You are currently viewing How to Create a Blog

How to Create a Blog

If you are looking for an in dept and easy step by step guide on How to Create a Blog in minutes and make money from it, then this is the right article for you. 

Blogging is a wonderful thing that can help you to share your message with the world.

But more than that, it can also be a tool for making money online – and it can be a great way to build up a strong community of people that you can then launch other products and services to.

If you regularly read blogs yourself then you’ll already begin to understand why blogging is such a powerful tool from a business perspective.

A good blog will get readers coming back time and time again.

It will draw them in and be both entertaining and useful at the same time – and if you can become to the ‘go-to’ blog in your niche then all sorts of magical things can start to happen.

You can make money from the blog directly (for example by selling advertising space) or you can use it to drive traffic to other websites (for example your own products/service or those you are promoting as an affiliate).

The truth is that getting started as a blogger is pretty straightforward, however, you need to be committed if you want to create a blog that is successful and make money off it.

In this article I am going to show you how to create your own successful blog.

From choosing a niche, through to setting up WordPress and showing you how to come up with great ideas for blog content, I’ve got you covered.

Why Start a Blog

If you want to Create a Blog that is successful, it will take time and commitment, but it can be extremely rewarding and profitable.

If you’re willing to put in a little work, you might gain more out of a blog than you expect.

Keep reading to find out some of the reasons you may want to create a blog.

Make Money
Many people make money – whether that’s directly or indirectly. There’s a wide range of earnings, and how much money your blog can bring in will depend on a number of factors, including how much traffic your site gets and how you monetize it.

Effective networking, an established following, and high-quality content
will help a blog to generate more money.

Some people earn thousands per month from a single blog, and a number of successful bloggers have made blogging their full-time career.

While you shouldn’t expect your blog to earn lots of money immediately (it requires a lot of dedication and hard work to become a successful
blogger), a blog can be monetized in a number of ways…

You can sell advertising space on your blog to other businesses and bloggers.

You can promote your own products and services on your blog, and you can promote other people’s products as an affiliate to earn commission on sales (affiliate marketing).

You can also use a blog to build up an email list, which you can then use as an additional means of marketing.

Establish Authority
A high-quality blog is an excellent way to establish yourself as an expert
with authority in your field. This is especially important if you run a business or are a professional looking for more clients.

Writing high-quality content also shows that you are knowledgeable and confident about the subject you’re writing about. A well-read blog can place you at the top of your field.

Develop Valuable Skills
Blogging can also help you to develop valuable skills. The first (and most
obvious) is writing. 

Even if you don’t think of yourself as a great writer, blogging can help you to build your writing skills. The more you blog, the more you’ll find yourself able to organize your thoughts and develop an engaging story. 

Being able to write well will come in handy in many ways, from sending emails, to project proposals, to holiday greeting cards. 

You will almost definitely find yourself benefiting from writing skills in both
your professional and personal life.

Writing a blog will also help you to become a better communicator in general, expressing yourself more effectively orally in addition to in writing. You’ll also likely find yourself becoming more organized and observant in everyday life. 

All of these skills can help you in a number of ways.

READ ALSO: How to Start a Business in 2020 Best Strategies

5 Simple Steps Create a Blog

Step 1. Pick a Blog Name

The first step to finding a good blog name is choosing your topic.

If you’re not sure what to blog about, below are some of the few ways to finding a good blog topic to start with:

3 Steps to Choosing the Best Blog Niche That Drive Traffic and Make Money

  1. Hobbies & passions: One of the first things to consider when deciding on what to blog about is your hobbies or other interests you are passionate about. For instance, Health, Relationship, Cooking, Travel, Fashion, Sports, and Lifestyle, these are all classic examples. Any blogging topic you choose to go with can be successful, since your audience is literally anyone in the world with the internet.
  2. Life Experiences: Everyone has lessons they have learned through life experience. Sharing this knowledge can be incredibly helpful to others in similar situations. For example, I recently helped a lady start her blog about her failed relationship with a guy that claimed he loved her only for him to disappear into thin air with this lady’s property. She has a lot of experience and knowledge to share with others about this topic, and it has helped her connect and help others in similar situations and profiling solutions to avoid such occurrences. So, think about the things you have experienced in life. This could be related to your family (example: a blog about being a stay at home mom), work (a blog about experiences dealing with clients), or other life experiences (a blog about dealing with a troubling time such as a disease or divorce, or about a happy time such as preparing for a wedding or a birth of a child) just think of any problem you can provide solutions for.
  3. A Personal Blog: A personal blog is a blog all about you. This will include a variety of topics, from things you do on a daily basis, to random thoughts and musings. This is a great way to share you thoughts with the world without having to stick to just one topic.

Once you have a topic it’s time to choose your blog name.

Please note that a good blog name should be descriptive. (this doesn’t mean using 5-10 words as a blog name)  Making your blog name descriptive  will help your potential readers instantly tell what your blog is about just from the name.

If you are blogging about one specific topic then you will definitely want to include that in some way in your blog name. Try not to get hung-up on just one word though. For example, a cooking blog doesn’t necessarily have to have the word “cooking” in it. The words “food”, “recipes”, and “meals” would also let people know that your blog is about cooking.

Lets take for instance that you are planning to create a personal blog where you discuss a variety of topics then I recommend using your name, or some variation of it, since your blog is all about you. You can also add your middle name or middle initial if you find your name is already taken. Or you could use a variation like “Leonard Ibong Blog” or “Blogging with Leonard”.

After you’ve gotten some blog name ideas you will need to choose a domain extension. Example of a domain name extensions are .com, .org, .net, .ng, .co.uk, .com.ng, etc.  A .com domain extension is the most popular, most common ad most preferred, though .net or .org work as well. It is also important to note that for the purposes of a blog domain you cannot have any spaces between words. So “Blogging with Leonard” becomes bloggingwithleonard.com

Now that you’ve got your name and have picked an extension it’s time to make sure that no one else has already registered the same name: See if your blog name is available

—> Click here to head over to Bluehost and hit the green “Get Started Now” button

Please note that: You cannot use any spaces or punctuation other than dashes in a domain name.

If you find that the name you wanted is already taken there are a few things you can do:

First: Try a different domain extension. If the .com version is already registered you may still be able to get the .net or .org version of your blog name.
Secondly: Add small words, Words like “a”, “my”, or “the”.
Thirdly: Add dashes between words. For example, my-blog.com

Now that you’ve got a name picked lets quickly talk about the blogging platform we’ll be using before going to step 2 getting your blog online.

The combination of blogging platform & web hosting I personally use (and that majority of other bloggers use) is a WordPress blog, hosted by Bluehost. WordPress is the most preferred publishing platform that’s been around since 2003 and now powers more than 60% of all blogs on the Internet. And Bluehost is one of the longest established companies in the blog hosting industry. This combination of WordPress and Bluehost is what we’ll be using to start blogging within this guide.

Blogging Platform (WordPress Recommended)

Before you start worrying about the design or look of your blog, you’ll need to choose your blogging platform.
There are tons of blogging platforms out there to choose from. You can create a blog with many different blogging platforms, such as

Having tried out most of these platforms I have come to the conclusion that a self-hosted WordPress platform is a boss.

how to create a blog with wordpress

Why I Use & Recommend WordPress?

Given that there are over 60 million active users and counting are using WordPress today, it’s clear which platform is the boss. Even my own blogs and my directory site businesslist247.com is built with a WordPress blogging platform.

7 Reasons Why You Should Use WordPress

  1. WordPress is FREE for everyone to use (including plugins, themes, and layouts that many other blogging platforms don’t provide).
  2. 60% of the web uses WordPress, from hobby blogs to the biggest news sites online.
  3. It is responsive – WordPress is responsive in the sense that it can display very well on any type of phone, desktop, tablet, etc which is what you want to let people access your blog with any device. WordPress is SEO friendly, Mobile friendly, and design-friendly.
  4. According to Google WordPress is 99% SEO friendly. So if you are using WordPress for your blog or website be rest assured that Google and another search engine will rank your site very well.
  5. WordPress is super easy to use – There are over 45,000+ plugins to help your website meet your needs. Add an online store, galleries, mailing lists, forums, analytics, and much more. You can easily customize the themes design, color, layouts, etc to suit your needs.
  6. Powerful Media Management – WordPress is for powerful media management, it comes with built-in support to handle audios, images, video contents, files, and documents management.
  7. WordPress is secure; WordPress is regularly updating their software and keeping everything sound and secure, to make sure your blog does not come under hacking attacks. That’s why sites like ChannelsTV, Facebook, NASA, and even university blogs are using WordPress.

Though other blogging platforms are generally OK, nothing, in my opinion, has ever come close to matching the freedom and customization options that self-hosted WordPress offers.

So without a doubt, go with a self-hosted WordPress blog. Especially when you are just starting out.

Why You Shouldn’t Create a Blog on a Free Blogging Platform

You can create your blog free with WordPress or some other blogging platform. But you will be limited in functionality, it’ll look boring, with its address been so long like YourBlogName.WordPress.com, this diminishes your credibility.

Think about it – what famous, successful blogger you know is using a free blogging website, unlike Linda Ikeji who started out with the free blog but when she noticed the opportunity in a self-hosted blog and the limitations in the free blog she quickly migrated.

The limitations you have when using a free blogging platform are as follows

  1. You don’t control your content –Your blog can be shut down without your consent because the blogging platform handles everything for you.
  2. The web address of your blog will be long and hard to remember (e.g like yourfreeblog.wordpress.com) instead of something like yourdomain.com or whichever extension you choose.
  3. You cannot advertise on the free blogging platform. Little advice for you, if you really want to set a system that makes a profit doesn’t use a free blog.

All of these limitations apply to WordPress.com and another free blogging platform out there.

Therefore, what you really need to set a system that sells is a self-hosted WordPress blog with your blog name and the extension of your choice.
Setting up a self-hosted blog is easier and less expensive than you think.

Let’s continue…

Step 2. Get Your Blog Online. 

In other to get your blog up and running you need a web hosting and in this second step, I’ll show you how exactly you can do that but first…

What is Web Hosting?

—> Click here to head over to Bluehost and hit the green “Get Started Now” button

A web hosting company is a company that stores all of the files for your blog and delivers them to the user when they type in your blog name. You must have web hosting in order to have a blog.

To make your website accessible to other people on the Internet, you need a “host.” The host keeps all your website files safe, secure, and makes sure that people can access your blog when they click on a link or type in your URL.

I use and recommend Bluehost to every blogger because it acts as a one-stop-shop for great (affordable) web hosting and quick & easy registration of your domain name in one swoop.

Think of web hosting as being your home. When someone comes over (types in your URL), they’ll be able to see all the things you’ve been keeping inside. Yes, it comes at a cost you don’t have if you’re on one of the free blogging platforms, but having a proper website host is one of the most important investments in starting a successful blog.

What are the best web hosting services to use?
There are several great web hosting services out there for your blog.

Regardless of who you choose, what you should be looking for in a web hosting company is:

  • Speed
  • Features
  • Security
  • Support
  • Track record

READ ALSO: 5 Step Formula to Make Money Online in Nigeria

  •  

The service I’ve found that best checks all of these boxes (and more) for new bloggers is Bluehost. Yes, I know I’ve mentioned them several times as my web hosting company of choice already in this guide, and that’s for very good reason.

For one, Bluehost offers a simple 1-click WordPress install, which makes starting a self-hosted WordPress blog super easy. It also comes with a free domain name (if your desired URL is available) and offers 24/7 support to answer all of your questions and help with troubleshooting (which is fantastic when you’re just getting started).

If you’re committed to learning how to start a blog that can eventually make money (the way I recommend you do it), nothing gives you the security, features, and peace of mind that your blog will be up when you need it to be like Bluehost does.

That being said, there are an other web hosting providers worth considering for new bloggers:

The 2 best alternative blog hosting platforms worth considering

TMD hosting – I’ve hosted literally dozens of websites on TMD hosting over the years (and I still do). All similar features like 1-click WordPress install, free SSL certificate, free domain, 60-day money-back guarantee, and site security aside, one of the biggest pros of going with TMD hosting compared to other hosting companies is that they offer a true pay-per-month plan that allows you to pay for the cost of your blog hosting each month with no strings attached. Here are a few other webs hosting companies that also offer monthly payment plans.
WhoGoHost  – WhoGoHost is a Nigeria web solutions company, which was founded in 2007 by Opeyemi Awoyemi under innovate NIGERIA Limited, and later branched out to be incorporated as a company under CAC in 2011 as WhoGoHost Limited. Overtime, WhoGoHost has grown to be one of the top three web hosting companies in Nigeria, providing services for clients inside and outside Nigeria. WhoGoHost is an accredited Google Apps Reseller, dot NG Registrar, Cloudflare Certified Partner as well as an InterSwitch Partner for payment integration solutions.

Click here for the special $2.75 per month rate on BlueHost and then click “get started now”.

How to create a blog with bluehost

Having been on the web for a while now and having used many of the hostings out there and having a lot of downtimes every now and then, I have come to a conclusion that Bluehost which is the hosting provider am using presently is the best. Bluehost is my pick and I recommend it for you.

Why You Should Use Bluehost to Host Your Blog

    • Bluehost is officially recommended by WordPress since 2005
    • It has a one-click WordPress installation, which makes it easy for you to get started.
    • Bluehost has 24/7 support, so there’s always someone to answer your questions either by chat or direct phone calls or email.
    • They have a money-back guarantee, so you can get a refund if you decide you don’t want anymore
  • Lastly, you’ll get a FREE domain name. Click here to get started.

How to Host Your Blog/Website With Bluehost In 3 Steps

Step 1: www.Bluehost.com and click on the “Get started now” button. Use this link to get 60% discount and a FREE domain, too.
bluehost how to create a blog
There is a special discount applies to all my blog visitors, so make sure you take advantage of it follow the links on this blog to host your blog with Bluehost. I equally get a commission when you use my affiliate links.

Step 2: Select the hosting plan you want (for new bloggers you can pick the cheapest one to start with).
There are three options: Basic (recommended for newbies), Plus, and Choice Plus which is the one amusing.

bluehost hosting plan

I recommend you start up with the Basic or the plus option if you are just a beginner because there are the most popular. You can always migrate to whenever you want.

After selecting your hosting plan on the next screen you will be asked to enter your domain name.

select a domain nameType in your domain name in the left box and then click “next” to start the registration process.

If you are registering a new domain use the left box and Bluehost will register it for you for free.

If you already have a domain name registered with another domain registrar use the right box with “I have a domain name” and click on next.

Step 3: Fill out the account information and your billing details on the registration page.
There are three parts to this page. The first is the account information. Just fill out your contact information.

bluehost account information

On the package options choose the account plan, you can choose to sign up for 12, 24, or 36 months. Going for 36 months is cheaper.

bluehost pakageNext, uncheck all the checked add-ons to reduce cost, this can be applied later.
But if you so wish, you might want to consider adding domain privacy –this option protects you from spammers. If you don’t mind your information being public.
Site Backup Pro – While WordPress is quite secure, It will be a good choice to sign up for Site Backup Pro just in case you are afraid you’ll mess up things.

bluehost package extra

The last step is to fill in your billing information. If you want to pay with PayPal, click the “More payment options” link.

bluehost billing info

Agree to the terms and conditions and click on submit
That’s it you’ve just hosted your blog.

Next, check your email for the welcome email from Bluehost.

Step 3. Customize or Design Your Blog

Now that you’ve gotten through the first phase, it’s time to get into the fun part of how to create a blog.

Designing your WordPress blog is when you might start to feel a little friction with the process of starting a blog (if you’ve never done this before), but I promise this won’t get too technical.

wordpress installation

Once you’ve received your welcome message from Bluehost with your Cpanel login details.
Follow the link and login to your Cpanel to install WordPress.

—> Click here to head over to Bluehost and hit the green “Get Started Now” button

How to Install WordPress on your Site via Bluehost Cpanel

The video tutorials below are a step-by-step walkthrough on how to install, configure, and design your WordPress website from Bluehost.

Logging in

If you are not already logged in, go to Bluehost.com and click “Login” on the top right to bring up the login screen.  You can then log in using your domain name and the password you set in the previous step.  If you have misplaced your password you can reset it by clicking the “Forgot Password” link.

bluehost account

Once you log-in you will be taken to your BlueHost Portal.  From the portal, click on “My Sites” and then “Create Site” to install WordPress

bluehost wordpress installation

On the next page, you are to add the title of the website and site tagline that’s a brief description of your website and click on the Next button.

intalling wordpress via bluehost

Next is to select the domain where you want WordPress installed and leave the Directory column empty leave the plugins check if you want it to install if not uncheck them and click next to install WordPress

Install WordPress

Congratulations, you just installed WordPress, it is now time to customize your blog. Click on the link that says log in to WordPress to go to your WordPress dashboard

Changing your blog design

Once you login you will be in the WordPress administrator area. This is where you can make any changes you want to your blog.

Everyone has a different idea of how they want their blog to look. One of the great things about a WordPress blog is that you can change your entire layout and design with just a few clicks.

In WordPress, blog layouts are known as “Themes”. What is the blog theme? Themes control the entire design of your blog. To change your theme you are going to click on the “Appearance” tab on the left menu.

6 Easy Steps How to Create a Blog in 2019 Make Money Online 1

You will see several themes that are already installed on your blog: Twenty Seventeen, Twenty Sixteen, etc. These are well-designed, clean-looking themes that can work for just about any type of blog. In fact, many of the world’s top bloggers use one of these themes.

Unless you have a very specific design in mind for your blog, I suggest you use one of these themes to start with. For our example, let’s use the “Twenty Sixteen” theme. In order to activate the theme on your blog, hover over the theme and click the “Activate” button. That’s it! You have changed the entire design of your blog with just one click!

6 Easy Steps How to Create a Blog in 2019 Make Money Online 2

If you don’t like any of the themes that are already installed you can easily choose from thousands of other free themes. To install a new theme, click on the “Appearance” tab on the left menu and then click “Add New Theme”.

6 Easy Steps How to Create a Blog in 2019 Make Money Online 3

This is the theme search screen.  There are thousands of themes to choose from.  You can change your entire design at any time simply by activating a new theme.  To find a theme you like, I suggest you click on the “Popular” tab and start browsing. When you find one that you like to click the blue “Install” button.
wordpress dashboard

Once the theme is installed click “Activate” to activate the theme on your blog. To see your new theme in action, go to your blog and take a look!

Why design is so important when learning how to start a blog

Even if you don’t really care about design, your readers do.

In a 2012 study from Google and the University of Basel, researchers found that users judge a website’s aesthetic beauty and perceived functionality in 1/20th – 1/50th of a second. Plus, thanks to a little psychological bias called the Halo Effect, we extend that judgment to all parts of your blog.

What this means is that in less time than it takes to snap their fingers, a reader has decided whether or not to trust your blog.

Good design builds trust. It tells people that you care enough about your blog to make it look nice. This doesn’t mean you need crazy animations or tons of fonts and colors. In fact, the best designs are simple, clear, and easy to read.

Choosing the Best WordPress Theme for your Blog.

There are different WordPress themes for a different purposes. I don’t necessarily recommend buying a paid WordPress theme like  (OptimizePress) as a new blogger until you have some traffic and are generating at least a little income form your blog. While OptimizePress is an incredible theme, diving into something like that at this stage will be a distraction from your most important priority of actually bringing readers to your blog.

WordPress comes with a ton of free themes to choose from, so start with one of the options you like in Appearance > Themes > Add New Theme > Popular without spending much time on this for now. You can always come back and change it later.

I recommend going with the free Elementor WordPress theme. Once you download the free version of Elementor, you’ll get their (amazing) detailed instructions on how to install & optimize the theme too:

You can try out thrivethemes if you are looking for some landing pages and sales funnel builder.

Step 4. Write & Publish Your First Blog Post

Now that your blog is up and running it’s time to actually do some blogging!

Go to the left menu and click on “Posts”.
Write & publish your first blog post

You will see there is already a post there. This is a default post on every new WordPress blog, and we don’t need it. To delete it click “Trash” just under the post.
Write & publish your first blog post

To begin writing a new post, click the “Add New” link.
Write & publish your first blog post

You are now on the post editor screen. Enter the title of your post in the top box and then begin writing your post in the lower box.

If you would like to add a picture to your post, click on the “Add Image” icon and click “Upload” to upload a picture from your computer. You can make adjustments to the picture size on the next screen. When you are ready click “Insert into post” to add the picture.

6 Easy Steps How to Create a Blog in 2019 Make Money Online 4

Once you have finished your post just click the “Publish” button on the top right side of the screen to publish it.

Publishing Your Blog

Even after you have written a post your blog may still be showing a “Coming Soon” page.

When you are ready to make your blog public just click the “BlueHost” menu at the top left of the menu in your administrator area then click the blue “Launch” button to remove the “Coming Soon” page.

Write & publish your first blog post

Congratulations! You now know how to start your own blog and publish content!

—> Click here to head over to Bluehost and hit the green “Get Started Now” button