If you’re reading this it’s because you’re interested in starting a money-making blog, right?

You maybe have something to share or want to help someone with your skills but you don’t really know how to start and feel overwhelmed. Don’t worry I’ve been there too

Well, in this article I’m going to show you step by step how to start a profitable blog for beginners for really cheap!

I just want you to know that anyone can make money blogging BUT it takes time and you need to put effort into it if you wanna see results. This is not a get rich scheme or an overnight success. Bloggers telling you that are lying!

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

100 blog post ideas in almost any niche

5 ways you can make money blogging

Tools and resources to grow a kick-ass blog

That being said we can start

STEP 1: determine your blog’s purpose/niche

The first step is going to be determining your blogging purpose. You should ask yourself: why do I wanna start blogging?

Then you wanna choose a niche.

You might ask what is a niche? A niche is simply the topic your blog is about. It could be a food blog, fashion blog, fitness blog, etc…

You can still be a successful blogger without having a blog niche but it’s going to be hard to target your ideal audience, make money and so on.

Don’t forget to make sure your blog’s niche is in demand because you don’t wanna write about a topic no one is searching for.

Here are some questions to help you define your blog’s niche:

• What am I passionate about?
• What are my skills?
• How can I help with my skills?
• What inspires me?
• Who am I writing for?

Write these questions down and take the time to answer them!

Here are a few of the most profitable blog niches: travel, food, health and fitness, blogging/making money, personal finance, beauty and fashion, personal development, lifestyle.

One last thing before moving on to step two, YOU NEED to set goals and long term plans for your blog because staying motivated and determined to be successful will not make you fail.

STEP 2: choose a blog name

Then you need to decide how do you wanna name your blog. To help you choose your blog’s name you can write a list of words that are relative to the topic of your blog and try to mix them.

For example, if your blog is about personal development, naming it “mylifestyleblog” would not make any sense. I chose bossbabeblog because my niche is about blogging/making money and I wanna help you be your own boss!

Choose a name that is short and easy to remember, you can go creative!

STEP 3: choose your platform

If you’re serious about blogging and want to make it a business you should choose a self-hosted platform like wordpress.org.

Choosing a self-hosted platform will let you have full control over your blog, you’ll own it. WordPress.org allows you to upload your own plugins, Theme, etc.

Whether if you choose a free platform like wordpress.com, Wix or blogger you have limited control of your blog and it’s gonna hard to monetize it since you can’t put ads and create your online store (if you sell products).

Plus choosing a free platform does not let you have your own URL like www.yourname.com. The WordPress.com platform has a branded URL, so your URL will look like that: www.yourname.wordpress.com. This makes you look unprofessional!

Did it convince you to go for a paid option?

Great, now you need to choose a host for your blog. Your hosting is where your blog lives, it allows your blog to be seen by others all over the world!

There are many hosting companies on the market but the one and only that I recommend is Bluehost.

Why?

Free domain name

First of all with Bluehost you get a free domain name. A domain name usually costs about $15.

24/7 customer support

If you have any problem Bluehost has an amazing customer support and they will respond and help you really fast! They also have a chat form in which you can ask for assistance at any time and someone will be in touch with you within 5 minutes.

Automatically installs WordPress for you

They will automatically install WordPress at no cost for you, which is going to make your life easier! You don’t have to be a tech-savvy person or learn to code too.

Affordable for new bloggers

Bluehost is one of the most affordable hosting company, you can start as little as $2.95/ month with my special link

Ready? Now it’s time to start your blog! Before you start make sure to go to bluehost.com to follow this step by step guide

STEP 4: set up your blog

CHOOSE YOUR PLAN

Head over to bluehost.com and click on the green “get started now” button.

Then, select the plan you’re interested in:

Bluehost has three plans, you can choose the basic plan at the beginning and upgrade it later at any time.

CHOOSE YOUR FREE DOMAIN NAME

This is where you’ll place your blog URL (your blog name).

Bluehost will make sure that the blog name you chose is not already taken. If the blog name is taken you can try different variations!

Don’t forget to choose the .com extension for your domain too because it’s the best one!

CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT

Fill out your account information.

Next, you’ll choose your package of 12, 24, 36 or 60 months.

If you’re really serious about turning your blog into a business I suggest you taking the 36 month plan because it’s the most affordable long term option.

You can always take the 12 month plan if you aren’t sure yet

If you don’t wanna pay extra features simply uncheck everything except domain privacy protection because this is important.

Fill out your banking informations, don’t forget to tick the standard Privacy Policy and Terms of Service and click the green submit button. 

Yay! You’re done with this step!

STEP 5: pick a theme

WHERE TO FIND THEMES

WordPress already offers free theme but if you’re not satisfied with those you can choose to purchase a theme somewhere else.

I always recommend choosing a paid theme because this will make you look professional and you have better chances to rank higher in Google with a paid theme.

• Divi: Divi is the theme that I use, it’s really customizable and great for beginners
• Creative market
• Pipdig
• Bluchic
• Eclair
• Designs
• hello you desings

HOW TO INSTALL A THEME

Go to your WordPress dashboard then under the appearance section, click on “theme“.

Click on add new and then just browse through your files and upload the theme you downloaded and finally activate your theme.

STEP 6: install the necessary plugins

WHAT IS A PLUGIN?

A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. Plugins can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress website.

You can think about it as an app for your website.

Here are some plugins I recommend for beginner bloggers:

Yoast SEO: This plugin will help you improve the SEO (search engine optimization) and indexability of your site.

Smush: This fantastic plugin helps keep your site ultra-fast by automatically compressing and optimizing your images!

Social Warfare: Social warfare will help you share your social media accounts.

Pretty links: This plugin will help you shorten affiliate links and make them prettier!

Jet pack: Jetpack provides a lot of powerful features for your site. Everything from a mobile theme, site security, site performance, content tools, and many other features.

HOW TO INSTALL A PLUGIN

To install a plugin go to plugins> add new

Type in the search bar the plugin you want to install.

Once you’ve chosen a plugin, click on Install Now > Activate. 

And that’s it! You installed your plugin!

LOVED THIS POST? FEEL FREE TO SHARE IT!

I hope this blog post helped you start your blog but if you want more details about starting a blog, monetizing and growing it I suggest you take my free 5 days email course to start a blog for beginners!

If you have any questions let me know in the comment!

Happy blogging

The post How to start a blog step by step for beginners appeared first on bossbabeblog.