I have been blogging off an on for about four years but mainly did it as a hobby before this year. Now I have decided I want more from blogging than just writing whatever is floating around in my head. In order to monetize it required me to do research and seek out help from my good friend Sadie. She was able to help guide me in the right direction and now I am posting how to start a blog in less than 10 steps just for you.
Before you move forward on these steps, you will want to brainstorm a bit. What do you want to blog about? What are you passionate about? If you are not writing about something that means something to you, it will not mean anything to your readers. Write for yourself…about what makes you happy..or sad. If you are writing about something you are passionate about than you will be more likely to have a following of loyal fans. This is important down the road if you wish to monetize.
Start A Blog in Less Than 10 Steps
Blog Name and Social Media:
Start thinking about the name of your blog..to me this was one of the hardest aspects next to picking my theme which we won’t talk about cause I am still undecided if I like it. Make sure you pick something you will love years from now, that way you don’t have to make the switch later.
Once you have a name decided, you will want to check if all the social media outlets are available for that name. Be sure to check Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and any of the others. Setup the accounts for all of them even if you do not plan to use them. That way no one can steal them out from under you later and try and pose as you.
Domain and Hosting:
Now that you have your blog name figured out I recommend purchasing your domain and hosting from A Small Orange. It is much easier to keep your domain and hosting together from the start but if you already have a domain with someone else, it is fine too. Plans start at as little as $2.92 a month. This is great because not many hosting options are monthly but instead yearly. Well if you aren’t 100% sure if blogging is for you, paying monthly is really great as you are not locked in and out a lot of money. **Tuesday 01/19/16 and Wednesday 01/20/16 is a HOSTING SPECIAL for 45% off making it $2.29 a month with FREE domain or $1.60 a month if you just need hosting**
WordPress:
Sign up for a new account at WordPress.org. Make sure you are not on wordpress.com as they are different!
Installing WordPress:
This can either be extremely easy or a little bit difficult depending on how computer savvy you are. However, DON’T PANIC. If you sign up for my hosting above, I will send you a link to our exclusive blogging group and we have helpful videos that make it super simple.
Most host companies have what’s known as your cPanel and some have a one click WordPress installer so be sure to look for that.
Themes and Posts:
Now it is time to play around and get familiar with WordPress. Pick your theme, play with the widgets, and make a post or two. You can find tons of tutorials on how to change things on Google or my friend that helped me has a ton of great content on her blog; Slap Dash Mom.
Facebook:
Facebook is a great place to not only gain followers but also meet amazing bloggers that are extremely helpful along the way. There are tons of great blogging groups(and some not so great ones so don’t be afraid to leave those) to join. And of course be sure to email me if you sign up at lifeondeerrun {at} gmail {dot} com when you sign up for hosting so I can add you to our group or if you have any other questions regarding blogging.
Pinterest:
TONS and TONS of great blogging resources on Pinterest. Once you get a good amount of content on your blog and are pretty familiarized with how Pinterest works, you’ll definitely want to take this Pinterest Course to help boost your Pinterest traffic and follows. It is a really great course!
Okay yeah that’s a lot to throw at you all at once but I promise it will all come together quickly. Again don’t hesitate to message me on Facebook or shoot me an email for help.
Leave a Reply