How To Start A Blog and Quit Your 9 to 5
Have you ever wanted to share information or knowledge you have but do not have a platform to share it on? What about help financially support your family while staying at home with your children? Then you need to start a blog. Have no clue where to start? That’s ok, I didn’t either. Learn how to start a blog and quit your 9 to 5! You can start a blog in any niche you want or you can have it encompass many of the things you love. Numerous people have mommy blogs, finance blog, lifestyle blogs, travel blogs, and DIY craft blogs and make a killing each month doing it.
Don’t believe me? Look at a few of the income reports I found from other bloggers below and see how they are making 1000’s of dollars per month and living the dream life:
Making Sense of Cents: How I made $130,856.35 Last Month Blogging
Crowd Work News: How I made $5,189.08 in 9 Months of Blogging
Just A Girl and Her Blog: December 2016 Traffic and Income Report
These are only just a few I found. There are a ton of income reports out there for blogs in particular niches. Just do a quick Google search for the niche you are looking for. The great news about starting a blog is that it is relatively inexpensive. You don’t have to drop 100’s of dollars on it just to start out. I started out spending only $3.95 per month and you can too.
Now that we have covered why you should start a blog, let’s learn how to start a blog.
So that I can continue to share free information like this with you, below are affiliate links that I will receive a small commission for if you choose to purchase through one of the links. It does not cost you anything, it is just to help support the blog and keep more great content and information coming your way.
Choose Your Blog’s Niche
You need to choose what you want your blog to be about. What do you love sharing or writing about? What are you good at or have a lot of knowledge of? You need to choose a niche, but don’t narrow it down too much. You need to give yourself enough to write about. Really think about this before moving on. The last thing you want is to choose your niche, setup your blog around that niche, and then change it because you can only write 5 really good posts about what you chose.
I decided on a Work From Home / Money Making / Savings niche because I can write about this stuff all day and there are a ton of things I know and can share with others. If I chose to write about Fashion, even though there are a ton of things you could write about, I would run out of things to say simply because I do not know much about fashion. Be nice to yourself with this, you will thank yourself in the long run.
Choose A Domain Name
A domain name will be your website URL. My domain name is www.breakingfinancialchains.com. You may be one that can come up with brilliant domain names left and right. Or you may be like me and come up with absolutely nothing you like. It took me three weeks to come up with my domain name so please understand this may take a little time and patience. Always try to stick with something that is easy to remember and if at all possible make it the name of your blog. It becomes confusing when talking with someone about your blog Pretty Lady and then tell them they can find your blog at beautifulself dot com. They will never remember it and therefore never find your blog.
Try to stay away from longer domain names. Mine was longer than I wanted but it fit so I went with it, however, I urge you to be cautious here. Again, you want something that is easy for people to remember. Most people can remember short and memorable quotes, sayings, names, etc.
Do not use hyphens, numbers, or symbols. Even though it may make your URL or blog name look neat, this is a big no, no. I love examples because it helps me understand what the writer is trying to say. So here is an example:
· Bloggingmemories dot com
· Blogging-memories dot com
Both of these say the same thing, however when entered as a URL, you will end up at two completely different sites (I just made this name up, it will take you to la la land). Let me stress this again…you need a blog name that is easy to remember. Therefore, when you tell someone how to find your blog, I guarantee it will be more frustrating for you to always explain the hyphen and most people will not remember the hyphen when they do have two seconds to look for your blog.
Choose a Host and Check Domain Name Availability
I recommend Bluehost as a host provider simply because I have always used them and can recommend the quality of their service. I am paying $5.95 each month for my hosting, but if you sign up now they have a deal going on for $2.95 per month. Select the plan (basic, plus or pro) you would like to go with. I recommend the plus because it comes with a few extras that only cost a few dollars a month more. If you’re against Bluehost, I have heard Siteground is a really good hosting provider as well. I have never used them so I cannot put my stamp of approval on it, but you may want to check it out.
Once you have decided on a domain name and host, you will need to make sure the domain is available for use. You can check it with the new domain feature Bluehost offers.
If you have a domain name, you will enter it in the “I have a domain name” box on the right. If you do not already have a registered domain name, you will enter it in the “new domain” box on the left. Choose an extension (.com, etc.) for your domain. I highly recommend .com since it is the most common and is easier for people to remember.
Click the Next button.
Sign Up For Hosting
If the domain you entered is available, you will be taken to the account information screen to finish the sign-up process. Complete all the necessary fields. Make sure to enter a valid and working email address since your login information will be sent to the email address you list here.
Select Your Package Information
You can choose between a 12, 24, 36, and 60 month plan. The price per month is different depending on the plan you choose.
As far as all the extras available for purchase, that is up to you. I only recommend and purchased when I signed up the Domain Privacy Protection because I was using my personal information and did not want it shared.
Once you have completed the above step enter your payment information, check that you agree to Bluehost term’s and policies, and click the green submit button.
Check Your Email for Confirmation
Once your payment information has been submitted successfully, you will receive a Welcome email from Bluehost. This email has your account information and will allow you to setup your password. Open the email and click Get Started. Complete the necessary information and login to your Bluehost account.
Install WordPress
Once you are logged in, scroll down to the website box and click on Install WordPress.
A new box will appear, click Continue Installation.
You will need to choose which domain you want WordPress installed on.
Click the down arrow and choose the domain. Leave the directory field blank.
Make sure to uncheck the “Helpful Plugins” if you do not want them installed at this time and click the green Next button.
You will need to enter Admin Information.
Choose a site name or title. My site name is The Work From Home Evolution. This is not your domain name. Choose an Admin Username. Do not enter admin or administration here. Choose a username you can remember. Enter your admin email address and enter a password. Click the green Next button and Install WordPress.
Once you have successfully installed WordPress you will receive an email with login information.
I became very confused about the difference between Bluehost and WordPress. I wasn’t exactly sure
where I needed to go to design my blog. Let me provide a little help. Bluehost is just the hosting provider for your domain name. It has nothing to do with designing your blog. WordPress is the platform on which you design and build your blog.
CONGRATULATIONS! You now have a website to setup your very own BLOG!! I remember when I first hit this step, I was so excited. I researched so many other blogs to see how they designed every page and I highly recommend you do this too. When designing your blog, you need to know what you want your end goal to look like. If you start your blog without any idea of what your going for, it will be very difficult and time-consuming when creating widgets, menus, and really any other aspect of the blog. Good luck!!