This in-depth guide is 8400 words. I share everything new bloggers should know for starting a blog in 2023. You can take your time and read at your own pace! To use it as an outlet for creative expression. To establish expertise and build an audience. To network with others and grow a business. To enhance writing and thinking skills. To become self-employed or make more money

1. How to Start a Blog
The Beginner’s Guide to Creating a Successful Blog in 2023
Hi there, my name is Monir. I’ve been blogging for more than four years
and I love every moment of it. Blogging helped me to find my first job and
continues to be my lucrative side-gig.
In 2019 when I was learning how to create a blog, I spent a lot of time
searching for helpful information online. I was only able to find it piece
by piece on a variety of websites. To save you time, I’ve created this free
step-by-step blog tutorial to teach beginners how to make a blog quickly
and easily. It’s not as complicated as many people think!
How to Start a Blog in 9 Exact Steps
Here is the table of contents. This guide covers a lot of useful
information, but don’t get overwhelmed, go through each step and you
will succeed in blogging.
● Step #1: Pick a niche (topic) for your blog
● Step #2: Choose a blogging platform
● Step #3: Choose a domain name and get blog hosting
● Step #4: Start a blog by setting up WordPress
● Step #5: Select a theme and design your blog
● Step #6: Write and publish blog content
● Step #7: Optimize your blog for search engines
● Step #8: Promote, market, and grow your blog
● Step #9: Make money blogging (optional)

2. Before you move into action, here are some valuable facts about why you
should start a blog.
Think about why you are starting a blog
Do you want to communicate something, like a message or an idea? Do
you want to build a community around a topic you enjoy?
A blog can help you to accomplish many things, such as: inform,
educate, promote and even sell.
Here are some reasons why many people create a blog and enjoy
blogging:
● To use it as an outlet for creative expression.
● To establish expertise and build an audience.
● To network with others and grow a business.
● To enhance writing and thinking skills.
● To become self-employed or make more money.
Blogging has a lot of benefits, and for some people, it can be a great way
to earn extra income online.
Step #1: Pick a niche for your blog
Before you start building a blog and make it as a blogger, you have to
select a blogging niche.
In simple terms, a blog niche is a specific topic area that you will be
writing about most often, or even exclusively.

3. To pick the right niche for your new blog, begin by making a list of all of
the topics that excite you and make you want to talk about them. There
are no restrictions – you can include any personal or professional
interests in this list.
● Think of things that you enjoy doing in your spare time. For
example, are you an amateur photographer, or an avid
programmer?
● Consider all of the things that you would like to learn. For example,
do you aspire to take cooking classes and become a better cook?
● Lastly, contemplate all of your plans and projects. For example, do
you plan to go back to college to complete your education?
There are no restrictions – you can include any personal or professional
interests on the list.
This simple exercise will help you to select a niche that you are the most
interested in. That way you will follow your passion and enjoy your
blogging journey.
Step #2: Choose a blogging platform
At this stage, you’ll need to look at the currently available blogging
platforms and determine the type of blog management software that you
are going to use.
When it comes to blogging sites, you have a few options. Below are
usage statistics showing the distribution of blog technologies in the
United States.

4. As you can see from the graph, WordPress software is by far the most
popular technology for blogging, with over 90% market share in the U.S.
I recommend building your blog using the self-hosted WordPress blog
setup that I share in this guide.
You will set up your blog using a custom domain name and web hosting
(I’ll show you how in the next step).
That way, you will be in total control of your blog and its contents. It
will cost just a few dollars per month for the webspace (hosting

5. account), and around ten dollars per year for a domain. The actual
blogging software is free and open source.
What about free blogging sites?
For many new bloggers, it’s tempting to start a blog using free hosted
platforms such as Blogger or Tumblr.
However, it’s important to understand that “free” always comes with
limitations:
● First, your blog name will be set as a subdomain (examples:
“yourblog.blogspot.com” or “yourblog.tumblr.com“).
● Second, you’ll be subject to their rules and restrictions.
Free options come in handy for testing a blogging platform. But, if you’re
serious about starting a blog, you’ll have to start paying for full services
and a custom domain name sooner or later.
Step #3: Choose a domain name and get blog hosting
To make your blog using WordPress.org, you need two important things:
a domain name and a web hosting company.
Domain name
Your domain name will be the name by which you will be known online,
no matter what niche you choose. It’s your blog’s unique address on the
Internet.
Here’s what you should consider when choosing a blog name:

6. ● It should be short and catchy, easy to pronounce and type.
● You can also use combinations of your first and last names (e.g.
johnsmith.com or tim.blog).
The general rule is to get a “.com” domain, but some of the other
extensions can be used too. For example, “.net” or “.blog”. In the end, it’s
about being memorable, so if a different extension helps you to stand
out, then break the rules!
Web hosting
After choosing a domain name, selecting a reliable hosting service will
be one of the most important decisions you make.
To a great extent, the functionality and performance of your blog will
depend on your hosting provider. The host makes sure that your blog is
available 24/7 to potential readers and it’s where your content is stored
online.
If you are a new blogger, I suggest using HostGator hosting.
Here is why you should be confident going with this company:
● Ease-of-use: With Hostgator, you will be able to set up your blog
with a few clicks of a button.
● Good value: You get reliable service with excellent customer
support at an affordable price.
● Room to grow: They offer a great set of features that you need to
start, run, and grow your blog.

7. ● Security: Free SSL certificate included and pre-installed to keep
your blog visitors data safe.
● Verified provider: Hostgator is a recommended hosting provider on
the official WordPress.org website.
● Used by many: I personally use their services, and so do many
blogger friends and family members.
● Survey winner: Based on our research, HostGator is a top choice in
the opinion of many blogging experts.
How much does it cost to start a blog?
Below are the costs of a 1-year Hostgator basic hosting plan and
what extras you get with it. I was able to negotiate a special deal only
for our visitors. Use this link to get an exclusive 73% discount

8. Step 1. Visit the Hostgator homepage
Go to the Hostgator.com website. Then, click the green “Get Started
Now” button.
Step 2. Select your hosting plan
You will start by picking a hosting plan. If this is your very first blog, you
can go with the Basic plan. Later, you can easily upgrade to a Plus or
Choice Plus plan once your blog starts growing. Explore what each plan
offers, e.g. Choice Plus plan comes with Domain Privacy and some
extras.
Step 3. Set up your domain name
Your domain will be your blog’s address, so you should take your time to
come up with something unique and memorable. Just type your desired

9. name into the “new domain” box and Hostgator will show you whether
it’s available or not. If not, it will provide you with a list of similar names
to choose from.
Don’t worry if you can’t find a good name right away. You can skip this
step and pick a name once you start a blog.
If you have already purchased a domain name somewhere else, you
can use that name. Just type it into the “Use a domain you own” box.
Step 4. Register with Hostgator
After you choose your domain, Hostgator will take you to the registration
page where you can fill in your personal info manually, or you can Sign in
with your Google account to make the process even easier!

10. Add your account information
Start by filling out your personal information.

13. Hostgator will send you a confirmation email when your payment goes
through. You will also receive an email to verify your email address to
activate your domain.
Step #4: Start a blog by setting up WordPress
Once you log in to your web hosting account,Hostgator will offer a 4-step
process to help you create a blog. I suggest that you go with this
procedure if this is your first time starting a blog.
You can also click the “Skip this step” button and work on blog
construction on your own inside your Hostgator hosting account.
Four steps blog set up assistance process:
● Step 1. You will start this process by answering 3 questions: What
kind of site? What type is it? And who is it for? In my example, I
selected: Blog, Personal, Myself. You can select the same choices
or pick what fits your individual case.
#Step 2
To install WordPress, click on the control panel link from your HostGator
welcome email, and enter your username and password when prompted.

14. # Step 3
Once you’re logged in to the homepage click on Launch cPanel.

15. # Step 4
Go to the popular links section in your cPanel and click the WordPress
Installer Icon.

16. # Step 5
After you click the WordPress Installer Icon, you’ll be asked to select your
domain name; it should already be listed, you just have to click on it.
Leave the directory section blank and click “next.”
# Step 6
Sign up for WordPress by filling in the following information:
● Blog Title – Enter the name of your blog.
● Admin User – Choose a unique user-name to help prevent your
blog from being hacked.
● Name – Enter your first and last name.
● Admin Email – Enter your personal email address.

17. .
# Step 7
That’s it, you did it, you have completed the setup of your blog!

18. # Step 8
Click on the login button, and it will take you to the login page for your
new website. Be sure to bookmark the login page so you can get back
into your site or you can always type
yourdomainnamehere.com/wp-admin/ to login to your site.
Step #5: Select a theme and design your blog
The first thing your blog needs is a face (design and layout).
Installing a new WordPress theme is exciting and fairly straightforward.
Inside the WordPress dashboard, under the “Appearance” tab, click
“Themes”. You will be presented with some popular options. You can

19. click on the WordPress.org Themes button and search for Paid
themes. There are more than three thousand themes available on
Themeforest.net.
By default, your site will come with a basic WordPress theme, but I
suggest changing it to a theme that suits your style. I recently started
using the Astra theme on one of my other sites, and I love it, it is very
easy to use, and it has a clean look.
To choose a new theme, go to Appearance>Themes, then click ‘Add
New.’ The next screen will give you the option to choose a theme that
represents your style.
Simply click ‘Install’ on the theme you choose and then click ‘Activate’
after the install is complete.
Blog theme customization
Remember, your WordPress dashboard is the back-end location where
you will manage your new blog. It provides you with fast access to all of

20. the tools you need to add content and fine-tune your blog functionality
for the ultimate user experience. Your first step towards mastering
WordPress is learning the dashboard.
WordPress has unlimited customization options so it’s impossible to
cover everything in this “How to start a blog” guide. Instead, I’ll cover the
first most important changes you should apply to your blog. For this
example, I’ll be using the newspaper theme.
Make your blog’s logo
“Make your logo” tool. If you didn’t do it yet while launching your blog,
now is the time to get it done.
Once you click the checkbox, you will be taken to an AI-powered logo
maker. It’s an easy-to-use tool that you can use to create a beautiful logo
for your blog in seconds. Start by entering a name and slogan (if you
have one), the tool will automatically generate different types of logos.

21. Customize your blog
Now, let me show you where you can do general customizations of your
blog. That includes: uploading the logo you just created (or will create in
the future), editing the blog title and tagline, changing colors, uploading
the background image, and making homepage settings changes.
As I’ve mentioned, I’ll be showing you how to apply these changes to the
Twenty Twenty theme. If you picked a different theme the process could
be slightly different. However, in most cases, all themes have similar
customization options.
To start optimizing your blog, go to the WordPress admin dashboard.
Locate the Appearance tab on the left-hand side and choose the
Customize option.
Each WordPress theme will customize a little differently. In my case, I’ll
show you the customize options for the Twenty Twenty theme.
On the left-hand side, you will see the following Customizing menu
options:
● Site identity – Upload your logo, change site title and tagline, and
upload site icon.
● Colors – Change your blog’s background color, header, and footer
colors, and customize the primary color.
● Theme options – Select if you want to show a search icon in the
header of your blog and show an author bio for your posts.

22. ● Cover template – Make additional changes to the page template
such as the overlay background color, overlay text color, and
overlay opacity.
● Background image – Upload any custom background image you
want to start using on your blog.
● Menus – Customize your blog’s menu, social media menu links,
and change locations where they are displayed.
● Widgets – Customize your footer, add a description, and how to
find you if you have a physical location.
● Homepage settings – Choose what’s displayed on the homepage
of a blog. It can be the latest blog posts or a static page.
● Additional CSS – Add your own CSS code to customize the
appearance and layout of your site (advanced option).
You can also check how your blog looks on different devices by using
the menu at the bottom with three icons: desktop, tablet, and mobile
devices.

23. Many themes (e.g. the Twenty Twenty theme) come with the new
Gutenberg editor that revolutionizes the way users build pages and write
posts inside WordPress.
Gutenberg is a visual editor that works on a blocks principle. So, when
you decide to add a new paragraph, heading, image, video, or anything
else, there are blocks you can quickly add to new pages or blog posts.
This way, creating blog content is much easier for beginners, whether
you’re building a landing page or writing a new article. Blocks can be
rearranged into a layout you like, and they’re here to make your life
easier.
Add plugins to your blog
Plugins are bundled pieces of code that affect the way your site looks
and functions. They can add new functionality to your WordPress blog,
extend your theme’s capabilities, and personalize a blog as a whole or in
part.
While the majority of plugins are free, there are many that are offered
for a fee, based on their unique functionality. At the moment,
WordPress.org has more than 57,000 different plugins in the
repository.
By default, when you set up your blog, Hostgator will automatically add
some plugins they think are important for any website. You can review
these plugins inside the WordPress dashboard and add new ones by
clicking the Plugins tab on the left-hand side.
Here you can install new plugins, deactivate, delete, and update them.
Below, I’ll show you some suggested plugins that you should be using.

24. List of recommended plugins for bloggers
To save you time, I’ve selected some important plugins (free) for your
immediate blogging platform needs:
● MonsterInsights – Google Analytics plugin for WordPress, to
monitor and analyze your website traffic.
● Yoast SEO – A comprehensive SEO plugin for your blog, to
optimize your content for search engines.
● WP Super Cache – Helps with the load time of your WordPress
blog and delivers content to your readers faster.
● Akismet – Protects your comments and contact form from
spam and prevents your site from publishing malicious content.
● Contact Form 7 – A contact form with flexible email options. It
supports CAPTCHA and Akismet spam filtering.
● Disqus – An alternative to the basic WordPress comment
system with advanced administrative and comment
capabilities.
● YARPP – Creates a related blog posts list at the end of each
piece of content automatically to encourage people to continue
browsing your site.
Congratulations, you just learned how to customize your blog and make
web design changes!
The next step is to learn how to write content for your blog.

25. Step #6: Write and publish blog content
So far, you’ve established a domain name, chosen your blog hosting site,
set up a blog theme, and you are ready to go. Your framework is
complete.
Now comes the moment of truth and you can actually start blogging.
You need to learn how to write your first blog post. On the web, any
useful information or experience that you share with readers is called
“content.” It must be something valuable that people will want to interact
with and come back for more.
WordPress CMS is structured in a way that you can publish your content
as Posts or Pages.
Before you begin publishing posts (day-to-day writing) on your blog make
sure you fill in all the important static pages with content (such as About
us, Contact, etc.). Let’s explore those types of pages.
Prepare and publish content on main pages
Depending on your individual needs you can decide what pages to
publish. The following are the most common pages bloggers use:
● Homepage – This depends on what type of layout you choose. As I
described above, when customizing your blog you can choose to
display the homepage as a static page. In that case, you will have
to prepare content for it.
● About us – The most traditional page on any blog is the “About us”
page. This page tells new visitors what it is all about, who you are
and why you run a blog about your niche topic.
● Contact – This page allows visitors to your blog to communicate
with you. It can be a straightforward page with your email address

26. plus your social network links, or you can use a simple contact
form that visitors can use to communicate with you.
● Products, Services, Resources – Static landing pages with any
additional information that you want to include on your blog.
The guidelines to publish a new WordPress page:
A blog page provides static content or information to the readers.
Standard pages that bloggers use include: About, Contacts, Products, or
Services. A page also can be a cornerstone (or evergreen) content with
information that continues to be relevant to its readers. For example, this
guide you are reading right now.
● To create a blog page, log in to your WordPress dashboard admin
area using your login details (username and password).
● Hover your cursor over the “Pages” menu item on the navigation
menu located on the left-hand side of the Dashboard. Click “Add
New”.
Write your first blog post
Creating blog posts inside WordPress is nearly the same as creating
pages. However, for a blog post WordPress lets you select categories
and tags while pages don’t.

27. Wondering how you can write quality blog posts? It’s simple.
Here is a simple 3-step approach to making great content of any type:
● Point – State your main blog topic idea that you are covering.
● Prove – Give an example of the idea you are covering.
● Perform – Give a simple way to execute the idea.
The guidelines to publish a new WordPress post:
In your first blog post, you can take a moment and introduce yourself.
Tell your readers who you are, what motivated you to blog, and what you
will write. The title of the post could be “Welcome to my blog”.
● Inside the WordPress dashboard on the left side, you will see Posts
menu item.
● Hover your mouse cursor (or click) on the Post item. Then select
“Add New”.
Next, I’ll talk about how to optimize your content for search engines.

28. Step #7: Optimize your blog for search engines
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process that website owners
use to get more traffic to their web pages from search engines (such as
Google).
According to recent studies, 53% of all traffic for websites comes
from organic search (.pdf). This number shows how important it is to
make sure that you optimize your WordPress blog for search
engines.
SEO involves many different tactics and techniques. As a blogger, you
will have to get familiar with these. I won’t be talking about any advanced
processes here. As a bare minimum, you will have to do the following for
every blog post or page you publish on your blog: perform keyword
optimization and add SEO meta tags on all pages.
Keyword optimization
This is the process of researching and selecting the right set of
keywords that you think people will type in a search to find information
like yours online.
Ideally, keyword optimization should be performed for any blog post or
page. It’s important to select the main keywords (and related words) that
you want to target for each page and make sure that you include these
(and related words) within the content. This way it will be easier for
search engines to understand what a specific web page is about when
they crawl it and you have a better chance to rank higher in search
results.

29. Step #8: Promote, market, and grow your blog
By now, you’ve learned how to start a blog, how to create blog content,
and how to get it discovered by search engines.
It is important to understand that you can write the most compelling
copy in the world and design a blog interface that would sell people their
own shoes. However, if no one sees it, all of your hard work is in vain. So,
you need to know how to promote your blog.
Before you start promoting your blog, check if it’s ready:
● Make sure that your content is live and ready for promotion.
● Test your blog on different devices (desktop, tablet, mobile) and
browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge) to check
that pages open correctly.
● Check your contact info and test your contact form to see if it
works well.
● Test your social sharing buttons so that people can easily share
your content.
● Ensure that you interlink your content so that people can easily find
other important information on your blog.
● Give your visitors one or more ways to connect with you and
subscribe to your email list.
● Set up Google Analytics to track your blog’s performance and
visitors.
Let’s look closely at the basic promotion and marketing activities that
you can apply to grow your audience once you build a blog.

30. Let everyone know about your blog
Get started by informing your friends, family, and colleagues about your
new endeavor. Basically, you should let anyone know who might be
interested in reading your content.
You should also do the following:
● Include your blog name (URL) in your email signature.
● Include it in your social media accounts or any online communities
you are involved in.
● Use every opportunity to get the word out about your new
undertaking.
Be active within your niche
Get active on relevant blogs, forums, groups, and social pages.
Blogger communities are a good way to connect with other bloggers in
your niche. You can engage, build friendships, and help each other in
spreading content.
Here are some popular activities you can do:
● Blog commenting. Start posting comments on other relevant blogs.
It’s a great way to build relationships with top bloggers within your
niche.
● Social media marketing. You should make use of the social
media avenues that best fit your own niche and style. Choose
the one (or ones) that best fit your needs and start promoting
your content to grow your audience. Some of the most popular

31. social media networks that bloggers use on a daily basis are
Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
● Guest blogging. Take the relationship a step further and offer to
write guest blog posts for another website. Just be sure that you
guest post on reputable sites and that the content is directly
related to your niche. Guest posting is an excellent way to build an
online presence.
Step #9: Make money blogging
Monetization is the process of translating your blog activity into
earnings.
You should keep in mind that blogging isn’t just about making money. It
is about creating useful content and writing blog posts that will attract
readers and make them come back for more.
When starting a blog think about adding content that will generate future
income. Based on my own blogging experience, as well as from working
with other bloggers, I’ve learned that specific kinds of content are more
effective for generating money.
Here are types of content that you should consider writing and adding to
your blog:
● Listicles or top list
● How-to guides
● Tutorials and manuals
● Product reviews
● Product comparisons

32. Now, let me show you some different ways how bloggers make money.
Blog monetization channels
Our case study of the blogging industry shows that 59.8% of bloggers
make money through blogging.
But, how can YOU make money blogging? There are several options
available, but below I’ll show you the best ways to earn income from a
blog:
Running ads on your blog
There are seamless possibilities for you to run ads on your blog.
Regardless of your niche, you can opt for ads that are specific to what
you are writing about or ads that simply better serve your advertiser’s
purposes.
Google Adsense, Mediavine, and Adthrive are some of the most
popular choices for blog ads.
Enrolling in affiliate programs
Affiliate programs are ways of teaming up with retailers to promote their
products and benefit from successfully carrying out sales through a
commission.
Some things that you need to consider when enrolling in affiliate
programs:

33. ● The number of affiliate sales will strongly rely on the number of
visitors you have.
● You need to be credible enough for your visitors to click on your
links.
● You may want to consider placing a notice on your Terms of Use
page that you do use affiliate links.
There are a few popular online platforms that offer affiliate programs
if you want to get started, such as Amazon Associates, ShareASale,
and ClickBank.
Selling your products and services
If you are creative and entrepreneurial, you could consider using your
blog as a venue for selling your own products and services. This is an
option especially as your blog grows in readership, authority, and
popularity.
There are WordPress plugins, such as the WooCommerce plugin, that
you can easily integrate into a blog and start using to sell products
online.
Selling sponsored posts
Advertisers are always looking for exposure and are willing to pay you for
placing a sponsored post on your blog.
Those posts usually promote advertiser products or services and are a
good way to make money from your blog. In the future, if you’re able to

34. build a popular blog and become an authority in your niche, the
advertisers could approach you to publish their posts.

36. Consider the possibilities, and then choose the method or methods that
best suit you and your audience.
As a minimum, you should – from the very start – begin compiling an
email list of your readers through subscriptions. Then, when you are
ready to recommend products, you will have ready access to those who
want to hear what you have to say.