How to Start a Blog as a Beginner

   

Photo Credit: Pexels

Are you looking for how to start a blog with no money? Do you want to know how to start a blog and make money online?Are you bothered about how much it costs to start a blog? This post has clear and concise answer for all your queries. My name is Damian Alamba. I started this blog Damianalamba.com  from the scratch and grew it to this point all by myself with little or no knowledge of computer coding. When I started out many years ago, I was a complete newbie, the only thing I knew was that I wanted to make money online through blogging. I didn't have anybody to teach me in terms of a coach or mentor so I made GOOGLE my coach and mentor. I read and researched every article or blog post I could find on the internet related to blogging and make money online. I practiced and implemented everything I read and learnt and viola the result is this blog you are reading now. I am not ashamed to tell you that I learnt blogging by trial and error. Yes I made some mistakes when I started out, I created few other blogs that didn't go well. What I have learnt in few years of practical experience in blogging is what I am here to teach you free of charge. I have even refined and improved some of the ideas in such a manner that an average guy who has a little or no knowledge of computer can benefit from it. This is because I don't want you to make the same mistakes I made when I started out as a beginner. Now let's get started.

What is a Blog?

Photo Credit: Pexels

A blog is an online journal for creating and publishing a content. It helps you to create and publish a content in the form of a blog post that is easy for people to find, read and engage with on the internet. A content can be anything such as a piece of writing comprising of texts, pictures, videos, audio file or softwares. Many years ago, a blog was just seen as an online diary where people keep their personal thoughts or something to catch fun with friends of similar interests. But today, the story is not the same. Blogging has evolved not only to become a lucrative business that makes six figures monthly for the owners but also a powerful platform for global influence and popularity. I personally called Linda Ikeji some days ago to find out how much she charges for a Sponsored Post on her blog and she told me 150, 000 naira per day. Guys, if you multiply 150, 000 by 30 days, that's 4, 500, 000 naira in just one month. That's only for one sponsored Post that she posts on her blog and leaves it there for 30 Days. You have not added the money she makes from selling ad space on her blog. That one is much bigger than what she charges for sponsored Post. If I tell you that blogging has become a money well on the internet, I am telling you the truth. So if you are thinking of starting a blog, you are on the right track. We are talking about what can replace your 6-9 job and make you a CEO, give you a voice in the world and a recognition that is beyond your present location and invariably help you to touch more lives around the world. Incase you didn't grap my points in the previous sentences, let me repeat it in a more clear manner.

8 Reasons to Start a Blog

1. To keep a digital record of your personal life events, thoughts and experience. 

2. To share your ideas, knowledge, experience and skills with others who need it.

3. To make passive income online legitimately.

4. To become an internet Entrepreneur, CEO and your own Boss, not a pitiable employee who depends on monthly salary for survival. 

5. To build a community of loyal fans who may some day become potential customers, buyers or Clients.

6. To create awareness, visibility and publicity for your personal brand or those of others. 

7. To build an asset you can leave as a legacy for many generations to come after you are gone. 

8. To make an investment with your Time, Knowledge and money to get a bigger profit.

What's the Difference Between a Blog, a Website and a Forum?

As a beginner, you may think that every website you see on the internet is a blog. But that's not the case. A Blog is a Content-Based website while a website may be an online tool that offers a unique service to her users without any blog post. A blog is a kind of website that allows you to write and post articles on the internet. In most cases, a blog can also publish articles and also offer unique services related to her users. Damianalamba.com is a good example of a Blog. Examples of websites include, church Websites, school Websites, company Websites, online tools like plagiarism checker tools etc. While a blog is mainly a Content-Based website, a typical website can also be a combination of unique services and content. Then a Forum is a community or group of people on the internet who share a common interests, goals and objectives. So when you want to make money online, you can maximize your earning by creating a website that has these 3 things together. That's a Blog, a Forum and an online tool. Our article will focus only on how to start a blog as a beginner. With all these being said, let's now find out how to start a blog step by step. 

6 Easy Steps to start a Blog

1. Choose a Blog Niche

2. Get a Domain name

3. Choose a Web Host to launch your Blog

4. Create High Quality Content and Publish it.

5. Promote Your Blog and Grow Your Traffic

6. Monetize Your Blog

Choosing a Blog Niche

The first thing to do when you want to start a blog is to think and decide which topic or subject your blog will talk about. That's what we call a blog Niche. The topic or blog Niche you choose will determine the kind of readers that will visit your blog. For instance, if people are looking for high quality articles on Christian living and Spiritual Growth, Blogging and Making Money Online, Relationship and Marriage, Personal Finance and Investing among other things, they come to my Blog Damianalamba.com.

 When choosing a Blog Niche, I always advice you  choose a Blog Niche where you have sufficient Knowledge. Don't go and build a blog on coding when you know nothing about coding. Your knowledge on any blog Niche you choose should be above average to be able to command the attention and interest of both readers and search engines. You can always tell when someone is talking from a point of practical experience and when someone is repeating what someone else said. If you are a lawyer, it will make sense if you start a blog that helps people solve their legal problems. So start a blog where you have sufficient knowledge, experience and skills. It will bring you better traffic and revenue in the long run. Another thing to consider when choosing a Blog Niche is your passion. What are you passionate about? What can you talk about even if you are not going to be paid for it? This is so important because sometimes many bloggers get discouraged after few months of writing and publishing without seeing the much expected traffic or income. But if your blog topic is what you love to talk about, that passion will keep you going when success doesn't seem to be in view. There are many topics to choose from. But you need to consider if you want to go with a micro-Niche blog or a broad topic. A micro Niche Blog focuses on a single topic for a smaller group of people with similar interests. Examples Parenting blog, dog care blog, book review, Tech blog etc. Choosing a micro Niche Blog helps you to stand out among the crowd so that those who need the information your blog has can find you. In most cases you need a broad topic to attract a much larger audience. Many people like varieties and they go anywhere they can find different opinions and ideas. Guys when choosing your blog Niche, don't forget to consider what your audience is already searching for. What problems do your prospective readers have? What value do you want to offer them? Put these things in consideration and you will arrive at your best Blog Niche. Incase you are still not certain on what Blog Niche to choose, here below is a list of 25 Blog Niche you can choose from:

Photo credit: Pexels

1. Technology

2. Digital Marketing

3. Fashion & Beauty

4. Education

5. News

6. Family

7. Relationship

8. Home and Gardens

9. Religion & Spirituality

10. Health & Fitness

11. Government & Politics

12.  Health and Medicine

13. Food and Diet

14. Real Estate

15. Freelancing

16. Writing and publishing

17. Gaming

18. Sports

19. Agriculture

20. Business and Leadership

21. Travel & tourism

22. Lifestyle

23. Pets

24.  Finance

25.  Insurance

Get a Domain Name

After you have carefully chosen the Blog Niche or topic which you want your blog to talk about, the next step is to get a Domain name. A domain name is the URL of your blog or website. It is the Universal research locator address that people will use to find your blog on the internet. If your blog or website is likened to be a house on the internet, then your domain name is your house address. Simply put, your domain name is the digital address that people will click or search to find your blog or website on the internet. Examples of a domain name are Damianalamba.com, blogger.com, wordpress.com etc.

Every blog or website on the internet must have a domain name. So you need yours to build your blog on the internet. 

There are two kinds of domain namely, 

FREE DOMAIN NAME

CUSTOM DOMAIN NAME

As a beginner who has zero capital to purchase a domain name, I will advise you go for a free domain name. A free domain name is completely free. But the disadvantage is that it doesn't look very professional and usually sounds too long. When I started this blog, I started with a free domain name and later upgraded to a custom domain name. If you want to start with a free domain name, this is how to get a free domain name today without spending any money. 

1. First sign into your Google account and visit  www.blogger.com

2. Click on Create your blog

3. Enter the Title or Name You want your blog to be and click next. You can also skip this and do it later.

4. Choose the domain name you want for your blog. Once you enter a word, it will show you whether the domain name you have chosen is available or already taken by someone else. If it is not available, you can change it or twerk it by putting numbers or special characters in front, middle or at the end. You can have something like dogcare247, 18boysblog, etc. If the free domain name you have chosen is available, hit ok or create blog and your free domain name will be created in few seconds. It will look something like damianalamba.blogspot.com

If you don't want to create your free domain name with Blogger, you can use other platforms like WordPress.com, Weebly or WIX.com 

So if you want to start today with a free domain name, you can use blogger or WordPress to create your free domain name. It will look something like

 yourname.blogspot.com or yourname.wordpress.com

If you have a little money to invest, you can purchase a Custom domain name for your blog so that your blog will look more professional and easy to remember.

There are many Custom domain extensions on the internet but I advice you go only for .com, or . Org or .Net extensions. Those three are the most popular ones people usually remember.

If you want to build a professional blog and want people to remember your domain name easily, you don't need domain extensions like .info, .us, .co. Just go for .com or .net or .org domain name and you will be fine. 

So where can you buy a custom domain name? There are dozens of domain name registrars and domain name vendors on the internet. But I will only recommend three that I have used and found to be super effective. They are:

1. Bluehost

When you purchase a web hosting plan from Bluehost, it comes with a bonus of a free Custom domain. But even if you want to host your blog for free on blogger or WordPress, you can still buy a custom domain name from Bluehost. 

2. Namecheap

I bought my custom domain name Damianalamba.com from Namecheap.com. When it comes to effective customer service, very low price, security and other powerful features, Namecheap is the best. I have bought several domain names from them.

3. GoDaddy

I bought my first domain name from GoDaddy.com. They are equally very good at what they do. Their customer service is excellent, their price is cheap as well, their security is strong and there are other great features that make them one of the best in the market of domain name merchandise.

Choose a Web Host to launch your Blog

To start your blog, you need a Web Host. If you liken your blog or website to be a house on the internet, then your web host is the plot of land where your house is built on the world wide web. A web host platform helps you to create and manage your blog or website. It is your web host that makes your blog accessible to your blog readers on the world wide web. Your  blog's files and data are saved and stored by your Web host. Without a Web Host, your blog cannot be activated on the internet. It is the engine that powers your blog to function. Just like what I explained concerning domain name, there are also  free web Hosting services and custom web hosting services. 

Blogger.com provides you with both a free domain name and free Hosting. This is a great service made available for free by Google. You don't need to spend any money for this one. Everything is 100% free. If you choose to go for a free Hosting, follow the same steps I explained about getting a free domain name from blogger and you will get your free Host from blogger as well. Blogger also gives you free themes and useful tools all for free to customize your blog and make money online. If you need help with setting up your free blog with blogger ( installing and customizing your theme and menus) you can reach out to me using the contact section or email in the contact section and I will put you through. Alternatively, if you don't want to use blogger, you can go for WordPress free Host. Remember WordPress has two kinds: WordPress.com and WordPress.org

The former is a free Host while the later offers custom web hosting service. 

There are many reasons some professional bloggers go for a custom web hosting service. It's not because they don't know they can use free Hosting services. You know when something is given to you completely free, you don't have ownership of it. Custom web hosting gives you some kind of ownership, freedom, security and a peace of mind. If you have a free domain name and free Hosting, the owners of the platform can decide to terminate your blog when you go contrary to their terms and conditions, and you know what that means, all your efforts and Labor will just be in vain. But if you have a paid or custom web hosting service, it's a different story. You are incharge. No one can shut down your blog without notice or due process. When you think of long term security, professionalism, peace of mind and excellence, It's good to go for a PAID or CUSTOM web hosting service. I have used Bluehost for one of my blogs and their service is top-notch. This is what you get if you choose to buy a Web Host from Bluehost.  With as low as  $2.95/Month, you will get Bluehost custom web hosting service with other mouth-watering features such as:

Free Custom domain name for the first year.

Free SSL certificate

Free WordPress Installation with a click of a button

Reliable 24/7 Customer service support

CREATE HIGH QUALITY CONTENT AND PUBLISH IT

After you have lunched your blog, the next thing is to start creating and publishing high quality contents on your blog. You can do this in two ways. You can personally write your blog posts by yourself or hire freelance writers to do the job for you. Except if you see any blog post titled as sponsored Post, every other article you see on my blog, I wrote it by myself. I love writing and I showcase my talent and passion for writing here on my blog. When creating a high quality content, Google has provided the guidelines you need to follow for your content to rank high in Google SERP. Make the title of your article attractive. It shouldn't be too long or too short. Keep it moderate. Avoid using clickbait, they don't determine the ranking of your content. I have written intensively on how to write a content that will rank on the first page of Google. It's not blowing my own trumpet. Many of my articles sit at the number one position on the first page of Google for their respective Keywords. The overall secret is QUALITY.  You need to keep your blog updated frequently to look serious in the eyes of Google. If you publish Only one blog post after one decade, Google won't like to refer their users to your blog. Create high quality content. Avoid plagiarism. Write original content only. Plagiarism is stealing. Avoid it. Write contents that solve your readers' problem, not junks written only to impress and manipulate search engines. Your content should be highly valuable to your readers and SEO friendly. Don't publish 5 articles and expect to make millions from blogging. You need to have at least 15 quality content on your blog before you can monetize it with Google adsense.

Promote Your Blog and Grow Your Traffic

Anyone who tells you that blogging is an easy way to make money online is deceiving you. To make money online blogging, you need hardwork. It takes a lot of hardwork, patience and sometimes luck to become a millionaire blogger. After creating and publishing high quality content on your blog, you still have a work to do. You need to share and promote Your Blog content so that many people will see it and read it. You can get free traffic to your blog by sharing your blog posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Quora, Pinterest and LinkedIn. You can also run a paid ad on Google to boost your blog post traffic. What I have found from experience over the years is if your content is of high quality, Google is going to push it at the top of their page so that may eyes will see it. This alone will give you free organic traffic. But you need to make it a duty to promote your content everyday. 

Monetize Your Blog and Make Money Online

Who doesn't like Money? Everyone does. When you are done setting up your blog and you have created high quality Contents on your blog and reasonable traffic start showing up on your blog, it's time to reward yourself by setting up methods or channels through which your blog will make money for you while you sleep. The best ways to monetize Your Blog are:

1. Apply for Google Adsense and let Google serve ads on your blog and pay you for it.

2. Sell advert space on your blog to companies and brands who are looking for such opportunity.

3. Include Affiliate links in your blog posts and make money from your blog by recommending affiliate Products.

4. Publish Sponsored Posts on your blog and make money from your blog.

Conclusion

Friends, if you have read to this point, I celebrate you for your passion for knowledge. I didn't want to leave any stone unturned, that's why I poured out everything I know on this topic into this one post. I know I have taken much of your time but I am sure it was a time well invested and not wasted. Do you still have any questions on how to start a blog as a beginner, please reach out to me using the email address in the contact box. If this post made any sense to you, please leave me a comment below and feel free to share with your friends. That will be all for now. I will see you in my next post. 

To your Success!

Damian