How to Start a Blog in 2024 (Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners)

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Starting a blog to make money requires a bit more setup and planning than starting a blog as a hobby. This tutorial shows you how to set up your blog, design it with a theme, optimize your site, and write your first blog post.

Our number one goal at DollarSprout is to help readers improve their financial lives, and we regularly partner with companies that share that same vision. If a purchase or signup is made through one of our Partners’ links, we may receive compensation for the referral. Learn more here.

Ben Huber, Co-Founder DollarSprout
Ben and his wife, Morgan. Myrtle Beach, SC

Starting a blog was one of the best decisions I ever made.

Before starting my blog, I was burned out, working 60+ hours a week at a job I didn’t like where I felt unfulfilled (and was certainly underpaid).

I didn’t have time for myself, let alone my family, friends, or any semblance of a social life.

By the time the workday ended, I was so drained that all I wanted to do was zone out in front of the TV for a couple of hours and then head to bed.

As cliche as it sounds, blogging changed my life. It’s allowed me to work from home (or anywhere I want), take time off whenever I need to (no permission required), and make money even when I’m not working. If that’s not the dream, I don’t know what is.

living room
The living room where Jeff and I spent the first four years building our blog, DollarSprout.

And that’s the reason I’m writing this article. If you have a similar dream — a dream of spending more time with your family, of traveling whenever and wherever you want, or of making more money while working less — then this tutorial is for you.

I’m going to show you not only how to start a blog, but how to set your blog up for success from day one.

Before You Begin

Blogging is undoubtedly a realistic way to make money online. But that doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. Here’s what you should consider before getting started.

How to Start a Blog in 5 Easy Steps

Starting a blog isn’t hard. You can set up your hosting and have your website into the world in a matter of minutes. But you’re not just here to start any blog. You’re here to make money with a blog. And that requires a bit more setup and planning.

Which is why we’ve included not just how to start your blog, but also how to design your blog using a theme, how to optimize your new blog with free plugins, and how to decide what blog posts to write first.

1. Choose a name and host.

Your first step in starting a blog is to choose your niche (if you haven’t already), blog name, and a hosting provider.

Find a profitable niche.

Your niche is just the overall market category of your blog. Some profitable blog niches include:

  • Personal finance
  • Health and fitness
  • Beauty and fashion
  • Business
  • Personal development
average number of monthly searches by blog type
Choosing a niche that receives adequate search traffic, especially if you plan to monetize your blog. Source: Kristie Hill

Ideally, your niche should be a topic that:

  • You know well and/or
  • Are interested in AND
  • Something that other people care about
  • If you can capture all three, you’ve found a profitable niche.

Select a domain name.

Once you have your overall niche, the next step is to choose your blog name (AKA domain name/URL). Your domain name is an important part of your blog for three reasons:

  1. It’s your first impression. When a user sees your content on social media or comes to your website, one of the first things they’ll notice is your URL. It should give them a general idea of what you can help them with.
  2. It’s part of your brand. A good domain name can help you stand out from competitors in your niche and make your brand more memorable. It can also showcase your personality and let users know what to expect from your content.
  3. It affects your SEO. It’s not necessary, but it can help to have a relevant keyword or two in your domain. For example, if you’re starting a fitness blog, then you might consider having “fitness” in your domain name. This helps search engines better understand what your site is about.

Here are some tips for choosing a good domain name:

  • Use .com if possible. It’s the most memorable and most common extension. If the .com version isn’t available, choose a different domain name.
  • Avoid punctuation (like hyphens) and numbers. Your domain should be easy to spell, pronounce, and remember.
  • Keep it short. A good rule of thumb is to aim for 12 characters or less. The shorter it is, the easier people will remember.
  • Make sure it’s easy to pronounce. Again, if it’s difficult to pronounce or doesn’t sound like it’s spelled, people might not remember it. You can test this by writing your domain down (or texting it to a few friends) and asking them to pronounce your domain the way they think it sounds. If most people get it right, then you’re probably good to go.
  • Use free domain name generators if you get stuck. There are lots of good tools out there. Wordoid helps you generate unique, made-up words. Domain Wheel and Name Mesh find available domains in your niche.

While your domain name is important, don’t let it hold you back from getting started. It’s easy to spend too much time in the planning phase and get overwhelmed. But nine times out of ten, quick action wins out over careful calculation. If you find yourself getting stuck here, just choose a domain name you can live with and move on.

Choose your hosting service and plan.

When you’re ready to start your blog and launch your site, you have a few different options. The main two platforms are WordPress.com (free) and WordPress.org (paid).

Free may seem like the way to go when you’re first starting out, but if your goal is to make money, you’ll want to choose WordPress.org with paid hosting (which you can get for a couple of dollars per month). WordPress.org gives you more freedom over your site, including your design, your content, and how you make money.

Self-hosted vs. free wordpress

We recommend HostGator for hosting your website. They’re one of the best all-around hosting companies in terms of performance, they offer a free domain, and they’re super affordable for any new blogger.

2. Create a create a hosting account

Since HostGator is, in our opinion, the best hosting platform for new bloggers, we’re going to show you how to get your new blog set up with them in 10 minutes or less.

Step 1: Select a hosting plan

When you visit HostGator’s Get Started page, you should land on a page that has three hosting options to choose from (Hatchling, Baby, and Business).

HostGator shared hosting plans

Assuming this is your first website, there’s no need to go with anything other than the Hatchling Plan. It’s the cheapest plan and has more than enough resources for a brand new website.

Step 2: Choose your domain name

Once you hit the “Buy Now!” button, you’ll be directed to the order form. The first item on the list is the most important one: your domain name.

This is the one and only name for your website, so give this some thought.

HostGator Choose Your Domain

It can be tricky coming up with a name that isn’t already claimed.

Tips for choosing your domain name:

  • Stick to just .com endings. Don’t bother using .biz, .info, .org, or any other endings.
  • Make your domain name simple and easy to remember.
  • Leave out numbers, dashes, and anything else other than letters.

Step 3: Enter your hosting plan information

This step determines your approximate initial cost to start your blog. It should be noted that HostGator offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

No matter how much you spend, if you end up deciding that blogging isn’t for you within the first 30 days, you can get your money back, no questions asked. (Hence why blogging is an amazing opportunity to start your own business at a relatively low cost, with zero risk involved.)

In order to lock in the biggest discount, I recommend taking advantage of one of HostGator’s 36-month hosting plans.

It greatly reduces the overall cost of your blog, and you can typically get prices lower than $3.00/month (even lower when they’re running special promotions).

HostGator Choose a Hosting Plan

Step 4: Create your account and enter your billing information

Next, you’ll need to create your HostGator account and set a security PIN. You’ll use this to access the back end of your website, so write it down or store it in a password tool like LastPass so you don’t forget.

HostGator Create Your Account

Then comes your billing information, a pretty straightforward step.

HostGator Billing Info

Step 5: Choose add-ons that you want

Fortunately, most of the add-ons that HostGator offers are already included in the price of the package, including a free domain and SSL certificate (important for protecting your site visitors). However, there are a few add-ons to consider. 

HostGator recommends adding SiteLock Essentials to your blog, but you don’t really need it. There are plenty of other free and paid WordPress plugins you can use to secure your site. We recommend starting with a free security plugin, like Wordfence. You can always upgrade to a paid solution later if you decide to.

The “SSL Certificate” add-on looks confusing. Your hosting plan already comes with a free SSL certificate, this is just a beefed-up option.

HostGator Addons 3HostGator Addons 4

You can get by for now without any of the paid HostGator add-ons, so the next step is to…

Step 6: Review order details and submit

Once you’ve completed all the steps above, go through and make sure everything is the way you want it.

Depending on the length of the hosting package you selected (1 to 36 months), your checkout price can vary greatly.

You’ll pay more upfront for the lengthiest hosting plan, but you’ll save 60% off the total cost of 3 years worth of blogging.

The 36-month plan will still give you the best price (three years of hosting for less than $100), and you can cancel within 30 days. But if you’re on the fence about blogging or don’t want to spend the money up front and decide to choose the monthly option, you’ll still get a hefty discount.

HostGator Order Total

You’ll also notice that there are a few other free perks: 24/7/365 Phone, LiveChat, Email Support and, again, the 30-day money back guarantee if you decide blogging isn’t for you.

Once you’re all set, go ahead and hit “Checkout Now!” and let’s get rolling.

Step 7: Install WordPress

As far as blogging platforms go, WordPress is in rare company. In fact, WordPress sites now comprise more than 30%[1] of the entire Internet. You could go with a smaller platform like Tumblr or Blogger…or you can go with the content management system (CMS) chosen by:

  • Spotify
  • TechCrunch
  • CBS
  • NBC

If those sites use WordPress, I think its safe to say you’re choosing the right blogging platform.

Using the username and password you created when you set up your account, you should see your dashboard when you log in. From there, click on Create Website

HostGator Create a Website

That will take you to a page where you can choose your blogging platform. At the top underneath “Build your site with WordPress,” click Get Started.

HostGator Build with WordPress

This next screen is very important. You’ll see the link to your WordPress login page, your username, and your password.

Write these down or copy them over into LastPass so you don’t lost them. Once that’s done, make sure to copy your password (you’ll need it on the next screen) and click Go to WordPress.

HostGator WP is ready screen

The next screen is your login page where you’ll use the username and password you just copied to log in to your site.

WordPress Login page

When you log in, the first thing you’ll see is your dashboard. Before you start setting up your blog, you’ll probably want to change your password to something you can remember. Hover over Users on the left side menu and select All Users.

WordPress Dashboard for Blog Wisely

Here, you can add new user accounts (if you want an account named something other than “admin”), but for now you can just update your current profile. Hover over the user name and click Edit.

WordPress edit user

Then scroll down to the “Nickname” field. Add whatever name you want to appear publicly on your website here.

WordPress change user nickname

Scroll down a little further and click Set New Password. Choose something secure, but something you can easily remember. And don’t forget to update it in your notebook and LastPass. Once you’re finished, hit the Update Profile button to save your changes.

WordPress change user password

Almost finished. Scroll back up to the name section and find Display name publicly as. Click the dropdown to the right to choose the Nickname you set as your public author name.

WordPress public name section

Then scroll down and save your changes.

If you get logged out, you can sign back in to your WordPress site any time without going through HostGator. Just go to http://YOURWEBSITENAME.com/wp-admin/

Now that your site is all set up, it’s time to make it look nice (or at least good enough for now).

3. Design your blog.

WordPress themes allow you to design your blog without any coding or real technical knowledge. You can choose from one of WordPress’s free themes or upgrade to a paid theme.

For free themes, go to Appearance > Themes. Here you’ll find the standard themes that come with your account. If you see one you like, click Activate to apply it to your blog or Live Preview to see what it would look like on your site.

If you don’t see anything you like, click on WordPress.org Themes at the top of your screen to view more free theme options.

WordPress Free Themes

Free WordPress themes are a great option for new bloggers. However, they come with a few drawbacks:

  • Limited (or no) developer support
  • Lack features and functionality
  • No warranty (if something goes wrong or breaks, you’re on your own)

Paid WordPress themes often come with all of those features, plus the added benefit that you can customize your site and make it look exactly how you want it.

We’ve used and recommend StudioPress themes for beginner bloggers. All of StudioPress’s themes are search engine optimized, mobile responsive, and come with unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. So if you have trouble customizing your theme, you can reach out to the StudioPress team and they’ll walk you through everything.

You can check out StudioPress’s Genesis themes here. When you find one you like, hover over the theme and click See Details and Pricing. (I’m going to use the Altitude Pro theme for this tutorial since it’s one we’ve already purcahsed.)

StudioPress Genesis Themes

On the theme page, choose Buy Theme + Framework Package and check out.

StudioPress Altitude Pro Theme

The checkout page will prompt you to create an account by entering an email and password. Once you pay, you’ll automatically be logged in to your account.

Note: If you aren’t automatically redirected to your account, check your email for instructions on how to sign in and get access to your new theme.

As soon as you log in to your account, you’ll see your themes. Click the blue button next to your theme to download it. Save the file to your desktop or somewhere you can easily find it. (You can delete it from your computer after you upload your theme to WordPress.)

Note: You should see two themes in your account: the Genesis Framework (the parent theme) and whatever child theme you purchased. You’ll need to install them both, starting with the Genesis Framework.

Genesis Framework Theme

For the next step, go back to your WordPress account. Under Appearance > Themes, at the top of your screen, click Upload Theme.

Upload Theme to WordPress

On the dropdown that appears, click Choose File.

Choose WordPress Theme File

Find where you saved your theme on your computer and select Open. (If you can’t find it, look in your downloads folder.)

Find Theme on Your Computer 2

Then click Install Now to upload your theme.

Install Theme on WordPress

Once your theme is uploaded, click Activate.

Activate Theme on WordPress

This will take you back to your themes page where you can see that the Genesis Framework is now active. Follow the exact same process to install your child theme (in this case, we’re using Altitude Pro). Download from StudioPress, upload to WordPress, and activate.

Once both themes are active and you’re back on your themes page, hover over your child theme and click Customize.

Customize Child Theme

From this page, you can view your site live while making changes to things like your site colors, menu, and other theme settings. Hit Publish at the top of the left menu to save any changes you make.

Publish Theme Changes

We’re not going to walk through customizing your theme in this tutorial because every theme is different. However, StudioPress themes are widely used, and there are many resources available for each theme.

StudioPress also includes setup instructions. In your account, you can click on the gray button (next to the blue button you used to download your theme earlier) to read their guide. You can also just search for “studiopress [YOUR THEME NAME] tutorial” on YouTube or Google and find videos on how to customize every element of your site.

Speaking from experience, it’s easy to get into the weeds on the design of your new site. However, you really don’t need to customize that much at this point. Change your site colors and poke around in the theme settings for a few to familiarize yourself with everything.

Then move on to the next step.

4. Optimize your blog.

Plugins add new functionality to your website, like the ability to create a contact form or back up your website with the click of a button. With the thousands of plugins available, it’s easy to get lost in the mix. But as a new blogger, you don’t need every plugin out there.

Start with these five free plugins and tools to help get your content seen, shared, and start building an audience.

1. Set up your email, use it to create a Google account, and set up Google Search Console.

Google Search Console isn’t a plugin. It’s a free tool from Google that allows you to see how your site is performing in search results, what other sites are linking to yours, and what keywords your content ranks for. This is important information to have to improve your search engine optimization (SEO) and get your content in front of more people.

The tutorial below includes how to set up an email account with your domain in it using HostGator (if that’s your chosen hosting provider), how to use your new email to create a Google account, and how to use your new Google account to set up Search Console.

2. Connect Google Analytics with the MonsterInsights plugin.

Search Console is all about your site’s SEO, while Google Analytics is about your audience. You’l use this tool to track who’s coming to your site (demographics), how long they’re reading your content, which blog posts are the most popular (pageviews), and how many pages users visit when they come to your site.

This information can help you better understand your readers and improve your content. The tutorial below shows how to set up your Google Analytics account and connect it to your site using the MonsterInsights plugin for WordPress.

3. Optimize your content with Yoast SEO.

Now that you can ready your SEO data with Search Console and Analytics, the next step is to optimize your content so it appears in search results. Yoast provides a checklist of items for each blog post, like making sure you have keywords in prominent places (titles and headings), include internal and external link, and write compelling meta description. You can also use Yoast to create a sitemap for your blog.

Here’s how to set up Yoast for your site:

 

4. Make your content shareable with Grow by Mediavine.

The most important (and often most challenging) part of monetizing a blog is actually getting your content in font of people. That’s why you want to make it as easy as possible for readers to share your content with others. 

The Grow plugin adds sharing icons to your site so that users can share to Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms in just a couple of clicks. Watch the tutorial below to set up the free Grow plugin for your new blog.

5. Increase your site speed using ShortPixel.

Websites today load at lightning speed. We’ve become so conditioned to this quick delivery of information that if your site doesn’t keep up, users are more likely to leave. Image files can have a huge tax on your site’s load time. But with the free ShortPixel plugin, images are automatically compressed when uploaded, meaning smaller file size and a speedier website.

5. Write your first blog post.

Once your blog is set up, we can finally get to the exciting part (and the part that makes you money): writing and publishing content.

The difference between starting a blog as a hobby and starting one to make money is that you can’t just write about whatever you want or think or feel. You have to be intentional about the topics you choose, how you structure your articles, and optimizing your content for traffic and conversions.

But before you even put fingers to keyboard, you need to figure out how you plan to make money.

Decide on a monetization strategy.

If your goal with starting a blog is to make money, then each article you publish should have a purpose. For example:

  • Selling your own products
  • Advertising for other companies (i.e. display ads)
  • Sending readers to affiliate products (i.e. companies you work with that pay you money for sending them new customers)
  • Capturing easy organic traffic to get their attention and send them to a monetized article.

If you don’t have a strategy behind an article, then what happens if it blows up or goes viral on Pinterest and you get a ton of traffic? You may gain some new email subscribers or readers, but your bank account won’t notice the difference.

One of the easiest ways to make money blogging as a beginner is through affiliate marketing, and the one we recommend starting with. As an affiliate marketer, you’re the middleman between companies and their potential customers. Your goal is to match a company’s products and services with people who could benefit from them.

You can find relevant products in services in your niche by signing up for affiliate networks. These networks offer programs from many different companies in the same place so you don’t have to sign up for them individually. (Oftentimes the program is only offered through a network, so you couldn’t sign up for it individually if you wanted to.)

If you already have some tools in your niche that you use and love, then you can Google “[product name] affiliate program” to find out if they work with affiliates.

If your goal is to eventually create your own products, affiliate marketing can help you determine what types of products and services sell the best among your audience.

Sign up for a few affiliate programs in your niche, ideally for products you use, like, and would recommend to others. Starting with monetization in mind, you can use your affiliate programs to determine what articles you write first.

Choose a topic idea.

Now that you’re signed up for some affiliate programs, the next step is to brainstorm a list of article topics.

Some of the best affiliate-focused types of articles are:

  • How to/instructional (that’s what the article you’re reading is)
  • Listicle (e.g. top 10 best ____)
  • Reviews, comparisons, and alternatives

Take a minute to brainstorm some article ideas based on the affiliates you’ve come up with.

Once you have a list of 5-10 blog post ideas, keyword research will help you identify any low-hanging fruit — i.e. keywords with decent search volume and low competition that you might be able to rank for relatively quickly.

Let’s say your blog is about losing weight from home and you’re now an affiliate for some companies that offer home gym equipment. One of the ideas on your brainstorming list might be “best home workout equipment.”

Using KWFinder, you can find the monthly search volume for this term is high at 21,600, but the difficulty level of 39 is also higher than what a new blog can probably rank for.

Note: KWFinder is a paid tool with plans starting at $49/month ($359/year if paid annually). They offer a free 10-day trial for new users.

best home workout equipment kw search

You want to find similar keywords that are relevant for your audience but that your site might actually be able to rank for in a short period of time. So click on the Keyword Difficulty (KD) column to sort from lowest to highest difficulty.

Here we can see that the term “best home exercise equipment for weight loss” has good search volume (over 1,000/month) and a low difficulty score of 15, making it a great candidate for your new blog.

best home exercise equipment for weight loss search

This would fall under the listicle category of the types of articles we looked at above. Once you’ve written this piece, you can expand your affiliate content by publishing:

  • An in-depth review on each item in your listicle
  • Comparisons of some of the popular types of home workout equipment
  • An article on how to lose weight at home (of course linking to your “best home workout equipment”)

Outline and write your first blog post.

It may not seem necessary at first, but outlining your article before writing is crucial. It’ll help you:

  • Write faster because you don’t have to stop to research every section.
  • Understand search intent for your keyword so you include all the information your reader wants and needs.
  • Organize your article in a way that makes sense rather than rambling and jumping around.

You can create your outline in a Google Doc or directly in your WordPress draft. I prefer to create mine in WordPress so once you’re finished researching and taking notes, all you have to do is fill it in with your content.

In your WordPress Dashboard, navigate to Posts > Add new.

WordPress New Post

Here you can do a brain dump and collect all your research in one place. I like to do a rough outline with a bulleted list, then go back and add my notes and research under each header to guide me as I write.

WordPress Outline

After you finish writing, you’re almost ready to hit publish.

Polish and publish your article.

The last step before publishing your article is to fine-tune your content. I highly recommend creating a blog post checklist to use for each article. This will help keep your content consistent and make publishing easier and faster. A few items to consider for your checklist:

  • Ensure keywords are used throughout the article (headers and body). (This will help improve your blog SEO and get your content seen by more people.
  • Add affiliate links.
  • Insert a featured photo and high-quality images throughout.
  • Make and add social media graphics.
  • Schedule social media posts.

And that’s it! Once you’ve marked all the items off your checklist, you can publish your new article and start driving traffic to it.

WordPress Publish

4 Tips for New Bloggers

If you decide that the pros of blogging outweigh the cons and you’re ready to start your blog, here are a few tips to keep in mind as a new blogger.

1. Research your audience.

Everything becomes easier when you research your audience. The better you know your audience — their problems, fears, questions, desires — the better you can help solve their problems. And when you’re blogging to make money, it’s all about finding and helping your ideal reader.

Join Facebook groups, read subreddits and Quora questions in your niche, and if possible, schedule phone calls with people who fit your ideal reader description to find out what they’re struggling with and what types of resources they’re interested in. This will give you a backlog of content topics as well as ideas for your own products or services.

2. Focus on traffic in the beginning.

Many new bloggers think they need to wait until they have a certain number of articles published before they even begin thinking about traffic. Not if you plan to make money.

In order to make money, you need people coming to your site. Whether you have ten articles or five or even just one, it’s never too early to start growing your blog traffic. The sooner you do, the sooner you’ll get feedback on your content and learn what works and what doesn’t.

3. Write with personality.

No matter what niche you choose, chances are there’s someone out there who’s written about your topic before. Maybe even lots of people.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start a blog on that topic or that you can’t make money. What it means is that you need to find some way to stand out. One of the easiest ways to do that is to infuse your personality into your writing.

Writing with personality will make your content more relatable, engaging, and help build trust with your readers. You’ll develop your writing style the more you write and publish content.

4. Let go of perfectionism.

Perhaps the most important tip I could give any blogger is to stop waiting until something is “perfect” to move forward. Your content will probably suck in the beginning. That’s the point.

If you wait to get every article perfect before you publish it, you deprive yourself of the opportunity for learning and growth. You can always go back and make changes later. Done gets results. Perfectionism creates paralysis.

Author
Ben Huber

Hi! I'm Ben. A personal finance nerd on a mission to help DollarSprout readers make and save more money. A quoted contributor for Business Insider, Business.com, Discover, Intuit, MSN, NBC News, Yahoo Finance and more, I work to help others live their financial best life.

64 comments
James
James

Nice guide Ben, very detailed on how to get set up.

You make a good point at the very end about writing style. This is something that I need to get used to.

It’s short sentences and one-line paragraphs all the way! As you say “not like in school”.

This is especially true for mobile device views. More than a couple of sentences together and the block of text fills the whole screen.

That can be tough going for the reader.

Rowan Clifford
Rowan Clifford

So true.

In fact, most of what you learned in school about writing is totally counterproductive when it comes to copywriting and blogging in general.

I do see some people getting a little carried away with the whole ‘one-line paragraph’ thing, however, even this is way, WAY better than a big wall of text for sure.

Also, as a little side note, I always make sure I add a table of contents into every article I write too. I found that not only is it great for SEO, it also makes my content much easier to navigate, and more skimmable.

Worth consideration for sure.

Hour Aliza
Hour Aliza

Nice guide Ben, very detailed on how to get set up.

You make a good point at the very end about writing style. This is something that I need to get used to.This is especially true for mobile device views. More than a couple of sentences together and the block of text fills the whole screen.

Linda
Linda

I have dabbled in blogging but need to start afresh. I’m hoping this will be the way!

Good luck Linda! Let us know if you have any questions 🙂

Natalie
Natalie

Hi Ben!

I’m just kind of starting out with this whole blogging thing, and I’m looking to start out with making money from affiliate links (like Amazon Associates, etc.). How would this kind of income look on my taxes? Is it considered “other income” or “self-employment income?”

I appreciate the help!

Natalie

Hey Natalie!

Welcome and good luck with your blog! The answer to your question, as with many things in life, is that it depends :p

Mostly on how much money you make since it sounds like you intend on turning it into a money-making blog.

The good news is that you’re not required to report self-employment earnings unless your blog has generated $400 or more in profit (AFTER your expenses).
If you’re not in this category just yet then no need to fret! After that barrier is crossed, and you can reasonably expect to make $1,000 or more during the next year, you’ll start to owe self-employment taxes.

Here’s a good read to help get you started: https://www.makingsenseofcents.com/2016/02/blogging-and-taxes-what-you-need-to-know.html

Good luck!

JaMeya West
JaMeya West

How do you get paid? Do you get paid by the many views you have? Or do you get paid by people actually subscribing to your post?

How does this work? (Payment wise?)

And can you write anything you want? Besides helping someone, I’m more of a poet and philosophical writer. So writing the truth and what comes to mind is my thing for right now.

Brooke White
Brooke White

Thank you Ben!

Great tips! I will definitely be thinking about these things as I continue working on my new blog!

~Brooke

Amy-Lynn
Amy-Lynn

Great step by step way to set up the blog. More info on how to become profitable would be helpful too.

This article I wrote on our other blog might be helpful: https://dollarsprout.com/make-money-blogging/ 🙂

Brad
Brad

Ben, great post here. Thanks for the detailed insight on how to get started blogging. I’m currently setting up my blog site and I’m using HostGator.

Be well,
Brad

Victor Maxwell
Victor Maxwell

Hello, Ben. You have a nice post here. It is well detailed but I do have one question, though. I want to start my own blog but I don’t have money to purchase HostGator (or paid hosting in general), do you have any advice for a free place/site where I can start a blog? P.S. I am 16. Looking forward to your reply soon!

Hey Victor, thanks for stopping by.

If you’d like to get started, but don’t think you can pull off the initial startup costs, you can always start with a WordPress.com blog and then convert your blog later — it’s not ideal, and you won’t get the full features you otherwise normally would — but it allows you to get started now instead of having to wait for funds to come in!

Good luck!

Jay Bee
Jay Bee

Hey Ben, thanks for the tips. I want to start my own blog but I don’t have money to purchase anything on HostGator. Any advice for me?

Hey Jay Bee!

If you’re tight on money but would like to start, I’d recommend going with a WordPress.com account — it’s free to start and you migrate your site to the paid version later. It’s not ideal, and you’ll have little control over the look of your site/limited customization features, but it’s a capable platform and a good way to get started! Overcoming that hurdle is the hardest part so feel free to jump in.

Carla
Carla

Hey Jay Bee, on Hostgator you don’t have to start with the 36-month package. You could always go on a baby plan and do it monthly it might cost a little bit more in the long run (but at least instead of trying to come up with a few hundred dollars starting out you only need roughly $20 a month until you start making money). It would be a better option than WordPress.com as Ben says himself (it has very limited features). I know this could help you start out with a domain and hosting as I believe that you can get a free domain with your first hosting package. I really hope this helps you get a good start on your way to having a great blog.

Ana
Ana

Hello Ben! This is the first post I read from you and I have to tell you, it’s amazingly helpful! Thank you very much for sharing all of this information, it really guided me through the process of creating my own blog and felt like if a friend was telling me all of his tricks. 🙂 I will definitely devour all your articles from now on!

You’re welcome Ana!

Tamseela
Tamseela

Super useful information about blogging!

Kim
Kim

Thank you for this insightful article! I have a few areas of interest I could blog about based on my own life’s journey. Many people will be able to relate. And, hopefully, the blog will be truly helpful. How long/short should a blog be? I’ll be watching for additional articles from you.

Hey Kim! Blog articles can be any length you want — it’s totally up to you! That being said, most blog articles are at least 500 words or so. If you really want to cover a topic thoroughly, it’s not uncommon to see 2,000-5,000 word articles (or more)!

Marjorie Evershem
Marjorie Evershem

Having read all this, it is still not clear how money is made by blogging. Maybe I missed something here? How does the blog transform into money that I can cash out to a bank or PayPal account, and, who pays?

Hey Marjorie,

There are several ways to make money from blogging — each way will have a specified means for how it pays out.

For example:

1) Ads
2) Affiliate Marketing (where you advertise a different company’s product, and if a reader buys it, you get a commission).
3) A digital product (you create a product that people buy — like a planner, or calendar, etc).
4. A digital service you provide through your blog (like editing, proofreading, freelance writing, etc).
5) Sponsored content where a company pays you to promote their product/you review their product or service

Hopefully that makes thing clearer — most often you’ll get paid by direct deposit/ACH transfers, or to a PayPal account.

Bailey
Bailey

This article really helped and got me reconsidering the idea of starting a blog. I love to write and think it would be amazing for other people to read my articles. My only hesitance is that I’m not sure if I could gain the audience. I really want to make my writing dream come true.

Amanda
Amanda

This was super helpful, thank you!

Tushar Jain
Tushar Jain

Very nice post. Didn’t know Pinterest could be such a killer.

Gigi
Gigi

Hi, Ben! Thank you for this article. I plan to soon start blogging and this article answered all questions about it. 🙂

You’re so welcome — we run a Facebook group for bloggers if you’re interested. We try and answer all the questions you’ll have while you’re starting on this journey!

Cindy
Cindy

Why WordPress and not AWS?

Kristin
Kristin

Will this format work for video tutorials as well?

You can use a Youtube channel as a supplement to your blog, sure!

Daniel
Daniel

I’ve been contemplating starting a blog and after reviewing my physical limitations (due to my age and the physical work I do) I have a subject matter in mind to blog about. That said, I am not sure how to start or if the topic would be morally acceptable. (Not about anything harmful!). Think sex, ok? My biggest concern is the total cost of using HostGator. I’m semi-retired and want to try something else in my elder years but am not that tech-oriented (but also not a total dummy when it comes to surfing the web or websites). Can you give me a “real” cost estimate on what it would take to get up and running? I’m talking about a real, no pulling punches, “total” cost to be up and running from start to finish! Thank you for your response…
– Daniel

Hey Daniel —

You truly can get started for as little as $5.95/month — that said, that rate typically comes with their 36-month (up front) package:

$5.95 * 36 months = $214
$6.95 * 24 months = $166
$7.95 * 12 months = $95
$14.95 * 1 month = $14.95

Most other resources are free (you can utilize a free theme, free email acquisition, etc) — now, paid features will almost universally give you more flexibility and customization options, but those are the “real” prices IMO.

That is for HostGator’s Managed WordPress hosting (not their base plan hosting) — it’s optimized for WordPress and comes with an SSL certificate to protect your site.

If you’d like slightly more customization options, you can buy a “paid” theme to give your site a face lift — those cost, generally speaking between $19-$100 for the more expensive ones (you can also spend thousands on customized ones). For perspective, on our other site, we’ve spent $59 on our paid theme and we’ve used it for 3 years (and we make multi-five figures/month on that other blog).

All-in-all you can spend as much as you’d like, but I’d plan on spending at least $95 to get off the ground as efficiently as possible.

John
John

Which theme are you using on this site?

Custom theme!

Harish Kumar
Harish Kumar

Hey, great infographics!

This is something I was looking for. I have scanned all your pictures to get a quick idea of which blogging platform I should choose next.

I already own a blog on WordPress.org but I want something that is less costly. And luckily I have found one from your list.

Thanks for sharing this guide.

Marisa Mitchell
Marisa Mitchell

Thank you for this article! I’ve always wanted to blog and ultimately write a book.

My question is if I start blogging and include content that I would potentially include in a future book, can I “copyright” the content in my blog? I’ve always wondered about protecting my blog content.

Hey Marisa,

Theoretically speaking, a unique work belongs to you the minute it is created. Technically speaking, it’s copyrighted the minute you create it.

That said, formal copyright/trademarks change how (and how much) you can pursue in court, were someone to infringe on your work (they also allows you to pursue statutory damages as well as attorney fees).

As with any legal discussion, it’s generally best to consult an IP attorney/copyright specialist but the above explanation is very generally how things work.

Ellyn
Ellyn

I appreciate your positive attitude and excellent information. I started what was probably a blog after 9/11 – thepassionatesoul.com.

It was very successful from a readership/follower/ connecting POV for a number of years. Then I started writing and changed my domain name to ellynpeirson.com. I’ve written four books since then and edited one.

The WP website hasn’t been personally satisfying, something I need now, as I have a serious chronic illness. So, I’ve just begun a blog section and look at the whole shebang as a blog.

I have a dear friend who hosts for me, but that’s all. Do you think HostGator would let me slip in with their helpful plugins, etc., for a cost? I’d appreciate your opinion. Thanks!

Hey Ellyn,

Hope you’re well! I think we’d need a few more details to be able to fully understand your situation. From what you’ve shared so far, it sounds like you’ve got a friend that is hosting your website in some capacity?

Is your blog currently on WordPress and you’re looking to switch to your own hosting so you have more control over it? Is it on a different blog CMS/software?

HostGator is an affordable solution to self-host your own website — you’ll have full control over your website — from customizing a theme (the look of your site), to installing and utilizing several different plugins (which bring about various different enhancements to your site).

If you’re currently with a different hosting provider, HostGator will move your site and your content, free of charge, as a part of their sign up service.

Brandon
Brandon

Hi, Ben! Thanks for the article. I would love to pick your brain more on this and share with you an idea for my own blog (and get your thoughts on it). Let me know the best way to discuss it, if possible.

Hey Brandon! Sounds good to me — feel free to shoot an email to hello@dollarsprout.com and I’ll be happy to take a peek at it. 🙂

Shakya
Shakya

Hey Ben!

Great article. I’ve learned a ton about making my own blog. Quick question, though. Does my blog need to be in English or can I use any language?

Hey Shakya,

Your blog can definitely be in any language. There are a few considerations to keep in mind, though. If you’re starting a blog to make money, your audience size is often dictated by what language you write in. Where English is the primary language of the business world, writing in English is preferred.

Furthermore, Google/search engines may choose to limit your visibility to the geographic region the language you write in is primarily spoken. So if you write in German, it’s unlikely readers outside of Germany would see your website in search results.

That being said, if you’re blog is locally relevant/meant for friends and family, by all means, write in the language you’re most comfortable with.

Azamat
Azamat

Hey, Ben! Nice info! What if a blogger is from a non-English speaking country and writes in English? Will his posts be hidden by Google in the USA, England, Canada, etc.?

They won’t hide them. If you write content that caters to specific geographical queries, that content may only show in that area, but otherwise, as long as the content is written in fluent English and you leverage a CDN to distribute the information (which most blog hosts now offer), your content is just as eligible for search as ours. There are obviously dozens of other variables in terms of what their algorithm looks for, but there’s no inherent bias there.

Wixdamsel
Wixdamsel

I started my blog on Wix and published 1 article. I have not been able to generate any traffic though. Would you please tell us how we can generate traffic to the blog?

Heyo! This post on our sister site (BTOP) is about how to get traffic. You might get some inspiration/think of some new ways to help you get more people on your website!

Marlee
Marlee

Hi!

Is there a reason why you would recommend HostGator over Bluehost? Especially since Bluehost is what is recommended by WordPress? I am struggling while trying to decide on a hosting platform for my blog and these two keep coming up. I’ve been getting information on both, but every time I read something or watch a video comparing the two I end up switching my mind. Any more info on why you pick one over the other would be greatly appreciated.

You’ll be fine with either. 🙂 In the last few years, EIG (the parent company) purchased both Bluehost and HostGator, so they have nearly identical services and business models.

That’s up to you and how quickly you are able to create content, get traffic to it, and monetize. Realistically, I would expect to invest at least 6 months of effort before expecting to make any money.

Rowan Clifford
Rowan Clifford

Nice article Ben.

It’s pretty hard to pack all of that information into such a short post, so well done on that front.

You’ve effectively condensed all of the key things you need to know to start a blog into a really concise post which is easier said than done for sure.

One bit of advice that I thought I could add was in ‘how’ to go about writing an effective blog post as this is something I always used to struggle with.

Whereas before it would take me literally days to create a decent blog article, I can now churn out quality articles usually in under four hours. I can only do that because I follow a system.

If you’re interested you can find out more here: https://rowanclifford.io/how-to-write-a-blog-post/

I hope it helps. Thanks again for the post.

Cheers.
Rowan Clifford

The Financial Engineer
The Financial Engineer

Hey Ben, great post! I just started my own blog to burn up extra time during the quarantine period. I am finding it difficult to post short concise sentences. As you stated, it is not what we were taught to do in school.

I like the detailed structure and examples you provided in this post. How do you feel about Yoast SEO?

Please feel free to swing by my site and provide me with any feedback, as you clearly know how to start a superior blog.

Great content!

Heyo!

First off, Supermarket Sweep was the best game show of all time, so I’m happy it made an appearance in one of your posts. Obviously you’ve chosen to remain anonymous (for now) on your blog so that will somewhat impact how you can market your brand as you begin to explore ways to get your content in front of readers.

You’ll need to lean heavily on organic search (Yoast can help with that), paid acquisition (down the road) and organic social (your traditional FB, Insta, Twitter, and Pinterest…and perhaps not so much the video laden ones like Snap, YT and Tik Tok…the later of which are super popular and may force you to perhaps maybe pivot away from anonymity in the future).

There’s no harm in getting started on the first few, though. Yoast is a great asset for checking the basics of on-page SEO. It’ll help you organize content so that Googlebot can clearly understand what the content on a page is about, but it’s literally just the very beginning of SEO (and definitely not sufficient to have content rank). To learn more about the basic principles, check out free resources like Brian Dean’s stuff at Backlinko. It’s a really good starting place for beginners itching to learn more about SEO, and then you can seek out more advanced material as you begin to understand the basics. This is a really good place to start: https://backlinko.com/google-seo-guide

Best of luck dude!

Danielle
Danielle

Love it, can’t wait to get started. I love to write so this would be easy for me.

Carla
Carla

Very useful information, I signed up for your list. Thanks, Ben!

You’re welcome, best of luck Carla — we’re here (or in our Facebook group) to help!

Contessa
Contessa

I have hosting through Bluehost and I have WordPress there. That means that I have the paid option, correct? I have wordpress.org and not wordpress.com, right?

That’s correct!

Elisabeth Jones
Elisabeth Jones

Seems legit! If you don’t mind me asking…how exactly do you find inspiration to write all the time?

Haha, there are certainly times that the inspiration isn’t there. 😉 For me, considering the alternative — going back to a 9 to 5 — is all the motivation I need. There may be a day or two where I’m in a writer’s funk, but remembering why I do what I do is all the motivation I need.

Connie Watson
Connie Watson

This is a great site and the information is really appreciated. I do have two questions.

1. I have a domain name and a host already (not HostGator) so unsure how that works. I would switch to HostGator but not sure, at all, how. Is that possible?

2. The next question is regarding WordPress. I have the free version on the other hosting site but I have no idea what I am doing. lol. Is the paid version a bit more user-friendly? Thank you!

1. You can switch, for sure. All you’d have to do is point your nameservers under your current domain settings towards the HostGator nameservers (not super user friendly) or ask HostGator to migrate your domain for you (easier).

2. Hmm, not exactly. The paid version (self-hosted WordPress) definitely has a learning curve, but it’s not so difficult that someone can’t overcome it with a few hours of work/familiarizing yourself with it. You’ll need to learn the basics about installing a theme and installing plugins (Google is great for this), and then the basics of writing and drafting a post! It’s not rocket science, but it’s not super clear at first! Definitely a little learning involved! (We did it, and we were not tech savvy at all when we started our blog, so it can be done.) 🙂

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