How to Start a Blog: 6 Easy Steps and a Checklist
So you want to start a blog? Here are six easy steps to get you going.
1. Pick a Niche
What are you going to blog about? Choose something that you are passionate about and will love writing about. The narrower you can make your niche, the better. Instead of making a broad travel blog, try to narrow it down and make it more specific. Many successful travel bloggers focus on a specific area or a specific type of travel. There are lots of options, but make sure it’s something that you love to write about.
2. Choose a Domain Name
Once you decide on a name for your blog, check to see if it’s available. You’ll want to check on google, but also on instagram, pinterest, twitter and whatever other social platforms you will be using (even if you don’t plan to start them all at the beginning, create an account to secure the name). Depending on which hosting company you go with (Bluehost offers it for free), you may have to purchase this separately. Namecheap and GoDaddy are a few of the places you can do this.
3. Choose a Hosting Plan
There are free sites that you can start with on WordPress.com but you will be limited to what you can do with your blog. If you’re just writing for yourself, that’s ok, but if you plan to monetize your blog down the road, you will need to choose a hosting plan.
Bluehost is one that most bloggers start with. They offer a free domain name (see step #2) for the first year. They’re also one of the more cost-friendly hosting plans, starting at $3.95/month (the basic plan is great to start with). Others to consider are Siteground and Dreamhost.
4. Decide on a Theme
After you have a hosting platform, install wordpress and then you need to choose a theme. There are so many to choose from, so it all depends on what you want your blog to look like. Start with a free theme and once you get familiar with wordpress and have an idea of what you want to add to your blog, then you can upgrade to the premium themes. Astra is a popular, all-round theme that many bloggers start with, and what we are currently using on this site.
5. Start Writing
Now the fun part! Start writing and get your blog out there! Try to aim for one post a week, but don’t rush to put out a post if it’s not ready. Quality counts over quantity!
6. Promote Your Blog
Get active on Pinterest once you have a few posts written. Pinterest marketing and SEO are a bit more complex than it seems, but there are courses out there like this one that will help you become a Pinterest Pro.
Join some Facebook Groups for sharing your content, and gain advice from others
Take some courses: Courses aren’t always expensive! There’s some great free courses out there, as well as some that are a bit more in depth, but they do cost a bit. For a list of courses, from a free new blogger course, legal courses and a 10K Traffic Challenge, check out the Blogging Resources page on our site.
And now you’ve got a website! Happy blogging!
