Earnings Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links to some of my favorite products and services. If you make a purchase using one of my links, I receive a commission that I use to support this blog and continue providing valuable content to my readers.
This post is a quick how to guide for starting your first blog! If you are interested in a more detailed step by step guide, sign up for the Free Blogging Master Class that will teach you how to start and launch your first blog in just one week. Let’s dive in!
Step #1: Find your WHY?
What is it that you wish to blog about? There are a lot of different types of bloggers out there, but who do you want to be? What is your passion? What do you want to be known for? Who do you want to share your unique voice with? The most common reasons people decide to blog are:
Share a Story
Often bloggers want to share a journey or story. Much like a personal diary in some respects. It can become a great outlet or hobby. If you enjoy or are fulfilled by sharing your story with others blogging is a great way to do that. It also allows you to share with a very large audience. The internet is expansive and you can reach people from all over the world!
Share Expertise
Are you an expert in a certain topic? Do you often wish you could help others by sharing valuable information? If the answer is yes, you might want to start blogging as a way to help others. This can help establish you as an authority on your topic. As your audience grows it can lead to name recognition and a following of dedicated readers who find your content valuable.
Make Extra Money
Are you hoping to start a side-hustle? Maybe make a few extra bucks by writing about things that you love? This is another popular reason people start blogging. You can easily monetize your blog and make passive income after you have an audience that frequents your blog.
Build a Business
Did you know that some bloggers make 6-7 figure incomes just by running their blog?! It sounds unreal doesn’t it? However, this is a REAL career opportunity for those who are willing to put in the time to learn, monetize, and scale their business while blogging. Maybe you already have a business but you want to bring it online or create an online presence? This can have major benefits as well. Customers are more likely to trust businesses with a strong presence online. Having a website and sharing online content is a cornerstone of professionalism these days, and a great way to earn customer loyalty.
Step #2: Deciding What to Blog About
This part can be one of the trickier parts of getting started because it informs so much of what happens after this step! Do you want to start with a lifestyle blog that covers multiple topics or are you super niche and have a very specific interest you want to cover? It might sound crazy to think about branding, blog names, and competition at this point in the game, but if you are planning to build a business starting off on the right foot can make a huge difference between success and failure. The first thing to do is determine what kind of blogger you want to be. Here are a few options:
- Influencers are those who desire a large audience. They are often known for their personality and build trust with their audience. They might recommend products or services they enjoy and get commissions from those brands. Being an influencer requires a very active presence online. You must also be active on social media.
- Experts are looking to become known as an authority and share their expertise in a particular topic or subject area. Often, they take on a more professional persona and aim to provide products or services that help their audience learn about their subject area. They may also may aspire to write/publish books on their topic of expertise.
- Coaches provide a lot of inspiring content. They like to work directly with their audience and may provide coaching services for a fee. They may develop motivational content or programs that help their customers overcome a problem or help them improve their mindset.
You don’t need to be just one of the above, you can create your own unique mix of characteristics too! No matter which you choose, make sure to do your RESEARCH on any offers, products, or services you want to pair with your blog to monetize it. If you start your blog without thinking about this, you may end up having difficulty finding products that pair well with the content on your blog.
Step #3: Starting the Blog
This is the techie part of the post. This was the step with the steepest learning curve when I was starting out. I can’t give you too many details here or the blog post would be endless. However, sign-up for the Free Blog Master Class and get a weeks worth of valuable info on starting your blog. One of the classes is a step by step to getting your blog started.
First you need to decide how your blog will be hosted. If you want to monetize, you need to be self-hosted. This means, don’t use the free platforms. If you do this, then your options for monetizing are very limited and your blog then lacks credibility. It is hard to build a brand when someone else’s brand is advertised in your domain name! I use Bluehost and it is the perfect solution for me. So many bloggers use it because it is inexpensive and user friendly! For just a few dollars a month, you can have a self-hosted blog and make it your own. You should commit to at least a year for better pricing, but Bluehost has plans as low as $3.95/month. There is a free domain name include and it is so easy to install WordPress which is an absolute must due to its flexibility. There is also a 30-day money back guarantee if you find out blogging isn’t for you.
Okay, so you signed up for hosting and you have a domain name, now what? WordPress looks so complicated in the beginning, and I’m not going to lie it isn’t the most user friendly platform out there BUT the solution to this woe is plugins. A plugin is a tool you install on your WordPress website that gives you options. There are endless amounts of plugins, the best way to learn what works is by listening to the recommendations of other bloggers! The first thing you need to do is select a theme for your website. WordPress has a default theme set, but it isn’t the easiest to build. There are tools out there that make website building much easier on WordPress. Check out Elegant Themes and spend a few extra bucks to get the Divi theme. This is a lifesaver and well worth its weight in gold. The time you save using the visual builder is totally worth it. There are a lot of tutorials on using Divi, not so with many other WordPress themes. If you are not well versed in building websites, this theme will save you.
Step #4: Invest in Yourself!
If you have followed along, you now have a website and a home for you blog, but this is just the beginning. You need to learn some skills, yo! In order to be a successful blogger, you need to learn the ins and outs of building your website, writing your posts, marketing yourself, and monetizing. There is so much to learn, and I would never have made it without amazing training and resources at my fingertips. This is why I highly recommend the following programs:
The Business Lounge: This is my #1 and absolute favorite. This is value packed and a vault of endless knowledge. I am a member and I love, love, love it. Everything I have learned, I owe to this platform. The owner Kimberly Ann Jimenez-Harris is amazing! She is so connected to her community and if you love online business owners who really care about their customers, this is where it is at. If you use my link, you can get a 7 day trial for only a $1. This is a crazy value. The Business Lounge is a monthly membership site and it is jam packed with awesome training. The focus is on a success path that breaks down the process and focuses in on the next steps to take to grow your new business from start-up all the way through massive growth and scaling. There are monthly Q/A sessions live where you can have your questions personally answered and access to a forum and community of members at your fingertips 24/7 to answer questions, get some feedback, or just discuss the ups and downs of starting your business. if you are serious and want a longer-term discount, check out this link where you can get a membership to The Business Lounge for half price only $49/month! The normal price for a monthly subscription is $99/month and that is totally worth it, so take advantage of this awesome discount! You will not regret it. There is also a 14 day money-back guarantee if you do your homework, but decide it isn’t for you.
If you are more focused on affiliate marketing than Clickbank University may be a good fit for you. This platform teaches you how to be a kick ass affiliate marketer and offers a lot of behind the scenes and masterminds with the biggest in the business. This really helps with mind-set, brainstorming, and pushing the envelope. I personally used this before I transitioned into building my blog as a business and this has led to more profitable blog posts by leveraging the power of affiliate marketing. Use my link to give it a try here.
Step #5: Building a List Baby!
Don’t make the mistake of waiting to start your email list. You need to start this from day one and you will hear almost every online business owner screaming about the value and importance of an email list to your business. It is your direct line to your readers and customers that can’t be taken from you by some algorithm change Google deploys or the ever changing social media platforms. I use Convertkit and many other bloggers do. It was built with bloggers in mind. Give it a try for 14 days free. There is nothing to lose and no pressure! They don’t even ask for your credit card when you sign up because they know the product is amazing and you will want to stick with it!
This covers the basics peeps! There are so many other important topics to cover. Don’t get me started on social media marketing!! That will be a post all on its own. Stay tuned and subscribe to the blog to get updates when new content is posted. You will be glad you did. Hit up my contact page and drop me a line if you started your own blog and let me know how things are doing! I love getting to know my readers.
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