A new blog is setup and created every half second, which means millions of blogs are going live for the first time every week. The good news is that setting up a blog of your own has never been easier and through this guide, we are going to show you how to get a blog of your own up and running in less than 20 minutes.
My name is Zac Johnson (
about me) and I’ve been making money online since the mid 90s, but it wasn’t til I launched my own blog that I really got to appreciate the world of blogging and the power of WordPress (the platform used to run most blogs). Since launching my blog in 2007 I’ve created a completely new source of revenue for my business, opened up a whole new world of opportunity while also helping others do the same — I’ve also become a bit of an “internet celebrity” in the process, which is pretty cool!
What’s even more exciting is that you can have all of this as well!
That’s why I wanted to create a “
How to Start a Blog” quick start guide for anyone who was thinking about creating a blog of their own, but simply didn’t know how to get started. I’m not going to waste your time and no matter your age, experience or technical knowledge, anyone can start a blog within just minutes and I’m going to show you how.
How to Start a Blog – Just the Facts!
As mentioned earlier, I have quite the experience in the world of online marketing and building out sites of my own. Prior to 2007, all of the sites I created (some which went on to make over a million dollars!) were all created with pure HTML using the Microsoft Frontpage software. While this was effective, it wasn’t necessary efficient. Once I started my blog at ZacJohnson.com and used the
WordPress platform, I never looked back. WordPress is the same software we will be using to create your site — and best of all, this can all be setup with a simple click of a button!
When it comes to creating just another blog and actually building a legitimate brand and business for yourself, there are many things that successful bloggers have that your average unknown bloggers don’t. Remember, you are competing against millions of blogs when it comes to offering your audience content, so before we jump into the guide on how to get started, let’s cover some basics on best blogging practices.
- Create your blog on the right foundation.This would be the WordPress platform, which I keep referring to. If you can use Microsoft Word or any text editor software, you will be a master at using WordPress!
- Pick a topic for your blog that you are interested in and provides value to others.This sounds simple enough, but make sure you pick a topic that you would still want to write about a year or two down the road. Also one that you will have enough topics to write on, and also provides value to your audience in the process.
- Follow the path of other successful bloggers.One of the biggest problems for bloggers is that they try to read and learn everything without taking action of their own. The best way to find success with your blog, is to find someone that already has had success and can help you along the way. That is exactly what I am offering to you today.
Each of these key points is important in their own way. Using the WordPress platform is the foundation for your site and content. Writing about your passion and expertise is why people are going to be coming to your blog in the first place, which is why this is such an important decision. And finally, having someone to walk you through the process from beginning to end will not only save you a lot of time, but also frustration and set you on the right path from the beginning.
By setting up the proper foundation and guidelines right now, we can get your blog setup immediately and on a quick path for success!
3 Reasons a Blog Can Change Your Life
I could give you a million reasons why a blog can change your life and bring your business to a whole new level, but everyone starts a blog for a different reason. Instead of trying to convince you of what’s best for you, I’ll just give you a few examples of how my blog changed my life and business for the better.
A New Source of Income
I started my blog at ZacJohnson.com years ago with the goal of sharing my stories of how I’d made money online and wanted to help others learn how to do the same. Seven years later and the blog has done so much more. In addition to referring over $2 million in new business to my site partners (by showing people how to make money online through tutorial based posts), I’ve also had to opportunity to speak at different conferences around the world (including a keynote in Australia) and continually getting new offers and opportunities all the time. On top of the points mentioned above, the blog also generate monthly revenue through on-site advertising, referrals, consulting and product creation.
In short, 95% of these opportunities never would have happened if it wasn’t for building my blog and putting my name out there.
Building Your Own Brand & Making Connections
Speaking of building your brand… before I launched my blog a decent amount of people knew me in the affiliate marketing world, but no where near as many since launching the blog. With thousands of daily readers and new people finding your blog on a daily basis, you never know who you might be connecting with next.
From personal experience, since launching my blog, I’ve been able to mingle with some of the top bloggers in the world such as John Chow, Darren Rowse, Marc Cuban and Neil Patel — many of which are now very close friends!
These are the types of connections and opportunities that money can’t buy… but ones that a blog can bring to you!
Authority & A Legitimate Business
Lastly, a blog isn’t just a way for you to write content and place it on the internet, it’s actually so much more. Time and time again we are seeing individuals with no business experience start a blog, write about their passion and interests, then making a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars a month in the process.
This is the power of blogging and there is no better (and cheaper) way to build yourself as an authority figure, while also potentially building a powerful brand and business in the process.
There are many benefits to blogging and my blog has completely changed my life and business for the better — now think about what a blog can do for you?
The Importance of Owning Your Blog, Domain and Content
When writing this “How to Start a Blog” guide, I wanted to make sure I covered all the bases for anyone just getting started… this includes all of the prior decisions before going live with your first site as well. When it comes to setting up a blog on the internet, you have a few options. One of them is setting up a free blog or spending a few dollars to secure a legitimate domain name for your site, have quality hosting and also owning your content.
While the word “free” seems quite appealing to the average person, the hidden drawbacks of going with free hosting and blogging could be a major pitfall to the future of your blog and longterm success.
Here are three reasons why you should stay away from free blog hosting services.
#1 – You really don’t own your content.You’ve spent the time to create the content on your site, build your audience and even promote your blog… but at the end of the day, when you are hosting your blog on free sites like Blogger, HubSpots, Weebly or any other providers, they can shut your site and account down at any time with no reason, notification. Why even put the future of your site at risk when you’ve already put so much work into it? Exactly… you shouldn’t!
#2 – Domains are professional, long URLs are not.A
domain name is the www.YourSiteName.com address for any given site. When you host with a
free blog hosting service, you are probably going to get a long URL address like “http://sitename.blogspot.com/2014/06/best-sites-watch-free-movies-online.html”. That looks ridiculous and it’s not something you are going to want to tell your friends, family or customers to visit. A domain name costs less than $10 a year and will bring a professional look and feel to your blog and is dead simple to setup.
#3 – Reliable hosting and support at minimal costs.Another key point to avoiding free blog hosting services is that if you ever need support or have downtime for your site… there really isn’t much you can do about it. Remember, it’s free for a reason. You never know when your server hosting might go down and there’s a very good chance you won’t be able to access any backups of your site as well.
The good news is that for just a few dollars a month you can get setup with a reliable web hosting company that offers far superior services and hosting compared to free hosting services. This is something we will cover in the next part of the “
How to Setup a Blog” quick start series.
How to Get Started with Your Blog Right Now!
Now things are going to start getting excited! Even today, after setting up hundreds of blogs and sites of my own, I always get a rush when I secure a new domain name and setup a new version of WordPress. There’s just something about it that opens a whole new world of opportunity and it’s still really exciting.
Through this series I’ll be walking you through the process of getting setup with your web hosting service, installing WordPress, configuring your site settings and making sure you properly map out your blog and future content. It’s gonna be great!
I know we’ve already covered a lot and I’m sure you are anxious to get started. If you’d like to jump ahead and get setup with your blog right now, all you need to do is click here and follow the simple formula I’ve laid out for you to get started.
If you are completely new to blogs, web sites, hosting or WordPress, just
shoot me an email and I can even setup everything for you.
Good luck and I’m so excited to hear from you once your blog is live!
