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Having the knowledge on how to start a blog can change your life drastically. And that’s the sole purpose of this illustrated guide!
Starting a blog has never been easier nowadays. Exclusively for EcomDimes readers, you can start your blog today from as low as $2.75! Equivalent to a cup of latte from Starbucks! This article is a step by step guide for how to start a blog from scratch!
While others use blogging as a side hustle, there are those who have made it their main business. Blogging is a low-cost way with no risks involved in opening doors of opportunity that were not previously there before.
Pin this image or bookmark this page to easily refer back to it anytime you want to!
This article will guide you through each step on how to start a blog in less than 15 minutes, and it is a suitable business model for beginners.
If you find this article useful and inspiring, save THIS PIN to your Blogging Tip Boards on Pinterest
Why do people blog?
People have diverse reasons for starting or wanting to start a blog. Some do it out of passion, while others are informative- they want to inform and inspire others.
For others, they saw people making money from blogging and they simply want to do the same.
The reason as to why you want to start blogging is not of much essence. If you have and utilize the right strategies, your blog has the potential to distribute your ideas to the world, connect you with millions of individuals, and make you money. Tons of money if done right!
You may be thinking to yourself that this is not real, or not even possible, but let’s have a real example of a passionate blogger, who was able to generate thousands of dollars from blogging, while teaching, educating and spreading her positive energy to the world.
Learn from other top money making blogs
There’s Melyssa Griffin if there was one word to describe her it would be: “Creatambitionate” creative, ambitious, passionate, and energetic person that is filled with joy.
She has made over $283,000 in one single month from her blog:
It will definitely take a lot of time to reach this elite level, but that shouldn’t stop you from trying, if someone has done it, you simply can too!
How blogging earns you money
In fact, when it comes to making money from blogging, opportunities are endless:
- Affiliate marketing
- Display ads
- Consulting
- Selling courses, trainings, or ebooks
- Allowing businesses to buy sponsored posts on your website
- Offering services
- Coaching
- Paid membership forum
And the list goes on and on…
Related: Fantastic 20+ ways to make money from a blog! (Open in a new tab)
But before starting ranking in cash as a blogger, the first thing to do is starting your blog.
This step can be a challenging hurdle for most people and mostly non-tech individuals. You need to decide on the site that you will use in setting up your website.
In this article, we shall use HostGator, one of the best sites for beginner bloggers in cost and performance. They also offer great infrastructure.
Are you ready to start creating something awesome?! Open “HostGator” in another tab or click the image below and follow along with me!
Start a blog on WordPress with HostGator
Below are 10 simple steps of starting a blog on WordPress with Hostgator:
1. Choose the hosting plan
After opening the link above, it will lead you to a page with three hosting options to select from. You can either pick the Hatchling plan, standard plan, or business plan.
If it is your first website, I should be honest, you need no more than the Hatchling plan because it has all the features and resources that are needed for a brand new website
The cool part is that Hostgator offers two gifts with every package:
A free domain:
In order to qualify for (1) one free domain name registration, you must sign up for a 12, 24 or 36 month HostGator Shared, WordPress or Cloud hosting plan.
Offer only applies to .com, .net and .org domains, and on their initial purchase term.
This offer is NOT available under any other hosting plans, nor can it be combined with any other offers. After the first year, your domain will renew at the regular rate.
If your hosting plan includes a free domain name registration and you cancel within the first year, a non-refundable $17.99 USD domain fee (+ any applicable taxes) for the domain name will apply.
Please note that newly registered domains cannot be transferred to another registrar during the first 60 days of the registration period.
The discount will be automatically applied to your cart at checkout.
A free SSL website security certificate:
Your hosting package includes a free SSL certificate that provides security for your website domains and subdomains.
This happens by encrypting communications between the server and visitors to your website and flags your site secure by displaying a padlock icon in your address bar.
It uses strong 2048 bit signatures and provides up to 256-bit encryption of customer data along with 99.9% browser recognition
2. Choose your domain name
After choosing your plan and hitting the “Buy Now” button, you will be directed to the order page where choosing your domain name is the first item on the list.
This will be the only name of your website, so it has to be unique. Make it simple and easy to remember. It is advisable to use only letters.
A good example of a good domain name is our blog’s domain: www.ecomdimes.com
3. Enter your hosting plan information
This step will determine the initial cost of starting your blog. No matter how much you spend, if you end up deciding that blogging is not for you in the first 45 days, you can simply get your money back with no questions asked!
I’m not sure if there’s a business you can start with less than that. Plus the risk is little near to zero comparing to other business models.
I recommend taking advantage of one of the 36-month hosting plans to get the most benefits and reduce the overall cost of your blog.
4. Enter your billing information
Here, you will enter your billing information, which is a straightforward step.
5. Choose your Adds-on
Luckily, most of the add-ons are included in the package price. This step is about deciding whether you need tacking on an SSL certificate or not.
I truly recommend adding this option, because there’s nothing scare people more than landing on an unsafe website.
It’s optional for you if you want to add the SiteLock monitoring, which protects your site from hackers.
Summing up for this step, you will already have the needed adds-on, I just recommend you activate the SSL certificate to let your visitors have a better and safe experience.
6. Coupon code
This is not actually a step, as previously you were asked to manually enter down your discount code in the checkout page. Nowadays, once you have chosen your plan and provided all your details, your coupon code will automatically be applied.
We are here to advise and give our recommendations only, I’m not incentivized to recommend one length of time over the other. Choosing the longer plan will just reduce your blog’s initial costs to $2.75/month, which is AMAZING!
7. Review order and submit
After completing the above steps, review your details to ensure that everything fits what you want. If it is all good, hit the “checkout now” and get rolling.
Besides the 45-day money-back guarantee, you will get extraordinary support, live chat, email support, and 24/7/365 phone support!
8. Install WordPress
Purchasing a managed WordPress plan gets you this built-in feature, which you don’t actually have to do it yourself.
Big companies like CNN, Spotify, New York Post, and Fortune are using WordPress if those sites use it, so I think you should consider choosing a trusted blogging platform.
9. Log into your WordPress admin dashboard
After your WordPress site goes live, you will receive a confirmation email from HostGator. The email will offer you the information on where you will access your WordPress login, username, and a password that is randomly generated (can be changed afterward).
It just takes a few minutes for HostGator to create something awesome.
That’s it! Your website is ready to get introduced to the world!
10. Monetize your blog
Yup, you’ve guessed that this is the hardest part, and it takes time.
If you are a person who is looking for a random quick method to make money, frankly this isn’t for you, and I suggest you read my other blog post about the best gambling websites.
Making money is not the important stuff here, what matters is the constant profits, always aim for a sustainable business with proven progress in the long run.
Stay away from what I call “Hit & run”, raise your standards up and think big!
Trust me, if someone has done it, you definitely can do it too, you just have to believe that you can!
Before thinking about monetization, give yourself the time to get familiarized with the HostGator customer panel, surf the platform and learn about each tab.
I would recommend that you focus on customizing the blog rather than monetize it in the beginning.
Your number one priority should be providing rich content and building a readership for your blog.
Without people and traffic, you cannot actually monetize it.
Here are some tips for building a successful blog:
- Your blog should be holding a unique mission and goal, in a particular niche for a specific audience who share common interests.
- You should be adopting a casual-professional voice.
- Your blog should be easy to read, the font, the height, the colors, you just need to give a great experience for the reader, and a reason to come back again to read new content.
- You should invest in your mailing list, it’s your biggest asset.
- Leverage social media platforms, to help spread your blog.
Want more tips?
40 Lessons To Learn From Top Bloggers And Most Popular Blogs. These are actually things that I wish I had known before blogging! (Open in a new tab)
Also, if you are a blogger or considering starting your first blog, I’ve come up with an interesting article that talks about 10 things to do as a blogger, it has some good blogging tips (Open in a new tab)
If you are looking forward to learning how to monetize your blog and make money out of your content, I’ve created this unique article to educate you on how to make your first dollars with a blog! (Open in a new tab)
Did you find this post useful and inspiring? Save THIS PIN to your Blogging Tips Board on Pinterest 🙂
Conclusion
This can be a very cool opportunity to dive into, as you will be talking about something you love, educating millions of people, and also making money.
What an amazing business opportunity!
Huge potential!
Low capital needed!
Low risk involved!
Luckily, you can have your website up and running in a few minutes with HostGator! Exclusively for EcomDimes readers, start your blog in as low as $2.75, equivalent to a cup of latte from Starbucks!
Do you have any other questions? Let me know in the comment box, I’ll be glad to answer, that’s what we are here for 🙂
You, our readers, are so precious to us! And in fact, you’re the reason behind creating this awesome blog! For EcomDimes readers, we’ve grabbed you a $300 OFF voucher for America’s most comfortable mattress. Sleep better and do more! 😊
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Cheers,
Odeh Ahwal
