How To Start A Blog In 2023 with Bluehost
(5 Easy Steps)

Starting A Blog (5 Easy Steps)

Follow this step-by-step guide to discover how to get your blog up and running with the minimum of money and time.

This guide is made especially for beginners, with Affiliate Marketing as the ultimate goal.

After completing this guide you will have a fabulous blog that is ready to share with the world, and begin your journey of Affiliate Marketing.

We will go through each and every step, as clearly as possible to help you get it right the first time.

For this guide, we will be using Bluehost Web Hosting, WordPress Web Builder and some free easy-to-use WordPress plugins (extra tools you need).

What is A Blog Then?

A blog is a type of website that consists of articles about specific or various topics. It can be used primarily to attract more traffic to your website and is often referred to as ‘my blog’ instead of ‘my website’.

Key Considerations For Your New Blog

We need to talk about choosing your niche, especially how it relates to the domain name that you choose.

If your niche is in the Health vertical you could if you want to choose a domain name like besthealth4u.com.

The problem with being so specific about it being a health blog is that, if you change your mind or the health thing just doesn’t work out for you, then you are left with a domain name that will not be relevant any more if you want to pivot to travel.

So this is why I always recommend that you use your own name if possible. You can be known just as well as JasmineJones.com the health person as you can the travel person. This is what is known as building ‘the brand of you’.

Overall, establishing your niche can be seen as secondary to choosing your domain name, as your name is evergreen and you can then give thought to what you want your niche to be.

How to Start Your Blog

So here are the 5 easy steps we need to take to start your blog.

• • • Set Up Your Blog.
    • Install WordPress.
    • Install Some Easy WordPress Plugins.
    • Create Some Great Content
    • Promoting Your Blog

So Let’s Get At It!

1. Set Up Your Blog

Go to Bluehost (click the link to go straight there). You need to choose the WordPress hosting service, it’s only $2.95 per month, and you will get a free domain for a year and a free installation of the WordPress web builder.

This is the package that you will get!! ⬆︎

The next thing to do is to set up your domain name, You do all of this inside the  Bluehost sign-up process so you don’t have to go somewhere else to get your domain.

Choosing your domain name is an important step in your blog creation, I recommend that you use your own name where possible, as you want to build the ‘brand of you’.

Doing this means that if you change the direction/niche of your blog you won’t be stuck with the iammrwidget.com name that you now don’t want.

If you haven’t decided on a domain name yet don’t worry you can take your time and do it later.

Just choose the ‘I’ll create my domain later’ option below the domain set-up box.

Next, you need to create your account, fill in all the required fields, uncheck all the extras at the bottom of the form (you don’t need them) then scroll down and fill in your payment details and you’re account is made.

After clicking submit on the payment section you will be asked to provide a password, just fill in the password fields and click next.

Congratulations! You have set up your Bluehost Account.

You will receive an E-Mail confirmation for your payment and instructions on how to log in.

When you log in to your Bluehost account you will be prompted to set up your WordPress Web Builder.

The steps are self-explanatory you just need to follow them by choosing your theme, site name and a few other details.

Once your WordPress site is set up you can get started building your website.

But before you do that. An Important note for you:

Although you can access your WordPress site via your Bluehost account and their portal, you should be aware that you can log into your WordPress site directly which is often easier.

For the version of WordPress you will use you will need to go to a URL that looks like this:

yourdomain.com/wp-admin

Here you enter your email address and password that you set up on your Bluehost account and you will be logged in to your WordPress dashboard where you can start to build your website.

Don’t forget that if you didn’t choose your domain name right away, you can log into your account and you will have a Free domain token to use to set it up without further cost.

On To Step 2

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2. Install WordPress

Here is the good news, you don’t have to!! Bluehost will load a fresh copy of WordPress for you when your domain is ready.

3. Install Some Plugins.

Plugins are tools that integrate with your website and extend its features.

When starting a blog, choosing the best ones for optimising your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and site speed is essential.

Here is a list of Plugins you should have:

and they are all FREE!

• Rank Math: Rank Math is a really easy-to-use SEO optimiser plugin, and they have great support and help pages.
• Short Pixel: ShortPixel is an image compressor. It compresses all of your images and screenshots so that they are smaller files and your pages load faster.
• Hummingbird: Hummingbird zips through your site finding new ways to make it load faster, from file compression and minification to browser caching – because when it comes to page speed, every millisecond counts.
• Wordfence Security: The Free version will protect your site from hackers and conduct Anti-virus, Firewall and Malware Scans all automatically to protect your site.
• Google Site Kit: Site kit will give you all the basic details you need to understand what is happening to the traffic for your site, like the number of visitors.

Adding Your Plugins

On Your WordPress dashboard find and click plugins then at the top of the page click add new.

Use the search bar on the top right to find your plugin.

Then when you have it click install now, the installation is automatic and the plugin is added to your site.

when the installation is finished click the button that says ‘activate’.

Return to the plugin tab and you will see the plugin listed. On the right-hand side enable auto-updates, this will ensure that your plugins are always up to date.

Repeat this process for all the above plugins and you are ready to go!

Write Some Engaging and Value Adding Content

Writing great content for a blog encompasses a number of elements that you need to consider.

There is researching and using the correct keywords, SEO, using short paragraphs, images, infographics, and videos.

Your content needs to be engaging, informative and add value to the topic that the user has searched for. It also needs to have a means of organising it.

For this post we have concentrated on getting you into a position where you can start your creative and writing process, you can take a look at my article on blog construction to discover a more in-depth tutorial that will give you a more rounded view of writing good blog posts.

Alternatives to Bluehost

There are of course alternative providers to Bluehost to start your blog with.

There are many providers out there and Bluehost are certainly right up there in terms of competitive pricing, the bundle that you get and their customer service levels.

So if you are ready to get started for just $2.95 per month then head over to Bluehost for the great value package described above.

FAQ’s

Wrapping Up
Starting a Blog With Bluehost

So you can see just how easy it can be to get yourself up and running with a great blog of your very own.

I should say though that there is still a long road ahead, and there will be bumps and scrapes along the way, but it will all be worth it in the end.

Unleash your creative side for both writing and design and you will soon have a splendid-looking website/blog.

Remember take your time, do lots of research and when it comes to monetising your site with Affiliate Links be patient!

It takes a while for your pages to start ranking in search engine results, and time is the great healer in this instance.

I really hope you are inspired to start your blogging and Affiliate Marketing Journey after reading this post and I wish you well in your endeavours.

James