If you are a new blogger or thinking about starting a blog, you probably have done some research and discovered there are a lot of blogging tips out there. Many people write about blogging but have you noticed few write about what not do
Blogging Tips
How To Make Money Blogging
When you are scrolling through Pinterest, do you ever see a Pin that says “How I Make [ X ] Amount Blogging Every Month“? Do you ever click on them and read it? I do – I love to read those posts! I find it fascinating that bloggers are making 5 or 6 figures a month from blogging. I never knew you could make money blogging. It’s definitely inspiring as well as intimidating but I don’t let it scare me and neither should you.
I’ve been a blogger now for about 6 months, but I still consider myself as a beginner. Starting a blog has been fun and exciting. It enables you to get creative, connect with others, and make money blogging. Starting a blog was way easier than I thought and now I am able to make money blogging! How awesome is that?
When I first thought of starting a blog, I went to Pinterest for help. Pinterest is my go to for almost everything. While researching how to start a blog, I ended up learning a way to make money from Pinning on Pinterest (no blog required). It sounded easier than starting a blog so I put the blog idea on hold for a whole year while I focused on making money from Pinning on Pinterest (You can learn more about that here). Once I made the plunge and created this blog, I couldn’t believe how easy it was to get started. I was able to create a blog in no time.
If you have yet to start a blog, check out my post: How to start a blog. You can be up and running in no time.
How To Start A Blog
Are you looking to start a blog but don’t know where to start? Have you always wanted to start a blog but don’t know how to do it? Well keep on reading because in this post I am going to walk you through the steps you should take on how to start a blog with Siteground.
When I first wanted to start a blog, I had no idea where to start. So I went to Pinterest for help. While reading about how to start a blog, I discovered a blog post that described how to make money from pinning on Pinterest. After reading that post, I became obsessed with learning more. I wanted to learn how to make money from pinning on Pinterest. I ended up putting the blog idea on hold so I could focus on making money from Pinning on Pinterest (which I ended up doing pretty successfully. Read more about that here). I thought starting a blog was going to be hard so I decided to wait to do it (I actually waited a whole year)! Oh was I wrong. Starting a blog was way easier than I could have imagined. Now my only regret is not starting my blog sooner.
I started my blog a few months ago and I started to monetize it as soon as it went live. I am not making a full time income from my blog (not yet at least), but I am making a nice side hustle from blogging. I know there are people out there who make 5 or 6 figures a month blogging and someday I hope to be there too. Blogging is a great way to work from home and earn some extra cash.
So now that I have been blogging for a few months, I thought I’d write a post with step by step instructions on how to start a blog with Siteground since it was so easy to get started. I know so many people who would love to blog but don’t because they don’t know how to do it.
Keep on reading if you want to know how to start a blog.
1 – Pick your Niche
Your niche is the topic that you want to blog about. It should be something that you are passionate about and want to write about. There are so many different things you can write about but it is best to pick something you enjoy. If you pick a topic that you are not passionate about, you won’t stay motivated. If you have more than one topic that you love want want to write about, you could consider your niche lifestyle. This way you can write about all the things you enjoy.
Need ideas on what your Niche should be?
Think about the articles you enjoy reading. What do you love talking about or what do you love doing? What do you have experience in? It could be anything from DIY projects, parenting, travel, fashion, food, finance, etc.
2 – Pick Your Blog Name
The next thing you should do when you want to learn how to start a blog is start brainstorming blog name ideas. Make a list of words related to your niche. You want to come up with a blog name that can tell others who you are and what you are about. Make sure you pick a name that is easy to remember, easy to spell, and easy to read.
I struggled with picking my blog name. It literally took me weeks to come up with the name. I wanted the blog name to also be my domain (meaning whatever name I decided on, I wanted to add .com to the end). Everything I liked, the URL was taken. I knew I wanted a .com URL because .com is most popular. If the .com was taken, I didn’t want to choose another like .net or .co because if someone else was already using the name under .com and I didn’t want to use the same name. I ended up going with KAinspired. K stands for Kelly (me!), A stands for Aaron (my fiancé), and then inspired. We are a team and he is very supportive of all the projects and ideas I take on. He is always there to help when I need him and bounce ideas off of. So I thought the name was fitting.
Once you decide on a few blog names, you will need to very if the domain is available. This can help to narrow down your selection. Majority of the names I thought of were taken. So once you start brainstorming, I suggest start checking GoDaddy to see if the domain is available.
3 – Choose a Platform
The platform I use and recommend is WordPress.org. Do not confuse this with WordPress.com. WordPress.com is the free platform and if you want to monetize your website, you will run into issues if you decide to go with the free option. So if you want to monetize your blog, I suggest going with WordPress.org. You will have more options to customize your blog.
4 – Set Up Your Blog
Once you have decided on a niche, a blog name, and a platform – Now comes the easy part – signing up and getting your blog up and running. It is so easy to do if you decide to go with Siteground.
Why Siteground?
1 – Uptime
Their uptime is amazing. They have 99.99% uptime. When you are a blogger, you want to trust and rely on your host to never go down as you want your website up 100% of the time. Of course things can happen and your website could go down but knowing that Siteground has 99.99% uptime is reassuring.
2 – Customer Service
I’ve contacted their support team a few times with questions and they were SUPER helpful! You can contact their support team via phone, chat, or tickets. The handful of times I contacted support, I did it via chat and I never had to wait more than 1 minute to be connected to a support rep.
3- Pricing
They offer affordable monthly plans. If you click here and sign up through this link, you can get a plan starting at $3.95 a month!
Now, are you ready for SIMPLE step by step instructions on how to start a blog?
Well keep on reading.
First, click here to visit SiteGround so you can follow along! You will go to their landing page and click “SIGN UP”
Step 1: Choose a plan
Pick a plan that will work for you. When I first started, I went with the STARTUP PLAN. If you click here and sign up through this link, you can get a plan starting at $3.95 a month!
Step 2: Choose your Domain
If you already registered your Domain name, click “I already have a Domain”. If you have not registered your domain name yet, click “Register a New Domain”.
Some people prefer to have their domain registered somewhere else, such as Godaddy. This is a personal preference. When I started my blog, I registered it with Siteground when I created my blog. So click the option that is best for you. You will need to register your Domain and renew it yearly.
Remember, when picking your Domain name, you want to find a name that is simple and easy to remember. Be careful of spelling it funky because if people remember the name but not the spelling, they’ll never find your website.
Step 3: Review and Complete Your Information
Payment and Purchase Information
Extra Services
Here you can either check/uncheck any extra services you may need. I personally added on Domain Privacy as I did not want my personal information publicly available.
Confirm that you agree to their terms and click pay now
CONGRATULATIONS!! You now have hosting for your blog!
Now comes the fun part.
WordPress
You need to install WordPress: you can either do it yourself (just go to the cPanel and under auto install click WordPress then install) OR you can contact support via the chat and they will set it up for you. If you do decide to ask support to do it for you, you will need to send them your login information.
Themes
After you have installed WordPress, you will need to install a theme. You can either choose a free theme or purchase a paid theme. You can purchase paid themes from: Etsy, HungryJPEG, and Creative Market, etc.
Now you can add your content to your blog and start promoting your blog. Now that wasn’t that hard, now was it?
Want even more help? Check out my other blog posts:
How to Use Seasonal Marketing Strategies to Increase Your Business
Have you noticed that certain times of the year you may see an increase or decrease in your traffic on your social platform, specifically Pinterest or your Blog? One reason you may see this can be related to seasons, holidays, and events. Many call this Seasonal Marketing.
What is Seasonal Marketing?
Seasonal marketing is pretty much what it sounds like: throughout the year, many brands will adjust their marketing strategy to align with upcoming seasons, holidays, and events. Consumers change their behavior based on these seasons, holidays, and events scattered throughout the year. So brands will change their marketing strategies to incorporate these behaviors so they can capitalize on these seasons, holidays, and events.
For instance, this past weekend I was out shopping and I noticed stores are starting to carry Fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving items. IT’S ONLY JULY! Brands will see an increase in traffic due to these events or holidays so they have to plan ahead in order to capitalize on the interest. I do feel it’s a little early to see pumpkins on the shelves but many brands are looking to capitalize on every season, holiday, and event. This is called Seasonal Marketing.
Now you might be thinking,
Affiliate Programs You Should Join Today
Affiliate Marketing has become a key source of online income for thousands of bloggers but there are other ways you can use Affiliate Marketing with your social channels. It is a great way to make some extra cash that could potential lead to a full time income. I’ve been using Affiliate Marketing for over a year and half. There are so many different Affiliate Programs that you can join but I am going to outline the Affiliate Programs I recommend that you start using today!
My absolute favorite way to use Affiliate Marketing is directly with Pinterest. Many people don’t know that you can get paid to Pin on Pinterest. Did you know?
Yes! You read that correctly! You can get paid to Pin on Pinterest. When I first learned about this, I became obsessed. I was always on Pinterest looking for new ideas and some inspiration whether it was home projects, gift ideas, fashion, recipes, gift ideas, and so much more. So once I learned that you can actually make money from Pinning on Pinterest, I was determined to make it a reality. And I did. My only regret is not learning about it sooner.
If you are new to affiliate marketing, check out my other blog posts How to Make Money Pinning on Pinterest.
I also use Affiliate Marketing on my other social platforms such as this blog and Facebook. If you are looking to start a blog and haven’t made the jump yet, I recommend that you do it today. I’ve been blogging for a few months now and it has been quite an exciting journey. Learn how to start a blog here.
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