Blogging is no longer a mere hobby. For tens of thousands of people around the world, it is now a lucrative source of income. Actually, there are thousands of people who quit their day job to start a blog and then made millions of dollars from it. If you have a flair for writing, a decent knowledge of a particular niche and a few hours to spare every week, you can start a blog and make money. Of course, you will not earn much in the beginning but if you persist things will eventually improve and your blog will be a source of full-time income for you.
While blogging has been around for many years, there are still countless people who do not know how to start a blog. If you are one of them, this post is for you. In this post, I will explain how you can start your blog from scratch.
There are many different ways to start a blog. However, in this article I will focus on building a WordPress blog. WordPress is a content management system used by more than 90% of the blogs. It is an open source platform that keeps getting better day by day. Better still, WordPress is free. You don’t have to pay anything to use it on your blog.
But before you can install WordPress on your blog, you need to register a domain name and buy some hosting space.
Choose a niche
Your niche is the market you are targeting. Keep in mind that blogs in certain niches such as technology or finance have considerably higher potential to make money than a hobby blog. This, however, does not mean that you should choose the most profitable niche. When it comes to blogging, it is important to choose a topic you are passionate about. Otherwise, producing content on a regular basis will be a nightmare and you will quit blogging before long. So, choose a topic you like and know something about. Once you have chosen a niche for your blog, you have to register a domain name. While you can give your blog your name, it is always better to register a domain name that includes your keywords in it. For example, if your blog is about IELTS coaching, try to include the word IELTS in your domain name. Popular domain names are all already taken and it is impossible for you to get an exact keyword domain name. So, use your creativity and find a name that gives some information about your niche and at the same time is easy to remember.
Which TLD to use?
The .com continues to be the most popular domain extension or TLD (top level domain). If you are creating a commercial website, this is the most appropriate extension. However, a .com domain name is not always available especially if you are trying to register domains with popular keywords. In this case, try if a domain name with the extensions .org or .net are available. Country specific domain extensions like .in (India), .uk (United Kingdom), .us (USA) are also popular. However, choose these TLDs only if you are targeting visitors from that country alone. For example, if you only target visitors from India, you can choose the domain extension.in. If you are targeting visitors from all over the world, choose an extension like .com, .co, .org, .net or .biz.
In order to register a domain name, go to a domain registration and hosting provider like Bluehost or Godaddy. Bluehost offers free domain name for the first year when you buy their hosting. In order to register a domain name, click on Domains and then in the text box that they show, enter the domain name you want. Registering a domain name for an year will cost you around 10 USD.