Do you want to start own personal fundraising website? Or maybe a blog about stuff you are passionate about?
It doesn’t take much money, and can be highly profitable. Some blogs have hundreds of thousands of visitors and make millions of dollars each year. For example The Huffington Post started just as a blog.
It takes a lot of effort to make such success, but why not just earn extra $1000 – $5000 a month doing what you love? That is achievable to everyone.
Important update – I no longer recommend Bluehost because I negotiated an AMAZING deal for you – get hosting for just $12 a year ($1 a month) + FREE domain name!!! You can get the deal only through this link I will update this post in few days
I will show you all the steps you need to take.
With all of the talk of blogging, I decided to start my own last year. My intent was to create a rare coin blog to share the experiences and insights I acquired over the course of a lifetime hobby. It seemed to me that a popular pastime that also had the potential to be a great investment opportunity was a subject that a wide audience could relate to.
You don’t have to be a techie to blog. Before we dive in, let me state that I have no particular experience in programming or web development. What little you need to know is here; you will learn more as you go. Becoming a blogger can sound a little intimidating, but you’ll see that it’s pretty simple.
The fact that there’s a growing audience that actually cares what I have to say inspires me to not only keep going, but to deliver content that benefits them. While I’ve only been blogging regularly for a few months, I’ve found a lot of support from both my visitors and other bloggers. All in all, it’s been a rewarding experience that I should have started long ago.
Creating Your Blog
- Find Your Niche
Before you start typing whatever comes to mind, there are some basic questions to ask yourself:
* What do you feel strongly about?
* What knowledge, insights, or skills do you possess which others might value?
* How would you like to share them?
- Choose Your Domain Name
Now that you’ve decided on a topic, you need to choose a domain name that you can register exclusively as your own. Try to come up with something that reflects your topic, and is catchy and easy to remember.
You need a hosting company that carries your site on its servers. There are plenty of web hosts out there, but I’ve been using BlueHost from the start. You can get a domain name through BlueHost. Some people opt for free sites like Blogspot, but the fact is that’s still someone else’s site. You’re limited in what you can do with it and any money you can make. BlueHost is not expensive, and you’ve got complete control of your own blog and domain.
Cautious bloggers naturally want to start out with a free blog and then move to their own domain if it takes off. But considering the low cost and greater possibilities, you might as well start off with a paid host.
Important update – I no longer recommend Bluehost because I negotiated an AMAZING deal for you – get hosting for just $12 a year ($1 a month) + FREE domain name!!! You can get the deal only through this link I will update this post in few days
Why BlueHost? With user-friendly interfaces, a good reputation, and packages currently starting at a surprisingly low $3.45 per month, why not give it a try?
They also supply WordPress, the free blogging platform that’s been the most popular content management system on the web for years now. It’s very easy to install and use.
Those of you willing to accept this advice should visit BlueHost. You can sign up month-to-month or variable term contracts, and cancel within 30 days for a full refund if you decide to pursue other alternatives.
- Sign Up with BlueHost
The Starter package is the cheapest option. It involves the least memory (50 GB) and features, but if you outgrow it you can always upgrade to Most Popular or Premier packages with unlimited memory.
Select your hosting period. You can go up to 36 months, which will cost the most upfront but be cheaper in the long run. If you don’t want that kind of commitment, 12 months will only cost you $59. Sign up for at least 12 months and your domain name is free the first year.
You can add additional features, such as the Domain Privacy option, if desired.
- Create an Account
* Click on the “get started” button at the lower right.
* Select the Starter package.
* Enter your catchy domain name.
* Make the payment
* Complete your BlueHost user account information, including password.
Once your hosting account is set up, you’ll get an email from BlueHost telling you how to reach your user control panel and get started.
- Install WordPress
* Login to your cPanel and locate “MOJO Marketplace”. Click on the “One Click Button”.
* This brings up the “Blogs” screen. Find and click on the WordPress option, and then click on the “Start” button.
* As WordPress is loaded, you’ll be taken to the “Advanced Options” page. Here you can set the domain path you want WordPress to be installed to. You’ll also be asked for a WordPress user name and password. Supply these and click “Install Now”.
When installation is complete, start posting to your blog.
WordPress Intro
WordPress operates on PHP (hypertext pre-processor), which is a scripting language using text files coded and saved as .php files. These contain all the configuration and settings you make in the WordPress Admin area. They can be found under the file manager in your BlueHost cPanel. They also interact with a database that contains information on users, posts, settings, and so forth. While you don’t want to be messing with these just yet, it’s a good idea to know how WordPress works and what it’s doing behind the scenes.
* To make new posts and changes, log in to the WordPress Admin page to bring up the user dashboard.
* Theme: It determines the overall look of the site. You can obtain more of these if needed.
* Pages: These are fixed and appear in the menu, but you can rename, delete, or add new pages as you like. Just select the Pages option and click “Add”.
* Posts: This is the actual blog content you add. By default they are sorted from newest to oldest. You can also add social media buttons, subscriber buttons so that new posts are automatically sent to your audience, and, if you know HTML, you can add just about any links or images you want straight into the post text.
* Adding posts: Select the “Posts” tab, and select “Add New”. This will bring up a text editor where you can type in or paste your text. From the toolbar you can add formatting, links, images, etc.. You can preview how it will look, save it as a draft, or click “Publish” to make the post viewable to the public.
* Category: From the post editor you can assign each post to a category, such as Featured, General, etc., or create your own categories.
* Permalink: This is the URL to each post. You can accept the default or change it. You an also set these from the post editor.
* Tags: These are essentially identifiers that help to index posts by topic. You can add multiple tags like Gold, Silver, Bullion, or whatever you like.
* Plugins: These are extra features you can install or uninstall to your site for additional functionality, like security, archiving, and so forth. These come from a community of developers. Some are free; some you have to pay for. But you’ll find a good assortment included with your WordPress installation. Just go to “Plugins” then “Add”. You can read a description of each plugin; locate the one you want and just click “Install Now”.
* Widgets: These also add additional features but are very different. They are actually blocks of code that you can place at various locations in your sidebars. Don’t worry about coding; if you want to make money with Amazon products, for instance, you just have to open an account and copy and paste the code they give you. You can also use the widget spaces to embed YouTube videos, show banners, graphics, links, or just plain text. In fact, you can do an awful lot with widgets, and change them whenever you like.
Of course, promoting your blog is an entirely different subject. But once you have your blog set up and add a few posts, you’re ready to go. To keep visitors satisfied, try to make your content unique, and try to give it some real value to your audience that they’ll keep coming back for.
A successful blog can make money by selling ad space, or including affiliate links (such as linking to items on eBay to get a percent of any purchase coming from your site). With BlueHost and WordPress, you can easily create and manage any content you wish.