STEP 1: Know WHY you want to start a blog
When you know your destination, getting your direction becomes easier, right?
People start blogs for different reasons. Today, blogging is a great way to:
- Become a better person. Blogging helps you think clearer, communicate with intentionality and build your creative flair.
- Improve your writing. Writing proficiency comes with regular practice and starting a blog helps you write regularly
- Make your voice heard. Gone are the days when only powerful politicians and wealthy businessmen could air their views. Now, you, too, can!
- Make a difference. You want to help people take control of their personal finance? Start your own blog. You wish people would exercise more, take healthier meals and rest better? Start a blog.
- Get published. The world is changing, and traditional publishers are falling into irrelevance. Smart authors now make a blog, build a loyal audience and publish their works. This approach works always.
- Make money. It takes time and commitment but people make real money from blogs. I’ve made tens of thousands of dollars myself from blogging. And many folks I’ve taught how to create a blog are doing fine too.
If you’re still undecided, see: 34 Reasons Why You Should Start A Blog. (opens in a new tab)
You can start a cool blog for any or all of the above purposes. Just use this simple guide, and you’ll see how easy it is.
STEP 2: Decide WHAT your blog will focus on
People start different classes of blogs.
Travel blogs. Vegetarian blogs. Romance blogs. Writing blogs. Marketing blogs. Political blogs. Religion blogs. Fashion blogs. Photography blogs.
So… what type of blog should you start?
What will be the focus or theme of your blog? This theme is called a niche –– and you should have one.
The best is to choose a niche you’re passionate about. Blogging is to be enjoyed. You know, there’s fulfillment in connecting with others and providing helpful information. You’ll experience this joy, and be able to do it for long, if you’re passionate about what you blog about.
When I finally launched my first blog, I found I was really passionate about writing and publishing. So I made that my niche and was able to connect with, learn from and impact many nice people. I even made money from it. I was fulfilled.
What are your hobbies?
What do you feel happy doing? What are you always excited to talk about to your friends?
Is it fashion, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, food, traveling, relationship, movies or fiction? That’s probably what you should be blogging about. If you’re passionate about it, you can keep sharing useful information about it.
Create a blog today, and talk about what you love, what you know, and what you’re learning. It’s easy, and you CAN do it.
STEP 3: Decide WHICH of the blogging platforms you’ll use
The question, “How do you start a blog?” has many alternative answers. You can do it on blogging platforms like:
- Blogger: e.g. yourfashionguy.blogspot.com
- Hosted WordPress: e.g. yourfashionguy.wordpress.com
- Self-Hosted WordPress: e.g. yourfashionguy.com
The first two options are free. But they’re also clumsy and ugly, don’t you think?
If your interest is to start a blog for business, a self-hosted WordPress blog is more professional. If it’s to do it for a cause or as a hobby, a self-hosted WordPress blog is more elegant.
The free blogging platforms aren’t really free.
They come with TONS of annoying limitations that just enslave you. Here’s 5 of them:
Limit #1: if you think the companies allowing you to create a blog on their blogging platforms for free do so because they love you, you’re wrong. They only do so to make money off of you. That’s why they put up adverts on your blog and ask you to pay to enjoy upgrades. Go for a self-hosted blog so you won’t be a wheel in a car working to make another company rich.
Limit #2: you’re not allowed to do affiliate marketing on free blogs. Some of them further prohibit Google Adsense and other cool ways to make money blogging. That’s not how to start a blog rightly.
Limit #3: you can’t use any of the thousands of amazing plugins and themes available to a self-hosted blog. After making a blog, plugins help you extend the functionality of the blog, the same way apps extend the functionality of a phone. Imagine having a phone without being able to install and use apps. Is it cool to live in a house you’re prohibited from painting and designing? If it’s not, then it sucks to have a blog without being able to use a theme on it.
Limit #4: you can’t use a custom email like John@YourFashionGuy.com. That’s not cool. You deserve something better.
Limit #5: on free blogging platforms, your blog can be deleted at anytime if the company’s server mistakes your blog for a spam, or if you accidentally violate their rules. And guess what – you have no remedy if that happens.
So the smart choice is to go with a self-hosted blog.
How much does a self-hosted blog cost?
Turns out, not much.
What you’ll pay to set up your blog is less than a movie ticket. First, you’ll need a domain name – usually sold for $15 but I’ll tell you how to grab it for FREE.
Second, you’ll need a hosting account which costs less than $72 for the first year.
I’ll show you how easy both steps are in a moment.
STEP 4: Decide which web host to use
In my many years of creating and managing blogs, I’ve learnt from bitter experiences that NOT many web hosts are awesome. I’ve used some big name web hosts in the past, and while they make sweet promises, their services are not really that good.
- Their servers often had issues and make my sites load slowly and go down too often (this gave me nightmares in day time)
- Their customer care agents were often too lazy, clueless or too busy with other things to properly offer a help when I needed it
- They do some aggressive, spammy marketing like installing plugins or placing their links on my websites without my consent
Why Web Hosting Hub is reliable
#1: they provide 24/7 customer support through chat, phone, or email and in my experience, their customer service reps are helpful, polite and professional.
#2: they guarantee and provide an amazing server uptime of 99.9%. Very few web hosts can match that feat.
#3: they give you a free domain name – some web hosts sell a domain name for $15 per year.
#4: their service is extremely easy to use, and specifically tailored for WordPress blogs. Whether you’re an expert or a non-geek, they’ll make your experience memorable.
#5: they offer unlimited disk space, unlimited bandwidth, and unlimited email accounts.
#6: they’re inexpensive. When you use the discount link on this page, you’ll SAVE some extra money and pay less than $72 for the first year.
Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Web Hosting Hub and if you sign up through any of the links on this page, I may get a little commission (at no extra cost to you). But this didn’t influence my recommendation, because all hosting services have similar programs. I recommend Web Hosting Hub because I have personal experiences with them and honestly believe they offer amazing quality. And, I’ve been able to get a special discount for my readers who use any of the discount links on this page.
#7: they have a “one-click WordPress blog” installation, so you can install WordPress with few clicks.
#8: they offer a 90-day money-back guarantee. So if you start a blog today and decide later that blogging is not something you want to do again, you can cancel your account and get a refund.
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