How to start a Blog in 2024? Starting a blog is easy if you just want to have a side hustle. But if you are thinking about creative ways to make money as a blogger, you will need to be strategic about how you set your blog up for success.
This step-by-step guide will take you through how to start a blog and grow it into a source of traffic and income. While our guide is meant for those who have not started their business yet, it is also relevant for any existing businesses that want to get into the blogging game.
What is a Blog?
A blog is a website consisting of content, usually focused on a specific topic, that you regularly update. Unlike news outlets and other publications, blogs tend to take on a personal tone, which helps them connect more deeply with their audiences.
Whether you publish daily, weekly, or monthly, it is important to be as consistent as possible, not just in how often you publish but also in the type of content you publish. It is very rare for bloggers to see results from their business or personal blog.
How to Start a Blog Without Investment
One of the difficult thing about blogging is finding the time and ideas you will need to do it consistently. Getting started, however, is fairly straightforward.
Find a Way For Your Blog
If you are looking to make money blogging, you should start with the money part first and the content part second. A solid monetization strategy comes before your first blog post because it determines what types of content you publish and how you grow long term.
So to start, you want to think of your new blog as a business, rather than a creative outlet.
There are many ways to monetize your own blog, depending on the kind of blog you decide to start. Many people think using something like Google AdSense is the only way to start making money blogging.
But while ads can help to generate income, they require large amounts of traffic before they become economically viable. Thankfully, there are a lot of other ways to start a blog and monetize it quickly, without the need to have a massive audience.
Select A Niche For Your Blog
There is no shortage of content on the web. It may seem hard to stand out, but there are two ways you can compete: by choosing a specific niche to focus on and by creating content that has something about it that readers can’t easily find elsewhere.
It is important to choose a niche that is an inch wide but a mile deep. This will ensure you can consistently create content without running out of ideas, and influence your blog name.
You will need to ensure that your chosen niche attracts an audience that aligns with your blog monetization strategy. What products or services would this audience be interested in buying?
You can do this in a number of ways:
- Focus your new blog on a specific location k)
- Focus your blog theme on a specific segment within a larger category
- Deliver your blog posts in a different style or voice
- Compete with quality
- Blog TO
Example
The niche you choose will determine not only whether you can sustainably serve your audience with a steady flow of content, but also how you achieve monetization.
What products or services would your blog audience want to buy? Whether you plan to monetize with display ads or the other strategies we will mention later, it is a critical question to ask when choosing a niche for your blog.
A competitive analysis can help build your brand and create a unique voice in the space. The key to a successful blog is looking for a gap in perspectives and filling it.
Blogging Platform and Template
Before you write your first blog post, you will need to set up your blog hosting and content management system. This is where many would-be bloggers get stuck if they are not exactly sure which platform they should invest their time and money in.
The choice usually boils down either to a self-hosted or hosted blogging platform:
Self-hosted: These platforms generally offer more customization options, but you’ll need to host the site yourself by paying a hosting company a separate monthly fee.
Apart from this cost, a web hosting plan requires some initial setup. WordPress is the go-to open-source platform if you are considering the self-hosted route.
Hosted: A hosted site will allow you to set up your own blog faster. Shopify, for example, includes hosting in all its plans. However, unlike Shopify, some hosted sites, like Blogger or Wix, will limit customization options.
When choosing a platform, keep in mind:
- Is easy to use
- Doesn’t require coding
- Will be able to grow with you
During your blogging journey there will come a time when you may want to change the look and functionality of your site as your brand matures, your traffic grows, and you have more posts to organize.
You will also want to ensure that your blogging platform offers a healthy ecosystem of plug-ins and apps they can make a world of difference in optimizing your site’s performance, running site backups, marketing your new blog, and simplifying tasks.
Select Blog and Domain Name
Companies like Bluehost will give you a free domain name if you sign up for a hosting plan. Bluehost also offers a 30-day money back guarantee if you’re unhappy with the service. Shopping for a domain name is a good time to think about what you’re going to call your website.
Unless you are trying to build a personal blog or a portfolio site, I would recommend against using your name as your custom domain.
You can still be the face of the blog, even if your personal name is not in the URL, and it is a lot easier to build a sticky brand when you come up with a creative name that reflects your message.
While choosing a domain name, keep in mind following:
- Memorable
- Fun to say
- Easy to spell
- Unique
Choosing a name for your blog can be tedious, but a good brand name makes a memorable impression on readers and allows them to know what to expect from your company.
Building on WordPress
A self-hosted WordPress blog is a great place to start for new bloggers. Note that WordPress is only free if you are using WordPress.com, If you use WordPress.org, you will need to pay for hosting and your own domain name.
If you sign up for a Bluehost account, you can automatically install WordPress from your hosting dashboard. If you want to start a free WordPress blog, you can pick a theme on WordPress.com. There are many free WordPress themes you can choose from, including ones for blogging.
If you don’t want to pick a theme right away, click “Skip for now” and the top of the page. You will be redirected to a new page where you can start building your blog. Click Name your site, then fill your information and click Save settings.
Creating A Blog Name
Next you will want to choose your WordPress theme, either a free theme or a paid one if you have some money to spend. Find a free theme in your WordPress dashboard under the Appearance tab in your sidebar, choosing WordPress theme 2.
Or find great WordPress themes for blogging on marketplaces like Theme Isle or Theme Forest.
To install an external theme from a site like Theme Isle, go to appearance, then Themes, and click >Install theme. There are also many WordPress blog plug-ins you can install to help market your blog pages.
Want to turn your WordPress blog into a mini ecommerce site? The Shopify Buy Button lets you sell on any WordPress site or blog for only $5 per month. All you need is a product to sell and you are ready to launch in just a few clicks.
Publishing Strategy
Every blogger needs to keep a healthy supply of ideas, and it helps if you plan ahead to ensure you never run out. Create a content calendar to help you keep track of your ideas.
You can use a simple spreadsheet to plan your content calendar, but I recommend Trello, since it Is free and also makes for a good place to dump ideas and organize them. Your content calendar should include:
- What content you are creating
- What audiences you are targeting
- Which distribution channels you will be releasing on and on what date
You can use a simple spreadsheet to plan out your content calendar. However there are a lot more effective tools available. Trello, Aeratable, or Asana are good options because they make organizing content more intuitive.
Thinking about your content mix is also important to get a sense of the scope of your blog and what categories/tags you might use to organize it all as you add more great content in the future.
Some types of blog posts to include are:
Evergreen content This is a type of blog content that answers common questions people have. Evergreen Content is, at its heart, educational.
Topical content Topical blog posts capitalize on currently trending events or topics. The great thing about topical content is that it can fuel quick growth on social channels when done correctly. However, don’t make this the cornerstone of your strategy Use topical content strategically but don’t lean on it for traffic.
Curated content Curated content can be a great way to augment your original content strategy. The web is a big place, and readers appreciate thoughtfully curated content that aligns with their values and interests.
Feature pieces Interviews can be a great way to build rich content in an editorial style. Feature stories tell a story and take readers into the minds and lives of extraordinary people. Interviews with notable people can be a great way to build authority as you gain some credibility by association.
Visual content Visual content is something that all bloggers should have in their strategy. Search engines reward blog posts that incorporate videos, original images, and graphics.
Interactive content.
Quizzes can be a great way to increase engagement like time on page and unearth deeper insights about your audience.
Try to plan out each blog post at least one month in advance, and publish on a consistent schedule so your audience has an idea of how often to expect new blog posts. You can always tweak the calendar if a feature story pops up and needs to get published fast.
Before writing blog posts, start with an outline. While this is a step that some bloggers might opt to skip, writing an outline is an effective way to hit all the points you need to hit.
It will help make sure you include any relevant keywords and liberate your mind from the destination so you can focus on the journey.
When you have finished writing your blog post, before hitting Publish, here are some simple things you should do:
- Edit your work. While coming back with fresh eyes and using a tool like Grammarly can help to catch syntax and grammar errors, having a human editor to bounce ideas off of can help take your blog posts to the next level.
- Organize your blog post with headings, Subheadings make your posts more scannable and approachable for readers.
Keyword Research
Even if you don’t land a spot on the first page of the search engine results, you’ll have a content idea with proven demand. But if you want to aim high, you can learn more about SEO.
Social Media Strategy
While it might seem like a smart move to market your new blog on every social media platform, this can be difficult to manage and is not always effective. Instead, focus on the channels where your audience spends the most time. Depending on your niche and your resources, your choice of channels will vary.
Social Media Sharing
Don’t neglect your personal networks either your friends and family make a great early audience. Don’t neglect your personal networks either your friends and family make a great early audience as you start a blog.
Understand Your Audience
The best opportunities are hidden in your data, waiting to be discovered. Whether you are using a WordPress blog or the Shopify platform, take the time to set up Google Analytics on your site.
With a Google Analytics account, you can get deeper insights on your new blog, like the average amount of time people spent reading your posts, the quality of readers coming from different sources, and even the number of readers in real time.
Data can also be used as leverage for bloggers. The ability to prove how much traffic you bring in is a huge asset that makes others more likely to want to work with you or gain access to your audience.
How Much Money Do Bloggers Make?
Full-time bloggers can earn a healthy living writing online content. According to finance blog Millennial Money, people who start a blog can earn up to $50K even in their first year, while bloggers who have built traffic and subscribers earn more than $100K in the following year.
Conclusion
You have learned how to start a blog. You have your own domain name, hosting space and your blog is set up. Next, you will need to get familiar with the WordPress dashboard, make desired changes, start content creation, and promotion to become a successful blogger. Check out all our resources for starting a blog and learn how to blog successfully.