog grows (and it will!), so its up to you whether you want to take care of that now or later.
STEP 2: CHOOSE A DOMAIN NAME.
Now its time to choose your domain name. This is something you might want to take a minute and choose wisely. Of course, you can always change it later, but a good domain name is necessary to make a good blog. You will also fill out some personal information at this point, but its quite easy and user friendly.
You can check the availability of your domain name here:
STEP 3: CHOOSE A PACKAGE + ADD-ONS
Then, you will choose a hosting package and other add-ons.
The more months you are willing to pay for your site upfront, the cheaper your blog will be.
Enter your billing info and congrats! You are now the owner of your domain name. I wish home ownership was so simple.
STEP 4: INSTALL WORDPRESS
Now, you will install WordPress. Go directly to “hosting” on your account page and then click on “cpanel.” [Quick aside, your cpanel will be your go-to place while you are getting things set up and when you later need other things installed. So note that as you’ll need that later.] Scroll all the way down until you see “mojo marketplace” and then click on “one-click installs.” WordPress should be one of the top installs listed there. Click on “WordPress.” You will then be asked which domain you want to install– choose your name.
A new page will appear indicating that “you are almost there!”– under “Advanced Options” go ahead and type in the name of your site and set up your username, password, and email, then click “install now.”
STEP 5: GET TO BLOGGING!
Once WordPress is installed, you’ll be able to start posting. You can play around with whatever theme you want to use (you’ll be able to choose whether to purchase one or use a free one), play around with posting, how you want things to look, etc. Get after it so you can get your ideas out there and eventually start making money!
Honestly, BLUEHOST is so user friendly, I think you will find that you don’t even need this tutorial. It really walks you through it every step of the way. If you have been sitting on the fence about whether to start your blog, STOP. If you have something to share, SHARE IT! The world needs your voice and it only takes a few minutes to get started.
Have a question about setting up your blog? Comment below!
This post contains affiliate/referral links for products or services that I actually use. If you make a purchase through one of my links, I may get a small percentage of the sale even though the price to you is either discounted or the same.
Hi there! I’m Amber! And welcome to the Deeply in Debt blog where we’re offering simple solutions for big debt.
How long did it take you to break even with the investment in your blog? Did you do a free blog website for the first few months until you had enough traffic, or did you jump right into buying a domain?
About two months. I jumped right into buying a domain because I wanted to feel like I had a legit business and I wanted the pressure of feeling like I needed to start being profitable as quickly as possible. I think that pressure made me work a little harder to find ways to earn more money, which was one of the motivations for starting a blog in the first place. Having affiliations with companies that pay you well makes all the difference. Let me know if you have any questions!
How did you find companies that were willing to affiliate with you?
Google and/or looking at other websites that have a similar niche as us to see what they’ve done! Also, attending blogger conferences and being a part of blogger groups on facebook has helped. Its been pretty easy to find companies in our niche that already have structured affiliate programs (think like Amazon affiliates) and/or we’ve been surprised how many people have contacted us after seeing our website who we are a good fit with (like SoFi and CommonBond). In the beginning, it was a lot of looking around for companies that fit with our website. We genuinely want to help people get on track with their finances, so we only want to work with companies that will help facilitate that in some capacity. After that initial hustling, its been a lot easier.
Very nice article! WordPress has been very helpful when it comes to perform SEO activities. For beginner level I am quite reluctant to go for WordPress. Though I agree it is a very nice platform for professional blogging in long run.
Thanks for sharing!
How do you initally get traction? How do people find your blog? I’m curious if I started a blog how I would even get readers?
I always recommend that people start focusing their time and energy on creating valuable content that is actually helpful to other people. From there, I focus on growth using social media like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and applying good SEO principals. Pinterest is amazing and paid Facebook ads are also great for growth. Basically, you grow your blog just like you’d grow any other brick and mortar business. Where are the people who would be interested in your content? Go to that place and find them and invite them to your site. For example, if your blog niche was related to helping dentists grow, I’d hit up every Facebook page I could that focuses on dentistry and any other online dental forums, that kind of thing. Hope that helps!
How do I start my own blog?
I need to make a lot of income to bring my family to USA
Hi, I’m a young guy from South Africa. I’ve had the idea of making a blog but not to sure what the niche would be or the name of the domain. At the moment i live under my parents roof with no money in my pockets. to make things even worse my fiance is pregnant and i need to find a way to support us and the baby we’re expecting to get in December.So what i want to know is, how should i got about this cause just by reading your post i thought of starting a blog about a long series i want to write and draw about but i have no real writing skills and I’m not that confident in my own drawing skills. so do you have any form of advice for a young man like me?
What’s the overall investment for starters too get the total blog up and running?
It depends on what you want, what you can do yourself, and what you want to hire out! If you use bluehost through my link above and buy a year of hosting for 3.95 a month, that’s less than $50 a year. If you want someone to design your website, hire people to write for you, etc obviously it will cost more. I did everything myself starting out (and still do most things myself) so it keeps costs pretty low.