Written by Matt Zavadil
Updated February 28, 2024
You might be wondering how to start a blog & make money with it.
I recommend focusing on starting it first. Then, once you’ve started creating valuable content you can move into monetizing it for profit via various business ideas.
What You’ll Learn:
- Two ways you should avoid when starting your blog
- The one valid way to start a blog
There are 3 ways to start a blog:
- Use a free service like Blogger or Wordpress.com
- Use a blogging system
- Host it at an authentic hosting company & attach the “real” Wordpress to it
In this post I’ll teach you how to do #3.
The reasons?
- Using a free service is the worst thing you can do
- In the past I championed a well-known blogging system. I no longer do since you lose control, it’s not compatible with many Wordpress plugins & it can hold you hostage if you ever want to move your domain elsewhere.
Why a Free Platform is a Bad Idea
Beware of free platforms like Wordpress.com, blogspot, Blogger, Weebly, etc. I won’t spend much time here as it should be obvious that to build a business you must “own” your space.
I’ll let the incredible Michael Hyatt explain it this way:
“You wouldn’t build a house on a rented lot, right?”
Unfortunately, most of what you do online is “rented”. For example, all your social media profiles like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube, etc are rented entities.
If you ever do something (even mistakenly) that goes against their terms of service they can (and have to many folks over the years) shut down your account.
So, the way I look at it is that my blog is my cherished place that I “own” online. If you’re like me and thinking long-term for your business endeavors, then I encourage you to avoid renting your blog space.
How To Start a Blog (Self Hosted)
You will first go to Bluehost by clicking here and clicking on the green Get Started Now button:
Then, select your plan. If you know for a fact that you’ll only use one domain name, then you can go with the Starter package. However, if you think you many need more than one domain over time then I suggest going with the Plus package:
Enter your domain name of choice on the next page in the “new domain” section and click “next”:
Then, enter your basic information:
Then, choose the monthly plan you want to use. I would recommend adding in the Privacy Protection so you don’t receive unwanted mailings or emails from SEO companies, etc.
Next, enter your billing info:
You’ll receive a confirmation email from Bluehost with your login info. Go ahead and return to Bluehost so you can click on the Login button at the top right:
Enter your login info:
Inside your Bluehost account, click on “Install Wordpress”:
On the next page, click the “Install” button:
Choose your domain name that you’ll be installing your Wordpress blog to:
From there, follow Bluehost’s instructions to choose a Wordpress username and password. Bluehost will give you the Wordpress url where you’ll always login to blog from and make changes to your blog. Be sure to bookmark that url so you can always find it.
That’s it! Your self-hosted blog is set up and you can begin your blogging journey!
Not So Fast! No, That’s Not IT…You Have More To Do:
Don’t worry:
You have more to do but it’s pretty simple.
Let me address an important point…Yes, all this stuff is simple, but it’s not necessarily EASY.
All of us become confused and overwhelmed when it comes to blogging, Internet marketing, etc. These feelings will NEVER completely go away.
Why?
Because there is always something new to learn. So, if you think you just buy your hosting (which you did above) and magically money will roll in…
…well…
…there’s more to it than that.
In order to become successful with blogging and making money online, you must commit to fighting through the feelings of confusion, getting overwhelmed, and even the occasional frustration of wanting to throw your computer out the window.
Ready? OK, let’s take the next step.
Below, I’ve provided you tutorials straight from Bluehost on how to proceed from here. There’s really no point in going through the videos below unless you’ve already set up everything I outlined above.
It’s now time to go to work, so make sure you have your Bluehost account set up so the below videos can take you by the hand and lead you into action/results.
How To Start a Blog Tutorial #1: How To Install Wordpress
Tutorial #2: How to Login into Bluehost and WordPress Dashboard
Tutorial #3: How To Create Pages in Wordpress
Tutorial #4: How To Create Posts in Wordpress
Tutorial #5: How To Create WordPress Categories and Tags
Tutorial #6: How To Install Plugins on WordPress
Tutorial #7: How To Customize a Theme in WordPress
Tutorial #8: How To Create a Navigation Menu & Widgets in WordPress
Tutorial #9: How To Create Users Profiles in WordPress
How To Start a Blog Tutorial #10: How To Market Your WordPress Website
Was this blog post about how to start a blog helpful in setting up your self hosted blog? If so, I’d love to hear what you’ll start blogging about below in the comments.
If you did find value today, I’d greatly appreciate it if you share it with your friends! You can use the social share buttons at the left (if on a desktop/laptop) or at the bottom (if on your phone).
