So you want to start your own blog?
The question is now “where do you begin, and how do I set it up?”.
I know as a beginner into this world of web development and design it was a hard for me to understand everything.
I had no idea of where to begin let alone why I should even have, or start, a blog.
The first time I really heard about blogging and why I should even start was from Gary V’s first book Crush It.
This is when his book first came out while I was still in college.
From that book I knew I had to start creating content if I wanted to present myself as an authority figure.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t consistent with my progress and I’m embarrassed of what I could have created since back then.
But I learned from my mistakes and started again and now you have what you see today…
coureywong.com
A site that I am proud of and continue to work on daily.
However, when I started this site its sole intention was for displaying my portfolio as a web developer/designer.
I also wanted to write articles and research to present myself as an expert in my field.
Then I learned of something that truly changed my life.
It’s funny how I missed this when I first read Gary’s book, but when I reread it makes absolute sense now.
I wasn’t treating my blog as business.
Yes I wanted to show my skills off but then I realized that I can actually generate an income directly from my blog.
That’s when I decided to switch some things up.
So why should you start a blog?
So the question for you is why should you start a blog.
Well I know for many us there reading this they are either looking for a way to create an online business for themselves because that 9-5 is just not cutting it.
We all want something different, something we own, build, and create success from without the idea of a boss.
A blog is an excellent way to create an online business and even generate passive income depending on what your goals are.
Yet, a lot of us get stuck at the beginning and never start.
Doubts and questions arise such as:
- How much does is cost?
- Where do I start?
- Do I need to hire a web designer/developer?
- What tools do I need?
- Is it hard to maintain a blog?
- How long does it take to build one?
I had all these questions myself and that is why I created this post to help guide you on what exactly to do.
Don’t worry all these questions will be answered and by the end you will have a fully functional blog ready for your first post.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.
What you will be reading next is a step by step guide to getting started purchasing and starting your own blog.
Step 1: Pick Your Theme or Topic
So the first step before doing or buying anything is choosing a subject matter.
What this means what are you going to write about?
You need a topic, a theme, a niche as they say.
I can promise you whatever it is you want to talk about someone else has an interest in it just like you.
Nothing is new and the internet has brought us all together in a unique way.
With your content you can be they answer someone is looking for or just building a community around the topic.
If you are unsure if your topic is worthy for spending your time writing then do a quick research.
Google is your friend and you can do a quick search to find out what are some of the related topics people are interested in.
You can then see how many searches in general people are looking for
I will say there are some topics that are more popular than others and if you’re not careful you can fall into a saturated market.
But if there is one thing I have learned from reading this book Expert Secrets, is if you want to fall in the prolific zone it’s sometimes best to combine 2 topics into one.
Then you have truly carved yourself in a specific category of your own.
Also when choosing topics be specific and don’t just use general words, in other words use subcategories.
For example instead of cellphones something specific would be iPhones.
But before you even move on to the next step and create a blog ask yourself…
Do I enjoy learning and talking about this?
If not you will grow tired of writing content for the blog and eventually quit all together especially if you are not seeing the fruits of your labor.
Step 2: Get Hosting and A Domain Name
Ok so here is the fun part getting what you need to get this bad boy rolling.
What do I need?
It’s pretty simple to know which tools you need to even begin building your blog.
In fact, you only need 2 things:
- Hosting
- Domain name
These are the 2 things to create a website.
If you really want an in-depth tutorial on what is hosting you can check it out here, but for right know all you need to know is…
Hosting is how you put your blog online and your domain name is how people can find your content.
Simple right?
However, don’t get too hung up on picking a domain name, a lot of people can get stuck here.
The domain, or blog name, will be your brand and how people get to know you but don’t make it complicated.
You can even use your own name like I did, or if you come up with something a little more creative that includes the topic you want to talk about, even better.
If you do have trouble you can also check these name generators for help.
Fun fact, you can get a free domain when you sign up for hosting with hostgator.
How much does a blog cost anyways?
Usually a domain can cost from $10-$14 a year.
Pretty low expense for a business right?
Second thing, or really the first is the hosting.
You can have the domain but if you don’t have hosting you won’t have a website to go to.
There are many hosting companies and prices range from $3 to ridiculous prices, but it all depends on your needs.
But since you’re just starting out you should use hostgator. They are one of the hosting companies I use and they are very helpful for beginners and veterans.
I personally pay around $11/month but there are plans that start at $2.75 which is the discounted bundled price if you buy up to 3 years in advance.
As you can see from the image below…
So if you did the math that’s $3 x 36 (mo) which works out to about
$99 for the 3 years
I don’t know about you but that is a super steal for starting a business, that’s about $33/year.
In fact, I been missing out on this deal myself and I need to hop on this deal myself – smh I can’t believe I been losing that much money instead of saving.
And if you don’t have the cash up front you can always upgrade at a later time.
Remember you also can get a free domain name along with your web host at hostgator.
I’ve also made a tutorial guide here on purchasing web hosting from hostgator so you can know every step of the way.
Also remember when choosing a domain name strive for getting a .com over the others. People are more familiar with .coms as opposed to .nets or any other extension.
And be creative with your domain name, it will help when it’s catchy and witty to remember.
Can I use a free blogging platform?
So starting out I know its tempting to start off with a free blogging platform because, less face it…
It’s less work.
However, there are a few downsides to this option and if you are looking into your blog in terms of longevity and a business then I suggest you don’t go for the free alternatives out there.
The cons of a free blogging platform
1. You don’t own your site
As a result of not owning your blog it could be shut down without a moments notice and all your hard work will be gone.
That is why it is recommended by all the top bloggers to self-host your own website.
Even with this option it is still important to back up your site in case of anything.
2. You have no control:
Who is to say what you can and cannot put up on your site…not you.
It’s your site and you should have the option to talk and create the things you want.
Besides isn’t it your content?
3. No room to grow:
Opportunities come and go and if you are looking for an option to grow your blog, especially if your blog gains lots of traffic, trying to switch to a self-hosted site will be difficult and you can lose all your work.
Therefore that is why we suggest a hosting service like hostgator if you want to take your blogging to the next level.
It made be a little more to learn in the beginning but the pay off is well worth it in the end.
No headaches and the ability to grow on your own terms.
Step 3: Install WordPress
Alright so you have your hosting and your domain name, now it’s time to install the most important thing.
Starting a blog on a self-hosted website, as mentioned before, is the best way to get started and WordPress makes it a breeze for you to do.
So once you have bought your hosting, which you can use our simple guide to do, you can then install WordPress. This will allow you to add a theme for your website and create the content.
Installing WordPress is pretty simple and you can follow this quick tutorial on installing WordPress on to your web host.
Step 4: Choose & Design Your WordPress Theme
Ok this is the fun part.
You get to decide what you want your blog to look like.
There are so many options out there to choose from free to paid.
The free ones can come with some limitations, but they are a good way to get started and the best part is…
When you want to upgrade your theme its just a click of a button and all your content is transferred to the new theme.
Thanks wordpress!
Of course like any new theme, you will have to learn its features but with a little guidance and playing around you can have a professional blog in no time.
If you’re looking for one good free theme I have used flash before and I think it looks great, but if you looking for more paid themes you can go on over to themeforest.net and browse there section of sites for blogs.
There are a lot to choose from and getting started can be overwhelming at first so it’s ok to start with a free one and grow from there.
Therefore, I think the theme flash is a great place to start and along with a plugin called elementor so you can customize a page with their drag and drop feature.
Step 5: Customize & Optimize
After you installed the theme of your choice its time to add a little customization.
I won’t go too deep into this but somethings that are important to give your site some identification is the section where it says site identity.
Obvious right?
You can locate that option on the admin tab that says appearance and you will then see customize
You will then be taken to the customization page where you will find the site identity option.
Sometimes it will be located somewhere different but it will be on the same page as seen below…
Anyways here you can write the name of your blog and a simple tagline.
This also helps with search engines too.
Talking about search engines there is one plugin I recommend is Yoast SEO which helps with your SEO.
This plugin is a simple guide to help you when you’re writing your blog posts so you know what you need to include in your articles.
If you would like some help with the settings and a complete guide to understanding the Yoast plugin follow their complete beginners guide and you will good to go.
Step 6: Get Started Blogging: Writing Your First Post
If you reached it to this point congratulations you made it to the end!
You know have a self hosted website with wordpress installed along with a banging theme.
Now the only thing you need to do is start creating content.
So before you start writing your first blog post here is a suggestion for coming up with some ideas.
As I learned from the book Crush It, if you can think of up to 50 topics to write about then that means you have interest in that subject.
But I am a man that doesn’t just like to shoot in the wind.
What if we can find topics people are already searching for and topics around them.
This will help for your blog to reach traction much faster than just writing random topics.
Another important note to take is when creating these topics think about your readers in mind because “no one cares about you”
They want to know what’s in it for them.
That’s not to say you cant write about yourself I mean its your blog, and including some personal experiences in your writing helps to make you content a lot more authentic.
However, when it comes to the overall subject of the article ask yourself…
“What are my readers interested in or what problems do they have about this topic?”
This will make it easier on you and your readers.
Also come up with some catchy headlines that intrigues you’re readers to find out more and another great resource to rate your headlines is coschedule.
Oh I almost forgot…
How do you write your first blog post.
Don’t worry I wrote a create a post guide for that as well so just follow along and you will have your first blog up in 3 easy steps.
Resources
Can I make money from blogging?
So the dreaded question really is…
Is making a blog worth it and can I really make money from it.
I would like to show you a video that changed my perspective on what blogging can mean for you and me.
After watching this I felt like I now had a plan and thus I created this post for others like me who want to see success online from topics that intrigues us and the things we like to do and talk about.
Which ultimately can give us the freedom from the normal 9-5 one day.
Especially for us developers and designers out there its hard to find work sometimes when getting started.
Our online space is our only way of exhibiting our work and skills.
Why not truly learn to market ourselves and benefit not only from our hourly services but the work we have put in on the back end and automate it for passive income.
That is why I think it is important for developers to learn the important skill of marketing.
Without it how do we expect to succeed in any goal we strive for.
Anyways if you seen the video you will have seen that there are a bunch of ways to make money from your blog such as:
- Ads
- Selling products
- Sell or teaching courses
- Your services
- Selling an ebook
- And so much more
The thing that you need to know about running or owning a business is that it solves a problem.
Therefore if your content is solving a problem for somebody then you can reap the rewards of your solution.
No matter what it is.
Conclusion
So to wrap things up let’s just go over again the few things you need to start your blog today…
- Decide on a topic you’re going to talk about
- Choose your host and domain name
- Install WordPress
- Customize and Optimize
- Pick a theme and design it
- Begin blogging your first post
That’s it.
Follow these steps along with my tutorial guides for installing, and uploading your WordPress theme, and you will have your very own blog that you can work on and build.
You will be proud of what you create, just stick to it and continue improving and learning.
I hope this was helpful and has helped you get started in reaching your blogging goals.