The 2021 Guide To Starting A Blog In 3 Steps
If you’re looking to start a side hustle this year then a blog might be right for you. They require little start up cost and have low overhead.
Step 1 — Find your niche and blog name.
What are you knowledgeable or passionate about? Are you an experienced personal trainer who can help people get in shape or perhaps you’re interested in digital marketing and would like to learn more. You could interview experts, do research and publish the reports to an audience of like minded people.
The possibilities are pretty endless. Start by brainstorming some ideas and do some Google research to make sure there is also an audience of people who would be interested in what you have to say. Don’t worry too much if you think your idea might be too narrow or unusual, over time you will get a better understanding of your audience and will fine tune your content.
Step 2 — Set up your blog using Wordpress and Bluehost.
Bluehost is one of the most affordable web hosting services that lets you create a blog for around $3.95 a month and they’ll give you a free domain name for the first year (they normally cost around $14). Follow the link below to learn more about Bluehost
Once you’ve set up with Bluehost and Wordpress the next thing to do is to start designing your website. To start install a Wordpress plugin call Elementor. Elementor is a drag and drop designer that will make design a lot easier for beginners.
Web design is a never ending process, once you start you’ll always be tweaking and testing designs and it best to put some time aside regularly to learn Wordpress and design.
Step 3-Monetisation
Now that your blog is all set up the next step is to start creating content and monetising it. There are many ways to do this. Many bloggers make their own products such as e-books, online courses, 1–1 coaching etc. Selling your own products is often deemed the best form of monetisation as you have full control over the process, however these can take some time to produce.
Another form of monetisation is affiliate marketing where you promote another company’s products and if someone from your audience purchases you will receive a commission.
Affiliate marketing is quite an in depth topic which I will cover in more detail in the future.
This is by no means a comprehensive post on starting a blog but is more of a primer on where to get started. Over time I’ll be adding more content dealing with specific aspects of blogging.
Blogging makes a great side hustle that allows you to work your own schedule. However if writing isn’t up your street there are other side hustles you can purse. I’ve made a PDF of them which you can download here:
