How to Start a Blog The Beginner’s Guide to Successful Blogging

Have you ever asked yourself how to start a blog?

You may have been hearing that starting a blog is so complicated

but we’re here to convince you that creating a successful blog is not

as daunting as many people think.

In fact, by following the step-by-step instructions in this guide,

you will be able to set up and make your own blog, avoiding pitfalls

and missteps that hinder some novices (no technical skills needed).

Ready? Let’s get to it!

At this stage, you’ll need to determine the type of blog manage-

ment platform/tool you want to use. We recommend that you set

up your blog on one of the self-hosted platforms. But before you

make the decision, let us describe each option.

When it comes to starting your blog you have the following op-

tions: free, freemium and self-hosted (recommended) platforms.

Free platforms

For many new bloggers, the availability of free blogging platforms

such as Blogger or Tumblr is tempting. Of course, there is one big

benefit, it’s free. But you need to understand that having a blog

name in this form — yourname.blogspot.com or yourname.tumblr.

com, is the sign of an inexperienced beginner who likely won’t be

taken seriously. By keeping your blog on a free platform, you let the platform own

your name. You’ll be subject to their rules and restrictions, they may

limit or prohibit ads on your blog, or they may even place their own

ads on your blog. If you’re serious about blogging, you’ll want to

move away from this option.tions: free, freemium and self-hosted

(recommended) platforms.

Free platforms

Freemium means you’ll have a trial period before you have to start

paying (costs vary from $5 to $30 per month). Several platforms are

available. One of the most popular is TypePad. This platform focuses

on ease of use for writing, but customization options are limited

and it lacks certain features of value to bloggers.

By default, your TypePad blog name will look like this: yourname.

typepad.com. It’s not always the best option if you’re trying to build

the name and brand for your blog. However you could point your

own domain (purchased through any domain registrar) to a TypePad

blog.

Self-hosted platforms allow you to run a blog on your own

domain. Aside from following your domain registrar and web

hosting company’s rules, you’re fully in charge of your blog and its

contents.

You have number of choices when it comes to a self-hosted

blog system (also called Content Management System or CMS).

The most popular is Wordpress.org.

This blog option is called self-hosted because you will use your

own web hosting space and name for your blog. It normally costs

$4 to $8 per month for the web space (hosting account), depend-

ing on the company you choose, and $12 to $15 per year for the

name (domain). The actual CMS is usually open-source and free.

Although we mentioned some free blog-hosting options, the best

course of action is to own your blog, especially if you will be using

your own copyrighted material (articles, drawings, photos, etc.). Pay

a small amount of money every month, about the same as a Star-

bucks coffee, and you will build your own equity. If you plan to sell

products, services, music or anything else via your blog, then paid

hosting is the best way to go. Many hosting providers can help you

maintain an ecommerce blog.

To get your new self-hosted blog started, you need to decide on

two important things: a domain name and a web hosting provider.

We highly recommend Bluehoмst that powers over 2 million web-

sites worldwide and only for our visitors, they offer a special deal

that includes a FREE domain name.