Since starting my blog only 2 months ago, I am really surprised at the number of people who are interested in blogging but don’t know where to start. There are a lot of questions I get like, “Do I need technical skills?“, “Does it cost a lot of money?“, or sometimes I even get comments like, “I don’t think I am interesting enough.” Well let me tell you – no, you don’t need technical skills. No, it doesn’t cost a lot of money. You are interesting. 

How to Start A Successful Blog

Since starting my blog, I have kept an Excel spreadsheet of everything I have done – every hour I have put in, every task I have completed, every step that I have taken to get my blog to where it is today. I will continue to do so long as I am running my blog – blame my type A personality. This spreadsheet also allows me to tell you the exact steps I took to earning an income on my blog the very first month I had it running – mind you, a small one.

I want to say though, that I didn’t take starting a blog lightly. To be honest, I don’t take any major life decision in my life lightly. You might say starting a blog isn’t a major life decision, but I knew that even though starting a blog isn’t a huge financial investment, it surely is an investment of my time. For me, if I wasn’t ready to commit to the amount of time it would take to make this blog successful (my definition of success), then I wasn’t going to start a blog and put any money towards it.

Before I did anything I sat down and wrote out my business plan. This was a really simple document that answered the following basic questions:

• What is my blog going to be about?
• What are my goals with this blog?
• How will I achieve those goals?

My business plan may be a little more in depth than that, but it allowed me to focus on what I really wanted for Fit and Frugal Mommy and outlined a path on how I would get there.

So, if you’re really sure you’re ready and you are excited to get your blog up and running, the steps below will get you there!

1. Pick a domain name.

Your domain name will become your identity as a blogger. I am Tara from Fit and Frugal Mommy. It makes sense that my posts should contain information about ‘fit and frugal mom’ things. Whatever domain name you choose, it should go with the niche you will be writing about.

Not sure what blog niche to write about? Check out 7 Blog Niches That Get Good Traffic and Make Good Money.

2. Purchase web hosting.

Now that you’ve decided on a domain name and your blogging identity, you’ll need to purchase the domain name and a web host. A web host is a service that will essentially, store your website and it’s data. I highly recommend Bluehost as your web hosting service. When you sign up with Bluehost, you get one domain name for free. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, free is my favorite word. What’s more is Bluehost will also give you a free SSL certificate. This can cost up to $99/year with other hosting companies – yikes!

Why is an SSL certificate important? It’s what gives you the lock next to your domain name in your browser. An SSL certificate also gives you an HTTPS address instead of an HTTP address. This is important because Google prefers sites that are secure. Without an SSL certificate, the browser will display a ‘not secure’ message to the user – that’s definitely not what we want.

Bluehost is one of the top web hosting services in 2024 and you can start your own blog with them for as low as $3.95/month. In terms of the cost of starting up a business, $3.95/month is extremely low considering how quickly you can turn a blog into a profitable business.

Ready to make the leap? Click here to start your blog and get your FREE domain and FREE SSL certificate!

3. Install WordPress

WordPress is the magic behind blogs that makes it so you don’t need technical experience. WordPress essentially makes blogging as easy as dragging and dropping things onto a web page and then writing your content. Bluehost easily installs WordPress onto your site in minutes and you can be up and running and ready to write your first post! It’s really that easy. In the event that you run into any issues during your WordPress installation, Bluehost technical support will be available to answer any questions and assist you in getting WordPress up and running.

4. Pick a Theme

Now that you have your website up and running with WordPress, you will want to pick a theme that reflects your blogging goals – or maybe, just one that you like the look of. A WordPress theme formats the way your website will look. This includes the menu, the front page and the way your content is organized. I found that I downloaded a few themes and previewed them before I found the theme I liked the most and felt best suited my blog.

Not sure where to look for themes? Start here: 59 Best Free WordPress Blog Themes for 2024

5. Write Your First Blog Post

Wow, that was fast! In a matter of minutes you have your own piece of the internet where readers can come to check out all of your content. This was a very surreal moment for me where I realized I am the voice behind Fit and Frugal Mommy. People will come to this website and hear what I have to say or interact with my content! It’s very exciting. Now all you need is the content on your blog for your readers to read.

Happy blogging!

Ready for ‘Phase 2’ towards making money in your first month? Check out The Best Plugins to Make Your Blog Successful in 2024.