How to start a Blog
This complete guide will teach you the foundation for starting a business with a blog and how you can grow your reach organically.
Here are the 9 simple steps to getting started with your blog:
1. Select a hosting platform for your blog
2. Purchase your domain name (yourname.com)
3. Install wordpress
4. Select a wordpress theme (appearance) for your blog
5. Install several simple wordpress plugins
6. Decide on a subject area or niche you will focus on
7. Create an initial content plan or outline
8. Write your first blog post
9. Market your blog
I started my first business in 2007 with a blog and although the blogging landscape has changed dramatically over the years, one thing remains the same: people want to organically find quality answers to what they are searching for.
Blogging is still the number one choice for entrepreneurs just getting started for the following 7 important reasons:
1. It is your own platform
2. People can reach you organically
3. There is no limit to your reach and what you can build
4. You benefit 100% from the time and resources you put into it
5. It requires little investment to get started.
6. Establishes your expertise in a particular niche
7. You are not competing with others for attention or drowning in other user’s attention
With this detailed guide you will learn cutting edge strategies that will help you fast track your way to a profitable blog. The vast majority of information regarding blogging is outdated and here you will find the most relevant and up to date blogging information.
1. Choosing a blog hosting platform Your best bet is to register with Bluehost. You can get started on bluehost for as little as 2.95/month. I have hosted dozens of websites on Bluehost for over 15 years and their customer support is incredible. When you are just starting out, the customer support is crucial.
- Go to bluehost.com (by clicking on this link and registering you receive a discount)
- Select the basic plan (2.95/month)
- Purchase the domain name you would like (danielflugger.com)
- Select the package plan you would like (discounts if you prepay longer term)
- Only purchase a hosting plan for now (extras are not necessary)
- Complete order and create password for bluehost login
- Login to bluehost account.
Congratulations you are now the new owner of a blog!
2. Considerations when purchasing a domain name:
1. Don’t pigeonhole yourself with an overly specific domain name (e.g. dognfts.com)- a general name not niche specific or your own name are best
2. Try to find the .com domain, i.e. yourname.com
3. Unless you plan on hyper focusing on one niche, do not limit your domain name to that niche, i.e. financeseo.com
4. Only use letters in your domain name and avoid symbols or numbers
Decide on the general topic or topics you will write about. Your number one job is providing the best, most comprehensive information that is easy to reference for google. Google loves websites that go very deep in specific subject area because it helps them provide the best information possible to users the fastest.
Blogs that focus on too many different topics and do not go deep in any one area do not get traction and often do not generate revenue.
Looking at it from the user’s perspective, when you are searching for something all you want is the answer to your question or more information about a certain topic as quickly as possible. You do not want to sort through unrelated or disparate information to get your answer.
3. Installing wordpress on bluehost
To install WordPress on a Bluehost server, you will first need to log in to your Bluehost account and navigate to the website control panel. Once you are in the control panel, you should select “WordPress” from the list of available software packages, then click on the “Install” button.
Next, you will be prompted to enter some basic information about your site, including the desired domain name for your wordpress installation and your desired username and password for accessing the wordpress admin panel. When you have entered this information correctly, click on “Install Now” and wait for wordpress to finish installing on your site. Once wordpress is installed, you can move onto step 4 of choosing your wordpress theme.
4. Select a wordpress theme (appearance) for your blog
**Do not spend too much time researching the perfect theme at this stage, just go with the free version of Kadence wordpress theme and move on.
- Login to your wordpress account at yourdomain.com/wp-admin
- Navigate to Appearance>Themes
- On the top of the page there will be an “add new” button
- Search for Kadence theme in the search box
- once kadence theme is visible click install
- Once installed click activate to activate the theme
5. Install the following wordpress plugins:
- WP Rocket – to optimize your blog for speed
- Wordfence – to secure your website from viruses or hacks
- Yoast SEO – for SEO optimization
- Short Pixel Image Optimizer – to speed up loading times of your website
- Elementor Pro – A plugin to customize pages on your website
6. Decide on a niche or specific subject area for your blog:
If you have a certain passion the first thing you want to do is figure out how monetizable the niche is, i.e. what products can you create or sell, what affiliate programs are there, what are all of the opportunities that exist to create a real revenue generating income stream on your blog.
Some of the best revenue generating niches for blogs in 2022 are:
- Finance and Investing
- Marketing
- Blogging and online businesses
- Self development
- Fitness and Health
- Technology Tips for deciding on your blog niche:
Hyper focus and go deep on one or two (maximum) subject areas
Provide the most accurate information possible
Think about your target audience and how you can best serve them
Figure out what unique perspective you can bring to the spaceAs an example, this blog is focused on building an online businesses, technology and marketing. There are a lot of websites focused on these areas but my unique perspective is that I have experience building businesses using the technology available in web 2 and am sharing that, and am now building a business using web 3 tech. Many people in the world will need to learn how they can best embrace technology to serve them.
7. Create an initial content plan:
Create a list of the first 5-10 posts you would like to write about Once you’ve decided on a general niche, create a list of the first 5-10 posts you are going to write about. These posts should be in the same niche or a subject area that is directly correlated. The way google works is it creates a knowledge graph from the content you create, so you want to make sure that your blog is specific and that those first posts are interrelated.
8. Write your first 5-10 posts:
The next step is to write those first 5-10 posts. Users love clear, succinct writing that gets to the point as quickly as possible and delivers the most value. These first posts are referred to as pillar posts and they tell Google what your site is about. A good rule of thumb is to start with posts that have at least 2,000 words and complete the journey or contain all of the core information a user is looking for.
9. Market your blog
After your first 5-10 posts are complete, your blog can be considered up and running and you’ll need to promote it. in order to attract readers and followers. There are a number of ways to promote your blog, such as through social media, search engine optimization, and guest blogging. By taking the time to promote your blog, you can help ensure that it is successful.
Here are the top 9 personal tips to help you get started:
- Make writing your first post and posting it the priority over everything else. When you are first starting out creating the blog, momentum is everything. If you are working full time set aside one 3 hour window a week where you will focus on writing a single post. Guard this time and do not let anything get in the way of it! In only one year you will have over 50 posts by sticking to this routine.
- Do not worry about making everything perfect when you first start out. If you are comparing what you wrote to a post that is ranking at the top of Google for the same topic, chances are that post has been worked on A LOT, edited, re-edited, etc over years. Like everything else on the web you are just seeing the finished product.
- Figure out why you are creating a blog and who you want to serve. I remember very clearly how terrifying it was quitting my full time job to go on my own. The best piece of advice I got was from a friend when I asked him how he was getting so much business he just said blog- blog as much as you can and stick with it. So that is why I am sharing all of this information, so you embrace it and create your own journey.
- Ignore social media as much as possible, or what other people are doing. Remember you are creating your OWN platform, drawing people TO you, rather than feeding other companies with user data. At the end of the day you want to put yourself in the driver’s seat of your life.
- View it through the lens of being a long term project. The power in using your own name as the domain for your blog is it is your life, and you will treat the writing and process of blogging with the reverence it deserves.
- Don’t tell your friends and family about it, especially in the beginning. This may seem counterintuitive to marketing wisdom where gurus will tell you to promote the blog as much as possible. Remember the goal is to have people find you, and if you are building a blog correctly and being patient, you won’t need vanity metrics
- Know in advance what you are going to post about the following week, keep notes and an outline in Evernote, so when you sit down to write each week you are organized and can get started right away.
- Make focused research of your topic area a part of your daily routine. If you are interested in it this will be easy and you will naturally save what you are learning. Replace the procrastinations of checking the news or watching TV with research.
- Focus on creating valuable content over everything else. You will feel amazing sharing what you are learning knowing there is someone you are helping by sharing.
There are many great reasons to start a blog, both on a personal and a global level. Perhaps the most important of these is how it can help you express yourself, connect with others, and explore new ideas and perspectives. The cycle of researching, writing, posting and gaining feedback is what helps you become the best version of yourself. You are consciously putting yourself in the driver’s seat rather than solely looking to the outside world for stimulation or encouragement (social media, news etc)
With blogging, anyone can share valuable information, document their thoughts and experiences, open up about personal challenges, or even share stories from their everyday lives. Blogging also has incredible benefits for the world as a whole; through thoughtful discussion and analysis, the dialogue can foster connectivity between people from different walks of life.
And of course, there are also many financial rewards to be gained from creating a successful blog. Blogging is the best way to build a completely self sustaining business whether you are doing it completely on your own or want to collaborate with others. It also offers a wide range of potential income streams, from selling digital products to affiliate marketing to offering coaching services. The traffic and reach from a blog can also extend in to unexpected directions including being invited to speaking engagements or offers to teach on your area of expertise.
Be patient, trust your instincts, and most importantly fast track to writing that first post!
