How to Build a Blog in 2020?

Welcome to an Ultimate Guide on How to Start a Website or a Blog in 2020

Hey, before we jump directly into making a blog or a website and learn how to earn from them, let’s get introduced to what a “Blog” is, shall we? 

Nowadays, many of us call ourselves bloggers without even knowing what blogging is. We go through several websites and blogging sites every day, some of us know which is what and some do not have a clue at all. Today the buzz words are “blogs”, “blogging” and others.

What are they?

What is a blog?

Why are people in today’s generation crazy about it?

Well, a “BLOG” is simply an abbreviation for “WEBLOG”, which is referred to as a “regularly updated” website or a webpage usually maintained by an individual or a small group. The content is generally written in an informal or conversational style. The one who writes blogs is called a BLOGGER and the process of writing blogs is called BLOGGING.

Blogging is popular because anyone can do it and many bloggers are making serious money at it.

Many companies have started paying bloggers to write about their products because it gave them a platform to get their goodies advertised in front of the blog readers. There are several reasons why people are choosing to become a blogger, a few are mentioned below. Take a look:

• To Share Knowledge
• Hobby/Interest in Writing
• Networking
• Digital Nomad lifestyle
• Fame/Popularity
• For making money
• Advertising and Branding
• To connect with like-minded people
• To create awareness or get your voice heard
• Self Promotion and build your personal brand
• To find new jobs
• To help others
• Stays in touch
• To satisfy your creative side
• Create a record
• To gain knowledge

These are just to name a few. I am sure you have similar aspirations too. Don’t you? 

So, let’s get started with your blog then! 

This Blog of yours can be of many types and free to be in its own way. Like, a blog can feature free diary-type conversations and links to articles in other websites, usually presented as a list of entries so that you have almost all the relevant data for a topic at one stop.

Blogs can range from the personal to very critical topics such as nature and politics and can focus on one subtopic or a whole range of subjects. It depends on how vast knowledge you have on a topic and what story you’d like to present in your blog.

Now that we know a bit about the Blogs. Let’s jump further deeper into this topic to know more about its benefits and uses and how we can actually create a blog and also earn from our blogging.

As you read through, you’ll find steps that will help you build your own WordPress blog with the one-click install using Bluehost (hosting provider trusted by millions of customers).

Here are easy 11 steps to start your own blog:

Setting up a blog and getting paid for it becomes easy when few initial steps are taken right! Below I’ve listed in detail everything you need to know if you are a beginner and want to set up a blog. Let’s go!

Step 1: Select a topic you’d like to blog on

Before you can go select your platform and claim a website it is of utmost importance that you have a set of a few things straight in your mind that lead you towards your goal. And the first and very important thing on this list is the topic you’d like to share with the viewers.

You should be prepared with your niche idea fixated in your mind. That will be the content of the website which will be covered in your blog extensively for your viewers.

Next, you will need to identify who your potential readers are. That is because, without them, your blog is useless, your effort is futile and your energy and time are spent in the drain. So, the target audience is important. 

This is listed out as the important step because, like we lay a foundation to a building before a building is built, to give it a firm and long-lasting life, it is important for you to discover and believe in your niche and then move on to prioritizing it mostly in your blog. 

How to find out what your potential niche can be?

Here are some of the very popular niches I have listed for you, maybe you can step up and take a look, be inspired, and find what your calling is.

Learn How To Find Blog Niche

Step 2: Select a blogging platform

Now that our foundation has been laid and you are set with a niche to focus on, you need a platform for it to be showcased. You can categorize all the blogging platforms out there for you to choose from into two types: free and self-hosted. 

Well, if you are believing in this job for a long period of time, then I recommend a self-hosted platform, why? Here’s why.

Free Blogging Platforms:

I understand, being a novice, it is often more tempting to have a free site/ platform for you to showcase what you have got! I get that, we have all been there. But let my mistake be a lesson for me and most importantly you before you make one. 

But, please do not make the same mistake I had made in my past. Even though these are free and easy to use, they have many shortcomings and drawbacks. 

Some cons that they come by are: Firstly, they don’t let you have your own website name.

Secondly, you’ll have to follow their rules and regulations. and mostly restrictions.

Moreover, we have also noticed that using these free platforms also limits your earning capabilities through ads that could be running on your blog/site. If you are looking for serious business opportunities from blogging, you may want to think twice before choosing a free platform for your blog.

Here are some platforms that may help you build a site for free for a few days- 

• WordPress
• Tumbler 
• Medium 
• Blogger

Self-hosted platforms: 

One top reason that I recommend the Self-hosted Platform is that you can be the absolute owner of your domain and can have your rules and regulations without someone enforcing and imposing theirs.

The most popular platform for Self-hosted sites is WordPress.org. This software is considered self-hosted because you will be allowed to use your own web hosting name and space for your site.

If you use the hosting company that I refer to, you will get a FREE name (domain) for the first year and will cost just a few bucks per month for hosting the account. If it is a difficult task to understand how to create a blog then you can take my Free Blog Setup Service. 

Step 3: Pick a domain name, host it and install WordPress

It is very important that your domain name is unique and identifies with the kind of work your website does. It should be synonymous with the essence of the blog site. The name should be catchy, and inquisitive. It should be able to grab the attention of the seeker.

But remember, that your blog’s name need not be something you give your utmost time to. Many top bloggers have very subtle names, mostly their own names but they build such an amazing audience that the name does not matter much after all takes a backseat.

 If you still can’t figure out a good name for your blog, here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Stop Being a perfectionist. The major focus of your blogging is the content that you’re trying to reach out to more people with. This is only one important part of blogging but not the most important one. So, STOP wasting time here. For instance, Jon Morrow changed the name of his blog BoostBlogTraffic to SmartBlogger. This blog gets more than a million visitors every year. Simple is the best! 
• Don’t drain yourself to pick a cool name. If you want to use the word Fine, use Fine rather than F9 even if Fine isn’t available. Such creative names are not only difficult to remember they also make it difficult to build a brand in the long term.
• Keep it short and simple. The shorter the better. The shorter the name, the easier for the user to remember it.

Here is the website that I came across that will help you get your domain names and hosts for your blogs. I hope this helps!