How to Start a Blog Today in 20 Minutes ( 7 steps)
So, you want to know how to start a blog?
Congatulations! you have taken a huge decision to launch a captivating blog today. the key is to follow your passion, write what you love to entertain readers and earn income selling products. how to start a blog
when i first started launching my blog, i had no idea what is a domain name, web hosting or even install WordPress. But i started learning the basics before any advanced fundamentals.
So it doesn’t matter if you are new in the blogging industry or been around for a few days. setting up a blog is easy and simple. building a healthy blog takes time, effort and energy and its not something you can do in 20 minutes.
You need a number of important things to keep in mind that require focus, hard-work, working smart, research, persistence and to do things in spite of difficulties. how to start a blog
If you keep reading, i will show you 7 steps to set up a blog and 13 incredibly simple steps to build a healthy blog:
- 1. Select a profitable niche
- 2. Select a web hosting plan
- 3. Buy a blog domain name
- 4. Install WordPress
- 5. Choose a conversion focused theme
- 6. Index your website on Google
- 7. Promote your blog content
Step1: Select a niche within a niche
When it comes to selecting a niche, most people who launch a blog think about a hot niche or a sub-niche in these 3 huge markets, health, wealth and relationships. i believe money is being spent a lot on these three niches because people want to be healthy, have money in the pocket and have a happy relationship. how to start a blog
So if you want to make sales, you have to be very specific, very focused and select a niche within a niche to separate yourself from competition and serve a minority of target audience.
For instance: for someone who has got a blog in list building, he got to master this sub-niche and write creative content to entertain his readers. if you are a newbie that’s where you begin, you spend six months to become an expert in this sub-niche, you could give massive value and solve a specific problem. how to start a blog
Everybody who owns a blog wants more traffic and more subscribers, so the key is to show them ways, tactics and strategies. list building is a hot topic and people are willing to spend money to learn the exact same list building hacks you use to build a responsive list.
One of the coolest things is to follow your heart, something you are obsessed with to turn your passion into profit. one needs to write evergreen content and add more value. you generally are going to convince people. you show them tools, resources and they will show you the money.
a small list of niches:
- Health
- Relationship
- Wealth
- Beauty
- Finance
- Insurance
- Coupon-Gift cards
- Surfing
- Dating
- Entrepreneurship
- Get your x-back
- Knitting
- writing books
- launching courses
This is just a small list…. there are hundreds of niches. in fact, select a niche within a niche and follow your heart to write creative content for readers.
Keyword research:
There are tools and resources online where you can see the estimated monthly traffic on Google. so i went to one keyword tool to find my ideal customers by using keyword everywhere.
its a free extension you addon chrome to know the estimated traffic a keyword has. most online marketers before they write any piece of content they do keyword research and ask themselves some important questions.
- Are people search that keyword on Google
- Is there any potential in this niche and people buy stuff
- Are there at least 1000 monthly searches
When they enter a keyword on Google, they can see the keyword search volume and competition data on several sites. keyword everywhere gives them the opportunity to separate themselves from the herd to where clients take the offer. keyword everywhere gives the potential to generate organic traffic. how to start a blog
Step2: Select a web hosting plan
When it comes to web hosting and domain name, I focused on Hostgator company for some reasons. their services made easy, fast and page load speed is awesome. nobody wants to wait more than the average time in seconds to read blog content.
More importantly bunch of video tutorials on Youtube to learn instructions. regardless of 24/7 Hostgator support/chat.
What is web hosting?
It is where you host your domain name, content, images. something you want to share with the world. you are excited to put some effort and bring people to your blog and serve them. so without web hosting, there is no chance to get a domain name. web hosting is very essential to set up your blog.
What is a domain name?
It is your personal business name where visitors read your creative content. www.amazon.com / www.ebay.com / www.google.com are big drivers in the world. they selected names that are easy to spell, easy to remember and generally unique names. how to start a blog
1. if you have a short name like these companies people remember your blog and come back again and again.
2. Choose a domain name that is related to a keyword you want to rank for.
3. Think of a personal name when you have no idea about a blog name.
You are building a business for the long term and this really matters.
The cost of web hosting and domain name
The monthly cost of web hosting is normally $10. for me, I pay $70 to Hostgator company every six months. I pay twice a year and this seems a fair price to host unlimited domains on the baby plan that I highly recommend for newbies and beginners in the blogging industry.
Godaddy: I usually pay $9 for a .com domain from a coupon code and I pay $4 to hide my personal contact information and protect myself from spy and spam. for a price of coffee, you are supposed to do that. you could buy a domain name and protect your privacy.
It is a fair investment because you are truly building a business to establish fame in front of a community… don’t invest your time, energy and effort on free platforms like Tumblr and blogger. you truly need a personal business name that builds trust and reputation. how to start a blog
I highly recommend a baby plan for newbies and beginners. one needs to invest in blogs and sell them to individuals. you basically buy very cheap domain names on black Friday for less than $1 and host them in Hostgator.
Fortunately it’s a fair advantage for the first year. you could have plenty of blogs set up and sell them onflippa.com ( buy and sell websites).
Once you invest in the baby plan, you’ll need to open a free account on Godaddy and fill out your personal information. let’s see how you can purchase domain names from Godaddy and host them on Hostgator.
Step3: Buy a domain name
The first thing you really need to focus on before you set up a blog is to buy an appropriate domain name for your business. I know there are literally 2 or 3 domain names that come up in your mind. you become distracted because all of them are viable domain names. how to start a blog
Don’t worry, what you need is to ask influencers on FB groups to get their true opinions to purchase an impressive domain name.
I’ve been using Goddady since 2015 and purchased few domain names from their platform for some reasons. if you enter any domain name on their web browser and that domain is not available, you will be taken to a list of 20 available domain names for the exact same domain.
My suggestion is to avoid domain names that end with .blog .buzz .biz. if you look at Google, you’ ll see most bloggers select domain names that are based on trustworthy, easy to remember and personal names.
How to buy a domain name from Godaddy:
One of the most common questions I hear from new people in the blogging industry is. how to buy and transfer a domain name from Godaddy to Hostgator? terms like name servers. how to start a blog
I would say the process is easy and simple. Once you purchased Hostgator baby plan for unlimited domains. they will send you an email to inbox to get access to Cpanel and install a blog.
login to your Control Panel and enter username and password. next
1. login to Godaddy account and click domains
2. Select domain name you want to transfer
3. Select custom option
4. Log in to your Hostgator Cpanel
5. Copy and paste nameservers and click Add
Step4: install WordPress
The beauty thing about Hostgator is they allow you to install WordPress within a few clicks. in most terms, Hostgator wants to simplify the process for their customers (super easy). and this is a good idea for new people who have no tech background. how to start a blog
If Hostgator installation is not easily done or causing difficulty, people will choose their competitors like Bluehost.
To install WordPress. login to your Cpanel through the email you get in your inbox from Hostgator. once you are logged in, scroll down to the bottom to software section and click on Quickinstall. on this page, you will be asked to select the important domain you want to install.
Congatulations. your blog is ready now. this means your ” install WordPress” has been installed successfully.
You will immediately see your login information username and password. in order to login click on the admin URL. it comes out like
www.yourblog.com/wp-admin
Now. you can easily enter your username or email address and paste password. if you want to change your password, click “lost password” in a few seconds you receive an email that asks you to retrieve your password.
Important tip: don’t use the word “admin” as a username. write something different to protect your website from hackers.
The first thing you can see when you log in is the dashboard. click on the plugin and install Yoast, It’s an SEO plugin that indexes your website webpages in search engine, in a way to generate organic traffic. afterthat add a conversion focused theme and start writing your first blog post.
Move the computer mouse on Post and click on “Add new” in this section, you will be asked to write a headline. Remember, write a headline that creates a hot curiosity.
People come into your blog post and click for a reason. you write a hot headline. next, write a compelling introduction to engage readers with your content.
You are starting your first blog, so you need to write great content. You obviously need a plan to write blog posts that convert. I highly recommend thrive themes plugin to publish well-designed content.
Once you finished your first article, scroll down to the bottom to Yoast plugin where you optimize your article for search engines. after that click on the blue buttom and publish your first post.
Congratulations! Your first post is published and indexed on Google. in a few days, your website will generate natural traffic.
Step5: Conversion focused theme
there are plenty of free templates on WordPress to select and activate in your website. But i want to help you avoid the mistakes i have done when i started and show you premium themes that are SEO friendly with responsive design.
If you want to have a successful blog and attract an audience, you need to activate a theme that has no distractions. So your job is to purchase a theme that is expertly designed for conversion.
You only show them content. no widgets, no sidebar banners, no bullshit. if you want to attract traffic and subscribers. give visitors Compelling content and Strong call to action on the bottom, You could build a massive list. that’s the ultimate answer. how to start a blog
One site i highly recommend for themes is themeforest.net. they offer responsive templates.
Nominal: is the exact same theme i use on my website. it is responsive, speed optimized and ranks better on Google.
Elegant themes: They have responsive themes that empower thousands of WordPress Websites.
Sociallyviral: is a WordPress theme designed to engage readers and it is SEO friendly template that generates social traffic.
Step6: Index Your website on Google
Google doesn’t actually know your blog. So in order to generate organic traffic, you need to index your website for search engines. First, sign in to Google search console using your Gmail account, enter your website URL and click on “add property”.
Submit sitemap: Google is about connecting businesses to people, so the fastest way to index your website blog posts, is to submit your sitemap to Goggle, this makes it available for people when they search the web for specific keywords. On the right sidebar click on sitemap and submit it to Google.
Social bookmarking sites: another important way to index your website is to send it to most major social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Reddit, Googleplus, Youtube and Scoopt.it. This is just a small list. you can find over 50 social sharing sites that boost SEO and drive traffic. how to start a blog
You can easily create social profiles on each social platform and add your website in profile section, Once you do that, You’ll see natural traffic
Pingomatic is a tool that helps you index your web pages on Google fast. check all and send pings to index your articles on major search engines with one click.
Build quality backlinks: Backlinks are the backbone of SEO. if you want to outrank some websites on Google, you need to build quality backlinks. Guest posting is a pure strategy to generate traffic and get a backlink. if you are new to blogging world, you need to contact other bloggers in your niche and ask them to link to your blog.
Step7: How to Generate Daily Targeted Traffic 100% FREE
Organic traffic:
There are plenty of ways and methods to generate daily traffic to your blog and offers. the most common one a lot of bloggers focus on is organic traffic. traffic that comes from the search engines.
This is actually something people want. they enter a keyword on Google search bar to solve their specific problems. if you present excellent content, visitors sign up to your newsletter and buy your stuff.
Generating natural traffic is based on ranking your website on the first page of Google. this is not rocket science to obtain organic traffic. You obviously need to use Google planner or keyword Everwhere to gain and retain visibility without building a single backlink.
But let me tell you something. the most important thing you can do is to make a list of low volume keywords that can easily rank first page of Google.
for instance. i won’t select” how to lose weight” instead i will choose “how to lose weight in two weeks“. because so many individuals aim to rank for competitive keywords and they want more traffic.
What they don’t realize is so many SEO Agencies build thousands of Quality backlinks to outrank authority sites and when you find more than 7 authority sites on first page of Google that means no chances to outrank them easily.
if you want to rank the first page of Google, you need to select low volume keywords that are between 200 and 300 searches a month. in a matter of days, you could reach the top of Google without building a single backlink and see organic traffic flows to your blog.
Also read: 25 actionable Ways To Get Traffic To Your Website
Email traffic:
Another way to generate daily traffic is through email marketing. how many times have you heard “the money is in the list”. building an email list is one of the most effective strategies out there.
It’s a way to start a warm communication with your audience. it’s better than all social media networks, better than Facebook, better than Twitter, beter than Instagram and better than fb groups.
Furthermore, it saves you money on ads. because already have an audience. When i started blogging, i was consuming hours about email marketing, i figured out if i want to build a list, i have to offer something for free. so i decided to create a lead magnet with massive value to attract, grow and convert readers to subscribers.
The beauty of email marketing, you can build a responsive customer’s list who are interested in your stuff and send unlimited traffic to your products and books.
Email traffic is your own marketing strategy to generate sales whenever you want. in a few minutes you can reach hungry people who want to open your email and buy what you offer.
Also read: how to grow your Email list( 3 list building strategies).
Social media traffic:
Another way to generate traffic to your blog is through social media sites such as facebook, twitter, Instgram and Linkedin. So when you post a new article on your blog, you should post it on all social media accounts to help your fans and followers solve their problems.
Remember, people connect and share your content when you write something awesome, others don’t. when you add interesting and helpful posts.
Also, find smart bloggers in your niche and ask them to share your content. its a way to gain and retain more visibity online.
Another strategy is to find Facebook Groups in your niche and become a member. once you get accepted, write helpful posts and answer member’s questions to gain trust from group admin. this helps you build a reputation in front of the community.
Facebook groups are highly engaged.
Also read: 5 super simple strategies to quickly increase website traffic.
Guest Posting:
Guest posting is no secret.
When your blog looks like a Ghost town. no traffic, no visitors and zero subscribers. You hold off writing in your blog and Guest post on popular sites that are more trafficked.
Its a way to increase traffic, Build backlinks and connect with a new audience. remember One high-quality guest post can generate you much traffic in a day.
another way to generate traffic using Guest posting is to build awareness. you show people something, others don’t and you communicate true value through telling engaging stories.
The more guest posts you write and publish on relevant sites, the more traffic you get.
If you have 300, 500 visitors a month that means you have an audience and in order to achieve more and grow your blog from 500 to 1000. you need to diversify your strategy.
There is an audience on stable platforms like medium and growthhackers and this requires no guest posting pitch. You simply write and publish stories and contact publications to share them with their followers.
It is important to write high-quality guest posts on relevant sites to attract and grow the most traffic. people are going to share and visit your BIO and if they find interesting lead magnet they will subscribe and read your offer.
Also read: why guest posting needs to be a viable marketing strategy
Blog Commenting:
Another way to generate traffic is to write impressive comments on popular blogs in your niche. in order to get more people to visit your blog, you have to be the first person who comments on articles that recently been published, this helps you stay on top of all other commenters and get many visitors.
Don’t leave a spammy comment just to get traffic.
If you are leaving a comment just to get readers, this will truly put you out of business.
Leave long and impressive comments to create brain awareness that leads to brain responsive. if you do so people are likely to visit your blog and subscribe to your newsletter.
Forum posting:
Another effective way to generate traffic to your blog is through forum posting. if you are an internet marketer then warriorforum, affiliatefix and blackhatworld are the top affiliate marketing networks.
Open a free account and become a member. for instance, if you are in list building niche, there is a section there where bloggers post about that specific sub-niche.
Remember, the more interesting and helpful posts you create and publish, the more people you attract to visit your forum signature and land in your blog.
When it comes to generating traffic. just write good posts and answer people’s questions. if you keep creating helpful posts that add massive value, people recognize you as an expert and visit your signature on the bottom.
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