Seven Steps to Starting a Blog

It’s no secret that blogs are ubiquitous in the Internet world. Almost everyone has one, from your neighbors to Fortune 500 companies.

And for good reason. Blogging is a great way to build an audience, add value, build loyalty and make money.

But starting a blog is never easy, creating content that drives traffic and makes you money takes planning and hard work.

Most of the time the investment is worth it. A blog can be an extension of your existing marketing strategy. It can also be a profitable way to make money online. Even if you don’t monetize your blog, it can be creative and commercial for individuals and businesses.

This complete 7-step guide will walk you through all the steps you need to take to create a successful blog on WordPress.

We cover everything from setting up your site to writing your first post and sharing it with others. A lot of ground to cover. Let’s begin!

Benefits of Blogging

You want to say something? Maybe you have a passion for health and fitness or want to talk about it with others.

Maybe you need a place to de-stress, clear your mind and encourage growth in your daily life.

Blogs are a great opportunity to express yourself creatively. It can be used to publish writings such as reviews, short stories and poems. You can inspire them to improve their writing and expand their audience. Some bloggers have successfully turned their blog into a career as a writer.

However, as mentioned earlier, blogging is not just for personal or creative use. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that many companies have their own blogs. These include major international companies like Google, Facebook and Starbucks. However, small businesses use blogs to grow their audience, post updates about their services, and provide value to their readers.

We obviously love blogging, but they are not without pitfalls and potential problems. First, a successful blog takes a lot of time and effort. There are several common blogging mistakes to avoid, such as an irregular posting schedule, using sites with long load times, and most importantly, creating poor content.

However, this is almost all work. If you take the time to plan your content, build a high-performing site, and improve your writing, you’ll be well on your way to running a great blog that people love.

Before you begin

There are a few things you need to do before creating a blog. Careful research and planning make the process easier. Before we begin, let’s consider a few factors.

Your blog location

First, you need to decide what your blog is about. You will have a good idea of the problem. It lets you define your blog’s identity and easily create content for your target audience.

The best starting point is to consider your needs. What topics are you passionate about and enjoy writing about? You may be an artist who wants to start a photography blog. However, there are many blogs on this topic, so you should consider how different your blog is. This includes determining the focus of your blog (eg photography) and your target audience (professional or beginner photographers).

This is a useful place to do your market research as it will help you find the cheapest place. You can make both. As a result, your blog will get more attention and more readers.

Blog Name

Naming a blog is not an easy task. Finally, the name helps make your blog unique and memorable.

Most blog names fall into two categories:

Based on keywords. These are names with relevant keywords that describe the purpose or topic of the blog. Some examples include British beauty bloggers and Car and Driver.
It depends on the brand. This blog focuses on name branding and is short and easy to remember. Examples are Kotaku and BMWBlog.

If you’re stuck and need inspiration, you can use an online name generator. It provides names that can be based on words or phrases. One of my favorite tools is a blog name generator.

The site asks you to provide some information about your blog, such as style and theme. Next, come up with a bunch of names you can use for inspiration.

For example, some results are found on “entertainment” and “information” blogs about “writing, travel, and photography” (written by Elsa Cox, New York).

You can choose one of them or use it as inspiration to create something unique. It’s important to make sure you don’t type.

Once you’ve covered these basic details, you’re ready to get to the fun part: creating your blog.

How to Start a Blog in 7 Easy Steps

This tutorial takes you through the entire process of creating a blog with a step-by-step guide. Take this blog on a trip!

Step 1: Choose a blogging platform, web hosting and domain name

First, you need to choose a platform that allows you to blog. You need to purchase a hosting plan and register a domain name. All these tasks are more or less related and can usually be done on a single platform like Dreamhost.

Choose a blog platform

You should think about the platform you are using to create your blog. As I mentioned earlier, there are many platforms. For example, you can choose a specific blogging platform such as Tumblr or Blogger, both of which are free.

However, due to limited features and customization options, we recommend using this free blogging solution if you want to start a personal blog. Using a free blogging platform can be cheap or unprofessional, especially if your blog is business-related.

However, we recommend using WordPress to build your blog.

This open source platform is not only easy to use but also offers additional features. WordPress allows you to customize your blog with themes and add new features with plugins. It makes blogging work more efficient, safer and less cumbersome.

So, we’ll be using WordPress for the rest of this article. If you’re not familiar with Content Management Systems (CMS), I’ve written a lot about them over the years.

Feel free to use this guide to learn more about the platform and how to take advantage of it.

Buy web hosting and register a domain

You may have noticed that I used the word “self-hosted” in the list above because WordPress does not provide hosting for blogs. However, it is a CMS that must be installed on the server. do not worry. It’s not as complicated as you might think.

In other words, to get your site online, you need to sign up for a web hosting plan. Choosing a host and creating a plan that works for you requires some research.

To help you out, let’s take a look at the main types of hosting:

Shared hosting is an affordable option for new bloggers (DreamHost plans start at $1.99/month), but can be limited in terms of performance. This type of plan shares servers and resources with many other sites. Shared hosting is best for new traffic websites.
Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting is a version of shared hosting where each website has its own resources. More expensive, but offers better performance. So, if you want to focus on growing your blog, we recommend this type of hosting.
Dedicated hosting is a more expensive and robust option. As the name suggests, you get a fully dedicated server for your site. This is usually too much for a blog unless you want complete control over your server or your site receives excessive traffic.

Additionally, you can decide if you want to manage your hosting yourself. If you have a plan, your web host will do most of the technical work to keep your site running smoothly.

Of course you don’t want to get hosting and domain anywhere. Choosing the right hosting plan is important as it plays an important role in site performance, security and other important factors. It makes sense to find a hosting company that specializes in WordPress hosting. In other words, the service is optimized for the platform.

These plans make the most of your site with maximum security and fast performance. It has great features for WordPress users like pre-installed sites, updates, and automatic backups. You also get reliable and knowledgeable support through multiple channels. You can even get a free domain when you sign up for a special annual plan!

Our shared hosting plans are suitable for new blogs. You can start with just a few dollars a month and keep your site small while providing plenty of resources. Later, when your blog starts getting more traffic, you can upgrade to more powerful options like managed WordPress hosting.

You can purchase a shared hosting plan by selecting “Register Now” on the plans page. Next, you’ll need to choose a billing period for your hosting account (monthly, annually, or every three years). The longer the term, the higher the hosting discount.

You will also be asked to choose between DreamHost’s Starter Shared and Unlimited packages.

Even if you don’t get a professional @yourdomain email, Starter Share is a very affordable option. Unlimited subscriptions for just a few dollars a month give you everything you need to get rich online with a unique email address.

Register a domain name

After that, you can register a domain for free (all annual terms) or register a domain you already own. Tip: If you get stuck for a while or don’t know the correct top-level domain (TLD) for your site, you can easily add it later.

Your domain name is the URL you use to access your blog. There are many things to keep in mind while creating a domain name. The first step is to select the TLD you want to use, such as .com or .org. I need to create a domain name registry.

These instructions assume you are registering a new domain. Click Register New Domain and enter the specified URL in the search box. Get all available domain names matching your search so you can choose the right TLD for your site.

Keep domain search engine best practices in mind when deciding:

I solved it. Next, add your billing information and confirm all the details regarding your hosting package. Make sure you check the box next to pre-installed WordPress. This allows you to quickly set up your site without having to worry about installing a CMS later.

At this point, you can add DreamShield, a home malware removal tool, to your hosting account. For $3 per month, DreamShield scans your site for malicious code, outdated software, and bad file permissions to keep you safe online.

After selecting an account, you can select a payment method. DreamHost accepts all major credit cards and PayPal. After entering your payment information, click Submit Order at the bottom of the screen.

Installation takes 2 minutes. At the same time, you will receive an email with detailed instructions for setting up a new WordPress client, including a link to create a WordPress password. If you’ve been scammed, help is just a click away.

Field selection tips

The domain name you choose for your blog is very important. This not only affects your SEO but also the searchability and memorability of your URL.

Here are some points to keep in mind when choosing a domain name. First, keep it short, sweet and memorable. Of course, you’ll also want to make sure it’s suitable for your living space.

We recommend that you do not use numbers or hyphens. Complex domain names are not only difficult to remember, but they can also lead to typos and send users to the wrong website.

Finally, if you find that the domain name you want is already in use on your blog, try another extension. The domain extension appears after the period in the URL. Common domain extensions include “.com”, “.co” and “.org”. However, you can use other variables such as “.name” or “.blog”.

If you already have a domain name and don’t have a live site associated with it, consider transferring it to your blog.

Note that domain registrars and hosting providers are not the same. For example, you can register a domain name with DreamHost even if you host your site with another provider.

However, to make the process easier, we recommend getting both from the same place (like DreamHost). It simplifies the domain registration and CMS setup process. You can manage your site and domain from one account.

Install WordPress

As I mentioned earlier, I will show you how to create a blog on WordPress. The platform is easy and intuitive to use, but it needs to be installed on your site before you can use it. If you checked the Install WordPress box during the registration process, you can skip to step 2.

There are two main ways to install WordPress.

Manual installation. This requires manually installing and configuring WordPress on your site. This process is very quick, but we only recommend this method if you are tech savvy.
One click install. This is an option that web hosts offer to quickly install WordPress on your site. That way, you don’t have to worry about managing or installing files yourself.

If you are installing WordPress yourself, you will need to download the latest version of WordPress and upload it to your site using an FTP tool like FileZilla. However, using a one-click installer simplifies the process.

To install WordPress on DreamHost, log into your dashboard, 1-Use the sidebar to navigate to WordPress and click Install.

Here you will see the option to install WordPress in one click. Please select it. This will open a dialog where you can configure the installation.

All you have to do is choose the domain where you want to install WordPress. Additionally, you can choose an existing database to use with your new site. However, in some cases, you may want to leave the group for database automation.

The last option is to install Deluxe which is selected by default. It gives you many options beyond the basic installation of WordPress. We recommend unchecking this option as it adds many useful tools for free.

Then click Install Me. Start the installation process. It will take some time. After installation, you will receive an email with a link to your new WordPress site and login information.

Step 2: Create your blog layout

With WordPress up and running, it’s time to start building your blog. Answer: First you need to think about how you want your blog to look. WordPress themes make it easy to change the look of your site.

A theme is a template for installation on your site and defines the overall layout and design. It includes several themes and has a free and premium version.

There are many reasons to cover depending on the topic, but now all you need to worry about is finding one that fits the style of your blog. Getting started can be difficult, but a good place to start is with the official WordPress theme guide.

Here you can find hundreds of free themes in different categories. In fact, you have several options to narrow down your selection using attribute filters.

As you can see, there is also a search filter called blogs. Select this to view all topics created by Thinking Blog.

Once you find a theme you want to use, you can download it here and install it on your site. However, you can do this from your WordPress dashboard by going to Themes > Themes.

Here you will see the theme that is currently installed. You can upload a new file by clicking Add New. This will reopen the themes directory and allow you to download and activate themes directly from this interface. Hover your mouse over your selection and click Install.

After installing the theme, you can select Activate to set the current theme for your site.

If you can’t find a suitable theme, we recommend looking for premium options on marketplaces like ThemeForest. They cost a bit more, but usually offer more options for customization and configuration.

Tips for choosing a theme for your WordPress blog

If you’re having trouble deciding which theme to use, consider some key features. First, your theme must be compatible with the latest version of WordPress. Also, it is important to choose a responsive theme. In other words, it adapts to any screen size.

Also, you need to make sure that your theme includes all the features that your blog needs. For example, in addition to being SEO friendly, it’s a good idea to find a theme that includes social media integration so you can share your posts more easily.

Look for a theme that is easy to use and customizable, especially if you are new to WordPress. We recommend finding a theme that loads quickly and supports multiple languages for a better user experience (UX). ,

Outdated themes (and plugins) can be a security risk. Therefore, it is important for developers to ensure that the chosen theme is regularly updated and maintained.

Finally, it’s important to consider the overall aesthetic of your theme. With all these factors in mind, you should be able to find a WordPress blog theme that suits your needs.

Step 3: Configure your blog with plugins

One of the reasons WordPress is so powerful is its inherent flexibility. Plugins allow you to add new functionality to your site. Simply put, plugins are add-ons that you can install to add new functionality to your blog.

The process of finding and using plugins is very similar to how plugins work. Simply download and install the plugin to activate it on the site. There are many free options in the WordPress plugin directory.

You can access this directory from your admin dashboard by going to Plugins > Add New.

As before, to add a plugin you need to find the one you want, click install and activate the plugin.

But it’s good to have some basic options when you’re starting out. This will prevent your site from becoming overloaded or overloaded with unnecessary features.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best plugins for bloggers.

Jetpack

Jetpack can be thought of as a collection of plugins, which include multiple features in one package.

In fact, it’s such a feature-rich plugin that we don’t have space to cover all the features in this article.

But sure, Jetpack gives you options to improve site security, improve performance and share posts on social media. Best of all, Jetpack is free, but offers a premium plan that adds more features.

Acimate Antispam

The following plugins apply to all sites, but are especially useful for blogs: Handling spam. To prevent spambots from taking over your site, you need a spambot blocking plugin. The best option for this purpose is Akismet Anti-Spam.

This plugin automatically detects spam from comments and contact form submissions. This allows us to identify comments that represent spam and helps the plugin improve future detection.

Hit the bolt

You may also consider plugins like VaultPress:

You can create an instant backup of your site. This can be very useful if your blog experiences problems, such as a successful hacker attack or your blog crashes and you cannot access your content. In such a situation, you can easily backup your blog to avoid data loss.

And business alert: VaultPress is included for free with DreamPress Plus and Pro plans.

Of course, there are many plugins that can help you, and we will discuss them in this article.

Step 4: Write your first blog

Then start thinking about your content. When starting a blog you should create at least a few posts.

You probably have some ideas, but if not, you should start brainstorming now. Of course you want to get attention for your blog. For example, can you talk about a new event? Or create a tutorial or general guide on a specific topic.

The best way to find a topic is to do keyword research. For this you can use Google Keyword Planner. It’s versatile and free.

This tool allows you to find keywords related to your blog based on what your readers are searching for. For example, if you type in the keyword ‘men’s fashion’, popular keywords include ‘cool shirts for men’ and ‘summer for men’. “Prevention” of clothing.

You can think of ways to create blog posts that fit these terms (more on that later). Once you find the right keywords, you can start writing your first post. Let’s talk about Gutenberg first.

To get started, go to your admin dashboard and click on Posts > Add New.

This will open the WordPress admin screen.

Now we can start posting together. I previously wrote a comprehensive guide to writing quality blog posts, and I encourage you to take a look at it. Here are some basics.

First, you need to create an interesting post title. The key to creating a short title is to make it informative and specific. I want to summarize the content of the article.

You can then start adding body text by typing the following in the body paragraph block:

As you type, you’ll see several related options on the right.

These settings may vary depending on the type of content you use. You can add images and other media to your posts by inserting custom templates into the editor.

For example, selecting an image block lets you upload a new image file or select an existing file from your media library.

After your post is complete, you can add your closing words. For example, you can select one or more categories and labels. It helps organize each post by genre and theme.

Finally, you can set a specific image for your post. The format of these images varies by topic, but they usually appear on blog homepages and at the top of posts. To select a file, select the title and use the Image option in the sidebar.

Now that your post is ready, click the Publish button in the top corner to publish it.

If you prefer to delay publishing, you can also adjust how and when your posts appear on your site. You can also set visibility to limit who can see it, and save it as a draft to continue working on it later.

Tips for Writing Interesting Blog Posts

There are many ways to increase the success of your blog posts. As mentioned earlier, it is important to create an interesting title. We encourage you to add images, videos and other media. This allows you to remove long blocks of text while making your posts more interactive and engaging.

However, there are some additional strategies you can use to improve the readability of your posts. For example, consider adding bullet points and a list of numbers. People love lists! The more organized your blog posts are, the easier they will be to read and digest. Plus, it’s another way to add visual interest to your posts.

It is also wise to choose a subject that interests you the most. Your readers can tell you’re passionate about the topic, and that makes them more likely to enjoy your content.

Also, readers want to get to know you, so don’t be afraid to make it personal in your blog posts. Share your thoughts and feelings on the topic and let your personality shine through. It helps build trust and adds a human touch that resonates with audiences in unexpected ways.

Step 5: Optimize your post for search engines

There are steps you can take to increase the success of your blog. Find ways to optimize your posts for visitors and search engines.

Install the SEO plugin

Earlier, we talked about the importance of keyword research to find topic ideas. Keywords are words that users enter into a search engine to search for. By optimizing your posts for specific keywords, you can increase the likelihood that your posts will show up when someone is searching.

This is also known as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and is important for increasing blog traffic and visibility. SEO includes many things like (but not limited to) making your site faster and getting backlinks from other sites.

When it comes to blogging, the most important step is to optimize your posts. There are many SEO tools you can use to do this, but our favorite solution is Yoast SEO.

Yoast SEO is a free plugin that adds new features to the WordPress admin.

Here you can set “keywords” for your post, which are the keywords you want to target. Once you’re done, Yoast will show you how your posts have improved in real time and give you specific suggestions on how to improve them.

Yoast SEO allows you to add a meta description, which is the text that appears next to your posts in search results. Adding a description and following these guidelines can help your post rank higher in relevant search results.

Set a schedule (and stick to it)

Google prefers sites that consistently publish unique and relevant content. Publishing articles is also important to increase readership.

You need to post content regularly to keep your readers coming back to your blog. Scheduling new posts regularly prevents your blog from sitting idle for long periods of time and increases the chances of returning visitors.

The full schedule of the post is not available. The frequency of posting depends on the look and content of your blog. However, setting a strict schedule and sticking to it is a smart choice.

Fortunately, there are tools you can use to help with your schedule. One solution is the Managed Calendar plugin.

With this tool, you can create a calendar for posts and schedule them to publish on specific dates and times. Easily track upcoming dates and keep track of your schedule.

Remember that you can change your posting schedule based on the days with the highest traffic. For example, you can research when your target audience is most active and adjust your posting schedule.

When you’re just starting out, it’s a good idea to focus on analytics. The more often you post new content, the easier it becomes to monitor and track good posts. It allows you to customize your calendar and content schedule.

Step 6: Create a style guide

Another important asset for bloggers is the style guide. As the name suggests, these are guidelines that determine how you write and format your blog posts. This will give your content a consistent and visible tone and make your blog look more professional and authentic.

This style guide will help you maintain a consistent look and feel in your blog posts. This is useful if you plan to bring in other authors. Check out our guide to make sure you follow these steps.

Style guides don’t have to be long and complicated. However, there are some important points to consider.

Voice and Tone Is Your Blog Down? Is your writing casual or professional?
England. For example, do you use British English or American English?
Word and form. When to use short or long line? When to use single or double quotes?

Answer some basic questions about your brand, and then provide some examples of your content. Additional questions to ask yourself include:

What style of writing do you prefer? First person or third person? Active or passive?
What are you going to write?
What kind of posts do you publish? Interviews, summaries, lists, workflows, etc.
How do you want your post to appear? Long or short form? Whether it includes pictures.
How often do you post new content (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.)?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you can start writing your style guide. Here are some examples that might include:

A mission statement for your blog
Target audience assessment
List of topics to write about
The tone and style you want to use in your writing.
Post formatting tips (like title style, image placement, etc.)
Different branding elements you want to use, such as a specific color scheme or font

You can create your own brand directory using online tools like Canva.

Canva is an online design tool that lets you choose from a variety of templates and colors, fonts, and logos that match your brand. You can use Canva to create other marketing materials like business cards and flyers.

Naturally, as your blog grows and changes, so does your style. Therefore, it is better to think of it as an evolution rather than a pre-release Bible.

You might think that once you start posting and writing content, you can relax. However, if no one knows your blog exists, all your efforts may be in vain.

This is why blog and post marketing are so important. We’ve talked about search engine optimization as an important part of your internet marketing strategy. That said, there are many ways to get more attention to your new blog. Let’s look at some.

Of course, you’ll want to start by sharing your post on social media. This can help you get more exposure by encouraging people in your network to share your content with their followers.

It’s also smart to make it easy to share posts directly from the website. One way to do this is to use the Jetpack plugin to add social media buttons to your posts.

This plugin allows you to add social media sharing buttons to your posts and integrate with many popular platforms. Jetpack has the ability to automatically share posts on social media.

If you have a suitable group or forum to discuss topics related to your blog post, you can share it there as well. This can generate more traffic and engagement.

Another strategy is to share blog posts through email newsletters. Email marketing is a great way to keep your audience updated with the latest posts and increase traffic to your site.

You can also consider partnering with other websites in your niche. If you have the opportunity to host your blog on another site, you can promote your blog posts there. This helps you reach a new audience.

Another option to consider is paid advertising. This will allow more people to see your post, resulting in more clicks and engagement. There are many options like Google AdWords and Facebook Ads.

You may be wondering when you will see the results. There is no easy answer to this question because every blog is so different. You may see a lot of traffic immediately, especially if you have a large online presence.

However, in most cases, it takes time for your blog to gain attention. Do SEO regularly, share posts and publish quality content and your readership will grow over time. Google Analytics allows you to closely monitor site metrics to see how your site is performing.

Make money blogging

Consider your options when it comes to monetizing your blog. After all, you’ve put a lot of effort (and a lot of time) into building your site and you can’t help but monetize your content. Let’s see some effective ways to earn money online.

You can start selling products and services on your posts. For example, you can write and sell e-books or create courses on related topics.

Selling content and premium subscriptions add value to your blog. It also helps you get more from your loyal readers.

You can also participate in affiliate marketing. It is a form of internet marketing where bloggers advertise the products and services of other companies by paying a commission for sales through affiliate links.

Affiliate marketing helps you earn money by promoting products and services you love. Additionally, it can provide a way to connect with other businesses and engage with your audience.

Another option is to spend more money. Avoid outside marketing and ask for donations directly from loyal readers.

This free tool makes it easy to add a Dont button to your blog. You can use the app to accept online payments and create custom donation forms.

You can also implement advertisements in the form of links and banners on your site. The most popular and easiest way to do this is Google Adsense. Ads are automatically tailored to your blog and audience, so you can focus entirely on creating great content.

Start writing content and earn money

That’s it, you’re ready to start blogging. Monetize your content and earn money writing about topics you love.

As mentioned in this article, you can start a blog in a few easy steps. Once you’ve chosen a blogging platform like WordPress and registered your domain and hosting, you can set up your blog, edit content and publish your first post.