If you landed here because you’re wondering how to start a blog and start blogging for money, then you’re in the right place. This article will cover, step by step, how to start a successful blog that you can use to start blogging for money.

Even if you’re a total newbie and thinking “There’s no way I could ever start a blog – I have no experience blogging for money,” trust me – you can do it! You can use some cheap blogging tools to get started. With just a little help from the tips below, you can easily get started on making your own successful blog.

The links below are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.

Why Start Blogging for Money?

Learning how to start a blog isn’t hard or particularly technically difficult, even if you’ve never done it before. But before you invest your time and money, consider why you might want to start blogging for money.

I love personal finance, making money, and earning extra income through side hustles. Although I had made my living for many years as a freelance writer, I’d never tried to start a blog, with my voice and my perspectives.

But one day, just like you probably, I clicked on someone’s post about How to Start a Blog and I realized that I could do this, too! And as I’m going to show you, it really wasn’t hard and it definitely wasn’t expensive.

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What’s Your Why?

You want to help people solve problems. Starting a successful blog requires one key thing: A desire to create content that will solve problems for your readers. The more you solve your readers’ problems, the more they’ll come back to read your content.
You want to make extra money. Blogging for money isn’t something a lot of people talk about, but there’s nothing wrong with starting a blog for this reason! Ultimately, starting a blog is starting a business: the business of you and your ideas. If you start a business, having the goal of making money is commonplace. Few people start a business and say they DON’T want to make money. If you are learning how to start a successful blog because you want to make money, that’s awesome. I’m right there with you.
You want a flexible schedule. When you work from home (or a local coffeeshop!) on blogging for money, you get to set the pace and schedule for your blog. Need to pick up a sick child from school unexpectedly? Want to take vacation on short notice? The flexibility when you start a blog is one of the best benefits.
You want to ditch the boss and build a business. If you’ve ever longed to start your own business or side hustle, you don’t have to wait to get certified or have someone give you permission. Learning how to start a blog offers the perfect opportunity to start your own business: the business of you!

Starting a Blog: How Much Does It Cost?

Starting a blog can be very affordable. For a lot less than what you spend on coffee in a month, you can start a successful blog and get your blog hosting for a low price of $2.95 with Bluehost (regular price is $7.99/month). This low price is only available through my link and the best news is that you also get a FREE domain name! You won’t get this price unless you click this link, so take the first step in starting your own blog for only $2.95/month.

Do you have a domain name in mind? You can use Bluehost’s free domain name checker here

Can I Start Blogging for Money for Free?

You’ve probably heard the phrase: You get what you pay for. If you want blogging for money to ever be an option for your blog, choosing a paid hosting service (such as Bluehost) when you start a blog is VERY important.

If you opt to go for a free blog through Blogger or Blogspot, it will be difficult to convert your blog into a moneymaking opportunity. Advertisers and companies may reject you outright, even if your blog content is superb, just because you’re using a free platform. You may have trouble getting traffic to your site because readers may not recognize your site as an authority because it’s on a free platform. And if you ever want to move from a free platform to a paid one, it can cause a lot of headaches, energy, and time.

Working with paid blog hosting through Bluehost is super affordable and just makes things easier if you’re trying to start a successful blog. You can avoid any future hassles and start your blog off on the right foot by getting started with Bluehost here.

Best Reasons to Choose Bluehost for Your WordPress Blog

Bluehos t is super easy to use. No need to have a lot of technical savvy – with Bluehost’s 1-click installation, you can easily create a WordPress blog of your own.
Bluehost provides 24/7 customer support and technical help. If you’re up blogging at 2 am and need some technical help, they’ve got you covered.
Bluehost is very affordable! Blogging for money doesn’t have to cost a lot. You can learn how to start a blog with cheap blog hosting starting at only $2.95 per month with my link.
Get a free domain name for a year when you sign up with Bluehost through my link!
Bluehost gives you FREE WordPress installation. No need to pay!
You’re not locked into a multi-year commitment. With Bluehost’s guarantee, if you decide that blogging for money isn’t for you, you can use Bluehost’s guarantee.
Advertisers and companies are much more likely to work with bloggers who have their own hosting, such as through Bluehost.
Right from the start you’ll have a professional, self-hosted blog – increasing your online credibility exponentially!

There are other ways to start a blog and other blogging companies you could work with. But Bluehost is known as one of the best and I trust them with my blog.

If you just don’t have the cash to learn how to start a blog, there are a few easy ways to make some quick cash that you can use to start a successful blog. Check out the following:

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Click here to get:
(1) Our special $2.95 pricing
(2) A FREE Domain Name
(3) FREE WordPress Installation
(4) 30-day Moneyback Guarantee

To get these freebies, you have to sign up through this Bluehost link or you will have to pay the full retail price of $99.

How to Start a WordPress Blog with Bluehost

1. Choose a Domain Name and Blog Niche

What do you want to blog about? You don’t have to know exactly the niche angle you’ll take with your blog. But you should have a general idea of who your audience will be and some topics you might want to write about. Before I tried to start a personal finance blog, I knew that I wanted to write about frugal living, making money online, and personal finance. At that point, I didn’t have to narrow it down – in fact, having a general money blog worked perfectly!

Do make sure that your blog is about something you enjoy writing about or talking about. It doesn’t have to be your ultimate passion in life, but you should have enough interest in it that you can spend time on the content willingly. To start a successful blog, you have to believe in the content you’re creating for your readers.

Some blog niches to consider if you want to try blogging for money:

Health and fitness
Parenting
Finance
Travel
Lifestyle

Once you have a general niche, it’s time to pick your domain name! Some people want to build a brand around their personality and lifestyle, so they choose their name as the domain name. Others prefer to use a domain name that’s related to their niche.

You probably want to keep it short and simple when it comes to choosing a domain name. A long, hard to spell title for your domain may make it difficult for your readers to find you.

You can check if any of your domain name possibilities are available right now. Just type in the box below:

Still can’t decide on a domain name? It’s OK. The most important thing is to get started, so pick something that you like now. If you have to change your domain name later, you can do that without too much technical effort.

2. Set Up Your Hosting

You can click here to purchase a domain name and start your successful blog. Use the steps below to set it up easily.

Click the green Get Started Now button at Bluehost to start.

Once you click there, you’ll see the screen that allows you to select which plan you want. If this is your first time learning how to start a blog, choose the BASIC PLAN. Later, when your blog is successful on Bluehost, you can upgrade your plan. For right now, the Basic plan is what you want.

3. Register Your Domain Name

One of the big benefits of Bluehost self-hosted blogs are that you get a FREE domain name when you purchase hosting. They make it so easy. Otherwise, you’d have to use a separate company and pay more for your domain.

When you pick a domain, you probably want it to have “.com” at the end of it. Most readers will search for your blog + .com (even if it’s something else), so it just streamlines the process of being found by your readers.

Type your domain name under the “new domain” box (left). Or you can transfer an existing domain (right).

4. Select a Hosting Package

At this step, pick your hosting plan and enter your payment info. There are a few different plan lengths – the best value is the 36-month plan for only $2.95 per month.

Even if you’re not totally sure you’re going to stick with the blogging thing, that’s OK. The 12-month plan is still less than you probably spend on shoes in a year! If blogging for money is an interest, it’s really not that hard to make that money back in a few months with blog income.

Another feature I purchased when setting up my Bluehost plan was the Domain Privacy Protection. This option, which is less than a dollar per month, keeps your name and address and personal information private.

Remember, if you sign up for Bluehost with my link you’ll get a free domain name when you choose a 12-month plan or longer of web hosting.

5. Start Blogging for Money by Installing WordPress

Now that you have purchased hosting for your blog, you’re ready to install WordPress. There are blogging options other than WordPress – Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, etc. – but Wordpress via Bluehost is free. Honestly, most top bloggers who have learned to start a successful blog use WordPress. It’s the industry standard in blogging.

To install WordPress, do the following to start a blog with Bluehost:

Create a password. Read the Terms and Conditions and then accept them.
Click login, then choose a theme. If you want, you can skip this part. Or you can choose a theme to get started – it’s very easy to change later.
Click on Start Building and that’s it. You just have to start your first blog post.

One of Bluehost’s awesome features is that they install WordPress for you – automatically! Just log in with your WordPress credentials and you’re ready to go.

You’ve done it! If you’ve followed the steps above, you’re now a blogger. The first thing you need to do is write your first blog post!

Here’s a quick summary of the steps you need to buy hosting for your blog:

1. Go to Bluehost and click “Get Started Now” button.
2. Choose the basic plan.
3. Enter your domain name with .com at the end.
4. Choose Domain Privacy Protection if you want your personal info private.
5. Click the package you want and enter your payment info.
6. Install WordPress and save your password.
7. Write your first post!

Making Your Blog Look Great: Choosing a Theme

You can use a free blog theme with WordPress, but if you want more customization and features, a paid blog theme is a great investment. Even newbie bloggers can have a professional looking theme for their blogs.

That’s it! Just by following these simple steps – even if you have zero blogging experience or are a total blogging newbie – you can be well on your way to creating a successful blog that looks professional and has the capability to earn you some serious cash.