How to Start a Blog: A Quick Guide for Beginners

If you’re looking for an easy, step-by-step guide to learn how to start a blog and make money from it, then you’ve come to the right place.

Lets discuss in details..

What is a blog?

A blog is a type of website with posts (articles). The newest ones are usually displayed first.

Why start a blog?

Here are a few popular reasons:

• Make money working from home. I make a full-time income blogging. Many bloggers do the same. Blogging takes work, but it’s a great opportunity due to low risk and low overhead.
• Become an author. Book publishers want authors to have an online presence. The reason is simple: it’s a lot easier to sell books to people who already know you. A blog is a perfect way to become known.
• Help your business or organization. A blog helps businesses and organizations reach a lot of people at little cost.
• Just write. If you want to write, share your story or encourage others, a blog is a great place to do that.

A blog is an online home you own and control. If you’re serious about breaking into the online space, don’t put your livelihood, brand or reputation in the hands of others (like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or other social media). Start a blog instead.

What if I want a website, not a blog?

Keep reading! The steps below will get you a website with the option of a blog. You don’t have to use the blog part. Turn it on later if you want.

How much does a blog cost?

If you follow the steps below, it works out to $5 to $10 a month when paid annually. (Not bad for your own website, right?) I blogged for years on this budget. As my blog and income grew, I started paying for more premium tools and services, but they are not required to start.

Can I start a blog for free?

Yes, but I don’t recommend it if you want to make money. Why? Five reasons:

• Limited money-making capability. Some free services limit the money you can make unless you “upgrade” to a higher level. You’ll have to pay for that upgrade of course, which defeats the purpose of having a free blog in the first place.
• Lack of support. Companies don’t offer free blogs out of the goodness of their hearts. They want to make money. If you’re not making them money, they won’t go out of their way to keep you happy. Sometimes this means you’ll have little to no support. Other times you’ll be badgered with offers for their paid-for products.
• Only basic features. Basic features might not be a problem at first, but as you grow, you’ll feel the pinch. Expandability and flexibility are key. Both are limited with free blogging services.
• Switching isn’t easy. If you want to switch to a better service later (common for those who start a free blog), it’s a hassle and can be costly. Doing it yourself takes a lot of time and know-how. Hiring someone to do it correctly costs hundreds of dollars.
• You can’t use others for inspiration. This happens to new bloggers all the time. They start a blog for free. Soon they notice cool features on other blogs that they want too. The problem is, those features aren’t options on their free service.

If those common problems don’t convince you, or a free blog is truly your only choice, I would start with Medium or Blogger.

Millions of people enjoy sharing their thoughts about the experiences and adventures they had. Talking about hobbies, travelling advice, fitness instructions – the choices are endless. However, how should someone start a blog?

People choose blogs because it’s not only an easy and fun way to put your creativity into writing, but also a powerful marketing tool for businesses of any size.

The best thing is – starting a blog is not a difficult feat.

How to Start a Blog in 6 Easy Steps?

No matter what kind of theme or idea you’re aiming for, we’re going to walk you through each and every step of how to start a blog.

1. Think About Your Niche

This is the first and most important step in your blogging journey. Think of what you want to blog about – what are your talents and passions?

Perhaps there’s a particular skill you’re really good at and could share that knowledge with others? Or you want to go behind-the-scenes of your business and let people know more about its products?

Make sure to stay focused on a particular niche. Be it fashion, food or photography. While it might be tempting to blog about plenty of different topics, that will make it harder to decide on a target audience.

What if I can’t decide on a blog topic?

Start anyway! If you’re like most of us, you’ll either switch topics or settle into something as you go. Don’t make the classic beginner mistake of thinking you have be sure of your topic before you begin.

What if others already blog about my topic?

Don’t worry! Take it as an indication people are interested in your topic. Just make your blog better or different than others talking about the same thing. Again, become the go-to resource for your topic or niche.

2. Choose Your Blogging Platform

Here’s a surprise – you don’t need technical skills to start blogging. We’re going to use a content management system, or CMS for short.

Content management systems are specifically designed for people who want to focus on their content, rather than some mind-boggling technicalities. While there are plenty of options out there, we recommend choosing the most popular CMS – WordPress.Source - https://www.onblastblog.com/best-blogging-platforms/

3. Pick a Reliable Web Host

Now, you do need to entrust your newly made blog to dependable hands so your website could be accessed without any hiccups. Here’s where web hosts come into play. There are many options available such as BlueHost, Hostinger etc.

Now, in order to move forward, we need to decide what kind of web hosting service you’ll need. However, ask yourself what kind of a website you envision:

• How much traffic would I expect? What are my goals towards attracting more visitors?
• What’s my budget? How many features will I need?
• How quickly do I want my website to be set up? Will I receive support if I get stuck?

WordPress hosting is the most affordable and easiest way to have your site live. If you’re thinking about building a personal blog or if this is simply your very first website, WordPress Hosting option is great as it is easy to use and reliable.

4. Select Your Perfect Domain Name

A domain name is essentially an address to your website. That’s why thinking of a proper one is an essential task.

Think of what represents your branding persona or niche best. Feel free to turn on your imagination and find something that you’d be happy with.

To see whether the name is taken or not, use domain checker to view what’s available. If it’s vacant, choose a domain extension alongside and make your purchase right there.

What if the domain name I want is taken?

This is very common. Just choose one later by clicking the link. It’s not a bad idea to wait anyway. It’s amazing how much clarity comes after starting!

If I use an existing domain, will it mess up my other site?

No. Entering it here is only used to identify your Bluehost account for now.

5. Time to Set Up Your Platform and Choose a Theme

Once you’re all set, it’s time to install your CMS. This can be easily done using Hostinger hPanel. Navigate to your hosting account, select the Auto Installer option and choose WordPress.It takes just a few minutes to install WordPress For more information on how to install WordPress step-by-step, we’ve prepared a detailed guide that goes in-depth on how to have your CMS set up and ready.

6. Start Publishing

If you want to become a successful blogger, you need to provide quality content. Focus on your work, since quantity alone will not bring more traffic.

Don’t be afraid to experiment here and there, seek out for new ideas whenever possible. Start slow and build your blogging by constantly challenging yourself.

Using a CMS paired with good web hosting allows aiming your attention at creating quality pieces rather than troubleshooting server issues all day.

If you focus your attention on the quality of your content and SEO, you’ll notice an increase in website traffic in no time and potentially be favoured by the search engines.

Conclusion

Starting a blog isn’t hard nor has to be expensive. With the right hosting service and a good CMS, you’ll be publishing your content in no time.

Hopefully, this guide was helpful. If you have any questions, make sure to leave them in the comment section.