Tips For Starting a Blog

If you’ve ever dreamed about starting a blog but have yet to pull the trigger, check out the step by step guide laid out for you below! With all the tools out there, it’s quite easy for anyone to start a blog, even on a very limited budget!

(Disclaimer: The post below may contain affiliate links for which the site owner may receive compensation upon a purchase. Affiliate links help keep the lights on around here. Remember we only recommend products or services we believe in.)

The 5 Step Process:

1. Choose your blogging platform, domain name and your hosting service
2. Design your blog with a theme
3. Find the best plugins for your blogging needs
4. Create compelling content that will provide value and attract readers
5. Promote your blog to the same niche network to gain more traffic

When I started LegendarySuccess.com, it took a lot of work to get started. But I believe if you follow the step by step guide, you should have no problems getting your blog off the ground.

Side note: I want to mention that when starting a blog, you should do so in a niche you find interesting and are passionate about. Don’t start a blog just to make money because you will fail. Okay, on to the 5 steps of starting a blog!

1. Blogging Platform, Domain and Hosting Service

Fortunately, this step is quite easy when you have services like Siteground and BlueHost to help. They offer an “all-in-one” blogging service starting at an introductory rate of $3.95/month! This service includes easy 1-click install of WordPress (the best blogging platform to date), a free SSL certificate (HUGE!), your own dedicated hosting through SiteGround and a bunch of other stuff. Not bad right? Check them out and use this link to get your discounted pricing for SiteGround and this link for BlueHost!

Get a Relevant Domain Name: When choosing your domain name, you want something that will resonate with your readers. You don’t want it to be something obscure and too long to remember. Don’t be afraid to spend some money on a domain name that you really want. Doing it right the first time is important. You can purchase a domain name through SiteGround or integrate one you’ve purchased through a company like NameCheap. 

2. Choosing Your Blog’s Theme

The theme design can make or break your blog. If you aren’t a coder (I’m certainly not), then choosing a theme is an important step in starting a blog because this allows you to have control over how your blog looks and feels. While there are thousands of free WordPress themes out there, I recommend investing in a paid theme. These themes typically have more ways to customize and design to your needs. Plus, most of these paid themes you own for life after the initial purchase. You can always change your theme, but if paying for one, make sure to choose a good fit! Here at Legendary Success, the theme used is created by ElegantThemes. They have a wide variety to choose from, great tools and some awesome customization built in to each theme! Ultimately, don’t skimp out on choosing a theme. Do your research and pick what will work best for your blog.

3. Plugins for Starting Your Blog

Plugins help your blogs’ overall functionality. There are some great ones out there as well as some shady and poor performance ones. Make sure to read reviews of the plugins and only use plugins necessary – i.e.: don’t go overboard with them (this can slow your site!). I personally really enjoy the following plugins: Pretty Link, Yoast SEO and Hello Bar.

• Pretty Link Pro: Great for shrinking, tracking and sharing any URL direct from your own branded domain. Example: http://www.LegendarySuccess.com/prettylink
• Yoast SEO: The first true all-in-one SEO solution for WordPress, including on-page content analysis, XML sitemaps and much more.
• Hello Bar: Display a welcome message or form on your blog. Great for capturing email address of your visitors to build your email list.

4. Write Compelling Content

The key to creating a successful blog (I’m assuming you’d want to), is to create and write compelling content that attracts readers. You should strive to provide as much value as possible in each article. Make sure when branding you blog you design (or hire a designer on Fiverr) a great looking logo too. Don’t forget to write the necessary pages like the About Me, Contact, Privacy and Terms Pages, etc.…

5. Promoting Your New Blog

Now that you have some content posted, you’ll need some readers! You can find more reads through a variety of ways, however some of the best ways are as follows:

• Use SEO throughout your blog. This helps grow your traffic organically through search engines.
• Share articles you write on your own social media accounts! Visitors to your pages may find it and become dedicated readers! Use relevant to your niche hashtags to reach more people.
• Find relevant groups on Facebook. DO NOT spam your blog link in these groups. Join them and provide value. Build curiosity but don’t spam your links. If they are interested, they will most likely click on your social profile where they may find your most recent blog post you shared.
• If popular, already established blogs in your niche offer it, reach out to be a guest writer! This helps you practice your craft as well as gets your name out there.

Hopefully this quick step by step guide aides you in the process of starting a blog! If you have any questions or comments, leave them below or join us in our Facebook Community Group!