Believe it or not! Not all that long ago I knew nothing about online business, let alone blogging! I’ve always been curious and wanted a way to connect with others, and maybe help improve their lives, while doing something that I love!
Starting a blog gave me just that, and it’ll do the same for you. A blog gives you an excellent platform for personal growth and development. I fell upon blogging and has changed my life. Blogging has allowed me the luxury to stay-at-home with our daughter without being a financial burden to our household budget.
Money isn’t everything. However, the extra income from my blog is allowing my family to completely design our days. That’s HUGE for us.
As an aspiring blogger, you don’t have to be an IT specialist or an experienced programmer (trust me, I am neither of those things). You simply need to know the right things to do. & Today, we will walk you through exactly how to set up your first blog and get you on your way to designing your own life!
If you know someone that wants to start a blog or website, please share this tutorial with them!
The following will be a step-by-step guide to creating the blog of your dreams and actually make money from it!
Click here to start a blog with Bluehost, then use the tutorial below for easy step-by-step directions.
If you have any questions about starting a blog, please email me at budgetwithbelle@gmail.com
“So, how do you start a blog”? Ask no further – let’s do this!
What Are The Benefits Of Starting A Blog?
“There’s no time like the present.” We’ve all heard that saying before. It rings true for starting a blog. One of the fantastic things about blogging is that you can write about absolutely anything; hobbies, lifestyle, children, school or work. Sharing your experiences and viewpoints on life.
Starting a blog will help you become a better writer, join an online community of other bloggers alike while inspiring others. Connect with brands that you love and promote for FREE and might get paid for it. Best part you’ll design days that you love while earning an income.
The benefits of blogging are endless.
Starting a blog was one of the best decisions of my life. Our Daughter is 10 months, she’s turning 1 in March. I started my blog to earn an income from home so I can better take care of our family while not causing a financial burden to our household budget. I am blessed to be able to do. With a lot of long nights and hard work, I am able to do so.
Who Should Start A Blog?
Anyone can launch a successful, profitable lifestyle blog. The business of blogging is like no other. Low startup cost. And very low overhead. No educational or technical experience required. All you need is the dedication and the willingness to put in the work. When I started blogging I knew nothing about hosting, WordPress, or themes. Driven by excitement, and the support of my Husband. My blog was born.
If I can do it, you can too! Seriously!
If you’re interested in starting your own blog, I created a free 7-day email course to help you start a blog and learn how to make it successful. You can join below!
Step 1: Choose the Right Platform
In my honest opinion to run a profitable and successful blog, it needs to be on a self-hosted platform. While the option of starting a blog on a FREE hosted platform sounds may good. But, it isn’t. Reason 7,001 – It isn’t profitable. I’ll tell you why 99.9% of profitable blogs don’t run on FREE host sites and why you should not use them.
Reasons to avoid using a free platform:
- It’s ugly. The customizations are limited.
- It’s almost impossible to make money from a free blog
- The. Website. Is. Slow. (Need I say more)
- You do not own your blog or the content on your website (this means your free website could shut down overnight for no reason. That’s just a risk I’m not willing to take)
If you’re interested in making money from your blog, freelancing or turning your blog into a business, then paying for your hosting (such as through Bluehost) is a MUST. It’s extremely affordable, has outstanding customer service and you can run any of your own advertisements, affiliate links, product sales, etc. with a blog using Bluehost.
[clickToTweet tweet=”If you want to make money from blogging, then paying for your web hosting is a must.” quote=”If you want to make money from blogging, then paying for your web hosting is a must.”]
Because of these grossly noticeable flaws, this is why I always recommend Bluehost to anyone who wants to start their own lifestyle blog.
Reasons Why You Should Use Bluehost:
- They are available by phone, live chat or email 24/7
- Bluehost is the best affordable paid hosting for beginners
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- You get a FREE domain name
Bluehost offers so many benefits when you host with them there’s no reason not to start a blog.
Thanks to their 30-day money-back guarantee, there is a very little risk of starting a blog through Bluehost, and a lot of potentials to make money blogging.
If you are currently using a free blogging platform, you can easily transfer your blog to a self-hosted site.
The process of starting a blog can be a bit daunting and overwhelming. But, start anyway! The one thing that all successful bloggers have in common, is that they started a blog. Today, not tomorrow. But, right now. that’s the difference between everyone else.
Success starts when you start.
[clickToTweet tweet=”The key to SUCCESS is to START ” quote=”The key to SUCCESS is to START “]
By starting your blog. You’ll be ahead of anyone else who is still thinking about launching their blog yesterday. Do it scared.
Step 2: Choose Your Hosting Package
You can click the green Get Started Now button at Bluehost to get started.
I recommend choosing the Basic starter package as that’s really all you need and it’s a great deal at 50% off the regular price!
Step 3: Register Your Domain Name
The next step in the process of how to start a profitable blog is registering your domain name. A few questions I had as a beginner were:
What is a domain name?
A domain name is simply the address of the blog (aka URL). Example, the domain of our website is Trueandpretty.com ©
How do I select a good domain name?
I had a hard time coming up with my blog name. I overthink the entire process. Don’t be like me, relax remember not to overcomplicate it. In the long run, the value of your blog is in the content that you put into it. Not the name.
PRO TIP: I recommend registering your name through Bluehost since it keeps everything streamlined, and you get a FREE domain name if you purchase a 12 month (or longer) blog hosting plan (a $15.99 value).
How do I get a domain name?
You can get your domain directly through Bluehost for FREE when you sign up for at least 12 months worth of Bluehost web hosting. This is one of the many benefits of hosting with Bluehost and why we recommend it.
Once you’ve chosen your free domain name, the next step is simply to fill out your contact details and payment information.
Some of the boxes on this page may already be checked, but the only option that we recommend is the “Domain Privacy Protection.” Adding this feature ensures that your personal information as the website owner remains private.
Hit submit, and congrats! You now own your very own website!!!!!
We SURVIVED! Not to bad, right?
Note: If you’re registering a free domain name, you can skip the next part and head straight to Step 4 to install WordPress.
Already have a paid domain name?
If you already have a domain name that you bought from a website like GoDaddy, you will need to connect it to your web hosting account. It’s easy to connect your domain name to Bluehost, just choose the second option on the page instead of registering a new domain name.
Follow these instructions to connect your GoDaddy domain to Bluehost.
How to modify, add or delete name servers (DNS) for your domain(s):
- Log into the GoDaddy.com Account Manager.
- From the Domain Name drop-down menu or the Manage Your Account list, select Manage Domains.
- Using the checkboxes, select the domain name you wish to modify and then click Set Name Servers.
- Enter your updated name server information in the spaces provided under the blue Name Servers heading on the right side of your page and click Save Changes at the bottom. Your entries should look like this: ns1.bluehost.com; ns2.bluehost.com
You will then need to select the domain name you bought (such as through GoDaddy) as an Add On Domain through your Bluehost cpanel. Click on Domain Manager, then select “Assign a Domain to Your cPanel Account”. Follow these steps and it is very easy!
Step 4: Install WordPress
Since you have now purchased your Bluehost hosting package and chosen your domain name, the final step is to Install WordPress.
Bluehost just made it even easier to create a WordPress blog. If you get stuck on any step, you can always send me an email at budgetwithbelle@gmail.com or open Live Chat on Bluehost.
After setting up your password, you should be directed to select a theme for your WordPress site. Your screen should look like this:
You will be asked to pick a theme. You can choose any theme here, just pick one that inspires you. You can always change it later so it’s not a big deal. There are lots of free options too, so if you prefer to skip this step, just scroll to the bottom of the page and click “skip this step”.
After you select a theme, click on “Start Building”.
The next screen will ask what kind of site you would like to set up: “Business” or “Personal”.
Click on Business option. (it doesn’t matter if you don’t have an actual business started yet – this is the first step in that process!). You will then be taken to a dashboard that looks like this:
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU DID IT!
Now you can log into your WordPress dashboard and start blogging — this is the part I know you’ve been waiting for! The URL for your dashboard should be: yourblogname.com/wp-admin/
If you want to upload a different WordPress theme, you’ll need to click “Appearance” on the left-hand side of your WordPress dashboard, then select “Themes”.
There are also a ton of free themes, and here’s a great list of them that you can try: https://colorlib.com/wp/free-wordpress-themes/
You can also head to premium theme websites, such as StudioPress or Foodie Pro (I love Foodie!) among others and buy your favorite theme. With time, if you get bored with your blog’s appearance, you can simply change themes without affecting your images or content, thanks to the excellent feature by WordPress that allows users to switch themes with a few clicks.
For more information about all the blogging tools, I use for? True&Pretty, feel free to check out my Resource Page.
Here are some helpful posts to help kick-start your blogging journey:
Growing Your Blog Traffic:
Making Money From Blogging:
- First Income And Traffic Report
- How To Use Affiliate Marketing To Monetize Your Blog
- How To Make Money Blogging
Blogging Resources & Tools:
If you have any questions about starting a self-hosted WordPress blog, please leave me a comment or send me an email at: budgetwithbelle at gmail dot com. I’m more than happy to help you, that’s what I’m here for!