How do you start a blog? First, ask yourself this question, “Why do you want to start a blog?”
Maybe you’ve seen or heard of others who start a blog and earn a living. Maybe you’re really passionate about a certain topic and you want to share that.
If you’re reading this article then you want to know how it’s done. I’m going to share the initial startup with you. But I’m also going to assume you might, someday, want to make money from this blog.
Bare Minimum to Get Started
In order to start a blog, you need to choose a CMS (the software platform that displays your content) and buy a domain (the name of your website) and a hosting service (the servers and platform that allows others to see your site). That’s the bare minimum.
You need a physical place to house your blog posts, your writing. There are actually quite a number of options out there for this purpose: WordPress, Joomla!, Shopify, Drupal, Squarespace, Wix, and many more.
These are the “platforms” on which you house your blog – the Content Management System (CMS). Your blog posts are your content.
Just as you can choose between Google Docs and Microsoft Word to write a document, you need to choose the CMS platform for your blog.
The good news is that most CMS software is free!
CMS Platform Criteria
I’m assuming your goal is to start a blog as opposed to an eCommerce site – a “shopping” site. If you’re interested in solely a shopping site, not a blog, then Shopify might be your first choice.
For an actual blog (that could also be used for eCommerce), you want to choose a platform that makes it easy to publish your content. You want it to be easy to publish and edit both pages and posts.
Posts are individual topical articles with an author, a publish date, etc. Whereas pages are for static, timeless content. Some examples of typical pages: home page, about us page, and contact us page.
You also need a strong organizational system on your platform. An easy and clear way to define a navigational structure. This is even more important as your site grows – imagine 200 random posts without any means of categorization. Ouch.
Best CMS Platform
There is no such thing as one best CMS platform. There may not even be a best CMS platform for you.
But if you are a beginner and want to use the CMS that has the largest support community, then you want to use WordPress.
It leads market share at somewhere around 60%. And that means you can get a LOT of help just by googling your questions.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
But there is WordPress.com and WordPress.org – which should you choose to start a blog?
The big difference between these two is the hosting:
WordPress.com – hosts your site for you so you don’t have to download software or pay for separate hosting services.
WordPress.org – commonly referred to as “self-hosting” because you need to choose a hosting provider separately.
You might immediately think that WordPress.com is the easier, less expensive path. I won’t go into all the differences but the one thing you need to consider here is monetization.
If you ever might possibly consider making money from your blog, then PLEASE choose WordPress.org right now. You don’t want to have to try to switch after you’ve already posted content.
This explains the differences between the two WordPress options if you want more detail.
Determine Your Blog Niche
In the previous section, you chose your CMS platform. I’m going to focus on using your blog as a business startup. So for the rest of this article, I’m assuming you chose WordPress.org as your CMS.
Maybe you already have a really great idea to start a blog. For the rest of us less-creatively inclined people, choosing a blog niche can be hard.
I fall into the not-so-creative category myself so I’ll walk you through the process I used. Read the full process outlined here.
Activities List
I want you to sit down with pen and paper – not on the computer, you need a tactile representation of your task! Spend at least one hour (preferably more) writing down EVERY activity you’ve ever engaged in during your adult life.
Yes. Every one.
Your list should include sports, crafts, hobbies, clubs, classes, tutorials, etc. Literally, everything you can think of that you have spent time doing.
Enjoy yourself – turn on the TV or listen to music, maybe have a glass of wine. Just write it all down. Then put it away and don’t look at it again for at least 24 hours.
Expertise List
Now you’ll go through the same process but with a focus on your skills. What are you really good at doing? Ask your family, friends, even co-workers for input. When are you the “goto” person? For what topics?
Write them all down and then, again, put the list away.
Select Your Blog Niche
After at least 24 hours have passed, take out your activities list and spend another 30 minutes adding anything else you remember. Then switch to your expertise list and do the same thing.
Now compare those two lists. Draw a red square box around anything that appears on both lists. And then draw a red circle around anything on either list that you could talk about FOREVER!
You should now have at least a few squares and circles on your lists.
Reviewing only the squares and circles, find the items you like best. Then choose one of these for your blogging niche. Preferably one in which you can see some monetary potential if that’s one of your goals.
Do you need some more help? Try this: Uncover Your Niche Masterclass with Darlene Hawley This is a YouTube video with a downloadable workbook.
Brainstorm Blog Domain Names
Once you’ve determined your niche then you’ll need a domain name. A few factors to keep in mind for your domain name:
- Try to find something easily spelled so your audience can find you quickly
- Consider something with obvious meaning – a name that matches your content or even your own name
- It’s best to choose a name that’s easily remembered
- And, perhaps most importantly, it needs to be available for you to purchase
Spend a few days on this brainstorming activity. You’ll find different ideas pop into your head over those few days. Plus, you’ll want at least 10 names you like to choose from in case some of the options are not available!
Purchase Blog Domain
Your blog is getting closer to reality now. You have your list of potential blog names. Now you need to make the purchase.
There are many hosting providers which will offer you a free domain when you purchase their hosting package. I urge you to purchase your domain from a separate company. This way, if you have issues with the provider, then you still own your domain name.
One of the features provided by Namecheap, and one of the reasons I recommend them, is their free domain privacy. That means when someone uses WHOIS to see who owns my domain name, they won’t see my personal name and phone number in the “registrant” section!
Purchase Web Hosting
When you have your domain name, you can now purchase your web hosting. If you are new to hosting providers there are a few factors to consider:
- SSL certificate – the SSL certificate gives you the “s” in “https” (the safe, secure, encrypted connection – you want this!)
- WordPress installation
- WooCommerce (shopping cart system for online merchants)
- Hosting Support
What to Do Next
You’ve taken the first step toward your new online blogging business.
- Determined your preferred CMS (Content Management System) – in most cases, my recommendation is self-hosted WordPress (WordPress.org)
- Narrowed down your blog niche
- Brainstormed potential blog domain names
- Purchased your blog domain – my recommendation is to purchase through Namecheap (that’s what I use)
- Purchased your web hosting – I recommend Bluehost, primarily because of their 24×7 support (that’s quite important as a beginner)
Now what? I’ll be writing another post to help you configure (setup) your site. In the meantime, use an editor of your choice to begin writing some posts.
You might also want to consider the “look” that works for you – your branding. Maybe even consider a logo. But that’s all window-dressing – content is the most important aspect of your site in the beginning!
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