In the previous post, we explored blogging and its various uses. In this article, I will guide you step-by-step on how to start a blog. It is important to understand what you need to start a blog before thinking about how to monetize it. This article’s motive is to help beginners with what they need to set up a professional blog using the WordPress CMS platform. I will share guides on WordPress and strategies for making money through blogging in future posts. Now, let us focus on the initial steps to create your blog.
I don’t intend to suggest that blogging should be solely for making money. Many bloggers don’t focus on earning money but continue to post informative and valuable content for their readers. Additionally, some individuals blog as a hobby, using it as a platform to share their experiences. Ultimately, it is up to you whether you approach blogging as a profession or a hobby. However, I am writing this article with a focus on blogging to generate income.
The Benefits of Blogging
Blogging offers significant benefits for individuals looking to build their online presence by sharing their knowledge to generate income. Blogging boosts visibility and brand awareness, allowing individuals to connect with a wider audience. It also helps them become experts in their fields, which can lead to more income opportunities.
Let us discuss the steps to start a blog, which is the foundation for making money.
1. Decide Your Budget and Purpose to Start a Blog
Deciding on a budget is the first step if you want to start a blog. If you want to create a blog for free, you can do so without any monetary investment. You can find many free blog hosting options. Blogger.com is the most well-known among them.
However, many professional bloggers prefer a self-hosted WordPress platform over Blogger.com. The reason is, WordPress has many advanced SEO features that Blogger does not offer. As a result, successful bloggers often choose WordPress. It is wise to follow the way which is already established. That said, it’s still possible to make money using the Blogger blogging platform.
Some bloggers earn substantial income from their blogs created using the Blogger blogging platform. But, I firmly say if they migrate their blog to WordPress, it can potentially increase their earnings. This is because WordPress offers a more robust suite of plugins. We can do a specific blogging task using a plugin and increase productivity, whereas Blogger requires more manual work. Additionally, WordPress enjoys widespread adoption, with millions of users and an abundance of online tutorials to support learning the platform.
Starting a professional blog will probably require an investment, which we will discuss in future articles. However, you can do hobby blogging for free using platforms like Blogger.com or other free blogging services. For guidance on creating a free blog on Blogger, you can refer to the instructions provided on WikiHow.
Deciding your purpose is very important. I mean, you make it clear that you blog either for hobby or for business purposes and decide your budget according to that.
2. Select the Niche for Your Blog
It is essential to avoid choosing a niche just to create content solely to make money. Instead, focus on selecting a topic that you are genuinely interested in and passionate about. Blogging is most effective when articles are relevant and beneficial to readers. If you write articles only to make money, it will not look relevant to the blog readers.
Establish a content theme to ensure that your blog articles focus on a specific niche. To simplify your writing process, pick a niche that interests you and take the outline of key concepts for future reference.
Try to collect various topics you are passionate about and categorize them into different niches. Select the one that you feel knowledgeable about. Before launching your blog, it’s crucial to gain a thorough understanding of your niche. If you have a strong interest or passion for a subject, it’s wise to select a related niche.
If you are an expert in a particular field, your knowledge can help others. Starting a blog in your area of expertise can lead to success. For instance, assume you have extensive knowledge of HTML and CSS or work as a web designer. You could create a blog to share tips on web design, explain technical concepts, and discuss your experiences and challenges in developing web applications. This kind of content is likely to resonate with readers and contribute success to your blog.
While browsing the internet, you may encounter trending topics. Some of these may be familiar to you, and you choose one of them as your blog niche. If you’re unsure about what topics to pick, explore various websites for inspiration. Quora, for example, is a platform where users seek answers to their questions and provide wonderful answers. You will get a variety of ideas from that website.
In simpler terms, selecting a content theme or niche for your blog involves identifying your interests and analysing what performs with online audiences.
3. Register a Domain
After determining why you want to start a blog and what topics you’ll cover, the next step is registering a suitable domain. If you want to buy a top-level domain (TLD) like .com or a country-specific domain such as .co.in, you have to purchase it from a domain registrar.
Some free domain providers offer free fourth-level subdomains. Search engines may consider these domains as spam and may not index them. Therefore, it’s better to avoid free fourth-level domains. Acquire your TLD from a reputable domain registrar like BigRock and GoDaddy.
Which Top-level Domain (TLD) is Best for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Search engines treat all top-level domains equally. They don’t give priority to any TLD when displaying search results, but give priority to the quality of content. However, .com and .net are the most well-known and user-friendly TLDs.
Consider These Tips While Registering a Domain:
- Keep the domain length concise, ideally between 6 and 15 characters so that users can remember it easily. This increases the likelihood of repeat visitors to your blog.
- Incorporating a relevant keyword in the domain name to reflect your blog’s niche increases the domain SEO value.
- Use simple and memorable words. It is best to use within three words to make your domain short and apt.
- Ensure the domain name is grammatically correct. Misspellings can create a poor impression and visitors may consider your blog as spam.
- Fancy domain extensions like .co, .io, .xyz and some cool newer domain extensions are available for you to register. Yet, the classic .com, .net, .org, and .info domains remain the most widely recognized and user-friendly options.
4. Purchase Hosting for Your Domain
After registering your domain name, the next step is to acquire hosting space for your site. This hosting space is essential for storing your blog software and other files associated with your blog. WordPress needs to be hosted on a server to be accessible online. You can host it on your server or a hosting space purchased from a web hosting provider like HostGator and MilesWeb.
While some websites offer free hosting, they are often unreliable and come with numerous limitations. They restrict bandwidth, i.e. the monthly transfer limit of your site. They provide the service with limited hosting space and CPU usage caps. Therefore, it’s important to select a reputable hosting service for your blog.
Initially, when I wanted to start a blog, I was hesitant to spend money on web hosting and opted for free hosting services. However, I encountered numerous issues with them. My websites would regularly be offline for at least two hours a day because of these services’ resource limitations. After three or four months, the providers deleted my websites, citing overuse of resources as the reason. I tried around 20 different free hosting services, but none proved to be reliable or trustworthy.
Eventually, I migrated my websites to Blogger, which is trusted by millions. Now, I have my blog on a self-hosted WordPress CMS because Blogger.com lacks SEO features and does not support plugins.
Why You Should Host Your Blog on a Paid Hosting Service
Reliability
Paid hosting companies strive to build an excellent reputation by offering high-quality services. This commitment ensures that customers receive reliable support.
Ownership and Control
With paid hosting, you own your website and have complete control over it. In contrast, free hosting services can delete your site at any time without notice.
Security
Paid hosting services are much safer than free ones. Free hosting can shut down unexpectedly, while reputable paid providers are less likely to go out of business.
Customer Support
Paid hosting services offer robust customer support. If you encounter any issues, their support teams are readily available to help you find solutions.
Enhanced Security Measures
Paid hosting providers implement high-level security protocols, significantly reducing the likelihood of your site being hacked. Free hosting providers sometimes use cracked software, and it will pave the way for trojans and viruses. So, there is a high chance of your site being hacked.
Better Performance
Websites hosted on paid servers tend to perform better than those on free servers. Paid hosting often provides faster loading times and better uptime. This makes things easier for people to use and keeps them interested.
Additional Features
Many paid hosting plans come with extra tools and features, such as email accounts, website builders, and scalability options, making it easier to grow your blog.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engines mostly do not favour sites hosted on free servers, as these are mostly associated with scams. It’s advisable to host your blog only with reputable paid hosting services.
In summary, investing in a paid hosting service is a smart choice for serious bloggers who want reliability, security, and growth potential.
5. Install the Blogging Software
After purchasing the hosting space for your blog, you have to install a blogging CMS of your choice. You can choose any CMS which you are familiar with or search for free blogging CMS and choose one among them. I suggest WordPress as it is very famous, and we can get help easily from the vast tutorials available online.
6. Customize Your Blog
After installing WordPress, you need to customize it by adding plugins and adjusting the settings, as well as the overall look and feel. Installing a professional theme is essential to attract visitors. An error-free theme will also improve your search engine ranking. I recommend purchasing a theme from a reputable premium WordPress theme website, such as MyThemeShop.
7. Start Posting Articles
Once you’ve set everything up, your blog is ready for you to start posting articles. As you publish, you will attract readers who may render comments, helping you to build an online community and establish a reputation for your blog.
Ensure that the content you create is original and not copied from other websites. Focus on writing articles that meet the needs of your audience. To assist you, this blog will feature guides on how to write articles and improve your writing skills. In the future, I will also share tips for becoming a successful blogger.
8. Get Traffic to Your Blog
Creating a blog and posting articles will not bring readers to your blog. You have to do some online and offline marketing like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing (SMM), running newsletters and sharing it with your friends. I’ll discuss these things later.
9. Start Making Money
After getting a good amount of daily traffic and a reader base for your blog, you can earn money in different ways. You can display ads from ad publisher networks like AdSense and earn money based on the number of ad clicks. Bloggers also earn money in many other ways, like affiliate marketing, sponsorship, guest posting, selling ad space, etc.
Your Turn
You have learned how to start a blog, which will be helpful for beginners looking to create their own. Detailed guides on how to get hosting and install WordPress will be coming soon. If you have questions, please leave a comment.
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