Starting a blog can be lucrative when done correctly.
This is why knowing the right steps to start a blog successfully to make money anddrive more traffic to your business website, hobby, etc, is very important.
In this blogging tutorial, I will share the best tips on how to start a blog the right way for beginners and anyone else.
Whether your goal is to be a hobby blogger or make money blogging part-time or full-time, etc, you need to know these successful blogging setup strategies that work.
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How to start a blog successfully for beginners in 10 easy steps in 2023
- 1. Decide your goal
- 2. Pick a good blog & domain name
- 3. Register your domain for free
- 4. Setup your own blogging site with WordPress.org
- 5. Start with a good web host
- 6. Choose a profitable niche
- 7. Learn SEO basics
- 8. Write topics people are searching
- 9. Create social media profiles
- 10. Use blogging tools
- Begin blogging for good
How to start a blog successfully for beginners in 10 easy steps in 2023
Many people that start a blog fail because they didn't put in the time to learn the strategies, basics, and skills that make it successful.
Setting up a blog may seem easy but blogging successfully is time-consuming and require skills.
So avoid the common mistakes and master what it takes to start one that achieves your goal.
If you're a beginner continue reading to learn the best steps that will help you start your own successful blog.
The easy steps and ideas below will help you avoid beginner's blogging mistakes.
Let's show you how to start it right.
1. Decide your goal
People have different goals as to why they want to blog such as:
- making money online
- sharing their thoughts and opinion
- driving leads to their business
- generating data
- getting subscribers
- building their brand
- sharing their expertise
- becoming popular
A lot of people also start blogging to make extra money or as a hobby first.
You can do the same, starting off part-time and transitioning to treating it as a full-time blogging business later.
2. Pick a good blog & domain name
Start your blog the right way by picking a memorable blog name that will be your domain too.
This is one of the important basics you should put some serious thought into.
We recommend using these domains and blog name generator tool -
3. Register your domain for free
As a blogger, you can register your blog domain name without extra cost if you pick a website hosting company like Bluehost.
If you decide to go with a host that doesn't offer domain registration at no extra cost, just register your domain with Google Domains or NameCheap(domains starting at $6/year so way cheaper than Google Domains - starts at $12/y).
Both offer cheap prices and include features like privacy protection that you will pay extra with other domain registrars.
4. Setup your own blogging site with WordPress.org
One of the blogging tips we offer to beginners is to pick WordPress.org as their blogging platform.
When you set up your blog with WordPress.org, you will benefit from SEO-ready features, plugins, and fast themes.
Since WordPress is the most used blogging platform and content management system(CMS) you will also have access to a lot of free expert support.
Tip:
Pick a WordPress theme that's fast and lightweight like Neve, GeneratePress, and the default Twenty Twentys theme.
5. Start with a good web host
How can you set up a blog without it being online? NOT possible.
So one of the crucial steps to setting up a blog successfully is to sign up with one of the best hosts for websites to bring it online.
If you are just starting out and doesn't have enough financial resource go with a cheap and decent host(we recommend BlueHost or GreenGeeks) and you can upgrade later when your blog grows.
If you want peace of mind, have the financial resources, and need a company to handle everything(speed, security, fast premium cloud hosting, etc) while you focus on creating amazing content and monetization, choose WPENGINE(fully managed WordPress hosting).
An idea for beginners is to start with a shared plan and upgrade to a higher tier later.
6. Choose a profitable niche
One of the best ways to start a blog successfully is to pick a niche you have some experience or expertise in and will be profitable.
It is easier to stay focused when you are niche blogging and have some experience in it.
It is also important to pick a niche that will make you money. Producing blog posts on a niche that is not profitable will lead to failure.
Even if you are blogging for a hobby try to find niches that can generate income later when you decide to monetize it.
With a good blog niche, you can monetize it by selling it or through affiliate programs, etc.
Here are examples of popular, profitable, and types of blogs that make money:
- Food blogs
- Personal finance blogs
- Small business blogs
- Travel blogs
- Technology blogs
- Lifestyle blogs
- Fashion blogs
- Health and wellness blogs
- Legal blogs
- Interior design blogs
- News blogs
- Entertainment blogs
7. Learn SEO basics
Not learning some SEO basics will lead to frustration and failure in your blogging journey.
You will need to know some SEO basics or hire an SEO consultant or agency if your goal is to make money with your blog or get leads to your business site(if you're writing blog posts to drive leads).
Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you.
Start by learning SEO basics, for further information see:
- how Google crawl, index, and serve web pages
- search engine optimization explanation
- WordPress SEO for beginners( if you are using WP as your blogging platform as you should)
- interlinking your content
- making your website speed faster
After knowing the basics, make sure to learn the advanced checklist for search engine optimizing content to rank on page one.
8. Write topics people are searching
One of the biggest reasons some people who begin a blog website fail is because they pick topics no one is searching for or has little search volume with bad intent.
This is why doing keyword and keyphrase research with good intents is very important before writing any content.
You can only drive readers to your website if you are creating blog topics enough people are searching for.
Use tools like Ahrefs and Google Keyword Planner(for more information about free sign up, see, how to gain access to Google Keyword Planner for free) to learn the search volume of your topic keywords before writing.
This is one step you don't want to ignore.
Another beginner blogging step is to create social media profiles for your new blog.
Social media profiles are an easy way to build free backlinks to your homepage and reach more readers.
Create Facebook, Tiktok, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest profiles of your blog name and link to your blog website's homepage.
Consider popular specific country's social media platforms too.
Another benefit of this strategy is that when you create a blog, you can promote it on these social media platforms to drive traffic to that post.
10. Use blogging tools
As a beginner blogger, you need some tools to help you start off right.
Using writing, SEO, and other blogging-related tools will make blogging easier.
Below are some basic bloggers tools to get you to start blogging successfully.
| Tool name | Category | Use | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| DomainWheel | Domain/Blog Name Generator | Generate domain and website name | 0 |
| Namecheap | Domain Registrar | Register your domain name for cheap with domain protection included for free. | $6+/year |
| WP Engine | Web Hosting | U.S-based FULLY managed WordPress hosting with premium cloud hosting. If you have the fund go with them as the value(security, speed, and tech support) is incredible | $20+/m(get 4 months free) |
| BlueHost | Web Hosting/Domain Registrar | Host your blog website for cheap as a starter with FREE domain registration with some packages | $2.95/m basic |
| WordPress.org | Blogging Platform | Create your blogging website | $0 |
| Neve | Website Builder | WordPress theme to create fast & SEO ready websites | Zero |
| GeneratePress | Website Builder | WordPress theme to create fast & SEO ready websites | $0 |
| Frase.io | Blog Idea Generator | Generate blog ideas and title | Free |
| Google Keyword Planner | SEO | Find keywords to target | $0 |
| Spyfu | SEO | Keyword research and competitive analysis | Freemium(paid startung at $33/m |
| Ahrefs | SEO | Use for keyword & backlink research, and do competitive analysis | Starts at $99/m |
| Grammerly | Writing | Write grammatically correct blogs | Free |
| EMV Headline Analyzer | Writing | Analyze how your blog title appeals emotionally to searchers | Free |
| Canvas | Image | Find and customize images for your blog post | $0 |
| Openverse | Image | WordPress collection of free images you can use for your blog posts | $0 |
Begin blogging for good
We hope that this beginner's tutorial on how to start a blog will help you begin blogging successfully.
Some of the steps in this guide – like choosing a quality web host, using WordPress.org, writing topics people are searching for, tools, and knowing SEO basics will help you get your blogging journey started faster and successfully.
A Los Angeles resident who loves to write awesome guides on SEO, WordPress speed/security, content strategies, business and personal finance, digital and growth hack tools, legal stuff, etc, that are helpful to businesses, solopreneurs, bloggers, and consumers.
What I write about is based on tests, extensive research, and 11+ years of experience as a former Senior digital & content marketing consultant with a division of Thomson Reuters and running a successful digital marketing agency...[Read full bio]