The Ultimate Guide On How To Start A Blog In 2021
Even though I have been blogging on and off since 2014 on different platforms, it wasn’t until this year that I decided to fully commit to it and it has completely changed my life. For the better! That’s why I wanted to start a blog properly.
Through this blog, I can pursue one of my true passions that I didn’t know about until a few months ago. I can talk about what I love: manifestation and self-development, and also help people improve their lives.
Blogging allows me to choose my own working hours, create content my own way and share my ideas without following editorial guidelines.
Besides that, one of the most beneficial things about blogging is making money with it, so it’s a win-win. There are a lot of ways you can make money with your own blog but that’s for another post. Just keep in mind you can start as soon as you publish your first post!
I have to admit that there will be challenges when you first start your blog. It can seem quite overwhelming and confusing, but things will become better when you motivate yourself and spend time each day learning something new about blogging.
I’ve had many struggles and roadblocks while building this blog, but I didn’t let those setbacks hold me back. For example, I knew that one of my biggest weaknesses was my lack of technical skills such as coding but I didn’t let that stop me.
That’s why I stuck to microblogging and eventually moved to a free blogging platform (don’t ever do that! you’ll see why later). Luckily, when I found out that you don’t have to know how to code, I started my blog right away!
I felt there was a calling within me. So, what I did was I kept learning and implementing everything I could about what makes a blog profitable, and now I am a blogger earning more than my full-time job income! I still think to myself, “how crazy is that?”
That’s why I’m here to motivate and inspire you to start a blog too! I want to let you know that no matter where you’re from, your background, your education level, or your age, anyone can start a blog and make money online with no experience!
That’s because your readers are here to learn more from your personal experience, to resonate with you, and to learn from you and how you can help them with something.
Starting a blog with Bluehost makes it easy for you to set up your blog without any technical or coding skills required. You’ll see why later in this post.
Creating a blog with WordPress can be intimidating, especially if you’re new to blogging and aren’t a savvy tech. But in this post, I’m going to show you how surprisingly simple it is! You don’t need any special skills or any kind of background.
When you start a blog using this exclusive page here, you’ll save big and get 60% off web hosting and pay as low as $2.95 a month for 36-months (all paid once and upfront). Plus, you’ll get a FREE domain name ($15 value) when you use this page to start your blog and go for at least the 12-month plan. I encourage you to take advantage of this low pricing because I don’t know when their prices will go up.
This is seriously one of the most affordable ways to make money today, and I’m SO glad I started my blog with Bluehost when I was a beginner! This is the web hosting I recommend to all my friends and readers. In fact, they are all happy that they started their blogs with Bluehost too!
*Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a commission. Read my full privacy policy here.“
How To Start A Blog And Make Money
In this step-by-step guide, I’m going to show you everything you need to know about starting your blog and making money with it, how to set up a hosting account with Bluehost, and clear your doubts on how to start a blog with WordPress.
Mind you, this is a very long and informative post on how to start a blog. You don’t want to miss out on this valuable information, so make sure to bookmark this page or save it so you can refer back to it when you’re ready to start your blog!
Step 1: Start A Blog By Choosing a Profitable Niche
The first thing you need to do to start a blog the right way is to determine a profitable blog niche.
In other words, it’s what your blog will be about. Why? Because with a profitable niche you’ll be able to make money. And always keep in mind that readers come to your blog because they want something from you.
Whether it’s a tutorial on how to start a blog like this one or a self-growth guide to get them inspired, they are looking for something that will benefit them. They are not on your blog to read about your personal stories unless it is a story where they can learn something.
Keep in mind a golden rule, people care about you when you provide a solution to a problem. Think about what problem or problems you can help them with and right there you’ll have your blog niche.
Before you choose your blog niche, I recommend choosing a topic you genuinely enjoy talking about that will keep you interested while being able to help or serve your readers.
In other words, don’t fall into the trap of choosing a topic or niche just because you think or see it’s very profitable. Although it may work out, ask yourself if you can really keep writing about something you don’t have a genuine interest in?
You don’t want your blog to feel like a task you need to do like a 9 to 5 job you dislike just solely for money because you’ll eventually get sick of it and won’t enjoy blogging.
How To Choose Your Blog Niche And Decide What To Blog About
When choosing your blog niche, there are five key elements you need to pay attention to. The combination of these points allows you to have an easy time coming up with your blog niche.
Think About What Your Passions Are
What are the topics you could talk about all day long without feeling bored about them? Think about the topics you’ll always love.
For now, don’t worry about them being too many. Make a list of the topics you always talk about with your friends, family, and even the ones you read on.
Take a look at the books you have read and try to find if they are related to each other. This is a good idea to also see how much you’ve learned from a topic and how passionate you are about it.
Keep in mind there are so many things you can blog about! So think out of the box.
Consider The Skills You Have
Think about what you are good at. What do people usually compliment you on? What excites you so much to the point where you are keen on learning that skill?
Perhaps you haven’t noticed it yet but there are always friends who reach out to you for a specific topic. They want your opinion about a situation and also your best advice. And guess what? This is your skill.
Take a moment to identify your skills and see if they are related to your passions because usually, they are.
Research The Market Demand
Do you think your topic is very popular? Is it highly searched for? Do research about the topic you have in mind. Pinterest and Google are great tools because they display a wide range of subtopics related to yours.
Don’t stay with a wide topic, try to narrow it down because that way you’ll stand out easier if your readers see you are focusing on a particular topic.
Then, down the road, you can expand to other things related to your main topic but for now, it’s better to stay with a narrow one but don’t over narrow it.
Make The Reader Your Priority
Don’t forget to put the reader first. You always need to keep the readers in mind by providing value through inspiring or motivating blog posts, solving a problem. And of course, each and every one of your blog posts need to be entertaining.
Think about why you read other blog posts. Sure they may be because you like the blogger and identify with him or her. But deep inside they always provide an answer or solution to a problem.
You probably follow them because you want them to be your inspiration, motivation, or guidance. And this applies to every niche from how to choose an outfit to personal finances.
Think about what you search for in Google or Pinterest. Most of the time you are looking for help by typing a question.
You Don’t Need To Be An Expert To Start A Blog And Make Money!
Being an expert is not required to be considered a skilled blogger. You can use this to your advantage.
One of the best ways of learning is by teaching. Why? Because you can blog about your journey, the tools that help you in the process. And by sharing that, not only you’ll help people with a topic, you’ll also teach them about mistakes to avoid or how to make their learning process easier.
What is valuable is your own unique journey and the lessons you’ve learned because now, you got from point A to point B, which is what your readers want to achieve too.
Even though you won’t see it, to your audience you can be an expert because you are 1 or 2 steps ahead of them. And they will want to learn from you!.
Take Action
Now that you understand the process and the five elements you should focus on, you can choose your blog niche.
Take the time to get all your ideas out of your mind. This is a process that can take up to several hours or even a couple of days. Don’t stress about the time because when you’re done with this, you’ll be glad for how much time you saved in the long term.
Believe me, there are so many different profitable niches for you to choose from. There will be at least one you are interested in blogging about whether you’re an expert, a beginner, or someone who is just learning about it.
You can blog about almost anything as long as you are sincerely interested in that topic. And don’t ever think about whether your blog niche is saturated or high in competition that prevents you from standing out.
You have a unique journey, voice, and life experiences that already make you different from other people in your niche.
People love reading about stories and consuming information. And once you make a connection with them, they will want to hear more from you.
Step 2: Decide Your Blog Name
The next step is to come up with your blog name. A blog name is also known as the domain name. It’s what you type in the browser. Mine is thehautebliss.com.
One of the biggest decisions is coming up with your blog name. At the same time, this holds some people because they can’t decide how to name their blog and actually stop them from pursuing the blogging path.
Brainstorming ideas is really important. Although sometimes picking the best name for your brand new blog can be a difficult task, don’t get discouraged by it. There are a few simple tricks you can use to brainstorm some ideas.
Coming Up With Your Blog Name
The first tip to consider when choosing your blog name is that it has to be simple and easy to remember. Choose words or phrases that are related to what you want to blog about and are simple to think of.
One great way to come up with your possible words is using a thesaurus. Try different words that imply the same thing. This step should be fun and not stressful at all.
Although it is good to be unique to stand out on the Internet, don’t try to be too unique or different by combining two or three words into one. Sometimes simple is the best way to go so just be straightforward and make your blog name easy to remember.
I also recommend going with a .com over .net or .co since it’s more common and looks more authoritative.
The key is to not overthink here because you will drive yourself crazy! Remember that your goal is to create content so you can start making money with it. Just pick something you like, it doesn’t have to be perfect. If you decide later that you really don’t like it, you can always change it.
My Blog Name Story
I chose The Haute Bliss because I wanted a name that truly represented me. Fashion is one of my biggest passions and since I am a fashion designer, journalist, and stylist, I have a love affair with Haute Couture. I love how each garment is made (have you seen any Savoir-Faire video from Chanel?) I wanted to mix this with the purpose of my blog and came up with The Haute Bliss.
The French expression savoir-faire is defined as knowing (savoir) how to do (faire). It means competence, experience, the knowledge of what to do, say, when, and how to do so. While Bliss is a state of complete happiness or joy. Perfect match for what my blog is about since I talk about creating your best life.
Already Have a Blog Name in Mind?
Perhaps you already have a domain in mind and it’s completely fine! Actually, this is great!
If you have decided and are 100 percent confident on your blog name, use the tool down below to search if your blog name is available. If it is, don’t hesitate to start your blog today.
You don’t want to spend another week thinking about other possible names only to realize your name you wanted has already been taken. Don’t make your future self regret the decision of not starting a blog immediately when the name you want is still available.
Use this link to check if your domain is available. It’s an easy-to-use tool so you won’t waste time: https://www.bluehost.com/web-hosting/domaincheck.
Can’t Decide? Don’t Worry, There Is An Alternative Option
If by any means you still haven’t decided on your blog name, don’t worry. Bluehost gives you the option to choose your name later.
That way, you can start building your blog and creating content without having to think about your domain name.
This is a useful alternative because you aren’t stuck in this process and allows you to work on the other steps.
Perhaps you find it difficult to choose between a couple of names and you made sure both are available. One great way to decide is in the process of writing your content. Because you are in a creative state, ideas easily flow and you can make a better decision on your blog name.
Just click below the option on the link that says “I’ll create my domain later”, or if a pop-up shows, click the “Choose Free Domain Later” button. In both cases go-ahead to step #3 to continue the process.
The Perfect Blog Name Isn’t Required To Start A Blog
I know how tough it can be to come up with the perfect blog name. When I decided to blog properly, I was so excited and wanted to come up with the perfect name.
I spent so much unnecessary time overthinking this that now that I look back, I could have started blogging earlier if it wasn’t for overthinking my blog name.
The moment I realized there is no such thing as the perfect blog name, I stopped overthinking and just went with the name I liked the most from the list of possible blog names I had.
Don’t make the same mistake as I did because you will probably delay your blogging journey and regret not doing it earlier.
I also realized if for any reason I don’t like my blog name, I can always change it down the road. Keep this in mind when deciding your blog name.
Remember to not spend so much time in this process. After all, it should be a fun thing to do and not stressful at all.
Step 3: Invest In a Hosting Plan With Bluehost
You are one step closer to having your blog! Having a self-hosted blog is one of the most valuable investments you’ll make in your blogging journey.
Choosing a good hosting provider is the first step to start a successful blog. Let’s say this is the foundation of your blog. After lots of research, I decided to go with Bluehost and I have no regrets.
By going self-hosted I was able not only to have full control of my website, but I was also able to monetize it and make an income as a new blogger right from the start.
Why Start A Blog With Bluehost
Bluehost is one of the most established and well-known hosting brands on the Internet. They host more than 2 million websites all over the world, including WordPress sites. And are excellent for beginners and starting websites because their platform is easy to use and very intuitive.
Click here to sign up for as little as $2.95/month (this deal is only available through this link).
One of the things I like the most about Bluehost is the process that automatically installs WordPress at sign-up. The best part of this is that you can publish your first post minutes after joining! Isn’t that amazing? No tech skills required!
Among other things, you also get:
- Free domain name. This is the name of your website and you usually have to pay for this separately. Already a win-win.
- Free email address. It’s important to have a domain email, it looks more professional compared to a free email account when you reach out to brands and companies to work with.
- Bandwidth is unmetered. This means you don’t have to worry about your blog crashing if it suddenly gets a ton of traffic. You will be charged the same amount whether you get 5 people or 10,000 visitors.
- Extensive library of training videos. If you need help with anything related to Blue just and WordPress, they got you covered. Their videos make it easy for everyone to successfully build a website.
- Full refund if you cancel your account within 30 days of your purchase. Or prorated refund for the remainder of your hosting term if you cancel Bluehost after 30 days.
- 24-hour technical support via chat, ticket, or by phone. I have used their chat support a couple of times and I’m happy with their service. They were very kind and solved any problems and doubts I had.
What About Start A Blog On A Free Platform?
Don’t make the mistake of starting a blog for free. Although I confess I blogged on a free platform (wordpress.com), I did it because, at the time, I saw blogging as a hobby and had no intention of monetizing it.
But if you want to be serious about blogging, DO NOT start a blog for free. There are many reasons why you shouldn’t do this.
One of them is because it’s very difficult to make money on a free blogging platform. After all, you have limited control over it. With your own domain, you have full control of the contents whereas with a free platform you don’t have control of your content and could disappear at any minute.
The look of your blog is very important so templates are crucial to standing out. With a free platform, templates are limited and very basic which will make you look like a novice. Also, they don’t have a lot of customization features.
When it comes to sponsored posts, direct advertising, or guest posts, companies also don’t like to work with blogs that are hosted on free platforms.
It’s best to start blogging on a solid platform to avoid dealing with unnecessary problems in the future. If you have a solid base to build your blog upon (your own domain with good hosting), you are golden!
Getting Started With Bluehost
Now that you are sure you want to start a blog and choose Bluehost as your hosting company, there are a few steps you need to follow to set up your blog easily and effortlessly.
Go to Bluehost through this link and create an account. Click on ‘Get Started’ and you will be taken to the Pricing page. Those pieces are only available through this link.
Choose A Plan
This is where you decide how much you would like to spend on your hosting. Select the 36-month plan, that’s the $2.95-month plan for the best pricing (you’ll save up to 63%).
I know I’ve mentioned this a couple of times already but you must click on my link to get this deal.
There are two more options available. The 24-month plan, which goes for $3.95 per month, and the 12-month plan for $4.95 per month
By using my special link, you’ll get the three hosting plans for an extremely cheap cost. If you’re certain about blogging, I recommend going for the 36-month plan because it offers the best value since it is the lowest price you’ll get for hosting.
The 12-month plan makes a great choice if you want to try out blogging without spending a lot of money upfront. Plus, you still get a free domain name as long as you sign up for the 12-month plan through this link.
If you decide to cancel your account after 12 months, Bluehost will refund you for the 24 months you haven’t used. So no matter how you look at it, the cheaper monthly fee will always be better since you are just starting. Plus you can cancel anytime, and get your money for the unused months back!
Register Your Domain Name
Next, you’ll set up your domain. As I mentioned in step 2, the domain name is the name of your website. Don’t worry about extra charges when registering your domain. With Bluehost, there are no additional charges to this since it’s free as long as you sign up for at least a 12-month plan.
To come up with your blog name AKA your domain name, go back to Step 2. I give a detailed explanation on how to brainstorm ideas for your blog name, search whether your blog name is available or not, what to do if you find your domain name available, some tips you can use if you already have a name, and an alternative idea if you haven’t decided what you blog will be named.
Create An Account
Before starting with your blog, you need to first create your account and fill it with the following information.
Account Information
Fill all the fields with basic information which includes your first and last name, country, address, and other details Bluehost asks for.
Package Information
Here is where you choose the plan you want to go with. I explain the differences between the basic 12, 24, and 36-month plans above.
One thing I like about Bluehost is that depending on where you live, the pricing will be automatically converted based on the current exchange rate to your currency. This feature is only available in Canada, U.K., Australia, or anywhere in Europe, If you reside anywhere else, prices will be in USD
Package Extras
For now, you can uncheck all the other displayed options since you technically don’t need them. If anything I would recommend choosing the Site Backup Pro (it’s always good to have a backup) and the SiteLock Security to prevent hackers and spammers from accessing your blog.
Although Bluehost has its own security service installed and it’s a very strong one so you don’t need SiteLock, it’s always good to double up on security for added safety.
You can also change these options later down the road if you decide you want extra features.
Payment Information
Enter your payment information. If you don’t have a credit card, payment via PayPal is available and it’s free to sign up for a PayPal account.
When you’re done, read the Renewal Terms, Terms of Service, Cancellation Policy, and Privacy Notice to completely understand what you are agreeing with. Once you finish, click submit.
Create A Password
Here you need to choose a password for your account. It’s best to create a brand new password different from your banking or private information.
After you decide on your password, confirm it, log in, and congratulations! You are officially a blogger. Let’s have a glass of rosé wine.
You can now access your Bluehost account which will automatically take you to the WordPress installation process.
Step 4: Install WordPress
Now that you’ve purchased your hosting plan along with your free domain name, the final step before you can start writing content in your blog is to install WordPress.
Another reason why I love Bluehost is that it makes this process extremely easy with their 1-click WordPress Installation button.
Once you’ve clicked it, wait until WordPress is installed. You literally have to do nothing as Bluehost does all the work for you.
After installation is completed, you have two options to choose from, “Star Building” or “Go to my Bluehost account”.
Click on “Start Building”. Next, Bluehost will ask: “What kind of site can we help you set up?” You can choose between “Business” or “Personal.” It doesn’t really matter.
After that, you’ll be redirected to your WordPress dashboard. To easily access, bookmark this link: yourblogname.com/wp-admin.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Bluehost support. They offer 24/7 via email, online live chat, or by phone.
Step 5: Customize Your Blog
Here is where the fun begins. From now on, as a proud owner of your unique blog, you can customize it as you want.
Keep in mind that looks matter so you need to make it look pretty and presentable for your future readers.
Install You Blog Theme
There are many free and paid themes you can choose from. Most of them are easy to install so you won’t need any tech skills. And WordPress makes it even easier for you to add your desired blog theme.
You can go with free themes. There is nothing wrong with using them. In fact, one I really like is the Olsen Light theme.
I discovered it within the WordPress theme browser. You can use it to search for a free theme you like or you can always Google them.
The only difference between free and paid themes is the customization features. Free themes are basic customization while paid ones offer more options.
As for the paid themes, there are plenty of pages like ThemeForest or Creative Market with hundreds of themes suitable for anyone.
While choosing your blog theme, keep in mind you will invest time.
I personally went with 17th Avenue Designs. They are feminine, clean, and have a lot of features that allow me to customize the theme how I like it.
The current one I’m using is the Pippa WordPress Theme. It is a premium theme that includes the Genesis Framework which allows you to customize your blog theme even more.
No matter which theme you use, make sure it looks clean and modern. You can always change it down the road.
To install a theme, in your WordPress dashboard, go to “Appearance” and click “Themes.” Each theme has its own unique installation process so carefully read the instructions provided.
Choose A Color Palette
Making a good impression is a new element when it comes to blogging. That’s why picking the right color scheme is an important task.
The good thing is that most themes already come with a pre-made color palette. But if you want to make your blog even more unique, you can create your own color palette.
If you aren’t a designer or creative, don’t worry. Some websites can help you with the right color scheme for your blog.
The first one is Pinterest. Since Pinterest is an image search engine, it can be easier to look at the colors you want and decide on your favorite one. Some images are a mood board so you have a better look at the actual colors.
There are some pages like Color Hex, Adobe Color, CSS Drive, and Design Seeds that will help you create the color scheme.
No matter how you choose your color palette, keep in mind that no more than five colors are the best way to go. You can choose just two, like black and white. The important thing is to not exaggerate with too many colors since it can look like a total mess.
Step 6: Write The Core Pages
When you start your blog, there are a few pages you need to create before officially launching your blog.
Blog pages are different from blog posts. Posts are what you write about on your blog and share with readers and social platforms and you can update from time to time. Usually, pages don’t change frequently and are timeless. They are usually displayed at the top of your blog menu or at the bottom, depending on the look you wanna go for, but they need to be visible and easy to see.
As a beginner, there are a few pages you must have:
- About Me
- Contact
- Legal policies which are
- Privacy policy
- Disclaimer
- Terms & Conditions
About Me Page
This is where you can talk about yourself. But the purpose of the About Me page is to tell your readers what they can expect from you and your blog.
Use this page to share your story, your mission, what you want to achieve with your blog, why you started a blog, and what it’s all about.
Think of the About Me Page as a quick 1-page bio. What would be the most relevant things you want to tell the readers? This is the time to get real, show your personality, and make readers want to stay on your blog and read more.
It’s okay to add personal things about you but focus on how you can help your readers.
Think about why you read some blog posts or follow other blogs. It’s because you want to know how to solve a problem and because you like the blogger. It’s the same with your blog. You need to help your readers solve a problem and make a connection with them with your story.
Use your story as an anecdote to help your readers and audience who may be going through a similar situation as you. At the same time, be sure to mention how your blog and your experience will help them with the specific problem.
It doesn’t matter which niche you chose. It could be beauty, fashion, lifestyle, money, weight, pets, or personal development. What matters is your personal journey, your experience, and how you can help others who are struggling with the same thing as you.
Can I Blog Anonymously?
Putting your name and face out there can be scary. Perhaps you want to start a blog but aren’t sure about showing your face. It’s understandable and okay.
Blogging doesn’t require having a face and sharing personal information like your real name. In fact, my real name isn’t even Argell, but I like this nickname of mine and decided I want to be known like this.
The same goes for your profile photo. It can be overwhelming to put a picture of yours on the Internet. But the good thing is that you don’t even have to do that to start a blog.
So, can you blog anonymously? Of course, you can!
What makes a blog stand out is the quality of the content. Always keep in mind how you can help your audience in every single post.
So if you want to blog anonymously, fill your about me page with the information you want to share. Maybe you want to display your nickname as I do. Another great option is to describe yourself as a person with the same struggle your audience is. The important thing is to make them feel you resonate with them and how you can help them.
Contact Or Get In Touch
This is one of the most important things you need on your blog. It is where your audience and brands will reach out to you.
Since you just started your blog, your email address will be enough. Provide a simple description of why you want people to contact you.
Make them feel comfortable with asking questions to you or just thanking you for helping them with one of your blog posts.
Work With Me
Alternatively, you can create a whole new page exclusively for collaborations or services you provide. It is up to you.
It doesn’t matter if you want to include this information on your Contact Page. Just make sure you tell brands or potential advertisers how they can reach out to you for collaborations or sponsorships.
Legal Policies
Before diving into the legal policies you need when you start your blog, I want to say I’m not a lawyer. This is what I learned and it is always best to consult a professional if you want to learn about the legalities of blogging.
Legal Policies should be in the right place right when you start your blog you can make sure your blog is legally protected and you are disclosing everything properly, especially when it comes to making money with your blog.
Privacy Policy
A privacy policy is a legal document or statement where you disclose your data processing practices to gather, use and manage other people’s information.
This information could be email addresses, names, payment details like credit card information, phone numbers, personal or business addresses, dates of birth, or locations.
If your blog collects any of the information above from visitors, you need to have this page on your blog because it is required by law in many countries.
It also must include information such as methods of collection used, the reasons for collecting that information, methods of storage and security of the data, and whether third parties have access to them.
In addition, it needs to include how it will meet its legal obligations, and how those sharing their data can seek recourse should your blog fail to meet those responsibilities.
Disclaimer Page
Having a disclaimer on your blog will protect you from lawsuits because it means you are not legally held responsible for anything you write or publish on your website.
Depending on your niche, you will need to have a disclaimer tailored to your needs. It’s not the same having a disclaimer about a financial blog where you can be held liable for any financial damage your reader could have as a health blog where a specific diet could deliver health issues.
With a disclaimer page, you will not be held responsible for any damages a person could have if they follow any of the advice you give but it did not work out for them.
On top of that, having a disclaimer will protect you from issues like having information on your blog that is not up-to-date. Someone could sue you for this and it can happen when you have older content that’s not accurate or updated.
With these in mind, don’t hesitate on adding a disclaimer page right when you start your blog.
Terms & Conditions
A Terms & Conditions page, also known as Terms of Service or Terms of Use, is important because it’s a legal agreement between your blog and your customers.
According to TermsFeed, it is the agreement that includes the terms, the rules and the guidelines of acceptable behavior, and other useful sections to which users must agree to use or access your website. In this case your blog.
Having a Terms and Conditions agreement is completely optional. No laws require you to have one. Not even the super-strict and wide-reaching General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). But it is always best to be legally protected because you don’t know what can happen in the future.
It’s up to you to set the rules and guidelines that visitors must agree to. You can think of your Terms and Conditions agreement as the legal agreement where you maintain your rights in the event users abuse your blog or your products and services.
Other Pages You Can Have
These pages are completely optional and are just ideas. These are not necessary at all because not everyone will have them.
They are usually created once you decide you want to start making money with your blog. But alternatively, you can also display some of them from day one.
The first one is a Resource Page. Here you can display the tools that can help you in your journey. Those can be anything you like from books to gear to virtual things. If you are in an affiliate program, this is a great place to insert some of those links.
A Shop My Favorites Page is usually used by fashion, beauty, and lifestyle bloggers. It is where they display some of their favorite clothes, shoes, accessories, and gear that help them create their looks or the products. Usually, they are displayed by a widget and some of the affiliate networks they use are ShopStyle Collective and RewardStyle.
Products Page is where you can display any of your physical or digital products you sell. They can also be products from different affiliate networks you are on. When working with affiliate companies that are products, just make sure you generally like them. It is not cool to display a bunch of products with the sole purpose of making money. They should be products you like and companies you trust.
The Services Page is where people can sign up for any service you offer. It depends on your niche you blog about and your goals to whether or not offer a service. It is also important to say you are the one who establishes your rate, packages, the type of service, and any discounts. There are no rules when it comes to your services because you are the only one who knows your worth.
The last of it is a Private Group or Community Page. It’s good to start building a community because they are people who trust your advice. Here you can offer more tips that are related to your niche. If you plan to start a private group, it’s important to stay active there. They are your audience and you don’t have bad experiences with them.
How To Create a Page In WordPress
Creating a page is so easy. In your WordPress dashboard go to Pages and click Add New.
There, you can add the title of your page depending on the one you want to create. Then in the big white space, start writing it.
After you finish writing, proofread your page for spelling and grammar mistakes. Add images, links, or whatever you like and hit publish.
Create a Privacy Policy Page in WordPress
WordPress makes it easy to set up a Privacy Policy because there is a pre-made template and you can tweak it based on what your blog is about. This is the free privacy policy template that most beginners use.
To access it, on your WordPress dashboard, go to Pages, All pages and look for the one that says Privacy Policy Page.
Read it carefully and add anything you want. Remember to be super clear. Then hit publish. To make sure you are using this Privacy Policy, go to Settings, Privacy, and make sure the box where it says Change Your Privacy Policy Page displays the Privacy Policy page you wrote before. Hit the Use This Page button.
Use Legal Pages Bundles
Being technical when it comes to legal stuff can be a burden. That’s why you can use bundles from legal bloggers who create pages with all the useful information you want to have in your blog.
One you can use is from Amira from A Self Guru. She’s a lawyer and a blogger and offers a wide range of legal templates for different kinds of blogs.
Another blogger I like is Sam Vander Wielen. She also has a lot of templates and bundles you can choose from.
With any of these templates, you can have all your legal pages right from the start without worrying about them
Step 7: Write Your First Blog Post
This is the moment you have been waiting for! It is time to actually write and publish your very first blog post!!! Aren’t you excited about it? This is the reason why you wanted to start a blog in the first place. To publish content to help others.
Before even drafting your text, you need to first think about what your first blog post could be about. Whatever you choose to write about, please don’t make an introductory post about you or your blog. You already did this on your About Me Page. There is no need to repeat that again.
After you decide what you want your first blog post to be, in your WordPress dashboard go to Posts, Add New to draft your first blog post.
Drafting a blog post can be exhausting so it’s okay if you don’t finish it in one day. Take your time to write what you really want.
Tips For Writing Blog Posts
There are a few tips you can use to write and create better blog posts. In the beginning, it can be a little bit overwhelming but as you write more posts, it becomes easier. Don’t be frustrated if, in the beginning, it takes you a lot of time to write them.
I highly recommend you use headings and subheadings in your blog post to organize the layout. It makes it easier to scan the text and find easier things your visitors want to read. Sometimes reading a whole blog post can be exhausting, so heading and subheading help to find specific items in the post.
You’ll also want to avoid a wall of text. No one wants to read a big chunk of text. It looks unpleasant to the reader’s eye. Breaking your text into short sentences and paragraphs. These will create more white space as this makes it easier for visitors to read.
As you write more blog posts, you want to link them to each other, especially if they are related to the topic. To interlink your blog posts, highlight the blurb or text you want to create a link with and click on the Link Icon when you’re drafting your blog post. Choose the desired URL address and press the arrow next to the link bar. I always choose the option to open the post in another tab so the reader can finish reading the blog post.
You can also redirect them to other blog posts or sources. The whole point of interlinking is to redirect the visitor to more useful information.
Step 8: Have Pretty Images In Every Post
Images are essential in blog posts. They make posts look more appealing to the reader’s eye and help them to not get bored while reading long blog posts like this one. They also help to illustrate something if a blog post is a tutorial like this one too.
There are two ways to have pretty images in your blog posts. The first one is to create them. This can be time-consuming and not every blogger has the time and knowledge to take pictures. If you have the time and want to create unique photos, do it. This will make your blog even more unique.
If you can’t take your own photos, stock images are your way to go. There are two types of stock pictures, free and paid. When using the free ones, you want to make sure they are of the best quality possible so they can display correctly on a big PC, laptop, tablet, and phone.
One downside when choosing free stock images is you can potentially be using the same ones as other bloggers in your niche use. It’s not bad at all but will make search engines, especially Pinterest that is based on visuals, a little harder to stand out.
Some of my favorite free stock photo websites are:
In the beginning, paying for stock photos can be hard. Is a big investment but you have more chances to stand out. There are a lot of websites offering memberships for their stock pictures. The one I’m currently using is Girl Boss Stock. Meghan takes amazing photos and her membership prices are one of the lowest I could find, $29 a month.
On top of offering hundreds of curated collections, she uploads a new collection two times a month and offers other tools for creating beautiful graphics like presents, filters, frames, elements, and videos.
She also has a quarterly membership at $72 a month or $239 a year! No matter what membership you choose, you have instant access and unlimited downloads!
I’m honestly glad I found her. In the future, I will try other premium stock photos, but for now, I can’t recommend Meghan and Girl Boss Stock enough.
Step 9: Publish Your First Blog Post
This is the very last step to having your first blog post live. After you have written your text and added the photos you like, there are a few last steps to go through before hitting publish.
The first one is proofreading your text. Make sure there aren’t any grammar and spelling mistakes. There are a lot of tools but my favorite one is Grammarly.
I’ve been using Grammarly since I had my free blog. Grammarly not only checks for grammar and spelling mistakes, but its assistant also checks for plagiarism and makes suggestions for having a more engaged text according to the goals I want.
Once your text is proofread with Grammarly, it’s time to add your blog post into a category. In the left sidebar go to Post and scroll down to Category. Click Add new and name your new category. Do the same with tags.
The last thing you want to do is choosing a featured image for your blog posts. Depending on your theme, the featured image needs to have specific dimensions. Check your theme’s guide and adjust the photo you want to use to those dimensions. Upload it and add it.
Take one final look at your blog post. I like having a preview of the post. That way I can see if everything is how I wanted to be. If you are happy with the way your blog post is, it’s time to hit publish! Congratulations, your first blog post is live!!!
Now comes the promotion of it.
Step 10: Promote Your Blog Post
The very last step you need to do to start a blog is promoting them on social media channels.
Some bloggers advise you to wait until you have 5, 10, or even 25 blog posts written to promote them. I don’t think it is necessary to do that. Besides if you start right now, you’ll comprehend faster all about promoting blog posts.
The sooner you build traffic the better it is for you and your monetization options.
There are a lot of strategies you can use for promoting blog posts. There isn’t one specific way to do it. Depending on which social media platform you use, your strategy will be different. It’s not the same Twitter as Instagram. One of my favorite ways to promote my blog posts is Pinterest.
I found this course on how to build traffic from Pinterest.I t’s one of the best investments I’ve made so far. Ell Duclos explains everything so smoothly and is constantly updating her course depending on the algorithm changes.
On Instagram, I have a different strategy. On Twitter, it’s the same. I can’t compare one platform to another because they are different and have different purposes.
You don’t need to be on all platforms. It may be thought to manage all those accounts and strategies by yourself. If anything, I’ll go with Pinterest for at least six months and then go to another platform for traffic.
Wow. We made it to the end of this in-depth tutorial on how to start a blog! I truly believe this is the best guide for you.
When I was starting, I wanted a guide that explained all about how to start a blog. Instead, I read a ton of them. That’s why I took the time to write this long guide. I want you to come back to one place where you know you can find all the information you need to start a blog right now.
I hope you found this in-depth guide helpful on how to start your blog. If you have just made up your mind about blogging, don’t waste more time! Go ahead and start the blog you’ve always wanted!
I would love to read your comments or any questions you have regarding how to start a blog. I’m more than happy to help and will answer your questions!
Happy blogging!
Also, see:
+ What Is True Beauty? Discover Why Being Beautiful Isn’t About Good Looks
+ January 2021 Goals To An Awesome Year
+ What Is Manifestation And How To Attract Anything You Want?