How To Start a Blog: A Comprehensive Guide

Haven’t figured out how to start a blog yet? We’ve got your back!

With the steady rise of social media and influencer culture, there is no better time than now to start sharing your thoughts and opinions on your personal blog. These days, you can blog about anything and everything; the sky is the literal limit!

Should you jump on the bandwagon, there are several benefits to gain from blogging. That said, your level of success would depend on why you’re blogging and what you’re blogging about.

Still, no matter your reasons and regardless of what you write about, it’s essential to blog correctly. Here we’ll walk you through each step in the blogging process, so you can learn to create a blog quickly and easily.

8 Reasons To Start a Blog

A common misconception about blogging is that you need excellent writing skills to be successful. While mastery of the written word certainly helps, it won’t be the be-all-end-all of your blogging dreams.

People visit blog sites to get a personal account of things, so writing in an informal and conversational style is common.

This flexible format allows many successful bloggers to tackle various subject matters on the same blog. Also, bloggers don’t have to be experts on any topics to make their entire blog a hit.

Your target audience wants to read about your personal experience and not some boring technical write-up about the specific topic. The key ingredient for being a successful blogger is passion.

Essentially, blogging is about sharing your thoughts with the world. When you write about things you are passionate about, starting a successful blog becomes a lot easier.

As long as you blog about topics that hold your genuine interest, your obvious passion should draw in and keep the interest of your audiences.

So, why should you venture into blogging? Here are a few good reasons we could think of:

1. Inspire

There are few things more satisfying than inspiring people with your words. When your blogs impact your audiences positively, you become even more passionate about writing them.

Eventually, you start to generate influence over these people who look to you for advice, insights, and other things.

There are all kinds of ways to inspire your readers. You can:

Help make their lives better
Give them something meaningful to look forward to
Create something meaningful and beautiful

Your blog has the power to achieve this, so blog wisely.

2. Improve Writing Skills

What better way to improve your prowess in the written word than by writing on a regular basis?

Sure, it may feel awkward and even a bit alien at first, but you should notice it getting easier as you get into the swing of things. Your words will start to flow effortlessly and with better efficiency, and you eventually develop a writing style that’s unique to you.

Writing more frequently makes you aware of the things people typically respond to. This builds your creativity, helping you write about topics that people love reading about.

You then get a larger audience because of it.

3. Learn New Skills

You may have started writing for fun, but it won’t be long before you realize blogging can open even more doors for you skills-wise. If you become fortunate enough to turn blogging into a full-time career, you stand to learn a lot of new skills and abilities.

Here are some incredibly helpful skills you can pick up along your blogging journey:

Social media marketing
Content management
SEO best practices
Writing for various audiences
Web hosting

Note that it’s not just in the building and managing of the blog that you learn new things. Blogging about different kinds of content also builds your knowledge, eventually helping you write like an expert in various fields of interest.

The more of an authority you become about a subject, the more people will actually start taking you seriously and listening to you.

4. Build Online Brand

You become more of an authority about a topic the more you blog about it. This high level of expertise in your niche topic allows you to build an online brand.

When you write blogs that are of actual value to readers, you become recognized in the online community. Audiences will be flocking to your site. Your wisdom will be increasingly sought after.

Building your brand is the springboard you need to transform your blog into an income-generating tool.

5. Face Fears

For many, blogging can be an effective way to break out of their shell.

If you’re someone who finds it challenging to make their thoughts and feelings heard, blogging offers a platform you can shout from. Writing about your passions helps overcome feelings of inadequacy and impostor syndrome.

There’s something cathartic about making your fears known to the world. It’s freeing and lets you work through challenging emotions effectively.

In recent years, blogging has become an effective outlet for people struggling with mental health issues. This tells you that starting a blog doesn’t always come with meticulous planning; it can be a spur of a moment that occurs in your search for emotional relief.

6. Generate Income

Many aspiring bloggers probably want to know how to start a blog and make money online.

Earning a living through your blog is the goal, and many have done it successfully. While it’s not easy, there’s more than enough proof that it can be done.

Those who’ve achieved success as bloggers have been at it for years. Through those years, they’ve tested, experimented, and experienced their fair share of failures.

This experience has made them aware of the ins and outs of the industry. They’ve worked long and hard to be where they are today.

For blogging to translate to steady cash, you must first choose a profitable niche. Some niches are easier to generate income from than others.

That said, to sell products and services through a blog, you must build a blog audience targeting those who are most likely to avail of your offerings.

Whatever path you choose, get ready to put in the work and long hours for it.

7. Meet New People

There’s no denying that creating a blog introduces you to a whole community of new people. For every blog niche a writer ventures into, a lively community awaits.

What’s great about this is you have the opportunity to meet new, like-minded individuals. They’ll be easier to make friends with since you share the same interests.

Moreover, these blogging communities are not only welcoming but most never hesitate to lend a helping hand to new bloggers.

Not to mention, some meetups and events take place in different communities:

WordCamps are held across the globe for the many WordPress enthusiasts.
Photography walks and meetups held by Unsplash.
Regular craft retreats held by craft blogging groups.
Meetups and conferences of parent bloggers.

Regardless of your blog niche, there’ll be a blogging community of vibrant individuals ready to welcome you with open arms.

8. Land Dream Job

Few pursue blogging thinking it would become or lead to their dream job. However, it has been proven time and again that blogging holds the power to shape and reshape your career.

Blogging can be the stepping stone that changes your working life for the better. It can open countless lucrative doors for you, including but not limited to: content management, social media marketing, graphics design, and coding.

Blogging could just be the beginning of your journey, so hold on tight and see where it takes you!

6 Easy Steps To Start a Blog

Blogs are websites that focus specifically on written content known as blog posts. Pop culture often provides news on various industries, including entertainment, sports, and science, in the form of blogs.

However, you’ll soon find out that there are literally tons of other things to explore within and outside of these general topics.

When we say you can blog about anything under the sun, we mean it.

Many bloggers write from a personal perspective to be more relatable to their readers. Blogs also often have a comments section where visitors can share their thoughts on the particular matter being written about. This interactive scenario further builds trust between the author and their readers.

Earning the trust and loyalty of your audiences is what opens the door to money-making. The internet is currently going through a growth explosion, and there are more people online than ever.

Think of what starting a blog in this space could potentially do for you. Or, rather, don’t think; just blog and the steps below should make it easier.

Step 1: Pick a Name for Your Blog

It may take a while to come up with a name for your blog site or know what topic to write about, especially if this was a spontaneous decision. That’s perfectly alright. This isn’t a race, and you can take all the time you need to figure out your writing passions.

Once you get an idea for a name, make sure it hasn’t been registered by anyone else. Also, remember that custom domain names shouldn’t contain any punctuations or spaces.

In case the name you’ve come up with already has an owner, you may want to consider doing any of the following to resolve the issue:

Use Another Domain Extension: For instance, try the dot-net or dot-org version of the name instead of the dot-com and see if it’s viable.
Add Short Words: You can add words like “the” or “my” to the name so it won’t have the exact name of the registered blog. For example, you can use MyBlogSite.com or TheBlogSite.com instead of just BlogSite.com. Of course, you should be able to come up with a better name than that.
Add Dashes: If you’re fixed on a name already taken, adding a dash between words could give you a chance to use it. For instance, anita-james.com.

What about if the right name hasn’t come to you yet? Can you start writing your blog?

Yes, you can. And should you be having trouble figuring out what to write, here are some excellent first blog topics to consider:

Life Experiences

You can write about the times in your life that taught you some valuable lessons. Sharing what you went through could be helpful to those going through similar situations.

Personal Blog

Write content that’s all about you. It can include everything, from random thoughts and musings to the mundanes of daily life. As mentioned previously, blogs can start as an outlet for thoughts and emotions you have trouble communicating, and develop from there.

Hobbies and Passions

Don’t let the fact that there could literally be hundreds of thousands around the world writing about your hobbies and passions keep you from sharing your take on them. Audiences may want to listen to you.

It could be your personal account about these blog niche topics that draws them in and keeps their interest. And if your hobbies are a bit more on the obscure side, don’t count out success just yet. Remember, you have a worldwide audience!

Lastly, make sure your blog name is descriptive so that visitors will know immediately what awaits them on your blog site.

Step 2: Get Your Blog Up and Running

Congrats on coming up with an excellent name for your blog! Now it’s time to get it online.

Don’t worry; that’s not as technical or difficult as it sounds. Just follow the tips below to make the process easy.

Generally, you need two things to get your blog online: web or blog hosting and blogging software. Fortunately, these two frequently come in a package.

A blog host is the company that stores blog files and sends them to the user when they enter your blog name. You must have one to get your blog up and running.

The software for building your blog is also necessary. In this ultimate guide, we recommend setting up your blog using WordPress, one of the most popular blogging software for its customizability and ease of use.

As for the web host, a good choice would be Bluehost because it:

lets you register your domain name for free and ensures no one else gets it.
has a 30-day money-back guarantee in case you aren’t happy with their services.
has been offering reliable web hosting recommended by WordPress since the mid-2000s.
has 24/7 customer service via web chat or phone.

Basically, everything you need to know about building your blog using Bluehost and WordPress is right here. Check it out!

Step 3: Personalize Your Blog

Your blog site has to have you written all over it.

There should be cohesion between all the elements that make up your website.

The great thing about blogging platforms like WordPress is they make it easy for users to make any changes to their blogs.

Each of us has a different idea of how our blog should look. Using WordPress, you can alter your site’s entire layout with a few simple clicks.

Layouts are labeled as “themes” in WordPress, and they control the entire design of your blog. You can change your blog themes by clicking on the “appearance” tab on the left side of the screen.

You will notice numerous free WordPress themes are already installed. These are clean, well-designed themes that should work for all blog types. In fact, many successful bloggers worldwide continue to take advantage of these themes. And why not? They’re affordable, and they work!

If you have a very specific layout in mind, a good theme to start with would be the “Twenty Sixteen” theme. You can apply this or any other theme by simply hovering over the theme and clicking “activate.” Now you’ve changed the design completely with a single click.

In case none of the installed themes are to your liking, there are thousands more to choose from. To install a new theme, click on the left menu’s appearance tab and select “add new theme.”

Since there are literally thousands of themes to browse through, we suggest clicking on the “popular” tab to limit your options to the best ones. Then, click on “install” when you find a premium theme that you like. Once it’s activated, check your blog to see how well the chosen theme delivers.

One of the simplest yet most effective ways to customize your blog is by changing the theme. That said, you can personalize your blog in other ways, too.

Step 4: Do Some Actual Blogging

Now that your site is up and running, the next logical step is to do actual blogging. Let’s start creating your first blog entry.

Click on “posts” on the left menu. You should see an existing post there, which is a “default” post that will be of no use to you. Delete the post by clicking the “trash” button just under it.

You will be creating a new post, so select “add new” under “posts.” This will take you to the editor screen where the next steps would be to enter the blog post title on the top box and begin writing on the lower box.

In case you want your post to have an accompanying image, click on “add image” and “upload” to upload a photo from your PC. Adjust the photo’s size on the next screen and click “insert post” once you’re ready to add it.

Once you’re done writing, click the “publish” button on the screen’s top right side to publish the post.

What kind of content should be on your blog?

Generally, there should be two types of content on your blog: static and dynamic.

Static

Static content is content that doesn’t change or at least rarely does. Generally, they can be found on the few pages of the website designed explicitly to provide readers information about the blogger and his topics of interest.

These pages include the “About Us (Me)” and “Contact Us (Me)” pages. The former should present a biographical summary of the author and a mission and vision statement, while the latter may contain the author’s physical address, custom email, and phone number.

A simple contact form may also suffice if the author wishes to keep personal information private. A contact page is necessary because it provides visitors with a means to reach the author, which, in turn, reassures them that you’re a real person.

Then, we have other static pages that are equally as important but not often as thought of:

Terms of good service: If your blog also operates as an online store, having a Terms of Service page should reduce your potential liability.
Privacy policy: If your site collects data on visitors, you need to have a privacy policy page that provides information on how exactly data collection is done, how data is used, and whether you are sharing the data or not. In case you are using Google Analytics or Google Adsense, these should be indicated on the “privacy policy” page.
Disclaimer page: In case you plan on using your blog to generate income, you must explain your ways of monetization. According to the FTC, this page should never be overlooked.

These mandatory static pages are often linked to in a blog’s footer menu. At the very least, they should be visible and accessible from the landing page.

Depending on the type of blogs you write and your business, you may need to present other static pages. Other common static pages include advertising pages for soliciting paid advertisements, resource pages for directing audiences to the top links within your niche market, donations pages, and pages for content contributors.

tips on how to start a blog for yourself

Dynamic

Now we move on to dynamic content. This is obviously the most important content on your site, as it is your blogs’ actual content.

This is where the author infuses the blog with their brand of informative content to supply the audience with useful tips, insights, opinions, or stories. This is how to keep visitors engaged and wanting more.

You should publish blog content regularly at specific intervals. Weekly as opposed to monthly is advised; otherwise, you will never be able to build a following.

Weekly posting drives traffic to your site and helps build your brand.

How do you write quality blog content?

When you start blogging, keep these three descriptions in mind: informative, lengthy (but not too lengthy), and engaging.

Regularly coming up with blog post ideas is not always easy, so you can mix up the tones now and then, and even write about various subject matters to keep things interesting. That said, the following elements are what each writer should strive to integrate into their content:

Clearness

The post’s title should stimulate visitors’ curiosity and encourage them to click on the article. Upon reading the first paragraph, readers should already have a clear idea of the topic, which should draw them into reading even further.

Length

The longer and more detailed your article is, the better. That said, long walls of texts don’t usually encourage further reading; instead, it could have your visitors clicking “exit” faster than they entered.

Tidbits of info are the way to go. Short paragraphs tend to look more attractive and typically encourage visitors to read on. A lengthy blog that uses headings and subheadings, images, charts, and bullet points let readers find exactly what they’re looking for without fuss and bother.

Engagement

A call-to-action at the end of each post is an effective strategy for engaging readers. Whether it’s asking a meaningful question, encouraging them to leave behind a comment, or directing them to your “offerings” page, there are a ton of ways to create an interactive scenario for your audiences.

Originality

Your content should be your own and not anybody else’s. You will be doing yourself and your audiences a great injustice by plagiarizing another author’s work. Not to mention, you could get called out on it and have to face the consequences.

You’re welcome to get ideas from experts in your field, but your actual written content should come from within you.

Proper Editing

Sufficient editing presents you as a professional to the world. Nothing screams amateur like a minor typo and grammatical errors.

Step 5: Promote Your Blog

An eye-catching blog site and quality written content are just the beginning.

To draw traffic to your site, you must spend time promoting it. This is especially important when you first start.

Here are a few helpful strategies for making your blogs visible to a wider audience. You don’t need to implement all these methods—just the few that suit your needs.

Keep Your Inner Circle in the Loop

Who else is going to support you unconditionally? Your loved ones know how much this blogging venture means to you and would not think twice about becoming followers, mentioning your blog on their posts, and congratulating you on a successful launch.

Take Advantage of Social Media

While it’s never a good idea to rely on social media too much, you still want to build a following on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and the other usual suspects.

Whenever you post a new entry on your account, include the link to your latest blog post and other sources that could be of interest to your readers. Also, don’t forget to engage with your followers using hashtags.

The great thing about posting links to your articles on social media is that it allows accounts other than your friends to see the links. This should effectively boost traffic to your site.

And when your content is consistently high quality? This could be a huge chance for your blog to go viral.

Comment on Other Blogs

Every topic you write has an entire community talking about it. A good number of those are bloggers waiting for you to leave constructive and enlightening comments about their write-ups.

Introduce yourself to these like-minded individuals. Many will surely allow you to leave the link to your blog in the comments section.

Once you establish relationships with these people, it shouldn’t be long before you find yourself within their ranks.

Interact With Visitors

Those who ask questions or leave comments on your post shouldn’t be ignored. Talk to them; interact with them!

Even if it’s just to like their comment or affirm their beliefs, it matters. Your audiences will feel they’re important to you and will be encouraged to return and support you even more.

Team up With Other Bloggers

A collaboration between other bloggers in your community could be exactly what your blog needs to take off. Partnering with other authors could mean writing guest blog posts, reviewing their products and services, and interacting on a regular basis through social media or the comments section.

Create an email List

Attracting new visitors to your site is one thing; getting them to come back regularly is another. This is where email marketing plays a major impact.

When you collect the email addresses of your visitors (with their permission), you should be able to notify them of new content and other updates. This not only helps keep people coming back to your site, but it also allows you to strengthen your relationship with them.

Step 6: Use Your Blog To Make Money

After putting in the effort to create awesome blog content and promoting your site, now comes the easier part: making money.

Blogging has the potential to be lucrative when done right, but don’t expect to be making big bucks from it in the first few weeks. The earliest you may start to see a steady stream of passive income is within the first six months to one year.

Consistently writing quality, relevant blogs takes hard work and dedication, but you should be able to utilize several effective methods for monetization once you build a large enough blog audience. These include:

Selling affiliate products
Selling digital downloads
Selling products and services
Selling memberships

Enjoy the Journey!

You’ve been putting it off for some time now; it’s now or never!

Blogging is easier than it looks, especially with all the tools and valuable pieces of info made available to aspiring bloggers in this day and age. What’s more, it can offer a fun way to express yourself, which will surely provide a huge growth experience for you in the coming months.

No matter where the journey takes you, never forget to enjoy.

Blogging FAQs

What else are you interested in learning about blogging? Perhaps these answers to some of the web’s most common questions might help.

1. How do you start a blog for free?

The good news for many aspiring bloggers is that you can start a blog from scratch and for free using WordPress. That said, you have to pay for hosting, as outlined in the step-by-step guide above.

You may also avail of other free “non-specialist” services like Blogger and Tumblr that allow you to set up your blog on these platforms. A word of caution when posting on these sites, though: you may not own your content since it’s on another’s website.

2. How often should I blog?

If your goal is to eventually generate a steady stream of full-time income from your blog, blog as often as you can—at least weekly. If you’re blogging for personal reasons, you don’t have to go at it as strongly.

However, if you seek to belong within the upper ranks in your field and build a large following, there is no other option but to blog weekly.

That said, frequency shouldn’t come at the expense of quality. Not every post has to be 2000 words, but all of them should be detailed, informative, and of value to your readers.

While this is far from easy to accomplish, sticking to a regular blogging schedule should make it easier.

3. How do I make money from blogging?

Bloggers can make a decent income from blogging alone. Some may even earn up to hundreds of thousands of dollars from it.

While becoming a high-earning blogger isn’t easy, it certainly isn’t impossible. Like any business, blogging requires plenty of time, hard work, and, quite frankly, a bit of luck to be successful.

A newbie blogger could give up on the venture completely after the first few months. That could be because they expected the cash to come sooner, and it usually doesn’t without the immediate following of a celebrity.

That “influencer” status will come if you’re willing to wait and work for it.

If you want to know how to start a blog and make money, remember these two words: passion and perseverance.

4. What should my first blog post be about?

Grand is not the way to go with your first blog post. A vapid, egotistical entry won’t endear the right people to you.

Instead, aim for a grounded introduction to your blog. It could be something as simple as an activity that interested you on that particular day.

5. How do I introduce myself in a blog?

Every blog post doesn’t need to include an autobiographical summary of the author’s life.

That content deserves its own special place in the “About Us (Me)” section. It’s also a must-have content because your readers or potential readers need to be able to learn more about you—your life, your writing passions, the projects you’re working on, and more.

6. What are some popular blog topics?

While you can write about anything under the sun, it’s best to blog about topics that compel you. Here are some topics both bloggers and readers are likely to find interesting: