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This ‘ how to make a blog for beginners ‘  post outlines everything you need to know to start a successful blog.

I know many people struggle with understanding the concept of how to make a blog for making some side income, therefore, in today’s post, I’m going to walk you through the process of starting a blog that you can start earning money from. This guide will help you understand everything you need to know to start blogging.

Before we start, I’d like to share a little backstory.

I’ve been blogging for close to 10 months. During this time, I’ve been able to grow my blog from $51.29 to $2954.00 per month.

I’m not very technical. I’m also not a professional writer. I’m just a 20-something year old with a passion for sharing the knowledge I’ve gained over the years about money. I get to share what I enjoy, help people out and make an income doing it! And, I want to teach you how to make a blog for yourself, a blog that you can start earning a side income from each month.

Related:

How I made $51.29 blogging in September 2016

How I made $763.76 blogging in January 2017

How I made $1726.44 blogging in April 2017 

The main aim of my blog is to share personal finance tips, this includes ways to make extra money and other topics of that nature.

Because I love to share ways to make money online, I usually find myself talking about blogging.

Why?

This is because, out of everything that I have tried and researched over the years in terms of side income, blogging is by far the best, most enjoyable and most sustainable side hustle I’ve found.

This is why I want to show you how to make a blog for earning extra money today.

Again, you don’t need to be a techie, neither do you need to be a professional writer or have lots of money to start. You just need to follow the simple steps outlined in this post to get started.

My personal experience as a blogger

I launched this blog in September of 2016. Ever since then, it has changed my life.

Every morning I wake up with the knowledge that I’m doing something I truly enjoy, helping people out and making an income doing it.

Not only that, my blog has grown so much in 10 short months, that I am now confident in its ability to become my full-time income very soon. This is very exciting and something I look forward to pursuing and helping others achieve as well.

This is precisely why I’ve created this tutorial to teach you how to make a blog for only $3.95 per month!

Before I walk you through the process of how to make a blog for yourself, I want to clear up a few questions you may have (I had them too when I was starting my own blog back in 2016)

What is blogging?

It’s the process of sharing one’s knowledge or experience in the form of posts or articles on a website.

For instance, anytime you search for something on Google, a number of pages will be displayed like this:

Approximately half of these are blog posts, which – if you click on any- will take you to someone’s blog. This blog is being run by someone just like you or me who wants to share his/her expertise or knowledge with others. And, more likely than not, this blogger is earning an income from their blog.

Can anyone learn how to make a blog for profit?

I get asked this question a lot and the answer is a resounding YES!

Like I said above, you do not need to be a professional writer or have a college degree…In fact, blogging is one of those things (somewhat like a career path) that you can start WITHOUT A DEGREE and make tons of money from.

These are some examples of bloggers who are making lots of money online without the use (or need for) their college degrees!

• Michelle at Makingsenseofcents.com, who earns $100,000+ per month from her blog.
• Grace and Silas from Chasingfoxes.com who make at least $10,000 from blogging.
• Lauren and Alex from Avocadu.com who make over $25,000.00 per month on a health and fitness blog.

How do you choose what you will be blogging about?

I always advise that you blog about something you enjoy doing or learning about.

For instance, I enjoy learning and trying out new ways of improving my finances. I love to try out work from home opportunities, I’ve tried a few brick and mortar businesses, I’m looking into investing in real estate in the near future and I love to learn about achieving financial freedom and eventually becoming rich from my various businesses. These are all things that I actually enjoy, therefore, it’s quite easy for me to write about them and share them with my readers.

In order to run a successful blog, you will need to find something that you like, just like I did, then your blog can be focused on that.

Here are a few pointers for choosing your topic:

Choose something you love.

In order to do this, ask yourself this question: What would I enjoy sharing with my readers?

Ask yourself this question as well: What do you always want to speak about with friends, family or colleagues? This thing or things that you always like to share?

This is likely what you will want to focus on.

Related: How to choose what you want to blog about easily.

How much money do you need to spend to start blogging?

Contrary to many peoples beliefs It DOES NOT cost $1000+ to start a blog. Many people email me because they’re concerned that starting a blog is going to be so expensive.

If you use my tutorial below, I will show you how to make a blog for only $3.95 per month (billed yearly).

This is quite cheap considering the amount of money you can make from this blog in a few months.

How will you earn money from a blog?

There are quite a few ways to earn money from a blog and they’re all completely legitimate and quite simple to understand and implement. They include:

Using ads: You can make money by allowing ads to display on your blog. Therefore, when someone clicks on one of your ads, you make money from that!

Sponsored posts: This is the process of writing a blog post that a company has paid you for. You just need to share your honest opinions. You usually get paid up front for those types of posts.

Affiliate marketing: This is the process of adding ‘unique affiliate links’ to your websites/posts. These links are made just for you (by big companies and brands) and each times someone completes an action (makes a purchase, signs up for an offer etc) you get to make some money.

Selling Digital Products: This is the process of creating your own product such as an e-book or e-course that you try to sell to people who visit your site.

I currently use ads and affiliate marketing to make money on my blog and I make close to $3000 each month. I haven’t experimented with sponsored posts or creating my own digital products, but eventually, I expect I might.

The questions above are things I wanted to address before moving into the actual process of teaching you how to make a blog for $3.95 per month, so you could feel confident and comfortable before starting the process.

Now that you’re comfortable with what blogging is about, let’s get started with showing you how to make a blog for your self. I hope you’re excited about this!

How to make a blog for beginners: The Actual Process

Step #1: Brainstorm A Great Name For Your Blog (Domain Name)

In order to start your blog, you will need to come up with a name for your blog (or what is technically referred to as a domain name).

You want this domain name to be catchy, as well as simple to spell and remember.

Here are a few guidelines to follow when thinking about a domain name for your blog.

*Choose a catchy name. Something that visitors will remember.

*Try to make your name as short as possible (this is not a MUST)

*If you can’t brainstorm a name that you like, consider using your name. For instance, MandyBrowne.com

I’ve said all this, but please don’t over-complicate this step. As nice as it is to have a great domain, it doesn’t really matter all that much. Your blog will still be profitable if you create great content that people really enjoy and can benefit or learn from.
For instance, I made money from my blog when it was called sheblogsaboutjobs.com and I still continue to make money from my blog now that it’s called smartnancials.com.

Related: How To Choose a great domain name for your blog in minutes

Step #2: Register Your Domain

The next step to starting a blog is registering your domain.

What is a domain name? This is the address of your blog. It’s what people use to identify you on the internet. For example, the domain name for this blog is www.smartnancials.com.

You can register your domain name with a company such as GoDaddy.com, or you can get one directly with Siteground.

I highly recommend that you get it together with your web hosting package (from Siteground) as I will show you in the step below. Doing it this way will make the process of getting your domain name and hosting package 100% easier for you.

P.S. Sometimes the domain name that you really want might not be available, in cases like this, you simply brainstorm another domain that is either close to your first choice or describes your blog focus well. You can also consider using your name since this might more than likely be available.

Step #3: Get A Web Hosting Package

What is web hosting?

According to Website.com

Web hosting is a service that allows organizations and individuals to post a website or web page on the Internet.

In layman’s terms, this means that a web hosting package will allow your blog to become visible on the internet so that people can have access to it.

Every blog needs web hosting if they want to be found online. In this step, I will show you how to purchase web hosting so that your blog will be ‘self-hosted’. Meaning that you will have full control of everything on your blog.

Having your blog self-hosted means that you:

*Have full control over your blog.

*Can monetize your blog as early as you want to.

*Have full control over how your blog looks in terms of color, themes etc.

There are free web hosting options like WordPress.com and Blogger.com, but if you are serious about making money from your blog and growing it into a source of consistent side income or a business, then you need to go with a self-hosted blog.

This is the only way that you will be able to make a great amount of money from your blog, and have the ability to grow and expand your blog as you see fit.

I have a self-hosted blog and this is one of the best decisions (and investments) I have made for my blog. This is so because I’ve been able to monetize my blog from day one which has, in turn, helped me to earn money much quicker than other bloggers who have to wait at least 4-6 months to start monetizing.

Step #4: Purchase your web hosting package

I highly recommend that you use Siteground Web Hosting to start your blog. They’re fast, reliable and offer amazing customer support. What’s more, Siteground has one of the best reputations for providing quality service at a very affordable price.

Ready to start making your blog?

First, go to Siteground.com (this will open in a new window so you can follow the steps outlined here. P.S If you use my special link, you will receive 60% discount off your web hosting package!)

1. Click on web hosting and select shared hosting as indicated in the image below

You will be taken to a page that looks like this (image below) where you will need to fill in your contact and payment information.

When you’re done filling in your info,  you then click on the blue Pay Now button.

That’s it~ You have successfully purchased your domain name and web hosting plan and you’re ready to follow a few more simple steps to get your blog ready.

Still not sure about Siteground, you can read a detailed review of Siteground Web Hosting here.

Step #5: Installing WordPress.org

In order to install wordpress.org follow these simple steps (images to guide you included)

First, go to My Accounts and click on Go To cPanel (as indicated in the image below)

Secondly, Click on WordPress in AutoInstallers (as shown in the image below)

Then, you click on the blue Install button (as shown in the image below)

After you’ve clicked install, you will be quickly redirected to a section called  Software Set Up where you will need to fill out some simple information. I will guide you through this step.

• Choose Protocol:  Keep this as is – http://
• Choose Domain:  Choose the domain name of your choice in the drop down menu.
• In Directory:  Keep this blank

• Site Name: Type in the name of your site/blog.  You can always change this later.
• Site Description:  Type a brief description of your site/blog.
• Enable Multisite: Leave this box unchecked.
• Admin Username: This will be the username you use to log into your WordPress blog (you can also use an email address for this).  Make sure you write it down somewhere safe so you never forget it!
• Admin Password:  Choose a password that’s easy for you to remember, but make sure it’s very strong.
• Admin email – Enter your email address. The one you used when signing up for your web hosting package.
• Choose Language: Choose the language you speak. For me, that is English.

Limit Login Attempt: I suggest you check this box as it will help keep your blog safe by deterring spammers and hackers from logging in to your blog.

Choose a Theme to install: Siteground only has a few unappealing themes for your selection. Therefore, keep this selection as None for the time being and I will show you how to install a theme of your choice in later steps.

Now, click the gray Install button and wait a few seconds for WordPress to be install.

That’s it! You’ve successfully learned how to make a blog for yourself.

However, you’re not quite done as yet. You still have a few more steps to follow to get your blog ‘set up’ and ready for visitors. Therefore, if you need guidance with completing the setup process of your blog, I urge you to sign up for my mini email course below. It will teach you how to set up your blog without hassle, how to start making money from your blog, plus how to get visitors to come to your blog.