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Starting a blog is something I have wanted to do for a really long time but was always afraid to do it.
I was scared of the technical aspect, and also not knowing anything about blogging. One day I starting watching some videos on YouTube and I decided to just go for it.
So here are some of the things I learned along the way and how you can start this journey for yourself.
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How To Start A Blog In 6 Steps
When starting a blog the first thing you have to do I figure out what you want to write about.
And what you want to talk to your audience about.
What is the reason your audience wants to read your content?
What can you provide them with?
How can you help you audience?
Brainstorming is a great way to figure this out.
These are all questions you need to ask yourself before you start your blog.
Pick A Niche
After figuring out some topics that are interesting and come easily to write about, you will have to pick a niche.
You want to narrow down your topics and pick something that you can really focus on.
This is where it gets a little tricky.
But you down want to make your niche too specific, as you could run into trouble later because you have nothing else to write about.
The great thing about blogging is that you can always add to your niche or narrow it down. Things are always changing and evolving, so the choice is really all up to you.
Choose A Domain
First things first, you have to have a domain name. A domain name is what your website will be called. For instance my domain name is www.hawtestyle.com.
You can always choose a name now and decide to change it later on, it doesn’t have to be the name that you keep forever.
But if your goal is to build a business or a brand you may want to think about this when picking a name.
You also don’t want your domain name to be too difficult for people to remember or spell because then it will be harder for them to come to you website.
You want your domain name to be catchy, creative, about your niche or your brand.
When you get your domain name you want to make sure it’s a dot.com.
Dot.com domain names are easier to remember, and to some people look more legit. Think about the websites you go to.
After picking you domain name you want to make sure its not taken. You can check your domain name here.
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Choose A Hosting Provider
If you have dreams of monetizing your blog and owning it you’re going to want to find a hosting company.
Hosting allow your website to be accessible to the Internet, where people can see your blog.
I currently use Bluehost for my hosting provider.
Before starting my blog I did some research as to which hosting company would be the best and I found many great reviews on Bluehost.
Plus your domain is free for the first year if you use Bluehost.
Bluehost also has a really great deal for beginners.
Pick A Platform
There are many platforms that you can build your website on but I really only have experience with wordpress.
When using Bluehost as a hosting company one of the things that they advertise is setting up a wordpress site with one click.
My experience with wordpress has been great so far, its easy to use once you get the hang of it.
I would definitely recommend wordpress if you are a new blogger.
One thing to be careful with is, when signing up for hosting and wordpress you want to make sure your site is on wordpress.org and NOT on wordpress.com.
WordPress.org is where you own your content and you can monetize your blog.
WordPress.com is where you can have your blog for free but you do not own the content and you cannot monetize your blog here.
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Choose A Theme
Once you have paid for your hosting and installed wordpress.org, you will need to start designing your website.
This starts with the theme. WordPress has many free themes that you can choose from. Or if you like you can purchase a theme.
It’s not necessary to purchase a theme when you begin blogging, but it may be worth it later on.
Free themes usually have limitations on what you can customize and the look of your website.
I started with a free theme but never really got the look that I wanted. I tried with some preset themes and then I tried with the Astra theme and Elementor page builder.
Astra and Elementor would probably be the best way to go if your not looking to spend any money.
Paid themes offer you much more customization options. This is great for really getting the look you want.
After trying a few free themes and never really getting the look I wanted I decided to purchase the Paisley theme from bluchic.
Update: Since this post I have changed my theme which I love! Both of these theme are amazing and I would definitely recommend but I needed a change and decided to go with hadleigh from pix and hue.
And it is the best decision I have ever made! I love the look of this theme and I customize it the way I want to.
You don’t want to spend too much time picking a theme. That’s what I originally did and ended up wasting so much time, time that I could have used blogging. Just pick one and figure it out later.
Also pick what’s best for you at the time, you can always upgrade to a paid theme later.
Create Content
After you’ve picked you’re theme and designed your website to look like you want it to, then comes the fun part creating content.
Starting creating posts to share with your readers. You may also want to take some time and plan out your content and a rough schedule for how you will post your content.
This helps so you don’t run out of ideas too quickly and it also helps to have consistent posts.
Let me know if the comments below if you’ve created your blog yet or need help to do so.
Disclaimer I purchased all products discussed in this review, and this is my honest opinion.
Pam
Great post Leeandra ! This is a great read for beginners! Wish I had this when I first started – great advice !
Hawte Style
PamMe too! Thats exactly why I decided make a post like this. Thank you!
Laia
Should’ve read this before starting my blog with no idea! Thank you for sharing:)
Hawte Style
LaiaThank you Laia!
Elaine Marro
Nice post! I am too a Posh Ambassador. How do you connect you Posh community to your blog?
Hawte Style
Elaine MarroAwesome! I’ve really built up a posh/reseller following on instagram, so I try to promote my blog there to show that I also blog about Poshmark. Do you blog about Poshmark?
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