I’m so excited you’re here and ready to start your new blog! If you’re wondering “how can I start blogging as a beginner,” you’re in the right place. I wanted to warn you, this post is a little longer than I intended when it began, so if you want to skip pass the introduction and go to a specific section please use the Table of Contents below for quick links!
Just a Heads Up! 🌟 This post may contain affiliate links, which means I might earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase through one of these links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. But don’t worry—I only recommend products and services I personally use, love, or believe can genuinely benefit you. Your support helps keep this blog going—thank you! 💖
How I got into blogging…
Hi, I’m Kari – but I also call myself a “creative accountant.” That sounds like I use fake numbers and scam the IRS, but that’s not what I mean. I’m an accountant because I love numbers, have an analytical mind, and love logic puzzles. The other side of me loves crafting, DIY projects, music, and writing.
I’ve attempted to start a blog many times in the past, but never felt like I had enough important things to write about; so I basically just kept my own private journal. Then something changed … I had grandkids. You can read all about my reasons for starting a YouTube channel (and blog) here because I go a little more in depth about how my negative self-talk kept me held back and the top 6 reasons I finally started.
Blogging is my way of leaving my mark in the world, in my own words and style. I’m hoping I can keep this website address forever and have all of the future generations of my family know all about me, from ME. I only have a son and his use of vocabulary was always a pain point for me. We still joke about it now, but every time he came home from school, my first question was “how was school?” His answer would be one of two, either “good” or “fine”. I don’t know how many times I told that kid he needed to learn more adjectives. Now I realize I should have asked different questions to get a better response. I couldn’t Google these ideas back in the 1990s!
Now, I’m an empty nester with plenty of free time, so I chose to fill it with things I enjoy most. One of those just happens to be writing, aka blogging. After a long day of sitting at a desk, focusing on numbers, it’s nice to pick a topic and just let my mind take over.
My Blog Goals and the Possibilities
I have two main goals and a side quest, if it happens.
Number One: To leave fun and useful information for my family’s generations to come. I never thought about future people until my grandkids started being born in 2022. Now, all I think about are the possibilities and I want to be a part of it in someway.
Number Two: To use my wide array of experiences in work, life, and hobbies to help others. You can’t even imagine how many things I’ve learned about and/or tried in my 49 years of life. I have three different degrees if that shows how uncommitted I am to following just one single path in my life. One day just for fun I am going to make a list, but I think I have a lot of useful skills that can help a very diverse group of people, even if its just a little. I know a little help can make a world of difference sometimes.
My Side Quest: To make some extra money to get out of debt and spoil my grandkids. I’m currently a remote-working accountant and I like it because it pays the bills pretty well and allows me the opportunity to help my mom and my son and his family. I’m Gen-X, so I’m stuck in the middle of the older retired bunch and the younger, struggling for family survival bunch. I’ve seen many examples of people putting years of work into their blogs, without much reward, to all of a sudden making over $100,000 a year just from affiliates, products, and courses. This isn’t my goal because I’d already planned to work my 9-5 until retirement; but don’t think I won’t quit my job if I can write a blog and make just as much money or more!
Myths That Stop You From Starting a Blog
Starting a Blog Is Expensive
If you think $2-$5 a month is expensive, then this is true. But, usually, if a want-to-be blogger can forego a fancy coffee one or two times a month, then they can absolutely have their own blog.
You Have To Be A Technology Wiz to Run A Blog
Nope, this is not true either.
Technology, especially in the blogging area, has evolved so much that practically anyone can start and run a blog from scratch.
You Need A Strong Background in Writing and English To Succeed
No way is this even close to the truth!
People love listening to people they relate to and are real people. You will probably be writing for just regular people who value your honesty and openness, not doctors or college grads with a Ph.D. in English. Just write in your true voice and you’ll have an amazing blog you can be proud of for years to come.
This is not an area to “fake it until you make it.” We (as in us regular folks) can spot a fake from a mile away – that is NOT success in my opinion.
Growing Your Blog Takes Forever
Yep, a brand new blog takes time to grow and be found by the people that love it and need to read what you have written.
If you’re doing it for fun and just a few people comment to say how much your post helped them or encouraged them a certain way, then that’s a success already.
If you’re hoping to make your blog a long-lasting income source, it may take a little longer. But, once the growth starts it can skyrocket. Just like a viral video, you can have a booming blog and make enough cash on a regular basis to quit your day job and take a vacation! [that’s my plan anyway]
Let’s Get Your Blog Started in Under 30 Minutes!
As I said a little earlier, blogging technology is amazing nowadays, so I’ll guide you step-by-step and you should be ready to go in less than 30 minutes.
Section Overview:
- Choose a Blog Topic (niche)
- Choose a Blog Name (domain)
- Find Blog Hosting from a Reputable Source (this is where your blog and all it’s files live)
- Full Bluehost guide is included
- Choose the Best Theme (look) for Your Blog
- Start Creating Your Content and Posting
- BONUS SECTION: Common FAQ Answers and Tips for New Bloggers
STEP 1: Choose Your Blog Topic and a Blog Name
A blog topic is also referred to as a “niche” – which is just a fancy way of saying a topic you are comfortable and passionate to write about. Choosing your blog name is just figuring out what you want your website to be called.
For example, this blog is called Project: Improve Me and also has the blog name projectimproveme.com. As the name suggests, it’s about me taking on the project of improving myself. I hope to accomplish my goals, build a community of like-minded people, share tips, hold each other accountable and have friends to celebrate our successes.
My other website (GeekyGenXGrandma.com) is something I started a long time ago but haven’t accomplished much yet, but I’m holding on to the domain name (website address) so I can get to it soon. As that name might suggest, I hope to connect with GenXers and older to talk about geeky topics and grandkid experiences. It’s more of a fun & helpful vision than the large undertaking of this Project: Improve Me blog.
I know that sounds like a lot coming from just a blog name, but in that, you also need to have a clear vision – at least to start. Your goals and vision can change as you become more comfortable with blogging – but starting with a clear mission will make starting much easier.
Homework #1 for STEP 1 : think about all the things you are passionate about or interested in. Make a list of everything – or maybe you just want to build a blog around your own life. That’s basically what I’m doing. I thought about all the things I want to improve in myself and thought as I work on me and learn along the way, I can summarize data and share with my readers to help them too.
You can pretty much write about any topic you want, but if you choose a very specific niche, make sure you can consistently write unique content for your blog without getting bored.
Homework #2 for STEP 1 : think of a name for your blog. Try to use a name that reflects the topic of your blog, like the examples of mine I gave earlier. You want it to be something that suggests what your blog is about that is easy to remember and spell. Both of my blogs use regular English words that are fairly easy to spell and remember.
Some people choose to use just their actual name, like JaneDoe.com; but my name is hard to spell and remember so I would only use this for something to do with my career, like showing a portfolio, Or, when my blogs are super successful, I can use my name as my website address to find ways to create an income around courses or something. I don’t know, that’s a long way off. But, starting a blog is definitely the best way to work towards that goal.
Here’s another little nugget of information to think about while you’re deciding on a name and moving on to the next step of getting your domain name: check social media to see if your blog name is available. You might want to get something where you can say something like – you are JaneDoeBlog on all socials. If someone is already using your blog name, it might make it more challenging to stick out from the crowd.
Homework #3 for STEP 1 : choose a domain name and check to see if it’s available.
Before you get too attached to a blog name, you need to make sure the domain name you love is actually still available. Here are my two suggestions:
- I use Hostinger to host this blog and they usually offer a free domain with hosting at about $2.49 per month. So, if you want to go that route, you can use my affiliate link so we can both benefit: Hostinger Premium Hosting + Free Domain
- I use BlueHost for my other blog and they have good deals, like currently 75% off hosting for you and a perk for me, so it’s a win-win. If you’re interested, here’s the link: BlueHost Hosting *my tutorial is included in the next step, so you can hold off on this if you want.
The next steps I’ll be guiding you through the BlueHost process because I find them to be so much easier. I’ll add Hostinger process in a separate post and link it here when finished. But, if you want to go find your own hosting and domain, that’s fine too. Go figure that out and then come back here for step #4.
“Hosting” is like your internet house, where your blog will live, and the “Domain” is your address.
STEP 2: Buy Hosting for Your Blog
FIrst, use the button below to go to Bluehost. It’s best if you have it pulled up in a separate tab before continuing this tutorial, so you can follow along and execute at the same time.
*You should open this in a new tab so you can follow this guide. You will see the Bluehost page below. [this is as of January 2025, the visuals and pricing may change]
Tap on the “Get Started Now” button and it will take you to the WordPress plan options. Since you’re just beginning you’ll only need the “Basic” plan – so disregard any other Bluehost recommendations.
Below is what you should see. So, you can clearly see the differences in the plans. Just “Choose Plan” under the Basic column to cover everything you need to have right now to get started. It is currently only $1.99 per month and you can’t really beat that anywhere else! [January 2025]
You will now be directed to a page that will ask for your blog name (domain name) so you can search to see if it is available. If it isn’t available, Bluehost will tell you and provide some suggestions. You may have to try a few variations or come up with a whole new name until the perfect one is available to you.
Simply type the domain name you have in mind under the “Choose your FREE* domain name” section and make sure to check the spelling once or twice before submitting it.
You’re almost done here – you will see the place where you get to choose your plan term, which is usually either one year or three years.
It’s more cost effective to get the 3 year plan IF you intend to take your blog seriously and put in the work. If you go through all this and you don’t, then neither plan will be worth the cost.
This is what it should look like for a 1 year plan. Right now, they are offering a huge discount of over $135 for the year!
Bluehost also has a 30-day money-back guarantee, so really you have nothing to lose. If you find out in the next month that blogging just isn’t your passion – then ask for a full refund.
After you continue to checkout and pay, there will be a couple more little things like setting up your account password. These are basic steps that you’ve probably done a thousand times on the internet.
When this is done, you should be directed to your WordPress Dashboard. You’ll see it when you have a dark row at the top and it says “Howdy” in the right corner. I think that’s a cute little feature.
If for some reason you didn’t get redirected there, you get to your dashboard by adding “/wp-admin” [without quotation marks] to your domain address (ex. JaneDoe.com/wp-admin). Bookmarking this dashboard page makes it easier to get to this page instead of remembering the website address each time.
Next comes the fun part! The design.
STEP 3. Choose Your Blog Theme
There are dozens of FREE themes for you to choose from to get your blog started. Choosing a theme that looks appealing to you and fits your blog topic is a huge step to blogging for your first time.
When I said earlier that blogging technology has come a long way, this was a big part of that statement. It is so easy to have an attractive website, without starting from scratch and learning HTML, CSS or other languages to get your desired outcome.
Here you have two choices: choose a FREE WordPress theme and make the best of it, or you can be a little more unique in the blogsphere and go with a premium theme that will cost a little money.
The Bluehost option page will look like the image below, but I’d suggest checking out a couple places if you’re looking for a premium theme. Generate Press and ThemeForest are a couple great shops I’d recommend because you can find cheaper, beginner-friendly, professional-looking themes. The premium themes make better first impressions and have a lot more features available for customization, so you spend less time in the designing phase.
This is one of the parts that takes me the longest because I’m so indecisive. But, themes can be changed with just a few clicks – and you can even see a live preview of them before you activate on your website. So, try some out and see what you like.
Next you may have to install your theme by logging in to your WordPress dashboard and going to Appearance » Themes » Add New » Upload Theme. Choose the theme zip file from your computer (check your downloads folder if you can’t find it), install it, and then activate it.
Now you’re ready to Launch your new blog site! You have successfully set up your new blog!!! Take a break and start thinking about what you’ll put on your About Me page. In my opinion this is one of the top spots on a blog because you get a peek into the life of the writer.
STEP 4: Start Creating Amazing Content
Now that you have your blog, start creating and writing about whatever you want and share it with the world. Each blogger has their own goals, so figure out what yours are and work towards them Success doesn’t come overnight, but starting it and working it consistently will lead you to a much better place than not starting!
If you need the link to Bluehost again I’ll add it here. Then continue reading for a few other blogging tips and answers to some popular questions.
Some common FAQs about Starting a Blog
- How do bloggers get paid?
- How to start a blog for free?
- What should I blog about?
- What are some quick tips for new bloggers?
How do bloggers get paid?
There are probably 20 or more ways to monetize a website. I don’t use many of these on my blogs, but I’m still fairly new and my primary goal is not to earn a living this way. I shared my main focus in a couple of my earlier blog posts: here and here. But, I have learned a ton about blogging, so since you’re already here, let me help answer some questions I had when I first got started.
Display Ads
The most common form of blog monetization is probably by integrating display ads on your pages. Once you’ve reached a certain number of readers and pageviews, you can apply to a premium Ad network, like Mediavine, Google AdSense, and Adthrive. If approved, they’ll handle the rest.
Current thresholds required before applying for premium advertising networks are:
Mediavine requires at least 50,000 sessions per month but they have many other requirements to get started (like original engaging content, real human traffic (not bots), and content that is “safe” for advertisers, and more).
Google AdSense doesn’t really specify a monthly session amount, but they like sites that are at least 6 months old (unofficially) with unique and interesting content.
AdThrive requires at least 100,000 monthly pageviews recorded in Google Analytics with most of the traffic coming from the United States.
These are just a few of the ad networks I am familiar with currently, and I’ve heard of people making $40,000 a year just from Mediavine ads – so it might be beneficial for you to learn as much as you can and add this to your future blog plan. First you’ll need to concentrate on creating the original content that draws in readers to reach the thresholds.
[if you want to know more about these ad networks and others, this is a great website that summarizes the pros and cons of the top 9 Blog Ad Networks – it’s very informational and up to date [2025].]
Affiliate Marketing
To earn an affiliate commission, you find products, services, and courses that are owned by other people or businesses, sign up for their affiliate programs, write about them on your blog or post advertisements, and then they pay you a percentage of each sale that is made through your special link.
These are pretty easy to join the affiliate programs that align with your blog topics for free.
Personally, I’ve joined a couple affiliate networks but haven’t really made any money yet. I only want to recommend things I use, have used, or have researched a lot.
I definitely signed up for the Amazon Associates because I shop there so much and would love to recommend some of the great things I bought. I’m still new to blogging and don’t want to overshadow my original, meaningful content with sales pitches. I think I used two affiliate links on this page, but it’s for two companies I actually pay to use (Hostinger and Bluehost).
Sponsored Posts:
When you get a big enough audience on your blog, you may have brands reaching out to you with offers to pay you money to get featured on your website.
This one I am not too familiar with but I’ve learned it could be very lucrative, like in the 4-5 figures for one or multiple articles. I think you’d have to negotiate with the brand before committing and make sure you read the fine print.
I wouldn’t want to sign an agreement to write articles for a product I found out was no good or the company had a bad reputation. So, just be careful on this one to make sure you are very selective when signing those contracts.
How do bloggers start for FREE?
There are ways to start a blog for absolutely NO MONEY, but for the small cost savings between Bluehost, for instance, and a free provider – you lose a lot of important features.
When free blog sites, like Blogger.com, decide to remove your blog for no reason – they can and will do it because they own everything on your blog and the domain, not you.
I had a site on Wix a couple years ago for the free hosting, but I didn’t care for the website name having “wixsite.com” at the end. I couldn’t get that removed unless I paid money.
Free is not always better. If you pay for hosting services through places like Bluehost, Hostinger, SiteGround, etc. you are in complete control of your domain name and content. You can do whatever you want with your blog. As long as you pay $2-$5 monthly for the hosting fee and about $15-$20 a year for your domain registration, you’ll be good to go.
My advice: Do not choose FREE when blogging your heart and soul out to the world. It would be devastating to have a company remove it for absolutely no reason!
How do bloggers choose what to blog about?
The very best thing about blogging is that you can write about absolutely anything at anytime. You may have to be concerned with comments and reactions to your writing, but you can still do it!
In the beginning you probably won’t have a lot of eyes on your blog. So, this is the time to experiment – with layouts, different topics, and figure out what feels best to you. You have nothing to lose at this stage.
My advice: Really take time to think about your passion! What are you good at? What do you love to do? What would you do even if you had to do it for free? Answering these questions may help you find your perfect niche and make your blog the best little spot on the internet for you and the community just like you.
What are some quick tips for new bloggers?
I have learned there are at least 5 mistakes that new bloggers make when they first get started and want to share with you since you’re at the beginning of your journey. I’ll make this into a little list of DOs and DO NOTs for bloggers just starting out.
DO define your target audience at the beginning! Create a fake person, give them a name, a personality, a socio-economic status – design this person and write every blog post like you’re talking directly to them. This will help you reach an audience very similar to your invisible audience member and bring you success faster.
DO NOT publish mostly short form content! If you want to have an impactful blog, you’ll have to dig deep and give more than surface-level information. You want readers to see you as an authority in your topic so they’ll have a reason to come back to your blog over and over again. They’ll remember you and your site better if you can keep them on your site as long as possible. So, make sure MOST of your content is longer and full of information or entertainment for your readers.
DO have a CTA (call to action) planned for every blog post. Think about what you want your reader (or your invisible audience member from above) to DO after they read your blog post. Want them to sign up for your email list? Want them to buy a product? Want them to take some sort of action to benefit themselves or the world? Tell them what to do and why, in a nice, persuasive way, of course.
DO have a place to collect emails from your readers! Find a freebie to give away that they can only get if they enter their email address – then set up an automatic delivery to their email. Or, start a little weekly or monthly newsletter summarizing your blog posts or adding some special content they can only get in their email. Building an email list is one of the very best ways to earn income from your writing, even if you don’t have a ton of ads on your blog. You can send out a mass email (legally) to the people who signed up and offer them all kinds of products, services, courses to buy and watch your bank account grow. They don’t even have to be things YOU have created – this is where the affiliate programs from above come in very handy.
DO NOT focus too much on SEO, especially as a beginner. SEO (search engine optimization) seems like such an overused term and everyone claims to be an expert. It is supposedly all the tricks you can add into your writing that gets your site to the top of Google’s search results or something. But, yet I hear of people all the time saying their blog or website traffic is so irregular because Google makes a change to the algorithm.
In my mind, that means SEO tricks and rules would probably change too. So, don’t waste too much time worrying about SEO right now – your main focus should be just to get original, meaningful, long-form content on your blog.
DO share your blog post on a social media source! Once you have some posts that you’re proud of and want to share with the world, you need to advertise yourself a little. The best way is to share on social media and ask for thoughts about it. This will get you some pageviews and maybe some good feedback to help you improve on future blog posts. *Make sure you are set up to collect email addresses before doing this step.
My extra advice: While you may have every social media account set up and ready to go, DO NOT focus on too many right now. Again, your main focus is getting content on your blog, so don’t waste too much time creating visuals and tags for social media postings yet. Pick one or two methods and add the others later.
DO determine what a “successful blog” means to you and work towards it, consistently! Blogging is not a get rich quick type of endeavor – but whatever your goals are CAN be achieved. On this internet you will find a blogger at every single level there is. But, I know for certain, the only way to really be considered a “blogger” is to actually write blog posts. If your goal is extra income, it will happen – you just have to put in the time and the work. It’s hard to stay consistent without seeing any rewards, but when it does finally come – you will be so proud of yourself – and a little bit richer!
My Last Words on New Blogging
Blogging can really change a person’s life, which will also change families and communities. The best part is you can speak your mind and not get fired! You can also work whenever you want and from wherever you want – that means more time with your kids or just pampering yourself.
I’m not speaking from personal experience, yet – but I’m going to reach my goals and my form of “successful blog.” I’ve heard dedicating a year of your life to your religion can change your life and always for the better. I also believe the same can be said for blogging too. If you signed up for the year of Bluehost WordPress Hosting – then you might as well give it your absolute best shot for the entire year. Then, come back here and tell me all about your journey. Or, better yet, keep a record of your journey and write a book to help others follow in your footsteps!
Best of luck to you!!!
PIM Community Question
Did you find this blog post helpful on your journey to start a blog? Did I miss any super important tips? Are there other topics I should cover in this area?
Let me know how your new blog journey is going in the comments and sign up for my newsletter to find out when I post more articles that could be helpful to you.
