Are you asking yourself how to start a blog? Then you have come to the right place! This article will make starting a blog quick and easy in three simple steps. And, I promise you don’t need to be a tech genius to do it.

 

Step 1: Ask yourself why.

Have you always wanted to start your own blog? That’s awesome! Before you dive in head first there are three questions you need to ask yourself.

1. Why do you want to blog? This is the most important question to ask yourself. Is this something you want to start doing because it will be fun and you like to write? Do you hope to make money doing it? All of these questions are so important to answer before you start a blog. This article will discuss how to start a blog where you can make money.
2. What will your niche be? There are tons of different types of blogs out there travel, lifestyle, fashion, etc. You have to decide what type of blog you’d like to start before going any further. For example, Snoozy Momma is a lifestyle blog.
3. What do you want to blog about? Whatever topic you decide to blog about it needs to be something you are passionate about. If you aren’t passionate about your topic it will show in your writing and you will struggle to come up with ideas.

Are you ready to get started? Let’s do this!

Step 2: Getting a self-hosted blog.

The first step you need to take is purchasing your domain name. In order to make any money off of blogging, you really need to be a self-hosted site. So that means you need a website like www.totallyawesomeblog.com, not www.totallyawesomeblog.wordpress.com There is really no way around this if you want to make money blogging you need to be self-hosted. Most affiliate programs don’t allow you to post on any websites that you don’t personally own.

Bluehost makes setting up your self-hosted blog so easy! There is a 1-click WordPress installation, you get your domain name free for the first year, they have 24/7 amazing customer service and so many more things. Bluehost has a bunch of different add-ons you can purchase that you definitely don’t have to buy but I would recommend adding the Domain Privacy Protection. This protection plan changes your info for your blog from your real address and phone number to a Bluehost address and phone number. This protection will save you a lot of time and frustration due to people pulling your information from your website to send you spam mail and phone calls. I’ve heard stories of people get 20 calls a day! It is definitely worth it to get the protection.

Click the green button below to get started!

 

Bluehost makes starting your blog super easy. The link (above) will take you to the Bluehost homepage where you will click the green button. Then you will pick your plan and domain name. If you already have a domain name in mind you can use the link below to check and see if it is available.

Once you pick your domain name you will pick the service plan that you want. Like I mentioned before I would add on the privacy protection. The rest of the plan upgrades that you pick will depend on your goals and finances. Finally, you will enter all of your information and payment. That’s it! You are officially a blogger.

 

Step 3: Making Money!

There are so many different companies out there that you can become an affiliate for and get a commission for sales and clicks. Before you apply for an affiliate program I recommend having your blog launched with at least 10 posts on it (which I wouldn’t recommend launching your blog until you have 10 posts on it anyway). This way the company you are applying to can see what your page is all about and you will have an easier time getting approved.

My recommendations for affiliate programs for bloggers just starting out are Amazon and ShopStyle Collective. Amazon has so many products that will work for just about any blog. ShopStyle Collective is a site that partners with tons of different retailers. So, you can post links from stores that you aren’t an affiliate for and still make money on them. With this affiliate program, you get $0.05 per click whether someone makes a purchase or not. Below are two examples of affiliate links that I would use in my blog. The top is a single product from Amazon (You can post your product as a link like this  or, as just an image or as an image with text (see below).

What I love about ShopStyle Collective are their widgets. You can post multiple products all in one widget that your viewer can scroll through (like the one below)

 

Each company has their own set of rules for their affiliates so read the rules very carefully. You don’t want to get banned from a program just because you didn’t know the rules. That’s it! These are the first steps to starting your blog! It’s so fast and easy if you go through Bluehost. I hope you found this helpful! Leave me a comment or email me at info@snoozymomma.com if you have any questions or comments!