How To Start A Blog – A Beginner To Pro Complete Guide

Blogging has evolved as the mainstream marketing approach since the evolution of the eCommerce industry. It is the easiest way to connect with your audiences and provide the information they are looking for.

Blogs provide in-depth concepts and full knowledge to the readers. If your blog is meaningful and written effectively, then users will automatically attract towards you. As a result, your organic traffic will increase. In fact, blogs have the tendency to make millions of dollars.

Blogs help to establish your identity in front of your audiences. Because, with every blog- your name and organization are associated with.

One of the foremost things that I liked about blogging is that I can share about anything I want- it may be technical, fashion, food, travel, etc.

So, are you still confused about how to initiate blogging?

No need for worry and hesitation. In this guide, I shall explain how very simply you can start blogging with a few simple steps.

So, let us start understanding things from the root.

How Blogging Came Into Existence And Became So Important?

As just said above, blogging became mainstream with eCommerce. Offline marketing approaches are easy as compared to online marketing. Offline marketing has the advantage of having direct face-to-face contact with its customers. It eventually helps them in manipulating and convincing their customers for their products. But the online marketing holds this disadvantage. Hence, blogging was considered by digital marketers as the channel to convey their product information and details to their customers.

Emphasizing the facts below, you will definitely get a clear picture of why blogging is important for online marketers:

• According to OptinMonster, approximately 409 million people view more than 20 billion pages each month.
• The blog users in the U.S is estimated at 31.7 million in 2020. (Statista)
• Approximately, 7 million blog posts are published every day. (FirstSiteGuide)
• More than a third of all websites are blogs. (Hosting tribunal)
• 77% of the internet users regularly read blogs. (Impact)
• Marketers prioritizing blogging for business witness 13x more positive ROI. (HubSpot)
• 53% of marketers say blogging is their top content marketing priority. (DemandMetric)
• Blogging affects 6% of the eCommerce sales and doubles it for businesses who regularly post blogs for one year. (Matcha Benchmark Report)
• Detailed and lengthy blogs attract more traffic and generate 9x more leads than shorter content pieces. (Curata)
• The stats claim that websites publishing more than 16 blogs in a month take a lead in getting organic traffic and generate 4.5x more leads subsiding the websites generating 0-4 blogs per month. (HubSpot)
• Websites producing blogs generate 67% more leads per month on average. (DemandMetric)
• 24.5% of blogger claim better results by creating blogs. (OrbitMedia)
• 41% of marketers accepted that the quality of leads generated has improved after they started creating content. (Curata)

And there is no end to these statistics. The more you will dig in, the more knowledge you will get.

What’s Next?

Well, I know that now you surely want to start a blog of your own too. But you must be wondering how?

The next section will help out you with that!

How To Start A Blog?

Planning to write a blog but don’t know where to start… the most common problem among the writers who want to do something resourceful for themselves and/or their businesses.

• Do you have the same question too?
• Are you also thinking about how to start blogging as a money-making career option with the comfort of your home?
• Are you also puzzled to choose the right platform to start blogging for free?
• Is it the niche of your blogs that is hard to decide?

Congratulations! You are definitely at the right place because we have answers to all your questions summed up together. We have been closely working on content marketing for years now. And with all our experience, we can claim that WordPress is an excellent solution for how to start blogging.

1. Choose A Niche To Write A Blog

There are ample online business ideas to start with. But choosing the right niche based on your interest is very important and here are a few best niches for blogging.

Top 10 Most Popular Blog Categories In 2022 To Start A Blog

1. Beginners Guide
2. Recipes
3. Frequently asked questions
4. People/Client feature stories
5. Product reviews
6. Gifts and memes
7. Automation
8. Productive tips
9. Travels
10. Funny stories and many more…

Make sure to start a blog with the topic that you are interested and enthusiastic about. You must be very clear about your goal of the topic. Also, you should have appropriate knowledge about the topic that you are going to share with your audiences.

Another important thing is to make sure that whatever topic you are going to talk about is being searched by the audiences or not. Are the audiences looking for the information that you are going to share? You should know that. You must be aware of what is going around- you can check out the competitive blogs and the audiences you are going to target.

If you have made up your mind for the appropriate topic for blog writing. Then, pick the platform which you would be using and you think that will bring the best result of your words. You may find your best answer for this, in our next section- how to write a blog post?

But, as a piece of genuine advice, WordPress is supreme above all.

Once you have decided to start with WordPress, next you have to decide either to go with a self-hosted WordPress or cloud-based solution. Actually, we can set up WordPress either on any hosting platform or via services like WordPress.com, WP Engine, etc.

I suppose you want to set up self-hosted WordPress on your hosting platform. Before you go ahead you need few things inline:

• A domain name idea (this will be your name for a blog. Ex: www.testblog.com)
• A web hosting account (this is where your WordPress files stay on the internet)

Giving a bigger bite!

2. Choose A Domain Name

What is the domain name and how to get a domain name to start a blog?

The domain name (Also known as your URL) is the address of your website which your customers/clients will type to search for you.

I prefer Bluehost as a domain provider since it provides a free domain.

You can get domains from the following domain providers:

• WP Engine
• DreamHost
• Domain.com
• Network Solutions
• HostGator

There are many other domain providers available in the market. You can choose anyone out of them according to your needs.

To start a blog with your own domain name, you may want to check this useful guide too.

3. Purchase Web Hosting

Once your domain name is decided, then you will have to set up hosting for your blog.

What is web hosting and how to get the best web hosting to start a blog?

Web hosting is basically a home where your blog resides. A host ensures that your blog will be available to your readers 24*7.

A Web host is a machine that hosts your WordPress files remotely. You can purchase web hosting from:

• Inmotion Hosting
• Bluehost
• Hostinger

You will find the best web hosting deals from WP Engine, which is a premium hosting provider.

When you have picked your niche, domain name, and hosting. Then, start WordPress setup.

While you’re ready for hosting with WordPress, there comes a phase of confusion for many in choosing the platform. Which one is better- wordpress.com Vs Self-hosted wordpress.org?

Let us get this sorted before moving ahead with the process.

WordPress.com Vs Self-Hosted WordPress.org– What Is Better?

Keep these parameters in your mind while selection between wordpress.com and wordpress.org.

4. Go Through WordPress

There are two ways to install WordPress and start a blog with ease:

• Through FTP (this is a bit technical and tough)
• Through CPanel (if you are using CPanel) using softaculous (this is easy and convenient for starters)

Let’s elaborate:

I. Installation Through FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

• WordPress requires an installed MySQL database.
• Download and save the latest version of WordPress from the WordPress page to your computer.
• Double-click the ZIP file downloaded to open to choose to Extract all files.
• A pop up will come up for extracting the file.
• Now, enter a relevant name for your folder for proper usage.
• Upload the folder to the root of the workspace via FTP.
• Now, the folder has been uploaded, you will have to ensure the domain to this folder.
• Open a browser and access your domain.
• If the configured file is created successfully, you will be informed about the information you need to complete the setup. Here you will get a welcome from WordPress. Hit on ‘Let’s Go’ and proceed.
• Fill the database information required in a form that asks database name, username, password, database host, and table prefix.
• After filling up the form, click on Submit.
• After you hit on submit- it will be informed that WordPress is ready to get installed. Click on the ‘Run the Installation’ button to continue.
• Now, you will be prompted to enter a site title, username, password, and email address. When entering these details, click on Install WordPress.
• Now, you have got your WordPress installed after entering your username and password for your reference.
• WordPress has now installed successfully and you may click the Login button to begin the setup of your WordPress.

II. Installation Through Softaculous

• Login to your CPanel (if you are facing any issues regarding this, feel free to contact your host provider).
• Scroll down to the software section, click on ‘softaculous app installer’ in order to open the program.
• Search for ‘Softaculous’, then go for ‘WordPress’. Click on the Install button.
• Now, fill out the 3 sections within ‘software setup’.
• Fill out the ‘site setting’ of the section.

Here you will include:

• Site name: Give the website a name.
• Site description: Write a brief description or shorter subtitles for your website.
• Enabled multi-site: Only enable multisite if you know that it needs it.
• Fill in the admin account section.

Here, you have to find:

• Username for Admin: Change it to something meaningful for you and other admin.
• Admin password: Create a secure password to keep your installation from being compromised.
• Admin email: This will be the login of the admin through which people would contact.
• Select your language from the drop-down language bar.
• Click the plus sign by ‘advanced options’ and check the box to limit the login attempt.
• Change the database name.
• Change the prefix.
• Unless you would prefer to do this manually through the WordPress Admin area or by using FTP.
• Change the ‘theme’ designs you wish for your WordPress website.
• Final step- Install.

5. Install The Theme In WordPress

After logging in to WordPress account:

• Go to Appearance > theme.
• Once you have come up to the theme page, click on the Add New button.
• This will open a new page with the subheading like featured, popular, latest WordPress themes. You can find a specific theme or search for WooCommerce themes with specific features.
• Based upon your finding, you will get your relevant searches.
• When you have a relevant WordPress blog theme according to your criteria, you just take your mouse on top of the thumbnail. This will show the installation button, preview button, and details button.
• Go ahead and click on the Install button.
• After the successful installation, you receive a message with an activation link and live preview.
• Just, install your WordPress blog theme and start a blog with ease.

6. Install Plugins On WordPress

To install plugins in WordPress, there are three ways. Here are they:

• Plugin installation from WordPress Directory
• Upload plugin from .zip file
• Plugin installation through FTP

I. Installing A Plugin From The WordPress Directory:

This is one of the basic and simplest ways of installing plugins that are directed from the directory. Method:

1. In the sidebar, go to Plugins.
2. At the top of the screen, click Add New.
3. Enter the name of the plugin you are looking for.
4. Click on the plugin you would like to install.
5. In the pop-up window, review the details.
6. Click Install Now.
7. When the installation completes, click Activate.

II. Uploading A Plugin From .zip File:

This is managed by installing plugins purchased from a marketplace or developer’s site. Method:

1. In the sidebar, go to Plugins.
2. At the top of the screen, click Add New.
3. Then, click Upload Plugin.
4. On the Upload Plugin screen, you have two options.
5. Click Browse– Find and select the plugin .zip file.
6. Drag and drop the .zip file into the Upload Plugin screen.
7. When the installation completes, click Activate.

III. Installing From FTP:

You may also install the WordPress plugin through the FTP method. But, it is a little complicated. Method:

1. Open the plugin .zip file.
2. Extract the included plugin folder to a location on your computer.
3. Using FTP, connect to your web server.
4. Navigate to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory of your WordPress installation.
5. Upload the plugin folder from your computer to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory.
6. In WordPress, go to Plugins in the sidebar.
7. The just-uploaded plugin should appear in the list. Click Activate beneath its name.

7. Create A User For WordPress

To start a blog, you need to have multiple users for different roles and capabilities.

WordPress comes to your rescue with this built-in management.

1. To add a new user to your WordPress site, simply click on Users> Add New and fill out the form.
2. There you will get options like-username, email, first name, last name, website, and password (required).
3. After that, you are asked to specify the role of the user.
4. Now, hit the Add New User button.

You can visit some WordPress support forums that can help you answer to questions and make the changes you need on your WordPress website.

8. Create And Format Your First Blog

In the beginning, to start a blog, you would be a little tense because it is your first post. But, don’t you worry. If you have ever worked on Microsoft Word, it would be simple. Here, you will find two types of editors.

• Visual
• Text

After going to Posts > Add New, you would get your first blog page.

On the dashboard above, you would find options like:

• Bold
• Italic
• Strike-through
• Bullets
• Numbered lists
• Alignment
• Adding links
• Adding images

You may clearly format your text with the options mentioned above so as to give weight to your content. Additionally, you may also include B-quote, Lists, and Add Media to it.

• B-quote: This tool you can use to quote someone’s saying and you need it to stand out.
• Lists: Bullets and numbering look soothing to the reader’s eyes as it shows a simplified format. They help to divide large chunks of content into smaller bits.
• Add Media: Through this, you may add images and videos to enrich your content.

You have very well learned How To Blog till now, I hope! But only starting a blog is of no purpose if you don’t get any value out of it. The next section will guide you further.

Start Working On Your First Blog Post

After completing the necessary things, start working onn. your first blog post. Firstly, you can create About Us pages, Contact Us Pages, or any other page that can be included in the blog post header. Make a logo of your business with which people will identify you.

Create your author bio and add your professional photo.

Write effective and understandable content in your blog post. Include the internal images, infographics, CTAs, links, and reports that are relatable to your blog post. Align team members to proofread the blog. The more eyes are there, the more powerful the post will be.

Prepare it finally and publish.

Then, promote it on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook.

Promote Your Blog & Get Better ROI Of Your Efforts!

Creating a blog wasn’t that hard right!

Then why are people always confused about blogging and its performance?

As said earlier, the worth of a product is only decided to expand when it performs. Similarly, blogging will only benefit you when it drives valuable and potential traffic to your business.

This can only be achieved by performing proper marketing and promotion of the content created. Social Media is the most preferred platform to promote your blog promotion activities.

• You can simply share your blog posts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. with free photos (in case you don’t want to spend too much on premium images) to make your blog stand out from regular posts.
• Approach online publication houses to guest post your blog on their platform. Guest posting gives you a wider reach to the audience and better visibility.
• Summarize your blog content into infographics to be shared on platforms like Pinterest to attract the attention of the audience preferring visual content over textual.
• You can also post your blog links along with relative answers on Quora and community forums.

The idea is to increase the visibility of your blog and get more benefits from your blog in organic ways. Make your content plan and draft your promotion campaign. Compile your content calendar with your promotion campaign to synchronize and structure your functioning.

How To Make Money Through Blogging?

Although blogging is considered an easy alternative to making money; it isn’t. Blogging provides you ease in working the way you want and when you want. But, if you’re looking for fast and stealthy ways to earn money, blogging is not for you. Making money blogging is a long-term investment process. There are many ways to make money blogging like:

• Create a member-only forum/community
• Initiate affiliate marketing
• Sell Ads space
• Create and sell e-resources like eBooks
• Sell sponsored blogs
• Collaborate with online shops for coupons and gift cards
• Get paid to write reviews and recommendations

And many more…

You can also transform your blogging website into an open marketplace. In order to earn better ROI from the sellers and buyers both considering your company policy and terms of services. Online services are a major business opportunity in this digital era. Go local too for regional acknowledgment and business development.

At The End..

Well, we have many things which crop in our mind. Yet, we lag to project our thoughts to the right audience through the right medium.

Consequently, if you are starting off for the first time. Then this can be an issue where you can showcase your mindful reflection. Nevertheless don’t worry, there is WordPress with which you can simply start a blog. And, all it is free of cost.

What else do you want…

To start a blog, I have suggested everything for you above, so what are you waiting for?

If you still need help, I am here to help you and tell you to project your thoughts through a streamlined process.

Was this guide helpful and able to answer your expectations?

Let me know your kind feedback in the comment section below.