How To Start A Blog Of Your Own – A Beginners Guide
Do you want to start a blog?
I’m sure you do, that’s the main reason you are here, so I can show you how to start a blog of your own. Everyone has different reason they want to start a blog. The main reason I have heard for women wanting to start their blog… is they want to stay home with their children and not have to go to work. This is the reason I started my blog.
Blogs are everywhere, all different kinds of blogs. I’m sure you have read multiple blogs found on google, Facebook, or maybe Pinterest. You could be blogging too!
I started blogging just months ago and I absolutely love it. When my kids are sick or I have things planned, I never have to call anyone or figure out any babysitters. You can make money from blogging! I know your skeptical, I was too. There are so many bloggers out there who make killer money with their blogs. All it takes is a little time and effort.
Here we go!
**Disclaimer: Please note that this post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend products that I believe in fully. See privacy policy for more information.
How To Start A Blog Of Your Own
If I can start a blog, I know you can too. Trust me, it’s pretty simple, using Lyrical Host makes it even easier. Anything that you don’t know, can be learned. Plus, since your here you can learn from all my mistakes!
Why Do You Want To Start A Blog?
You need to ask yourself why do you want to start a blog of your own.
Do you just love writing and need an outlet?
Do you want to make money?
Do you have valuable things to share?
Maybe it’s a combination of a few different things. Whatever combo it may be, knowing why you want to start a blog is helpful. If you want to make money then it’s good to know ahead of time that you will have to put time and effort into your blog. It doesn’t happen overnight.
If you want to blog as hobby, you won’t have to invest as much time and can be more laid back about it all.
First Steps Before Starting a Blog
Decide Your Niche
This task can be difficult.
It’s okay to be unsure of what you want to blog about but there are a few key things you need to keep in mind.
-Will I enjoy writing about this niche?
-Is this niche popular?
-Can I make money blogging in this niche?
Now you might think you can make money in any niche and you might be able too. Let’s face it, if you are starting a blog to stay at home with your kids, you’re going to want to make money from it. When I first started, I set out to only do a healthy food blog. Quickly, I decided that I had so many other things to offer my readers about mom life and healthy living and those posts were easier to monetize.
Make sure you do enjoy writing about this subject! Even though you want to make money from blogging, you want to love doing it as well.
In the beginning stages of blogging, it’s okay to see what type of posts work for you.
After you think about all these things, you will be able to decide your niche.
Choosing A Name
This was probably the hardest part for me. It’s fun to brainstorm all these ideas, but for me I wanted to make sure it was something I loved and wanted to stick with.
When you are coming up with a name think of something short, simple and sweet. Something that shows what your blog is about and isn’t already taken.
I searched on google and on the major social media platforms before deciding on my name. I did this to make sure nobody on any platform I wanted to use had the same name as me. You should check these out and come up with something simple and unique.
Blogging Platform
Which blogging platform do you want to go with? For me it was simple, I chose WordPress.org. There are other options out there, like blogger or squarespace, but WordPress has so much help and is the easiest to navigate in my opinion.
So many people use WordPress so if you get stuck and need help there are lots of people to help you out.
Choosing A Host
Here is where you get to learn from my mistake! When I started my blog, I went with Bluehost. At first it was easy, Bluehost had easy wordpress installation and I was good to go.
BUT
As my traffic started to rise one day, my website crashed. Imagine, you are a blogger and you see a post of yours go viral and you get so excited! Then your whole website crashes, it happens, but when I contacted Bluehost they told me that it would take 2 hours to get back up. It actually ended up being 5 hours and their customer service was horrible. I switched immediately after that to Siteground.
I was with Siteground for awhile and they are a great company with great customer service. The only thing I did not like was the huge increase in pricing after the first year that was automatically taken.
That is the reason I am now with Lyrical Host. (Use my code CakestoKale to get 10% off hosting at checkout.) They have been the best hosting company and let me tell you why.
Why Choose Lyrical Host
Transparent Pricing
Lyrical Host doesn’t get you with a hidden cost or upsell after your first year. You see what you are going to pay up front. This is one of the reasons I switched to Lyrical Host. They have many different payment options to make starting a blog easy and affordable for everyone.
Migrate For Free
Lyrical Host with switch over your existing website (if you already have one) and your email for free.
Built For Bloggers
Lyrical Host specializes in hosting for bloggers. That means they speak your language! They can help with SEO, plug-ins, structures of your blog and other blogging questions that may come along.
Support
Their customer support is amazing. I have contacted them MULTIPLE times. They have always helped me out and been so kind, even when I thought my question was silly. They make it known they are they to help you with any problem that you need, even if it isn’t related to hosting. And to me that is GOLD!
Amazing Features
You will get great features and services with your hosting at Lyrical Host.
- SSL certificate
- Email address
- Automatic daily back ups
- Caching plugin for better speeds
- Monthly exclusive stock photos and blogging resources
- Automatic core updates
- Security scanning
Now that you have learned from my mistakes and understand why you should go with Lyrical Host, you can learn how to start a blog of your own.
This won’t take long, you’ll be blogging in no time!
Head on over to Lyrical Host and let’s get started.
Don’t Forget to Use My Code CakestoKale for 10% off!
How to Start A Blog That Makes Money
1: Choose A Plan
Lyrical Host has 3 different plans to offer. They all offer their amazing features. Pick the plan that best fits your budget and the bandwidth you need. Click the image below to see all the features.
Tiny
This plan is great for beginners who are on a tight budget. The Tiny plan can go up to about 30k visitors, so if you are just starting you have plenty of room to grow!
Mighty
The Mighty plan let’s you have up to three websites and more visitors. If you already have a grown website or plan to have lots of visitors quickly, this plan might be a good option for you.
Boss
The Boss plan has unlimited bandwidth and you can have up to 22 websites! This is the biggest plan Lyrical Host offers.
Compare plans and decide which one is best for you and your goals.
Then decide what payment option you want
-monthly
-6 months
-1, 2, or 3 years
You can save 10% with CakestoKale code on any of the payment plans. So choose the one that best fits your budget.
2. Domain & Purchase
Enter your domain name and see if it’s available (hopefully it is). Once you find the available name, add it to your cart.
After that you will hit continue and pick your plan.
At the review your order page is where you can enter the CakestoKale coupon to save money.
Complete the check out process.
Now you have hosting for your blog!
If you need anything in the process, don’t be afraid to reach out to the Lyrical Host team with any questions. They have always been so helpful.
NOW YOU HAVE A BLOG!
CONGRATS!
How To Start A Blog Tips
When I first started blogging, I had no idea what I was doing. I read other bloggers posts just like this one and they were so helpful. So I want to tell you a few more things about blogging before you launch your new blog!
Before You Launch
I wouldn’t spend lot’s of time or money designing your blog at the start. You want your blog to look pretty and readable for you but you don’t need an expensive theme right off the bat. I use a free theme, it’s easy to use, readable and mobile friendly.
Make sure your theme is mobile friendly. Most readers are on mobile!
Write lots of posts. This is huge because you don’t want readers coming to an empty blog. I had about 15-20 when I launched my blog. Having lot’s of posts is also helpful when you are promoting your blog on social media. You can’t keep promoting the same post over and over again.
Social Media
Social media is so beneficial when promoting your blog. You can grow your social media before even launching your blog.
I use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. My number one source of traffic is Pinterest. You can find my Best Pinterest Tips here. Be sure to check those out to see how I grew my blog from nothing to making money!
Courses, E-books And Free Help
There are lots of different courses and e-books out there. I have a few favorite that I think are so beneficial to a new blogger.
The Pinteresting Strategies course is a favorite of mine. It gave me such a better understanding of Pinterest and how it works. This is a must. It will give you such a better and whole understanding of Pinterest and how to use it for blogging.
There is also an Affiliate Marketing Course that I have taken and found really helpful.
If you want to purchase both courses together as a bundle you can save a little money and get a free blogging planner.
Now you know how to start a blog of your own!
Welcome to the blogging community. 🙂
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