About ten years ago I googled How to Start a Blog and it became the turning point in my life. Sound dramatic? Well the change it made in my life is nothing short of a blessing. Learning to start a blog was just the beginning, but once I learned how to make money blogging, our lives were changed. Our family went from barely being able to make ends meet to being able to support my entire family from blogging. Because we can run the blog from anywhere in the world, we can travel when we want, and have a flexible schedule that allows us to live the life of our dreams.

Why am I telling you this? Because anyone can do it. You can do it. Yes, YOU.

Although it took me over two years to make a good, full time income – today it’s easier than ever. With ad networks, affiliate programs, companies who want to sponsor blog posts…. the potential for earning six figures is completely realistic. Literally the only thing you need is a laptop and a wifi connection. Once your blog is set up, you’re off and running bravely into the direction of your dreams.

When I started my blog we could barely keep the lights on. We were so far in debt that we couldn’t breathe and were just barely scraping by. Today I’m a full time blogger, my husband no longer goes to a job he hates every day, we travel all over the country as much as we want, whenever we want, and have a life I could never have dreamed of. I’m not telling you this to brag about my “awesome life” – but to tell you that if you’re struggling, then I understand. Because I’ve been there. I’ve sooooo been there. But today our lives (and our children’s lives) have been changed forever because of the power of blogging.

No matter what you’re into – there are millions of others who are looking for the knowledge you have, right now! People who want to learn from someone who’s been through what they have – someone they can relate to – someone that can entertain them – someone they connect with.

And as a blogger…. that’s what you’re doing. You’re not a robot typing lines to just feed knowledge. As a blogger, we want to build communities of people who are passionate about the same things we are. We want to make an impact on someone’s life…. even in the tiniest of ways!

Before we get into how to start a blog on WordPress, let’s go through a few commonly asked questions first to see if blogging is right for you.

WHO SHOULD START A BLOG

This is a question a lot of people ask themselves. I started my lifestyle blog (The Shabby Creek Cottage) on a whim as a scrapbook of sorts to keep up with the changes of remodeling our childhood home. I had no idea that it would turn into a business – one that would change the course of our lives.

As humans, we typically have a lot to say about life. And also, you have unique knowledge & experiences & you’ve figured something out, somewhere that will help people on some level. So, in my opinion, anyone that wants to share their gifts with the world should have a blog. Maybe you’re an amazing singer… maybe you can rock a hoola hoop like nobody’s business. No matter what your gift is in life, you should be sharing it with the world.

Besides just sharing your gifts, you can monetize your blog in a million different ways that will help you to grow your income while growing your influence. Imagine you were doing what you LOVE doing every day anyway, but then getting paid for it?!? Wouldn’t that be a dream? Well that’s exactly how blogging works.

WHY YOU NEED TO START A BLOG

No matter what social media outlet you look at, you’ll always find people who have massive followings. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, YouTube…. the list could go on and on and on. And, unfortunately, many of them just don’t see the value in building their own blog because their audience is right there in front of them.

But what if that social media goes away? They stand to lose their entire audience in one fail swoop – and if they’ve built that following into a money-making platform, their goes their entire business. Don’t think it can happen? Then think again. It happened to MySpace several years ago, and even just a couple of years ago it happened to the highly-active Vine app. Periscope isn’t even as popular as it once was. While, yes, you do need social media, it shouldn’t be the core of your business. And yes, a blog that makes money IS a business.

Additionally, if you have any sort of social media following now…. you need somewhere to direct them so you’re not depending on an algorithm that may — or may not — show your posts to your audience. If you’re depending on another site to make you money, you have to realize that those sites are in it for themselves. So they have very little interest in your success. Your job is to position yourself in an area where YOU have all the control. And you can’t do that on any site you don’t own.

TIPS FOR STARTING A BLOG

There’s really only a couple of things you need to really consider: “Who are you trying to help with your blog?” and “How can you bring value to your readers?” While things like your URL are important, first you should deeply consider who you want to help in the world. If you want to help women who want to learn how to dress better and stress less, then you need to come up with 10-15 ideas for blog posts that will help them in their quest to do so.

Once you’ve figured out who you want to help and how, then you can start to build your brand around that information. So if you’re aiming for a 32 year old mom with two kids, think about what colors she’d like and would be drawn to. This will help you figure out things like branding and creating a logo. Also when you choose your URL, make sure you choose one that people will understand what the site is about with a glance. If your blog is called “The Classy Closet” then you know that the blog is about fashion, etc.

Even before you get started, know that overwhelm is a real struggle with a LOT of bloggers. There’s a million things to learn – and no one knows it all. But you need to figure out chunks at a time, starting where you can have the most control while making the most impact.

Start by learning to properly write a blog post (I’ve covered that in THIS POST). After you have that figured out, then you need to learn how to start an email list and use it for your blog. It’s the most consistent place to promote yourself, and other than your blog it is the only thing you have 100% control over.

And third, I highly suggest you learn how to make money blogging. Because blogging can be a reallllly lucrative career – and the faster you learn how to turn it into a business, the better off you’ll be.

*this post contains affiliate links*

NOW THAT YOU’VE DECIDED THAT YOU’RE READY… you have a big choice to make…

So when you start learning how to start a blog, you have to choose one of two paths…..

Blogspot OR WordPress

If you want to learn how to start a blog that will make money, then I always go with WordPress – hands down. Why?

There’s a lot more flexibility in WordPress, along with tons of options just not available on Blogspot.
Every highly successful blogger I know uses WordPress – and if you start on Blogspot (and want to actually grow your business) you’ll want to move eventually. – PS – even NASA uses a WordPress platform for their site. So if it’s good enough for NASA, it works for me.
Most brands who work with bloggers prefer WordPress blogs because they are so much more professional and it means you’re taking blogging seriously. Why not start off on the right path from the beginning?

How much will it cost to start a blog?

The investment is pretty minimal – you can run a blog with BlueHost for about $50 a year, complete with a domain name. So for less that it costs for two people to go out to dinner, you can start your own blogging business in less than 15 minutes. There are things you’ll need to purchase as you grow, but you can totally start they whole shebang for under $50.

Almost any business will cost money to get started – but a blog is one of the cheapest businesses you can start. Once upon a time you needed a fancy camera and all sorts of things to use to create content. These days, however, people have amazing cameras right in their pockets! Even though I have tons of great equipment, I take the vast majority of my photos these days with my iPhone – so there’s really no reason to buy a big, fancy camera until you just can’t work from your phone any more.

On top of that, all you really need is a laptop & wifi. Seriously, that’s it. And you probably already have the phone, laptop and Wifi. So you’re literally only $50 and 15 minutes from starting a business that you can run anywhere in the world and make six figures in less than a year of work if you do the right things to make it happen.

Ready to learn how to start a blog on WordPress?

Then let’s get started! We’re going to walk through it on BlueHost.

STEP ONE: Find a host. If you’re just starting out I recommend BlueHost. It’s easy to use and will walk you through the process step by step. And if you make a mistake, it’s ok. They offer 24/7 support that helps you out (I got in a jam myself, so I had to call and found them incredibly helpful!)

STEP TWO: Choose a plan. Bluehost starts at $3.95 a month, which is perfect for a beginner. It will set you up on a shared server, you get a free domain name and you get a free domain-served email address. (PS – that alone can be over $300 a year on other services.)

STEP THREE: Pick your domain name. You get a free domain name when you sign up with Bluehost, or if you’ve already purchased you can use a domain you already own. TIP – when choosing a name, think things through. If you’re doing a craft blog, try to have craft in the URL – same for recipes, DIY, sewing, etc. Your domain name is pretty important, so think it through. I wanted a landing page for my own name, which is why I went that direction.

STEP FOUR: Create an account on Bluehost. Not only will this create an account so you can purchase, but it will also be your info for your dashboard. Next, follow through with all the payment info (after you’ve read the fine print, of course!)

STEP FIVE: Submit your payment information (make sure you read the terms & policies!)

STEP SIX: Set up your account password. Be sure to jot it down where you can remember it!

STEP SEVEN: Log into your dashboard. After you get into your Bluehost Dashboard, you’ll be able to go in and add in WordPress. Look under the WEBSITE tab and click on INSTALL WORDPRESS.

STEP EIGHT: Install WordPress. You can let Bluehost do it for you (for a reasonable fee) or you can do it yourself. Let’s go with free.

STEP NINE: Choose the domain to install it to. Usually it pops up the correct one, but be sure to verify that it’s right. If not, select the correct one in the drop down box. You’ll set up your password, etc. Then check your email to check for details. Click CHECK DOMAIN, then it will give you the option to install. After you click that and it is finished, then you’re going to need to go over to your admin panel of your blog.

STEP TEN: Log into your WordPress dashboard. You can find it at YOURBLOGURL.com/wp-admin.

STEP ELEVEN: Choose your theme. You can choose a paid theme when you’re installing through Bluehost (there’s tons of great options!) or you can use a free theme. You can tweak things as much or as little as you’d like.

STEP TWELVE: Start your site! Once you’ve got your theme installed, you’re ready to start putting content onto your site.

STEP THIRTEEN: Start to set up your site. You’ll go through a series of questions to help guide you on where to go.

STEP FOURTEEN: Get ready to launch! This is the exciting part… because this is where your blog will actually become LIVE! So click on “launch”…

STEP FIFTEEN: Give your site a title (this blog would be GINA LUKER) and description (mine is “all about the business of blogging.”)

Then you’re ready to write! See – it’s really easy when you know how to start a blog. This whole process takes less than 15 minutes from start to finish. If you need more help, you can always log into your account on Bluehost & find helpful links + more.

By the way…. congratulations! You now own a piece of the internet and you’ve taken the biggest step towards creating the blogging biz of your dreams! It can be done – and has been done by hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of bloggers out there who are crushing it every day and making their dreams a reality.

Now that you know how to start a blog, let me show you how to make money blogging!

If you start a blog I’d love to see it! Just leave a note below in the comments so I can stop and say hello!