How to Start a Blog Step by Step Ultimate FREE Guide 30+ Resources!
Ready to Learn How to Start Your Own Blog?
If you’ve landed on this page, chances are that you’re thinking about creating your own blog, and want to know the steps it takes to get started.
Well, you’ve come to the right place! In this free blogging guide, I am going to share with you how to start a blog from scratch.
I’ve personally built (and sold) over 20+ blogs in my 12+ years as a full-time online marketer, and with today’s software, themes, and templates it’s easier to get started building your own blog than ever before.
More...
Even if you’ve never built any type of website in your life!
The best thing about building a blog, is that it is an actual asset that grows, and gains more value over time. You can use it to make a healthy monthly income, or even sell it later on down the road.
Whether you want to replace your full-time income and travel the world, while working remotely from your laptop, or you just want to use it as a side hustle to pay off some bills, blogs can be a very valuable asset.
The best time to get started blogging is right now.
My hopes with this post is to help you go from zero to blogger as fast as possible. I will try to cover as much information as I can about starting your own blog, what to look out for, and many other tips and tricks.
So buckle up, as this will be a fairly long post! (Broken up into sections of course!)
* NOTE: Since this is a Very Long, Detail-Oriented Post, I Recommend Adding it to your Browser's Bookmark Tabs
Right Away So you can Easily Re-Visit it When Needed!
Let’s get started!
Disclosure: This blog shares information about how to make money blogging, and we recommend products and services that have affiliate programs. Therefore, this post may contain affiliate links, where we may receive a commission if you purchase something we recommend. While clicking these links won't cost you any extra money, they will help us keep this site up and running! Please check out our Affiliate disclosure for more details. Thank you for your support!
So, What Exactly is a "Blog" Anyways?
A blog is simply a website that is run by an individual, or a small group of people in a particular niche or category, such as camping, beauty, golf, or even recipes., while sharing valuable information, written in a conversational style.
Blogs allow you to build a relationship with your readers, where they can interact with you in the comments section, or via email marketing (we’ll cover this more later on).
Once you grow a following, and build trust with your readers by continuing to provide valuable content, you can start making money from various product recommendations, and much more.
I will discuss monetization strategies for your blog in much more detail towards the end of this blog post.
Can Anyone Learn How to Start a Blog?
Am I Qualified?
First of all, to become a blogger, you don’t have to be an expert at all. The beauty about blogging, is that you are in full control! There are no rules!
It definitely helps if you start a blog in a niche market that you are passionate about, because writing fresh content will come more naturally to you.
For instance, say you work at a make-up counter and start a beauty blog, You likely already know all of the best types of makeup to use, the brands of makeup, and other insider tips that the average person may not know.
Or let's say you’re a rock climber...
You likely already have broad knowledge of the best types of equipment to use, the brands with the highest quality stuff, and even some techniques that you’ve learned over the years.
Whatever it is, it can make your life as a blogger much easier if it’s something you’re already passionate about.
Plus, when you write with passion behind it, people will naturally gravitate to your specific personality, and even become raving fans who can’t wait for your next blog post!
This in turn brings more consistent traffic to your blog, which is awesome!
You’ll get to share your personal story with the world, and share ideas with others in your niche who are just as passionate as you are, and even learn from them as well.
Do I Have to Pick a Niche I'm Passionate About to Start Blogging?
Of course not! I’ve created over a dozen blogs over the years in niches I knew nothing about. I simply hired content writers to research and write the content for me, and I just added some more flair to each post to make it less robotic.
Then, I just focused on bringing in traffic, and monetization strategies. This is similar to how the guys at Income School are doing it, and they’ve become very successful in the process!
Why Should I Start a Blog in the First Place?
Well, the first reason to learn how to start a blog of your own is that you can make money from home or on a laptop. You can write a blog post once, and it stays up for YEARS.
This means that as long as you have your blog set up for monetization, (more on this later) you’ll be building a passive income opportunity for yourself and your family.
You will also be able to make a name for yourself, and gain recognition for yourself and/or your business.
Example: If you write a book, you can already have a tribe of passionate and loyal followers who will buy your book, share it with others, write reviews and more..
They might even share it with their audience on
Youtube or even on their own blogs.
This comes down to also building a network of friends and associates / being an active part of the community.
Sounds Great and all… But How do I Actually Start a Blog if I'm a Beginner?
Have your blog up and running in under an hour!
Just follow these 10 steps I've laid out below:
(TABLE OF CONTENTS)
1: Selecting a niche market
2. Choose a name for your blog & get a domain name / hosting account
3. Install your blog with a few clicks
4. Customize your blog (free themes & paid themes)
5. Getting a logo made
6. Set up Plugins
7. Write your first blog post!
8. Get traffic / promote your blog to the world
9. Start monetizing your blog
10. Advanced strategies / optional stuff
Let’s go over each step of how to start a blog quickly,
and in greater detail!
Step 1: Choosing a Niche for your Blog
There are many types of blogs out there, ranging from personal “diary style” blogs, all the way up to highly detailed tech review blogs. It really boils down to what you’re passionate about, or what niche you've decided on after doing your research.
You can choose to create your blog on many different topics including hobbies, passions, or even something that is extremely technical.
Some ideas could be:
Cooking, biking, bowling, photography, knitting, car racing, make-up tutorials, stay-at-home moms, fashion, BBQ’ing, camping, Kayaking, rock climbing, talking about the latest reality TV shows, or even breakdancing.
The list is virtually endless..
It can literally be anything! Obviously, some niches will have a bigger audiences than others, but it’s a massive world out there, and there are PLENTY of people interested in the same things as you.
Once you’ve decided on the niche for your blog, you need to come up with a good domain name (The web address where your website will be at)
Step 2: Domain Name and Hosting
Difference between Wix.com, WordPress.com blogs, and WordPress.org (Self-hosted) blogs:
While you can technically get a “Free” blog through sites like wix.com and wordpress.com, it pales in comparison to having your own self-hosted website.
By hosting your own website, you have full control over your own content (think terms of service / contracts), and you won’t have to worry about your blog disappearing overnight if the site you hosted your blog on decides to shut down for whatever reason.
(Yes, it happens! It’s happened to me with over 30 web properties I had on a website called Squidoo.com several years ago (no longer exists) and others…
Plus, you’ll have an actual asset that you can sell later on if you choose to do so. To sum it up, you are in full control, and it opens up infinite possibilities, because you are learning how to start a blog the right way!
While you may think using a done-for-you solution like Hubpages, Wix, or WordPress.com seems like the easier option, please don’t fall for that trap!
I know if you’re new to all of this, that it might seem a bit scary, but stick with me, as it’s actually a pretty simple process.
Once you’ve done it once, you can do it again in under 10 minutes!
There are '2 parts' to owning your own website that you need to understand...
Domain Name, and Hosting…
Your “domain name” (you register this with a domain registrar) which is essentially the address that will point to your website, and “hosting” which is where the files, data, and other parts of your website reside.
But, before we get into setting up your new self-hosted blog, we first need to come up with a domain name.
When choosing a domain, it’s a good idea to take into consideration the TLD or extension of your domain name. (Like .com, .net, .org, etc...)
Dot “com” is Best!
People may remember the name of your blog, but if it’s a different extension, like blogname.info for example, they may forget, and naturally type in blogname.com instead, sending them to the wrong website, or another dead end.
Sure, there are many successful blogs out there that use domain extensions other than .com, but after creating over 100+ websites over the years, I’ve found .com to always work best, and it's also the most trusted. It is advised that you start a blog with a good domain name, because it can be hard to change it later on down the road!
If you have a specific name already in mind, and just HAVE-TO have it, but the .com is already taken, I would suggest going with .net or .org extensions as an alternative option.
(A few other somewhat popular alternatives are .blog, .co, .info, .biz, and .me)
So, What Makes a Good Blogging Domain Name other than using a .com Extension?
- Brandable - Something that is easy to remember, and can differentiate you from other blogs in your niche market. For example: ClimbingClyde.com, ClimbingDude.com, or ClimberZone.com would be examples of brandable domain names in the rock climbing niche.
- Keep it fairly short if possible, and as a general rule of thumb, try not to include hyphens or numbers in your domain name, unless it makes more sense for your specific niche.
- Makes sense - Others can easily tell what your website is about (it’s purpose) simply by reading the name. EX: if you’re in the rock climbing niche, a name like ClimbersCove.com or iClimbRocks.com would be suitable.
Just remember, that shorter is better, and if you can get it down to one or 2 words, you’re doing really good! - Don’t obsess over keywords in your domain name. Back in the old days of SEO (search engine optimization), having highly targeted keyword phrases in your actual domain name would help your site rank for those particular keywords in Google and other search engines.
Just one example... a domain like RockClimbingForBeginners.com would have a better chance of ranking on the first page of search results for the search term: “rock climbing for beginners”.
However, this is just not the case anymore...
It can help, but it’s not as much of a ranking factor as it used to be.In my opinion, It’s much better to focus on branding your site with a good, short, memorable domain name vs. chasing old SEO methods that no longer carry as much weight. - Make sure the domain name you’ve chosen is not already taken, and is available to register.
Find a domain starting at $0.88
powered by Namecheap
What do I do if my domain name is already taken?
You can always try to grab the .net or .org extensions, but as I mentioned before, this could lead to people trying to type in your domain name (thinking it was supposed to be .com) and end up going to the wrong website.
Another good option is to try adding small words like “a”, “i”, “my”, or “the” to your domain name.
For instance, if MotorcycleBlog.com is taken, you could try TheMotorcycleBlog.com etc..
Sometimes searching for the right domain name can be EXTREMELY time consuming, (I’ve spent over a month before deciding on one before), but I suggest you don’t overthink it too much.
Try using thesaurus.com to find similar words that you could substitute in your domain name. For instance, substitute the word “great” for “wonderful” , or "funny" for "hilarious" etc..
What About Hosting for My Blog? How do I Decide Which Provider to Use When Starting My Blog?
Hosting companies store all of the files and databases that make up your website / blog and display it to your visitors when they visit your domain name.
In order to have a proper blog, you need to have a hosting account.
If you choose a crappy low-end hosting provider, it can virtually ruin all of your effort and hard work due to slow loading times or excessive down time
(meaning your site will not even be live!).
Worse yet, they could even be running outdated servers and rarely update anything. (this can be a huge problem!)
There are 2 main hosting providers that I personally use, and have used throughout the years.
They both have been great, however if you’re just starting out, I 100% recommend using BlueHost.com , as you can get hosting for only a few bucks per month, they make it super easy for new bloggers to get started, and they are very dependable!
Plus, their always updating their systems and software to the latest versions (which is key!).
Hard to believe, but I got my first Bluehost account way back in 2006!
Bluehost has an incredibly helpful and responsive support team. Their servers are rarely down; like 0.002% of the time (which is also very important!).
Free Domain Name Included!
Bluehost also gives you a free domain name when signing up with their hosting, so you can kill 2 birds with 1 stone as they say. This makes the entire process very easy and seamless.
NEXT STEP: Setup your hosting account and free domain name: Click here...
There are 3 different hosting plans to choose from, but if you’re just now learning how to start a blog, I recommend just going with the cheapest “Basic" plan.
Once you select your plan, you’ll land on a page that has 2 options to choose from...
1. “New Domain”, and
2. “I have a domain name”
You’ll want to select the option
“New Domain”, and type in the domain name that you have decided to use for your new blog.
Next, you’ll just fill out all your payment details, but be sure to pay attention to all of the check box options at the bottom of the order form.
Package Extras:
Here, you’ll need to select your package / extras. I recommend un-checking all of the package extras except “privacy protection”, as this will keep random people from looking up your home address / email address.
Privacy Protection just adds an extra level of security, and it’s less than $1 per month. But, it is up to you if you want the privacy protection or not.
You can then pay with credit card, or select “more payment options” to pay with PayPal instead.
Step 3: How to Start Installing Your WordPress Blog and Getting it Online!
After you’re done signing up for your Bluehost hosting account, it will ask you to create a password.
Once you’ve created a password, and login to your new Bluehost account, you’ll land on a page where you can start your own blog with a custom theme design.
Simply choose one of the templates by hovering over it and clicking on “use this theme” to get started. (Don’t worry, you can easily change this later on)
Next, Click the button that says “Start Building”
Afterwards, you’ll be directed directly to your new WordPress dashboard!
Congrats!
You now have an actual self-hosted WordPress blog! Give yourself a pat on the back, and then go and do a double back flip on your neighbor’s trampoline! 🙂
If for some reason you didn’t get redirected to your WordPress dashboard, no worries. Just follow this easy to follow tutorial that shows you How to install your Wordpress blog with just 1 click:
https://my.bluehost.com/hosting/help/wordpress
NOTE: If you’re still having issues, Bluehost has an amazing Live Chat feature where a customer service agent will help you get everything setup quickly and easily.
Step 4: Customize Your Blog with a WordPress Theme (Free vs. Paid)
WordPress is an amazing platform for running your blog. One of the best things is that you can customize the look and feel of your blog to suit your personality and preferences. It’s very versatile!
When selecting a theme for your WordPress site, there are 2 options. Free themes, and Premium themes (Paid).
Both have their pros and cons, but either one is fine.
If you’re just starting out, it’s probably best to start out with one of the free themes such as:
But, once you start getting more comfortable, you’re likely going to outgrow a basic free theme, and will be looking for even more options and the functionality that a Premium WP theme can provide.
I have personally purchased at least 30 or so premium WordPress themes over the years.
The one I am using for this blog, and HIGHLY recommend is from Thrive Themes.
They have an incredible suite of themes and plugins to make your site look better, run faster, and engage your visitors much better. If you are truly ready to start a blog as a full-time venture, (or at least aiming for that as a future goal) I say go for it!
For a monthly fee, you can get ALL of their plugins and themes to use any way you see fit.
Once you feel you’ve graduated from the beginner stage of blogging, and are more of an intermediate to advanced blogger, I would definitely suggest upgrading to Thrive Themes.
You can learn more about what they offer here:
https://thrivethemes.com/
Other Premium WordPress Themes that I Recommend
for Starting a Blog are:
1: Themify: Visit Site
Themify offers 42 responsive WordPress themes, 12 awesome plugins, and a TON of quality add-ons to customize your blog quickly and easily.
You can get a single theme from Themify for $59, or you can currently get all of their themes, and plugins, and 1 year of support and updates for a one-time fee of just $89! They offer a 30 day guarantee so you can try it out risk free.
2. Elegant Themes: Visit Site
Elegant themes has 87 beautiful premium wordpress themes, as well as plugins for creating stunning opt-in forms and social sharing. This gives you a lot of design flexibility to best suit your personality and preferences.
You can get access to their entire suite for just $89 per year, or $249 (one time fee) for lifetime access. They also offer a 30 day guarantee so you can try it out risk free.
But, please don’t stress too much about buying a premium theme in the beginning, as it’s not 100% necessary to get started.
If you have the extra money, and are up for the challenge, then sure, feel free to start with a premium theme as they are very powerful, and set you up better for the long run.
Step 5: Where to Get an Awesome New Logo For Your Blog Website
Another important part of your blog (as well as branding), is your website’s logo.
Logos can range anywhere from 100% free, up to thousands of dollars! Below I will list both free, and paid options for getting a logo.
Styles and complexity of logos can vary greatly, and it really just boils down to what resonates with your audience, and your personal preferences.
Free Logo Options:
- LogoJoy is a really cool website where you can make modern yet simple and catchy logos for free!
You choose a few templates and color schemes that you like, answer a few questions, and joila! You have a logo quickly and easily, for FREE! https://logojoy.com - Canva is a great design website where you can get images for almost any type of project you have, but their online logo tool is also very simple to use, and it has some free options for creating a unique logo.
Highly recommended for logos and much more. https://www.canva.com/tools/logo-maker/ - LogoMakr is a fun tool that lets you design your own logo using over 1 million graphics! Try it out, it’s free! https://logomakr.com/
Cheap Logo Options:
- Fiverr - Fiverr is my favorite place to get logos created for all of my projects because I can sketch out a specific idea I have, and then hire a real artist to bring it to life.
Fiverr used to only cost $5 for any job they have listed on their website, but over the past few years, it has changed, so expect to spend anywhere between $10 and $50 for a custom logo.
(Some are even $250 or more (up to $3000 believe it or not, but there’s no need to go down that road). I’ve had some amazing logos created on fiverr for around $25, and it was well worth it! Just expect to wait 2 or 3 days for your logo to be completed after you finalize your order. >> Search for logos on Fiverr - Click Here
- 10aLogo - This is a site that I personally haven’t used yet, but they can make you some great looking logos for only $10. Yes, you heard that right TEN BUCKS! http://www.10alogo.com/
Premium (More Expensive) Logo Options:
99Designs is a contest site where you post your idea for a logo, and talented graphics artists will compete against each other to make you the perfect logo.
While these logos can be truly amazing, it’s more for established companies, and not so much for people starting a new blog.
But, if you have the money in the beginning, and want an absolutely stunning logo, they are highly recommended. Just know that contests start at $299 and go up from there.
I suggest checking out some of the contests to see how it works. Here are some examples of logos that resulted from their logo contests:
Step 6: Setting up Wordpress Plugins, and Which Ones Are Needed When Starting a Blog?
WordPress Plugins are tools created by 3rd party web developers that you can use to better manage certain parts of your WordPress site.
There are thousands of WP Plugins out there for almost anything you can think of. While your WordPress install already includes some basic plugins, you’ll likely want to add some more of your own to customize your website to your liking.
And since you're learning how to start a blog on your own, you'll want to know how to add, edit, and remove various plugins from time to time. It's actually pretty fun to explore the different functionality of each plugin.
Just have fun with it. Afterall, you are starting a blog for fun right? 😀
Types of plugins that are essential for your blog:
- SEO (I use and recommend: Yoast SEO)
- Speed - (I prefer: WP Rocket)
- Backups (Good choice: UpDraftPlus)
- Spam control - (My Favorite: Antispam Bee)
- Lead generation opt In form - to capture email subscriber leads. (You’ll need an autoresponder account like Aweber (what I use) for this as well)
Since plugins change all the time, and opinions vary greatly on which plugins to use, I am not going to go into much detail here.
I suggest that once your blog is up and running, you search YouTube and/or Google for “Must have wordpress plugins” or something along those lines.
This way you can get the most up to date information, as well as varying opinions.
Not all websites / blogs will benefit from using the same exact plug-ins, as each one has its own unique feel, and end goal.
Just know that if you add too many plugins, it can slow down the loading times of your website, which can result in a high bounce rate.
(In other words, people leaving your site!)
Bounce rate is a very heavily weighed factor in Google’s search ranking algorithms. For this reason, you’ll want to find ways to keep visitors on your website as long as possible.
Step 7: Writing Your First Blog Post!
Now that you’ve got your new blog up and running, it’s time to start adding content! The first types of content you’ll need to add are your basic pages, such as your About Page, Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, Affiliate Disclaimer, and Contact Page.
I would recommend checking out other blogs in your particular niche to see exactly what they are doing.
Below are some websites that can help you with creating your privacy policy and terms of service pages:
After you have your core pages completed, you can now get busy with the fun part… Writing actual blog posts!
What Should I Keep in Mind While Writing New Blog Posts?
It’s always best to write the majority of your blog posts in a conversational tone, or one that is like a one on one conversation with a good friend or neighbor.
But, another thing you need to be aware of is SEO, or search engine optimization. This is because, in order for people to find your blog through organic search (like Bing or Google), you’ll need to incorporate keyword phrases that people are actually searching for.
For this reason, it makes perfect sense to write blog posts around a particular keyword phrase or topic that people are already searching for.
You can find such keywords by using a keyword research tool, or the "Google Alphabet soup Method" which is simply typing words or phrases with your main niche keyword into Google search to see what Google suggests / auto-fills as possible search queries for you as you type.
For example, if you're in the "drone" niche, you might try typing something like:
"Why do drones" And you'll get these search queries (as an example)...
TIP: You can also use Quora.com or AnswerThePublic.com to find even more without manually trying different searches..
But, back to to actual Keyword research tools:
There are many different keyword research tools out there, but some that I personally recommend are:
- Google Keyword Planner - I mention this one first, because it’s free to use as long as you sign up for a Google Ads account (Formerly Google Adwords), and all search volume statistics are coming directly from the source itself... Google! https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner
- SEMRush - This keyword tool is my absolute favorite! It is a VERY powerful keyword / competitor research tool, yet it's a bit different from most other tools out there, because it shows you which keyword phrases that your competitors are already ranking for.
Instead of typing in a keyword to get suggestions, you simply put in your competitor’s domain name, and you’ll get a ton of juicy details about what they are ranking for, as well as a list of other websites that are also getting traffic from the same keywords.
It's so much fun to use, and the insights that you get are freakin' incredible! You can also try it out for free using this link: Free 7-Day Trial - Click here
- Soovle - This tool is very useful, because it scrapes suggested keywords from multiple websites, such as Amazon, Wikipedia, Youtube, Google, and Answers.com.
It’s a great way to find hidden keywords that are virtually untapped by your competitors. Simply start typing, and dozens of phrases will pop up! Pretty cool! https://soovle.com/ - Ahrefs Keyword Explorer - This is a paid tool that can help you discover thousands of great keywords to target, as well as how hard it is to rank for each, and the amount of potential traffic each keyword ranking could bring to your site.
It does cost $99 per month, however you get a 7-day trial for just $7. I would definitely recommend checking this one out once your site is more established, and is generating income. In the beginning, I recommend sticking with free tools. https://www.ahrefs.com - Moz Keyword Explorer - This tool gives you keyword recommendations that your site could rank for right now. It also gives you in-depth keyword analysis. You also get 10 free queries to use per month https://moz.com/explore
- Secret Weapon - Well, one of my secret weapons is.. Well.. Fiverr.com again! You can pay someone $5 to run detailed SEMRush or Ahrefs reports for you using their account! Check Out Fiverr's SEO Jobs Here...
This way you don’t have to pay the monthly fees. Obviously, it’s better to have your own account so you can dig in as much as you want, but if you’re just starting out, or are on a budget, this is the way to go. - Keywords Everywhere - This Google chrome and Firefox browser plugin shows you related keywords within your own search results, as well as competition data. Plus it’s free! Check it out here: https://keywordseverywhere.com/
I recently wrote another blog post about some of these, as well as some very useful competition SEO spy tools! Check it out - here.
Make a List of Keyword Phrases to Target
I recommend making a big list of potential keyword phrases that you can target, along with a blog post title for each one. This is crucial when learning how to start a blog in the early stages!
This way, you’ll always have a grab bag of potential blog posts topics you can write about to bring much needed SEO traffic to your blog.
So, now that you can see the basic idea as far as SEO is concerned, it’s time to get blogging!
This is where you can truly shine, and get as creative as you want, because after all, it’s YOUR blog!
Here are some types of blog posts you can write if you’re ever having trouble trying to think of an idea:
- Tutorials / How-to Guides
- Checklists
- Infographics
- Interviews
- Product or Service Reviews
- Case-Studies
- List of resources
- Social Media Commentary (twitter)
- Controversial / Rants
- Guest Bloggers
- Get personal / share failures / successes
- Response posts (to questions your readers have asked)
- List of leaders in your industry
- Whatever you want!
Follow Other Blogs in your Niche for Inspiration!
Another great way (and a somewhat obvious one) when figuring out how to start a blog that is destined for success, is to read other blogs in your niche often to get inspiration and ideas.
One very important thing to keep in mind is, you want your content to be absolutely amazing!
I don’t say this to scare of intimidate you, buy be sure to go all out, and provide as much value as possible in your blog content so that your readers will want to come back again and again!
You can easily achieve this by simply doing research prior to writing your posts, and simply taking your time. I also suggest adding eye-popping images, different fonts, and highlights throughout.
You want to keep your visitors interested and engaged. Nobody wants to read a blog post with a bunch of boring jumbled together text.
Be sure to utilize spaces in between your content.
Try to have only 2 to 3 sentences before having a line break between each paragraph. Blogs are different than print books! After all, it's the INTERNET! According to a : The average attention span on the internet is only 8 to 9 Seconds!!!
At the end of each post, you’ll also want to have a call to action, asking them to leave a comment with their point of view or thoughts on the blog post you just published.
This is one of the best ways to build a relationship with your readers, as you can start a discussion! Just make sure to keep up with incoming comments within your WordPress dashboard.
Step 8: Promote your Blog to the World!
Now that you have some content on your blog, it’s time to start promoting it to get some traffic! But, "how to start a blog that brings in traffic", you ask???
There are endless ways to drive traffic to your new blog, but I will cover some of them in this blog post.
- Press Releases - Press releases can bring in more traffic to your blog, as well as provide credibility and authority for your brand.
You can have a press release written by someone on sites like iWriter.com and then submit it to Press release websites like PRweb.com.
I would wait until you had at least a dozen or so blog posts before submitting a press release, because you want new visitors to have a good experience. - Blog Commenting - You can search for other popular blogs in your niche on google by searching “YOUR NICHE Blog” and looking atb the first couple pages of results.
You can then subscribe to these blogs, visit them often, and leave value added comments on their blog posts with a link back to your new website.
Their blog readers will likely see your comment, and click to your website. It also helps with SEO (Search engine optimization) because it will add a backlink to your site (which is a factor that Google uses to determine your search engine rankings)
You can also check out sites like Alltop.com to find the top websites in your niche. - Forums - Believe it or not, forums are still very popular, and can drive a ton of very targeted traffic to your blog. The process is simple.
* Find “active” forums in your niche, sign up, add a “signature link” in your profile settings with a link back to your blog, and start posting!
You’ll want to reply to any questions with a high value / helpful reply.
By default, they will see the link to your blog in your signature and want to check out what you and your blog are about.You can also start your own threads asking questions or giving massive value.
This will get even more eyeballs to your blog. You should make this a daily habit, just posting a few posts a day and multiple forums. It’s best to keep track of these in a spreadsheet like Google Sheets. - Social Media - Sign up, and post all your new blog posts to social media sites like: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Reddit, Facebook Pages, LinkedIn, Tumblr, and more!
The more you post on these social media sites with a link back to your blog, the better! Just don’t spam of course 🙂
I wrote a blog post about some awesome social media marketing tools that you can use to automate this process and keep up with your social media promotions. Read it Here...
- Quora.com - Quora is a question and answer site with MASSIVE amounts of traffic everyday. You should 100% consider creating a profile on Quora and answering questions related to your niche daily. They even have an app so you can answer questions from your smart phone! Visit Quora.com
Keep in mind, answers get voted up by the users, so you want your answers to be as valuable and detailed as possible, so you can grab the top spot. This is a powerful idea on how to start bringing targeted free traffic to your blog. - Youtube - This one is easy, just make a video version of your blog post content, and link back to your blog. You can use a screen capture program like Camtasia, or just use your webcam for this purpose. Just do a google search for "screen capture software".
- Guest Posts - One sure-fire way to get a flood of targeted visitors to your site is to write a highly valuable piece of content, and then offer it as a guest post on someone else’s blog.
SAY WHAT?!?!?!? Post on Someone "ELSE'S" Blog???
Hang with me for just a sec... LOL.
YES! You’ll be able to portray yourself as an expert or influencer in your niche, and people from the blog that you left a quality guest post on will want to know more about you, bringing WARM traffic to your site.
Warm meaning, they already know a little bit about you, because they just read a blog post that YOU wrote, on another blog that they already like and trust!
This is great when you first get started blogging, and are figuring out how to start a blog that brings in traffic organically.
AdvancedWebranking.com has an amazing list of 150+ Websites to Guest Post on. I definitely recommend checking it out. https://www.advancedwebranking.com/blog/150-sites-to-guest-post/
Step 9: Ways to Monetize Your Blog
So, you may wondering to yourself... "How to start a blog... that MAKES MONEY!"
There are many different ways you can monetize your blog. It all boils down to the strategy you decide to go with, and how much traffic your blog is getting.
The easiest way to get started is with affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is where you send traffic to a product or service, and that company shares a portion(or percentage) of the sale with you. You simply sign up, grab your unique affiliate link that they give you, and you’re good to go. When someone clicks on your affiliate link, and makes a purchase, you get a commission.
It’s great because you don’t have to handle any inventory or customer service!
You can either place banners on your website, or better yet, create individual blog posts for specific products or services (either a review post or a "VS" comparison post work best). You can also make videos to post on youtube, as well as to add into your blog posts to keep visitors on your blog longer.
Remember when we discussed "bounce rate" earlier in this tutorial? 😉
You can find affiliate products to promote on websites like:
- Clickbank.com
- JVzoo.com
- eBay Partner Network
- Shareasale
- Amazon.com
- CJ.com
- GiddyUp
- Or, simply searching Google for “NICHE affiliate program” or “affiliate networks”
(Keep in mind, not all of these will be related to all niches, as some are digital software etc…)
Other ways to monetize your blog are:
- Google Adsense - this is where you put a small code on your website in various areas, and Google will serve advertisements, where you’ll get paid anytime a visitor clicks on an ad.
- Sponsored Posts - Once your blog is booming with traffic, you can have people pay you money to post about their business on your blog. Just be sure it’s related, and a good fit. Otherwise you might piss off or irritate your regular blog visitors. Just something to keep in mind.
- Selling your own products / services - This is one that I have been doing for over a decade now. More specifically, digital products like ebooks, video courses, and software.
Since it’s just a digital download, there’s no overhead, and just minimal customer service all done via email.
This works best when you offer a free download such as an ebook on the front end, and offer a full course as an upsell.
Step 10: Advanced Tips / Outsourcing:
Running a blog all by yourself can be a massive undertaking. Afterall, it’s not all about just posting content. There are things like search engine optimization, social media marketing, graphic design, and even daily tasks that can be quite a lot for just one person.
The best way to handle the sheer volume of tasks is through outsourcing! If you'd like to learn more about hiring virtual assistants to speed up your efforts, you can check out my full course on outsourcing at http://www.outsourcingsimplified.net
Please bookmark this page, because I am going to update it with some more advanced strategies.
Final Step: Now You're a Blogger!!!
Well, that was fun! I truly hope that this long form blog post about how to start a blog has been helpful to you. It took quite a bit of work to put it together for you.
Could I ask you for a small favor?
Could you please leave a comment below and tell me what you think? And, also please share this post with others via social media? I'd really appreciate it!
Recommended:
If you’re brand new to digital marketing / product creation, and you want to learn how to create high quality digital courses and more,
I HIGHLY recommend the following:
I HIGHLY recommend the following:
- Grab this FREE BOOK: (Just pay a small shipping fee)
LINK: https://dreamhustleprofit.com/free-book - Sign up for this 30 Day Challenge:
LINK: https://dreamhustleprofit.com/30days
About the Author Ben Clemons
I'm a husband, father, and full-time digital marketer whose been working 100% online since 2008. I love leveraging the power of outsourcing to create online businesses in multiple niche markets. From developing software, to creating niche blogs, and even selling physical products through Shopify stores, I really love what I do. DreamHustleProfit.com is my new blog where I can share what I'm working on currently, as well as what I've learned along the way.
