So, you ever thought of becoming a blogger?
Below I will show you the steps I used when I created my blog and how these steps will help you to create your own successful blog.
First, I just want to explain the reason that i started a blog and why you should as well.
One day while at work one of my colleagues had told me that she is now making enough money to cover her monthly expenses from her blog and had decided that she is quitting her job to work full time on the blog. I was shocked. I didn’t realise that you could make money from a blog.
So, I asked her for some advice, and she told me how she started it and how long it took to get off the ground all the while working at her current job.
So, I decided that I’m going to give it a go. I did some research and found out all that I could about starting a blog, from how to get the right hosting provider to finding out how to drive traffic to my blog and then getting affiliate links.
Below I will discuss the important steps that I used to set up my blog to how I got it to make money for me, allowing me to quit my job.
The pros to starting a blog:
- Passive income generation, make money while you sleep
- Uncapped earning potential, you can reach the entire world from your laptop
- Freedom to write about your passions and interests
- Ability to educate others in your field
The cons to starting a blog:
- Blogging is a long game, takes time and effort to establish
- Lots of learning, how to market your blog (social media, websites), SEO management, content creation methods.
Disclosure: There are some affiliate links below and I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post, but these are all products I highly recommend. I won’t put anything on this page that I haven verified and/or personally used.
How to become a blogger in five SIMPLE steps:
- Select a blog name and a hosting provider
- Start your blog using WordPress
- Select a theme to make the blog your own
- Select the correct plugins to get you rolling
- Write great content to create a following
Great so let’s discuss each step below:
Step 1: Select a blog name and your hosting provider
If you want to get serious about blogging, you going to want to get your blog self-hosted with WordPress. Sure, there are other options available such as Blogger.com and Tumblr.com. But the creative freedom and flexibility from WordPress is what you need to do some serious blogging.
My blog runs on WordPress because it gives me the freedom to make it my own from the design of the blog up to the customisations, oh and let’s not forget that WordPress is free.
Get your domain name sorted. Either you want to use your business name or your own name, think of something unique and catchy that you would like to use and something people can remember easily.
Once you have your name sorted, we can move on to the hosting provider. Your WordPress site will need a reliable place to be hosted for it to be live on the internet. For my blog I use a company called Hostinger. I recommend them because they are affordable, and they provide a free domain name when you register. You can check them out here:
I recommend Hostinger for many reasons:
To really know a product and recommend it you must use it. Wheresmycents.com uses hostinger for its hosting and I must say the support is great.
- Great price: they have plans available to suit anybody’s budget.
- Free domain name: When you sign up you get a free domain name.
- Money back guarantees: if you are not happy with your purchase you can request your money back.
- Reliability: You don’t want any down time when you are running a blog.
- Head over to Hostinger now to register and take the next step to becoming a blogger.
Step 2: Start your blog using WordPress
Once you have created your account on the hosting provider, the next step will be to create your WordPress website. Hostinger is great because they allow you to have a one click install of WordPress, basically they do all the work for you, making your life easier.
Step 3: Select a theme to make the blog your own
Once your WordPress is up and running you would need to select a theme for your website. The theme will be of your own choice, something that works for you, that you feel matches your brand and culture.
Step 4: Select the correct plugins to get you rolling
Great so you now have your website hosted and theme set, now you will need some plugins to assist you with gathering email signups and SEO management. In order to learn your customers and provide better service to them the plugins I recommend are below:
Monster Insights
This plugin allows you to track your customers. See where your traffic is coming from and which pages, they are visiting the most, this allows you to see what content your customers like and allows you to grow your website traffic and make improvements.
OptinMonster
This is a popup builder plugin that allows you to create amazing popups to collect email signups and more. I highly recommend them.
Step 5: Write great content to create a following
So, you should be up and running, now is one of the most important aspects that separates the good from great. Your content. Creating content is what will keep your customers coming back. Give good honest advice and people will want more.
I hope you have loads of fun with your new blog and I am certain that you will learn a lot of new things. You are now officially a blogger. We hope you have loads of fun expressing yourself on your new blog. Wherever you’re going, make sure you enjoy the journey ahead.
