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First published: July 14th, 2005
Last Updated: November 5th, 2019
Are you ready to start a blog?
I first broke down the how to start a blog video tutorial back in 2005 (almost 14 years ago). Over the years, as Google algorithms change over time where speed and loading times impact search engine rankings, HOSTING makes a huge impact on your blog's speed and loading times.
Why You Should Start a Blog
Make money online is easier than ever because you can get up and running in ten minutes or so regardless of age or experience. While we head into the 2020's, it's time to create that passive income you need while blogging can do two things:
- Allows you to grow your brand while connecting with your audience.
- Allows you to position yourself as someone passionate about your topic.
Just having an interest in a topic & showing/sharing that passion will connect you to your audience through your blog. That will become your purpose sharing what you know with the world.
What Hosting Company is Best for Blogging
I wanted to update this tutorial to walk you through how to start an affiliate blog (where you can easily start for less than $20 and get started right now). My goal is even if you have zero technical ability and zero experience to get your blog up and running in the next ten minutes or so.
Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Siteground and will receive a commission if you signup through my referral link. This is at no additional cost to you.
Click here to start a blog on WordPress, then use the step by step tutorial below for easy directions.
If you're looking to start a blog on a budget, then starting with Siteground is the answer because they are built specifically for WordPress & most if not all of the experts agree that Siteground is the best for loading time, ease of use and speed.
Should I Use WordPress for my Blog?
Blogging with WordPress and creating side hustle income with WordPress membership sites has been one of the best things ever for quitting my teaching job. I've had six-figure months and 7-figure years (not to mention over $10,000,000 in revenue) by using WordPress and it begins with this how to start a blog tutorial.
I have been able to buy a home, work from home and pay off my home, and more importantly, I get to have a flexible schedule. (which I needed it during my injury rehabilitation) Blogging for Affiliate Marketing has allowed me to improve my life dramatically.
Since I published how to start a blog back in 2005, blogging has gone viral & millions of people around the world are now making a full-time income. You may worry about the start-up costs, but for under $5 you can easily get started. I definitely recommend paying for hosting and being in full control of your blog and you'll be able to cover the monthly $5 with affiliate marketing.
Siteground is built for WordPress, and I made the switch from Hostgator to Bluehost to GoDaddy to Private Server to Siteground. I can honestly say 100% without a doubt that Siteground is my all-time favorite and you can start an affiliate blog for as low as $3.95
The reason why I stress so much about paying for hosting is because THIS will allow you to branch out and treat blogging as a business – a real business. You'll be able to use my training to get your content out there fast, get it ranked for the search engines and grab the traffic coming just from the search engines alone. You can run any of your ads, affiliate links and promotions and direct advertising straight from your WordPress blog hosted by Siteground. Making money on the free platforms is very difficult & I only recommend using the free platforms to advertise your main blog hosted with Siteground.
Top 7 Reasons to Use Siteground for Your WordPress Host
Here are my top 7 reasons why you should choose Siteground for your website hosting.
- Siteground is the easiest platform I have ever seen. It really is click a button, see the results happening in real time and you're up and running.
- If you ever run into problems, their support is open 24/7 and are WordPress experts. They can spot the problem and fix it for you or direct you to the fast solution.
- They offer free SSL through their hosting cpanel (which is click a button and ssl is installed)
- Siteground is extremely affordable and they offer cheaper hosting to get started with your blog. You can have a blog of your own and since WordPress itself is free, you can start your blog for under $4. That's incredible.
- Siteground is built specifically for WordPress so they know how to speed up WordPress sites through their SG Cache plugin that is built-in to their servers.
- If you have any problems or issues with Siteground or need help, leave a comment below and I can jump in to help you out.
- Positiioning – you will have your own self-hosted blog and you can position yourself and come across more professional to readers, companies who will want to do business with you.
Okay. First, you will want to head over to Siteground and if you're interested in learning how to start an affiliate blog using WordPress, continue to my WordPress tutorial below. Remember, if you signup for Siteground and you are confused for any reason, leave a comment below or reply to any email that I have sent and I can help you get started with WordPress hosting. That's what I'm here for and have been doing for the last 15+ years.
Click here to get started with Siteground.
Pick a WordPress Plan on Siteground
When you click on the graphic, click Reliable Website Hosting to see the WordPress plans. The startup plan is all you need & as your site grows, Siteground will let you know when to upgrade to the next plan.
The setup is very clickthrough simple. Let's talk about the costs related to blogging.
- To get the cheapest plan, choose the Siteground starter package. You can skip the GrowBig or the GoGeek Siteground plans for now because they cost more.
- If you are moving over a site and already have traffic, then you can choose the Grow Big hosting package or even, the GoGeek.
- I started out on the StartUp package and continue to upgrade as my blog grows. Siteground will make growing your blog extremely easy with no downtime.
Step 2: Register Your Domain Name.
After you select a plan above, you'll reach this screen below. After you choose a plan, you will be able to register a new domain. Also, if you already have a domain you will select the second option I already have a domain.
Remember when coming up with a domain name, walk yourself through the radio rule.
The radio rule is if you somehow wind up on a radio program and they say – you have 5 seconds to announce your website to the world – would the listeners be able to remember it and spell it easily. If they can't, then don't use that domain name.
I paid $78 for this domain name back in 2004 because I love affiliate marketing. I see affiliate marketing as a side hustle anyone can do to earn an extra income with no products to ship and no customer fulfillment to create. I've been approached by many companies to purchase this domain name, but at the end of the day – they haven't came up with an acceptable offer.
You can get your domain directly through Siteground and make the entire process very easy. If you do this, your new domain will appear directly in your Siteground dashboard.
How to Save Money on Your WordPress Hosting
Here's where I like to save money and forget it. When you reach the next page, you will be able to choose between paying month to month or pay in full annually. Pay 1 full year in advance with Siteground or 2 full years or 3 full years. If you can afford to pay $142 upfront, that will take care of your hosting for 3 full years. That will give you three full years of building your business through WordPress blogging without paying a monthly fee.
When you are ready to create your blog, follow these steps to buy your hosting for your blog.
- Click here for Siteground and click the “Reliable Web Hosting” button.
- Next, click on the package you're interested in (startup if you're just starting out)
- Choose a new domain or select already have a domain name.
- Enter your payment information (pay in advance to save money)
- Enter a Siteground password that you will use to enter your dashboard each time.
If you need help or run into any issues, you can email me at kit@superaffiliate.com. I know two tech people and their manager who can help solve any issues quickly.
Optional Step: If you host your domain with a different registrar, follow step 3B to connect your domain. If you host your domain with Siteground, then you can skip this optional step.
Step 3B: How to Connect Your Domain to Siteground
If you have registered your domain with a different provider (i.e. GoDaddy or DomainDiscover), you can still use Siteground hosting and connect your domain to their server.
To find your nameservers within Siteground, you can click on manage your domain (which should be the only domain you have right now).
- Login to your domain provider.
- Select the DNS Management page.
- Under Choose Your Nameserver type, select default or custom.
- Enter your siteground nameservers and save.
Here the nameservers begin with ns1.siteground.com and ns2.siteground.com. Once you enter these nameservers with your domain name, it usually takes less than 60 seconds to connect them fully.
Install WordPress on Your New Domain Name
Siteground makes this step incredibly easy (and WordPress is free). When you login for the first time, Siteground will ask you if you want to start a new website. It should look like this:
Once you've filled out the Siteground's new website information, click confirm to complete the WordPress installation.
Press the complete setup to install WordPress and congrats, you are live to the world, my friend.
Get Started with WordPress & How to Start a Blog
You can create your first blog post by clicking on Posts > Add New Post in the left-hand side of your WordPress dashboard. I'll create a step by step tips and tricks for creating your posts coming up shortly. If you want to add any image or video to your blog post, click enter to create a new section within your blog post. Then, click the plus sign and click the image.
If you're looking for a beautiful theme, click Appearance in the left side of your WordPress dashboard and you can search for free themes.
Congrats! Your audience is ready to hear from you. My advice to you is to create a blog around big problem areas and focus on solving people's problems. The biggest money-making blogs help people in these three niches: Health, Wealth, and Relationships.
- Pick a niche that people are desperate to solve those problems.
- The biggest niches with the biggest audience are solving health problems, helping people make money onine, or helping people fix their relationship.
- Create content solving your niche's biggest pain points.
If you have any problems or need any help, leave a comment below. I'll create additional content and update this “how to start a blog” post to link to it.
Thanks!
Share and Conquer,
Share and Conquer,
Kit Elliott
Download the Report How to Install a Blog and Get the PDF Version of This Blog Post
- Setup Your Essential WordPress Plugins
- Download the Blog Editorial Calendar Template
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- Download Latest WordPress Copy
This Post Has 30 Comments
I just emailed you about this. I need someone to review my blog.
Thank you for the guide, Kit. Stay safe from this coronavirus!
I got laid off and am looking for part time work do you recommend anything I can do from home?
Congrats on your new blog Kit. Really loving the content and the brand name is genius.
Thanks for all your help with this.
Do you recommend starting a blog for my hobby or starting a blog for reviews?
Hey Jose,
I recommend starting with WordPress and mapping out a clear, concise business blueprint that will lead to your overall goal.
If you’re building a life coaching business, then – start with WordPress & create a 1-2-3 punch to conquer your goals that you’ll do on a consistent basis.
For example, let’s say I’m building a life coaching business. I would create a YouTube/Podcast channel to attract new listeners.
Then, I would post those to my blog to get the SEO for people searching for my stuff. That’s just step 1.
Step 2 – start building a list and send emails when you post new content. Start building habits around connecting with your peeps.
Step 3 – time to start creating offers. If you’re affiliate marketing, then you can create offers and launch with people within your niche.
Affiliate Marketing – take your promotion and launch along side them. When your promotion is running a special, you RUN the same special. When your promotion is launching a new offer, you launch with them. You create the updates along side them and then, when THEY go live – you go live. That way, you are generating a large portion of your affiliate commissions timed with their launches.
***
Having said that – let’s say you have NO BUSINESS and NO HOBBIES. Create a review site & then, get on the distribution channel. Most important – after your content starts growing – it’s time to share your story along the way. Who are you? Why are you doing this? How are you changing the world? That story – continue to craft that story. AND then, tell it to all the major blogs like Huffington Post, Forbes, Reader’s Digest. Those links alone will bump you site to the top of the search engines.
Let me know if you need any more clarity, and I’ll help!
Thanks!
Share and Conquer,
Kit Elliott
Exactly what I was looking for. I want to start a blog for 2020 and start showcasing my music.
This year, I discovered two things about blogging I wish I knew a year ago.
I can’t get enough organic traffic just by writing on my blog alone.
Not all guest posting site are equal.
I came to the first conclusion after scoring a few measly views for each post on my blog, during the first 6 months.
The second came after digging into the numbers behind my blog’s traffic on Google Analytics. Here, I landed 4x more visitors from a high authority site (Lifehack) compared to one that was less publicly known (Growmap).
Left: Traffic I got from a>guest post on Lifehack | Right: Traffic I got from a guest post on Growmap
I’m not saying you should toss away all guest post opportunities from lower authority sites — they still bring you some decent traffic and a backlink! But you get a higher ROI for your blog if you invest your time writing for a high authority site.
So how do you determine a high authority site?
Alexa
Basically, Alexa ranks over 30 million websites based on their traffic data, which is gathered from millions of Internet users who use Alexa’s toolbar.
In other words, Alexa is a good indicator to see which site is popular.
With that said, here are the top guest posting sites I highly recommend you submit your post to. These are all top sites, all of them ranked within the top 100,000 on Alexa, that should help boost your blog’s organic traffic.
Do you recommend themes or customizing a template from scratch?
Can you review my blog?
I’m actually really good at giving dating advice. Do you think that would make a great topic to blog about?
Hey Janie,
This is a massive niche. Yes, I think you have a huge winner here. The way I would attract the audience is start a brand and start posting small clips on TikTok. These people are starving for relationship advice.
If you’re looking for help in determining if your niche is a profitable affiliate niche, check out our tutorials and affiliate marketing blog posts here:
Is this a great affiliate niche?
Thanks!
Kit
I have my blog up and running. It’s a bit ugly. Do you have any advice for theme design?
I got my blog up and running. Thanks kit. Can you guys review my site and give me feedback?
Hey John,
I sent you a DM in the member’s area. Shoot me over your link & I’ll take a look.
Thanks!
Kit
Everything is setup. What plugins do I start out with?
Hey Robert,
I just created a new blog post for you.
Essential Blog Plugins
These plugins will help you with speed, security and SEO.
Let me know if you need any help,
Thanks!
Kit Elliott
Super Affiliate Team
So far this has been very easy to setup. I now have a blog on my domain name. How can I create content or come up with ideas for content?
Hey Kenneth,
This is on my blog editorial calendar for 11/18. Stay tuned.
Thanks!
Kit
I’m switching from Hostgator to Siteground. Can you help with transferring the sites over?
Hey James,
I’ll send you an email. The staff at Sitegroundcan easily help you transfer any site over. I think they do this at no extra cost.
Click the signup link & then, let’s contact my tech guys over there to help.
Thanks!
Kit
Hey Kit! Really nice blog design. I am looking forward to your stuff and I’m starting a review site for higher priced items on Amazon. I wonder what video editor you’re using with the fly in text?
Very cool, Judith. The higher priced items on Amazon PAY you more affiliate commissions & people start searching for reviews/bonuses/promo codes. Make sure you include all three keywords in your blog posts.
As for video editing software for your reviews, I use and have used Camtasia for the past 16 years.
I’m going through and cleaning up OLD videos and blog posts from the mid-2000’s.
Click Here to Go Through My Link:
Product Review Video Editing Software
Thanks!
Share and Conquer,
Kit Elliott
Welcome back Kit! The design is fire!!!!
Welcome back Kit!
What plugins do you start with?
Hey James,
Let me create a separate blog post of plugins to start out with.
For SEO, I use Yoast SEO Premium.
For Cache, I use SG Optimizer.
For SSL, I use Really Simple SSL.
For Affiliate Link Cloaker, I use Pretty Links.
For Sitemaps, I use Google XML Sitemaps.
For Speed, I use Fast Velocity Minify.
Most of these, you can click on Plugins >> Add New to find and install new plugins.
Thanks!
Kit Elliott
I’ve been putting off starting my own blog but I keep seeing new people start a blog and quit their job. Do you think working out from home would be a good niche for this?
Hey Nate,
The three biggest niches online are: Health and Fitness, Make Money Online and Relationships.
The Working Out from Home would be an amazing niche to start from because it already has a huge demand.
Find out your market’s problems and create content solving those problems.
You’ll have a following in no time!
Let me know if you need any help,
Thanks!
Kit