Starting a blog can sound a bit daunting – but trust me when I say…
It can change your life!
It’s an easy mindset to get into — believing that creating a blog is difficult, expensive and time-consuming, but I want to walk through all the incredibly easy and affordable ways to set up your very first blog.
E.X.C.I.T.I.N.G.!!!
What are we going to cover? I’m going to walk you through how to set up your first website – COMPLETELY FREE! Later, I will show you an alternative way to set up a website that is both affordable and easy.
So, Why Start a Blog?
There are so many reasons why! But I’m just going to share my top 5 with you to keep it short and sweet.
- You can write about all the things you like and love
- You can help thousands of people simply by posting
- You can earn MONEY
- You can quit your day job
- Your earning potential is unlimited – you can actually spend more time doing what you want.
Blogging can change your life for the better if you can tap into its resources.
Let’s talk Potential Earnings…
Creating a blog can be a great secondary income and in time, a great full-time income. Here’s an example of a person who was able to grow his website into 10K a month in the span of a year. Read his story.
You may ask, how did he accomplish this? He was able to grow his site up to 10k a month by using free traffic from Google. He didn’t use any paid ads or focus his time on social media marketing. Think of your earning potential if you started to add these factors into your own equation!
Google MILLION DOLLAR BLOGGERS. There are so many people!
Let’s Start your FREE Blog
Free sites are great – I mean, it’s free. Let’s just remember this one thing. You get what you pay for… and you’ve paid for nothing. The website you create here will be on a subdomain which means instead of being a simple .com, it will be .blogspot.com.
This isn’t necessarily bad. It’s a great way to get your website set up without spending any money upfront. Down the road, you can transfer all of your content to any domain name you choose. This is the route a lot of people choose so don’t feel as if you’re the first or as if there is some sort of stigma.
Why do I recommend using Blogger?
Blogger is super-affiliated. It is owned by Google, offers a free domain when you sign-up and has simple but easy to use templates for your design. While you are doing what you do best (blogging) Google AdSense is working its magic and automatically displaying relevant targeted ads on your blog so that you can earn passive income. Another perk? It allows you to get to know your audience by assimilating your site with analytics.
PRO TIP: Do I typically recommend setting up a website by yourself? NO. However, if you are dead set on going about this on your own – follow these steps and if you have any questions, reach out. I’m always here.
Let me help you! Try these guides from my shop!
Let’s Set Up your Free Site!
Step 1. Let’s visit Blogger.com.
If you are a Google user, you’ll be prompted to sign in. If you are not, you’ll be prompted to set up an account.
Step 2. Welcome to Blogger!
Decide on your Blogger Profile Name. This is how you will be seen. I recommend making it either your own name or your site name.
Step 3. Your site is created! Go ahead a click on “Create New Blog.”
Step 4. Blogger will prompt you to find a new domain for your site.
You can do this if you would – or can stick with the free domain you chose (www.myfreesite.blogspot.com).
Step 5. Once you begin to create a new blog, Blogger will prompt you to;
- Give your blog a title.
- Make sure your domain is listed.
- Choose a theme.
- Click on “Create Blog” and you’re done! You are going to want to play around a little inside Blogger to choose your settings (theme colors and such) – however, the basics have been set and your site is up and running. Congrats!
How to Start an Affordable Site with Hostgator
With 8 simple steps and a little bit of cash, you will be up and running with Hostgator.
Step 1. Choose the plan that’s Right for YOU
Simply go to Hostgator and click on “Get Started Now.” From there you will be taken to a page where three excellent plans are laid out before you and you get to choose which fits your needs.
My personal recommendation?
If you are new to the game, like most, start with the Hatchling Plan. You are always free to upgrade at any time.
Step 2: Pick a Domain Name
This is the best part because your URL won’t have the long .blogspot.com at the end. It will be a standard .com, .biz, .org, .co… whatever you are interested in and specifically branded to you. Be sure to choose wisely!
My recommendation is to try and stick with a .com address that is easy to spell, remember and easy for search engines to index.
Step 3: Choose your Hosting Plan
Requires a username and pin – easy peasy.
Step 4. Time for Billing Info.
Step 5: Time for Add-On Benefits!
There are 5 different add-ons to go with your plan and I suggest that you get all of them.
Step 6.
After you’ve completed filling everything out you just have to simply review all of your info to make sure it is correct, and press the “check out now” button at the bottom!
Step 7: Time to install WordPress!
Almost done, I promise!
Now we just simply log into the account you just signed up for and click on your “hosting” tab at the top of the page. Next, look for the “Special Offers” section and select “Get Started with WordPress Today!” Once you click this you will be taken to the “Quick Install.” Select “Enable Auto Upgrades” and simply fill out your information in the boxes the way you wish.
Hit Install Now.
Step 8. We’re Finishing Up!
From here you are going to receive a confirmation message in your inbox once WordPress has finished installing. This email will give you all the information you need about accessing your new Dashboard.
From here you can log in into WordPress by going to:
www.yourwebsite.com/wp-admin and entering your login details.
Congratulations loves! You’ve done it!
Conclusion
Blogging is an excellent way to earn a secondary or full-time income. Blogging opens up doors you didn’t even know existed and gives you access to endless possibilities – of income!
I’m not promising that any of this happens overnight – nothing great ever does, but with time and massive amounts of coffee, effort, and support, you can achieve anything you want to.
It will all be worth it in the end when you finally get to do exactly what you want whenever you want.
Let me know if this was helpful!
Affiliated Partner Recommendations
Here are some affiliated partners I find to be very successful in growing a blog. Check them out!
