How to easily create a blog in 12 steps?
Creating a blog is a reliable way to meet your needs and those of your family. It requires a lot of work, but many are already taking this path.
Before starting to build your blog, take a break.
There are a few crucial decisions that you will need to make right at the beginning. I learned these lessons the hard way; what I can tell you is that this first part willcompletely Determine your success. As they say: half the battle is choosing the right pond to fish in.
I will guide you through the process12 steps to easily create a blogespecially for beginners.
How to easily create a blog ?
Choose a category to focus on
Find a domain name
Choose a web host
Enter your domain name
Install WordPress
Choose a WordPress theme
Install WordPress plugins
Install Google Analytics
Set up your mailing list
Enter into the rhythm of your blog
Build an audience
Monetize your blog
Let's now dive into the process of creating a blog, step by step.
#1 - Choose a category you want to focus on
The most important decision to make when launching a blog is the choice of category.
Why choose a category? Why not write about everything that interests you?
When it comes to building an audience, increasing traffic, and monetizing your blog, you will go much further and much faster if you stick to a specific category.
Let's take an example: Let's say you come across one of my blogs. You find an amazing article on how to turn subscribers into prospects. You like it and subscribe to my subscriber list. Then, I send you an email on how to organize your closet. How do you react? Maybe you also like organization. But not most people. They want more content on digital marketing.
Google also prefers blogs that focus on a single topic. This makes it easier for SEO, ranking, and traffic. In fact, there is some SEO toolsthat can help you better optimize your site, and thus, improve its ranking and traffic.
Choose a category and stick to it. If you want to try another category, simply create a new blog!
Here are some popular categories at the moment:
Personal finances
Fitness
Online business
Investing
Productivity
Real estate
Careers
Test preparation
Working as a freelancer
If you have no particular blog idea, why not choose one of these categories?The personal finances of individuals who earn more than $100,000 per year is a very good category to deal with. Or evenPhysical fitness for people over 60 years old.
Categories become challenging when they are super consumer-centric and have an extremely broad audience (e.g. celebrity blogs). There are tons ofcompetition, but also very limited income. C’est une combinaison brutale… Beaucoup de travail, mais peu de rémunérations. Les blogs de recettes sont un autre exemple de catégorie brutale. Une competition de classe mondiale et très peu de moyens de monétiser. Essayez d’éviter ces genres de catégories.
One of my favorite categories is the Business to Business Including topics such as:how to do marketing, build products, HR, customer service, manage a team or improve sales skillsIn any case, these categories are less popular than the ones I listed above. The quality of traffic is still amazing. Companies are always willing to spend more to solve their problems; they have a lot more money. The downside is that you need to have experience and skills in these areas before you can blog about them. It's not as easy to break into.
The category on hobbies can also be helpful, but generally more difficult to monetize. That being said, I have met entrepreneurs who have created six and even seven-figure businesses in leisure fields such ashorseback riding Sorry, the text "ou" does not have any specific meaning in English. Can you provide more context or clarify what you would like to have translated?Learning to play the guitar.. It's doable. It's just more difficult because people are not willing to spend as much on their hobbies.
#2 - Finding a domain name
Simple and easy to use
Very low prices
Easy domain transfers
Before we dive into searching for and purchasing the right domain, I need to clarify an assumption that I make in this post: I assume that you are starting your own blog on a blog platform that you will own and manage - so, it will be your own website.
Indeed, this is not the only way to start a blog, you can use a blogging platform like Medium, LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook. However, if you want to make money with it, you mustBuild your own website.
I want to start with a brief discussion on how website technology works.
First of all, there is the domain.. This is the website's URL. Consider it asthe address of your company. You will have tobuy your domain from a domain registration office.
A domain registration office is a société à laquelle vous aurez recours pour buy your domain ; elle le conserve pour vous). Elle n’héberge pas votre site ou quoi que ce soit d’autre – elle se contente de stocker votre domaine et de diriger le trafic web vers votre site qui sera sur votre hôte web. Utilisez Domain.com they are also one of my favorites.
The host is The company that hosts your website. Your site will be on its servers. Here is my updated list of the best web hosting providers overall. The quick answer, however, is that for most bloggers, the best choice isBlueHost
The website creation tool. Nowadays, very few websites are built by hand using raw HTML and CSS. The vast majority of them are built using a tool. This tool allows to lift heavy loads and greatly facilitates the construction of a site, especially if you have no idea how to code. For blogs, these tools are called content management systems (CMS) and the only real option isWordPressOnce you have installed WordPress on your host, you can start building your site.
In summary, you purchase a domain from a domain registrar, install WordPress on your host, and then start building your site. I will explain to you how to do each of these things step by step.
Now, how to buy a domain for your blog.
To buy a domain, you must first find one. This domain should be somewhat related to the category you have chosen and must also be available for purchase.
I strongly recommend that you continue searching until you find an available domain. Although it is possible to purchase a domain from someone who already owns one, it is an advanced option that can quickly become expensive.
They can easily go from 10,000 to 50,000 dollars. I have even participated in debates about buying domains for over 100,000 dollars; what I learned is that the most popular domains can exceed seven figures. Not to mention all the hassle we will have to go through to search for the domain owner, negotiate and transfer the domain itself.
Your best bet is to keep searching until you find a domain that you like and that you can handleBuy directly from a registrar for about 10 dollars.
Should you use your personal name as a domain?
If this is your first blog and you are not quite sure about the topic you want to blog about, I recommend using your personal name.
The reason is that if you change domains later, you will have to start over. There are many mistakes in blogs that can be corrected later; having the wrong domain is not one of them!
Let's say you choose a domain like fitnessfordoctors.com. Then, after six months, you realize you prefer to blog about doctors' personal finances. You would need a new domain and start over from scratch.
Personal domains are much more flexible - it's just a name after all. If you switch from one category to another after a few months, it's not a big deal. Remove all old content that doesn't match your new topic, start publishing new content, and you're good to go.
That being said, personal domains have two major disadvantages:
Scalability It is much more difficult to recruit other writers or to grow your blogbeyond your personal identity subsequently..
Sale Personal blogs, even if they generate a lot of money, are much moredifficult to sell.. Potential buyers want a site that does not depend on a single person.
These are quite problemsadvanced. So, if this is your first blog, thenThe advantages of using your name as a domain outweigh the disadvantagesIf you need ideas for domain names, check out this post on the best blog name generators.
#3 - Choosing a web hosting provider
Every site needsa hosting providerIt is the company that stores your website on its servers and makes it available to visitors.
Some recommendations:
1. Best WordPress hosting for beginnersBlueHost
For your first blog, you want a hostpopular, reliable, easy to use, and at a reasonable price. No need to be fancy.
BlueHost perfectly meets this need. The best part is that its plans are affordable.
$7.99/month
Free domain and SSL certificate
Recommended by WordPress
30-day money-back guarantee
2. Best WordPress hosting for advanced bloggers = WP Engine
There was a time when I managed blogs with hundreds of thousands or millions of visitors per month. They contained thousands of posts. We always usedWP Engine for websites of this size..
The WP Engine has many additional hosting functions to ensure security and scalability. For sites of this size, you need to do much more maintenance. WP Engine takes care of all of this for you. Its support team is also world-class. They do an excellent job.
But there is a major drawback: it is more expensive. The lowest plans start at $30/month. That's 7 times the price of other hosts.
30 $ per month
Monthly Pricing
Free domain and SSL certificate
30-day money-back guarantee
#4 - Point your domain name to your host
You now have a domain and a host for your website.
The next step is to point your domain to your host so that people end up on your site when they visit your domain URL.
Each host has slightly different settings that you will need to configure with your domain registrar. There is of course a support document that explains in detail what needs to be done (depending on the chosen host).
If you have any problem, contact your host's support team and they will guide you through the exact steps.
#5 - Install WordPress
You will need a content management system (CMS) to build your website and manage your blog articles.
There is only one option for this: WordPress.
Seriously, it's not even a decision. Use WordPress!
A few years ago, WordPress had some competitors: Joomla, Typepad, or Blogger.
No one is currently using those platforms anymore
It may sound a little harsh, but every time I hear about someone using one of those old WordPress competitors, I can't help but laugh. It's hard to take them seriously.
WordPress is responsible for 30% of all websites. In short, it is very popular.
Due to the popularity of WordPress, most hosting providers offer a One-click installation for WordPress. All you have to do is log in to your hosting provider, find the WordPress installation option, and click on it; then follow the instructions. BlueHost offers exactly this step.
And if you have decided to opt for WP Engine, it is pre-installed because WP Engine is a specific hosting company for WordPress.
#6 - Choose a WordPress theme for your blog
There is a simple way to customize the appearance of WordPress without having to code anything yourself.
WordPress uses "themes", small packages of code that can be swapped out. Every time you change your theme, your site also changes. The content of your blog posts will not change, rest assured. So, it is very easy to evolve your site over time without having to rebuild it entirely from scratch.
For now, you need to choose your first WordPress theme.
The number of topics covered is overwhelming. There are... a lot..
When I choose a theme for one of my blogs, I go straight toStudioPressThe themes are a bit more expensive, at $130. (Most themes cost between $20 and $50.) In my opinion, this price range is worth it. StudioPress has been acquired by WP Engine. That's why WP Engine now includes all StudioPress themes in its hosting package. A nice gift.
If you want a wider selection of WordPress themes at standard prices, Themeforest is the most popular WordPress theme market. You will find almost everything you want in its selection.
After purchasing your theme, log in to your WordPress blog, go to The section Theme is located under Appearance in the WordPress sidebar menuFollow the instructions to add the theme. You will need to download the theme files into WordPress and activate the theme from WordPress. The download option is accessible in themes > add new. You will then see this download option
You will be able to manage all the themes that you have published on your WordPress blog from your Themes section
#7 - Installing WordPress plugins
One of the best aspects of WordPress is that it is infinitely customizable. Since it is open-source, you can modify it to do whatever you want.
WordPress plugins are small software packages that you can install in WordPress to get additional features. This is how you can add a whole bunch of extra features to your site without having to code anything yourself.
Pay attention here and try not to go overboard.
Some bloggers install dozens, or even hundreds of plugins on their blog. This can cause a lot of problems later on. Not only can plugins cause unexpected conflicts between each other, but there is also a security issue. Plugin owners may not ensure maintenance over time. When you have so many plugins, you will never know which plugin is causing a particular problem.
I like to keep my plugins limited to 5-10. Here are some of my favorites:
Akismet - A must-have for every blog, it automatically filters out tons of comment spam, which is a problem for every blogger. It's one of the few plugins that I'm happy to pay to update.
Yoast SEO - The most recommended SEO plugin, it automatically manages a lot of SEO tasks for you and makes all SEO tasks much easier.
Contact Form 7 - The most popular contact form. Create a contact page on your website and use this plugin to create a contact form (it will send you an email every time someone fills out the form).
TinyMCE Advanced - There are currently a bunch of improvements to the WordPress editor that make writing much easier. These days, I skip those editors. I write all my articles in Google Docs and then format them in WordPress using its default HTML editor.
WP Super Cache - A good plugin to speed up your site.
MailChimp for WordPressThis is the simplest way to connect your WordPress site to a MailChimp account, create an email signup form, and start collecting email addresses.
Popular WordPress Posts - The easiest way to add a list of your most popular posts to the sidebar of your blog. The list will be updated automatically.
There is a plugin for just about everything you could want to do with your WordPress site. Use the plugin page on your WordPress blog to search for anything you need.
When you have found a plugin that you want, install and activate it from WordPress.
#8 - Install Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free website analysis tool from Google. Even though it is free, it is the best analysis tool available.
Analytics is a whimsical word that refers to data from websites.
Yes, the analysis can become quite complicated and overwhelming.
That's why we are going to ignore most of what is in Google Analytics for now.
You just need to create a Google Analytics account and install it on your blog. There are two reasons for this.
First of all, Google Analytics stores your data over time. When you are ready to dive into it later, you will be grateful to have collected data from the beginning.
Secondly, it is thrilling to see people visiting your site in the beginning. I remember the first time Google Analytics recorded a visitor on my first blog. I thought it was a mistake. "Someone has visited." Monday Site? Really? Why would they do that? Who are they? Did they like it?
Seeing these first visitors arrive will give you huge motivation. Even if you only check Google Analytics to know your total traffic, it is well worth the time it takes to set it up.
It is also quite easy to set up.
Go to Google Analytics and set up your account. Once your account is created, you will be provided with a unique JavaScript tracking code for your site. When you copy and paste this code onto your site, Google Analytics will start collecting data for you.
#9 - Create your mailing list
Sooner or later, you will hear such a statistic:
Email marketing has a return on investment 22 times higher than any other marketing channel!
TechnicallyIt's true.
The response from email will always dominate any other channel you try to run a campaign on. But you must acquire those emails from the start - they have already been filtered for the most receptive people. In other words, email is inherently more responsive.
Every marketing engine I have built for businesses has relied on email.
Of all the marketing channels that have come and gone over the years, nothing compares to the power of a high-quality email list.
Even if you don't know what to send to your subscribers, it's okay!
By usingConstant Contact Or other email marketing services, you can start collecting emails on your blog so that the list is ready for you when you need it. It takes time to build a decent-sized list, which is why you should start now. You will thank yourself later.
Mailing lists can be a gold mine once you have a few thousand subscribers, and the money really starts rolling in once you have 10,000 subscribers or more.
Even a simple email address collection option in the sidebar of your blog is enough to get you started.
Constant Contact is an email creation software with drag-and-drop capabilities
More than a hundred models suitable for mobile phones
Simple automation tools
#10 - Get into the rhythm of your blog
Writing blog articles is not a sprint, it's a marathon or rather a journey of several days.
The best bloggers settle in one placeconsistent writing rhythm that they canmaintain for a few years. Yes, for years..
Here are a fewrules Empirical data regarding the Publishing frequency :
At the very least, find a way to postOnce a weekIt also needs to be a substantial message: at least 2,000 words.
Serious bloggers will post2 to 3 times per week.
The most important websites quickly reach5 to 7 publications per weekThis requires severalwriters.
The big shots who push things to their limit will do25 to 50 positions per weekNo kidding, this is for large businesses that use content marketing as their main customer acquisition channel. HubSpot is a classic example of this.
When I look at this graph of blog posting frequency, taken from the Orbit Media survey of over 1,000 bloggers, I am not surprised that 21% of bloggers do not write regularly. (Let's be realistic, A publication of less than once a month is not regular enough for most readers to know when you will publish a new article). If you publish every week, you are already publishing more regularly than 57% of other blogs - this gives you a huge advantage.
I know it's not easy to write. After writing blog articles full-time for three months, I always feel like throwing my MacBook out the window. It's a chore. That's why I recommend one post per week. This allows you to focus on other aspects of your site for the majority of your time, while giving you a break from writing your articles.
A very good article should take you two days. The first day is dedicated to research and outlining, as well as writing as many documents as possible. The second day is dedicated to writing, editing, and integrating the article into WordPress.
It is also necessary to push quality as far as possible. The key to building a website and traffic over time is to write messages that havemore value than others have already been published in your category.
#N°11 - Building an audience
There is a super famous article in blogger circles: 1,000 true fans.
In essence, having 1000 true fans means you can make a living from your blog. You can quit your job, work wherever you want, and have total control of your life. All by reaching a very achievable goal of 1,000 true fans.
With a blog, you will build your audience of 1,000 true fans slowly and consistently.
As long as you continue, you will get there. Generally, it takes a few years.
Here is what you need to focus on to achieve it faster:
Post an articleat least once a week. Never skip a week.
Start posting 2 to 3 times a week if you can.
On each jobI'm sorry, but it seems like there is no text provided for translation. Could you please provide the text that you would like me to translate into English?focus on thequality As much as possible. Search the topic on Google and see what other people have doneI'm sorry, but it seems like there is no text provided for translation. Could you please provide the text that you would like me to translate into English?thenAsk yourself how you can write something even better.
Write about topics that don't havenot yet been addressedFind a new perspective on your topics that other people have not yet addressed.
Find your style and beauthentic So that people can get to know you. This helps to establish links with your audience more quickly. To do thisI'm sorry, but it seems like there is no text provided for translation. Could you please provide the text that you would like me to translate into English?just write as if you were writing to a close friend.
To push even furtherI'm sorry, but it seems like there is no text provided for translation. Could you please provide the text that you would like me to translate into English?beactive in other online communities. Post in groupsFacebookI'm sorry, but it seems like there is no text provided for translation. Could you please provide the text that you would like me to translate into English?TwitterI'm sorry, but it seems like there is no text provided for translation. Could you please provide the text that you would like me to translate into English?faites des interviews en podcast... Be as helpful as possible in these communities.
As your blog audience matures, you will want to make changes to yourstrategies traffic based on your growth.
#12 - Monetize your blog
There are really only two ways to monetize a serious blog.
Yes, only two.
Bloggers try a ton of different ideas, maybe a dozen. Out of this dozen, only two are effective. What are they?
Affiliates and infoproducts.
Check out this list of 21 bloggers who are making money through their blogs, to motivate you.
Out of the entire list, all except three or four derive the majority of their income from info products, affiliates, or a combination of the two.
How do info products work?
I could write a book about it. For now, let's keep it simple:
Showcase your website.
On your website, give them a reason to subscribe to your mailing list.
Once they are subscribed to the email, funnel them into a launch funnel. These are email funnels specifically designed for selling info products. Generally, it involvescourses that include a set of video lessons.
Depending on your volume and target marketYou will convert approximately 0.5 to 1% of new email subscribers into customers, at a cost of $500 to $2,000 for your course.
Now, this seems too good to be true. Although there are some difficulties.
First of all, you will need to be extremely skilled at convincing...
Secondly, it is useful to be in the right category and, therefore, target the right people.
How do affiliate programs work?
It's quite simple: You strive to create as wide an audience as possible. Then, throughout your content, you recommend products that are useful to this audience. When your audience clicks on the link of this recommendation, they get a special tracking code. If they end up making a purchase, you earn a portion of the sale.
The main drawback is that only a small percentage of people will click and an even smaller percentage of people will make a purchase. It is therefore very useful to have a very important traffic In order to earn enough money through your blog...
Monetizing a blog for beginners
Are these really the only two options? Is there something else for beginners?
Yes, there is one.
If info products and affiliates are the main ways to seriously make money, you also need serious traffic to make them work. At least, if you want them to work well enough to make six figures per year...
And to get as much traffic, you will need a lot of time on your blog. Although I love blogs, starting a new blog does not make dollar bills rain down right away.
Instead of trying to turn your blog into a completely passive money-making machine, go the other wayDrop passivity and become active.
Start working as a freelancer and advising people. To make money quickly, this is the easiest option. In any case, you should know that the first freelance missions can change people's lives.
I have experienced this change myself.
Anyone can create a blog and use it to generate leads as a freelancer. Just build a clientele that pays you $3,000 to $5,000 per month. That's enough to quit your job.
And it's a much easier goal to achieve than an affiliate marketing or infoproducts machine. Anyway, you always have the option to build that kind of thing later.
What about all these other monetization methods?
Most of them are a waste of time. The impact on revenue is marginal, it's a total distraction. A few are worth doing for marketing and brand strategy. The rest should be completely ignored. Here is the list that bloggers always try at some point:
Books - Ideal for marketing. Adds a ton of credibility to your brand. But you won't feel any impact on revenue at all.
EventsHere, there are many risks (such as all types of contracts being blocked in advance, for example: room reservations). However, there is no guarantee that you will profit from them. Even if you make money, the margins are often not enough.
Ad banners Google Ads, formerly known as Adsense, for example. Nowadays, I'm not even sure if it's possible to get advertising banners to cover the hosting bill.
Speaking Engagement - If done well, occasional speaking engagements can be an excellent way to build a brand. And while it may seem incredible to be paid $20,000 per conference, it is far from incredible when you learn that most speakers are never paid, that it takes months of work to create a conference that costs this price, that you really need a New York Times bestseller to charge real fees, and that you will be so tired of hotel rooms after the first year that you will never want to travel again. My advice: do speaking engagements when the opportunities arise; do not build a business on these foundations.