If you’re ready to create your own blog, but need a little help getting started, this article is for you!
In this article I’ll provide you with step-by-step instructions, including screenshots, to make the whole process quick and simple.
You’ll find the steps below, but before jumping in I’d like to provide a quick rationale. My advice is to avoid the extremes of hobbyism and perfectionism. While there are 31 million bloggers out there, the vast majority of them are hobbyists. I would encourage you to get serious about creating content that will make a difference in the lives of people. Work at it; get better and better at doing it, and expect your platform to yield a return on the investment of your time and energy.
Hobbyists use free platforms, like blogspot and tumblr, to build simple blogs with limited functionality. If you’re serious about making an impact in the lives of others, you’re going to want a more robust platform than the freebies will provide.
But the other extreme is perfectionism. Perfectionism will rob you of your contribution because you will never think it’s good enough. Your blog doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be good enough. You can improve it as you go, but the most important thing is getting serious and getting started!
Perfectionists pay thousands of dollars to have a professional build them a custom template with all the bells and whistles. This is what I did, and I now see it as a mistake. Don’t spend thousands of dollars building a site that hasn’t made you a dime yet. If your site becomes profitable, put some money into it. In the meantime, you need to find the minimum investment for getting off of the ground.
This is why I suggest going for a self-hosted, WordPress blog using Bluehost as the hosting platform. It will cost you less than $100 per year and will give you virtually infinite customizability.
Here are the steps for launching your self-hosted, WordPress blog:
1. Go to bluehost.com and signup for an account. It will cost you about $84 for the first year, and you pay that upfront.
2. The first step will be to choose a domain name. I recommend using your name, if it’s available. Don’t be too fancy with the title of your blog. People need the opportunity to connect with you before they connect with your ideas.
3. Once you are in bluehost, install WordPress under “Website Builders”
4. Once you install wordpress, you’ll receive an email with your wordpress admin url and login info. Go ahead and log in.
5. In wordpress, you will have the opportunity to choose from dozens of free templates. Not all of them are as easy to use as the others. I used Standard Theme for this site and for my personal blog, but it’s not available anymore. Have some fun with this process.
Building your wordpress blog will take a little time to figure out; its a learning curve. But once you get it, you’ve got it! You’ll find scores of free templates, and you’ll also find some great premium templates out there for a reasonable price. I’ve also written an article that provides some advice for developing your content. It’s called What Should I Blog About? Happy trails!
