The Easiest Way to Start a Blog That Can Make Money Pt 1

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Have you ever wondered, “What is the easiest way to start a blog that can make money?”

Okay, I’m coming at you at a weird time right now, like seriously? The whole world was just turned upside down and all of us are over here trying to cope and do our best to navigate what a lot of people call the “new normal.”

Working in healthcare, I was extremely afraid about what the whole pandemic meant for us. It was a big ol’ mess in the beginning but we tried to do the best we can with what we had.

Am I still worried about coming to work? Of course! But I’m also counting my blessings because I was fortunate enough to still be working.

I can’t say the same for the over 30 million people that have filed for unemployment, or the small and established businesses struggling to stay afloat.

This just made me think about how a lot of people are probably turning into other ways that they can make money. I’m sure there are other quicker ways to do it, but I’m here to offer another option.

This is specially for those who have been thinking about starting a blog but just haven’t made the leap to do it. If you are looking for a sign, THIS IS IT! The universe brought you here for a reason. Don’t take that opportunity for granted.

This is your chance to get started, put your thoughts into writing to share with the world. Have amazing ideas and need a platform express them? Why not blog about it?

I have to really be honest though. This is going to take some real work and dedication if you plan on monetizing it in the future.

Blogging is different from other social media platforms because it provides you with more freedom to express your creativity, plus if you have your own hosting and domain, you don’t run the risk of your posts getting taken down because Facebook or Instagram says so. YOU ACTUALLY OWN YOUR BLOG.

Ok so let’s get started!

BASIC BLOGGING TERMS AND JARGON

Domain

This is basically your website or blog address. So it could be the name of your blog or whatever you decide to name the address that leads to your blog. For instance: www.dearblissbyjules.com – leads to this blog. It doesn’t necessarily have to end in .com either. Your address can have other extensions such as .net, .co, .org, etc. Be careful though, because these extensions tend to be associated with corresponding organizations. Best to keep it simple!

You can buy domains from sites like GoDaddy, Domain.com, Namecheap, or other popular options include buying them from host sites if you plan on hosting your site.

Hosting

The place where your blog files and it’s contents are stored. When you register on a blogging platform (like WordPress or Blogger), your blog and contents are hosted by them and it comes with certain limitations, like not being able to customize your blog exactly the way you want or not being able to monetize it. Free blogging platforms are great if you’re just starting out and don’t plan on expanding your blog to include other features, like the ability to have ads that generate revenue or having awesome plug-ins. If you want to get serious with blogging, I suggest self-hosting your blog.

Blogging Platform

This is where you basically access, build, and edit your blog.

For instance, this blog’s platform is through WordPress. WordPress in my opinion is far superior that any other platforms because of the endless options of customization and add-ons it offers. I will admit that there is a learning curve to it but it’s definitely worth learning.

There are other blogging platforms that are much more beginner friendly, but like I said, if you’re going to take blogging seriously, think long term. You don’t want to start somewhere and end up having to move your entire site somewhere else. Don’t make the same mistakes I did.

Okay so to wrap this section up – My blog Dear Bliss by Jules was made through the WordPress platform, has a domain of www.dearblissbyjules.com (I got from Bluehost) and also self hosted on Bluehost.

Remember that you have to have a self hosted WordPress site to run ads! I think this is the easiest way to start a blog and make money with it.

For the ease of this tutorial, I’m going to go though the process of getting started with Bluehost. It’s what I use and it basically takes all the steps of creating a site, hosting, and buying a domain all in one place. Remember that I knew nothing about setting all of this up in the beginning and had to learn it the hard way!

Let’s get started!

First things first, you can use this link to head to the Bluehost site and follow along.

As you can see, you would be able to get a FREE domain name registration and can get started for only $3.95/month. That’s just a cup of coffee from Starbucks! Can you give up a cup of coffee to follow your dreams? I think that should be an easy hell yes.

Pick your plan

Bluehost offers tiered plans according to your needs.

Pick a Domain Name

This is going to be your website’s address. Remember that they are offering FREE domain name registration. So awesome, so I would definitely take advantage of this. If you have already bought one from say, Godaddy or another domain seller, that is also fine. Just pick the appropriate box to continue.

Set Up Your Account

Select Your Package

These are your options say if you choose the Basic Plan.

• Basic 12 month Price – $5.95/mo
• Basic 24 month Price – $4.95/mo
• Basic 36 month Price – $3.95/mo

As you can see, if you want to get serious about blogging, the long term commitment is the better deal. But if you’re unsure and just want to test the water, you can pick whichever plan and extras you think suits your needs.

Add Payment Information

Set up Password

Yes! Now for the fun part!

Pick a theme

Honestly, this was my favorite part (haha). Don’t worry if you’re not happy with your theme at first. You can always change it, and let me tell you how many amazing themes and customizations you can do with WordPress. It’s pretty amazing.

Welcome to WordPress

Follow the prompts you see on the screen to continue to launch your site. If you don’t want to launch an empty site, you can always choose to write posts in the meantime and configure the settings and customize it before launching.

There you have it, the easiest way to start a blog that can make money. Congratulations on creating your self hosted site!

So how do you get to your website to make posts and edits once you launch?

Just follow the link: YOURBLOGNAME.COM/wp-admin.php
(change “YOURBLOGNAME” to whatever you decide to name your blog)

Make sure to join the email list for pt 2 on ways you can make money using your brand new blog.

Do you have any suggestion on what is the easiest way to make a self hosted blog and start making money? Leave them below!

Thank you for reading!

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