How to successfully start and set up a blog as an Income Stream for Newbies

Ever read of the success story of bloggers and their hugely successful blog?

And you probably keep on reading all over the Net that you can make money blogging…

Finally, you have overcome the fears of starting a blog?

Now you are asking yourself:

How am I suppose to do this?
Where am I suppose to start?

It is not as hard as you might think. This guide was put together to document the way I started mine and to help you not make some of the mistakes I made.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase I may get a commission at no cost to you. Please see the Disclaimer for additional information.

The complete Affiliate Marketing Guide

It might be a little different then others you have saw because I have decided to recommission my old Ipad to create and manage my blog.
It’s a 2 in 1 guide!

Following the guide, the complete process shouldn’t take too much time, and your blog should be set up properly to start earning money right away.

What’s the plan?

In this tutorial you will:

Learn how to set up and start a monetized blog, step-by-step;
Learn about some hosting plans and options;
Get a Free domain name with Bluehost

Although a blog set up is fast and straight forward, making money out of it is not as easy. Building a successful blog is time consuming. You will need to put some good hard work and time into it to make it profitable.

Don’t panic!

It can be done! You just need to keep your focus. Don’t forget: Keep the Dream alive!

Blog Subject

You want to choose a subject for which you want to write about, a subject you like and that you are passionate about. Otherwise, blogging won’t be fun, it will be tedious and boring, and you will be back to the like of your old office job.

Subject Niche

What is a niche?
A niche is a small and specialized subject on a main topic, normally you will choose a subject that is in high demand.

Are you a Subject Matter Expert on something?
Do you have a passion?
You need to pick a subject that you know and that you love. The coming months will be trying for you and you must keep going is you want to succeed. That will be much easier if you love your subject and if you keep your passion alight, because it will be your main driver until you start making money.

Another consideration is that, to make money, people need to read your blog. You need to write post that will be helpful to them, a post that will contain the information to solve the problem they are facing.

Let’s be honest, most people don’t care how you live your life. Your life experience might be useful to explain how you solved the problem and how it can apply to someone else. But other than that, you shouldn’t be talking about you too much.

Blog and domain name

They need not be the same, depending on the availability of the domain name. However, it is easier for your future “fans” to remember your blog’s address if it corresponds to your blog name.

Picking the right name for your blog will not be easy.

Agreed that it’s not as hard or definitive as choosing your children’s name, but you want to pick a name that will represent not only your subject, but yourself. It should have the following characteristics:

Short;
Easy to remember; and
Easy to spell.

Once you think you have your name, you need to make sure that the domain is not already owned by someone else. You can use this Bluehost tool to check the availability.

Having issues finding the right name?

A brainstorm might help you here.
Take a pen/pencil and a piece of paper…
Thinking of yourself, your subject(s), how you feel about it (those), write down every ideas/words/concept that you can think off. Don’t be shy of letting your mind loose!
Look at the ideas and word and try to combine them, to switch the order of the words.
Select some names with high potential and run them through your family and friends.

Congratulation!
After all that good work, you have selected a name!

The next step is to select the blogging platform and hosting solution on which to build the foundation of your new dream blog.

Selecting your blogging platform

If you are reading this, you are probably like I was a few months ago, a perfect Newbie in the blogging world. You are probably in this game of creating a successful blog to make some spare change (or more, who knows!).

You need to understand one crucial thing:
You will not be able to make any kind of money using a free blog hosting.

To be in the blogging business, you will need a self-hosted blog (more on this later) on a platform that will allow you to customize your website as you see fit.

There are several reasons for that:

A monetized blog uses ads. Free blog hosts will limit and restrict the ads you can put on your website;
The second monetization asset is affiliate marketing. Some of them will not accept a site hosted on a free platform;
Free platform might even insert there own ads, in unplanned location, into your blog posts;
You will not own the content you create. That is the most important reason why not to choose a free platform;
Most of them have almost no customization options; and
Very limited customer support, if any.

The Most Popular Free Blogging Platform

Currently, the most popular free blogging platform in the world, is wordpress.org. The platform allows you to have a self-hosted website, you do not need to host your files on there servers. Being free is not the only reason why I chooses it for thedreamingdad.com:

Over 45 000 plugging to help you;
Incredible customer support;
The huge user base make’s it easy to find answers to your questions;
Easy and flexible. You do not need to have a background in Website design to use it;
Full customization possible; and
Free and paid themes are available.

Blog Hosting

Your Blog and Domain name are chosen, you have selected your blogging platform and you, probably, have some good post ideas. Your future website will need to reside somewhere, it need to be hosted on someone’s servers.

There are numerous options out there both paid and free. However, you are probably in for the money, as explained before, you need to stay away from the free options.

In my humble opinion, the best web host for a beginner is Bluehost . I have selected them for those reasons:

Excellent and friendly 24/7 customer service (I’ve used it more then once);
WordPress recommended Webhosting;
Free domain name when you purchase a 12-month (or more) plan ( with this link );
Affordable for beginners with few resources to spare, or those who are unsure;
Easy to use;
Safe; and
Excellent WordPress integration.

Setting up your web hosting

I said easy to use? It is also easy to set up! Just click on the Get Started Now green arrow and the user friendly process will be started.

Plan selection

The second step is to select the type of plan you want to purchase. You can select the Basic package because it already contains everything that you need to start your blog. As a new blogger, you do not need all the extra from the other 2 packages. That being said, you are free to choose the packages that suits you.

As with most long term plan/package purchase, buying the longest package will save you the most money (50% in this case). I would purchase a plan that is at least 12-months:

A free domain name, for 12-months, is included with a plan of 12-months (or more);
The monthly cost is less then a per month package; and
If you are commited to own and mangage a blog, having those 12-months already paid, will give you an extra reason to keep pushing through the hard time.

My recommendation, and this is what I have done, is to purchase the 36-months package. I really want this endeavor to succeed and 3 years give me a nice buffer to make it work. Also, I prefer spending the less total amount of money.

Extra options

If you are in my position, you do not want to spend an enormous amount of resources.
You do not need the extra option offered, yet. Unchecked them all, except the “domain privacy” one (see further why), to save a good amount of money(close to 8$/month).

Domain Privacy
I strongly suggest that you keep that little check box ticked.
Otherwise, your personal contact information will be available publicly to people who are using the whois service. In that case you might end up being stormed by undesired email and phone calls.
0.99$/month is a no brainer for your peace of mind, you need to keep it.

What if I already have a domain name?

You already have a domain name purchased with another Web hosting service but you want to move to BlueHost? Fear not, It can be done. You will need to link your domain name to your Bluehost account.
Simply chose the second option in the Getting started page instead of registering a new domain name. You will need to login into your current web hosting service account management and follow the specific instructions.

Still unsure how to do it?
You are having issues that you can’t resolve?
Contact Bluehost customer services, they will be more then happy to help you out.

Secure your account

GRATZ!
You now have successfully set-up a web hosting service for your future blog! Now that your account is set-up, the next step is to create a password for your account.

WordPress integration

BlueHost is completely integrated with WordPress. It will install WordPress with one click in less then 5 minutes! One more reason to select BlueHost! It’s easy as 1 2 3!

You will be ready to start your blog in a blink of an eye!

But there one final step to be really ready: select a theme for your Blog.

Theme selection

What is a WordPress theme?

A theme simply define the look and feel of your blog. It provide the framework that you can customize and that your blog will be build upon. Most of the theme will be defining:

Widget location;
Page layout;
Colors;
Fonts; and
Navigation menu.
They vary in customization options from “Way too much option” to “super strict”. You can find the most popular here
Look at the different options and select something that represent you, something that you feel comfortable looking at. Yes, it can be changed at a later date.

The Genesis Framework Revolution

You probably read it again and again:

Genesis Framework… Genesis Framework… Genesis Framework.

By now, you are probably wondering what is that framework and what is special about it.
Here is a short explanation:
A WordPress Theme Framework, like the Genesis Framework, is a set of code libraries that are used be developers to ease the creation of a theme. It’s a foundation on which the developer build their themes to speed up their development time. It also make sure that the basics of a website theme are covered and are easier to maintain.

The question is:
Why would you choose to invest in a paid theme?
The first reason is that those themes are often more polished than the free one. They have a professional look that is hard to beat using a free theme. Also, the themes built upon those framework are often speed and SEO optimized, which gives you another advantages. All the themes comes with multiple layers and high security, mobile responsive page (which is very important in this age of mobile phones) and custom templates. Their are also plenty [other feature that you can find listed here].

Here are some of the favorites:

Maker Pro

Maker Pro is a simple, modern and minimalist theme that will make your content amazing. It’s an elegant way to start off any blog.

Refined Pro

Refined Pro is a classic, timeless, elegant theme that will give you a great foundation to beautifully showcase your picture and content. It’s a very good choice to start an online store due to it’s integration with WooCommerce.

Cook’d Pro

Cook’d Pro is a minimalist, mouth watering, easy on the eye theme. The minimalism makes it a super fast loading and super delicious theme for the cooks among you.

Start building your blog one post at a time.

Once your theme is selected, you can start building your Blog. Just click on the Start Building blue button and Voilà!

WordPress on Ipad

For those of you who want to use either there tablet or phone to quickly create content on the go, WordPress as created an app that you can easily download by searching your respective Application store (Google Store or Apple Store).

I am really sorry for Android users, but I only have an old Ipad to use and test upon. But the steps should be pretty similar.

Once you open up the application, you can either create a WordPress.com site or connect a self-hosted website to your account.

You need to log into the application either with your WordPress account password or through Google. I am, personally, a fan of Google login, it makes my life easier.

During the first log in, the application will ask you for you WordPress log in credential to link your blog to the application. Just fill in the required fields.

TADAM you are now ready to go!

WordPress Application

The application is very similar to the WordPress Dashboard and you can access your website dashboard directly is you desire.

The app has some nice features:

Manage your blogs plugin;
Easily create a post or a page from the starting window;
Respond to comments;
Share on your social media account;
Load media to your WordPress media library directly from your tablet of mobile photo app; and
Customize your theme. You are now good to go to publish your first post!

You are now at the very beginning of a wonderful endeavor, a glorious journey to a successful blog!
It will not be always easy, it will take up some of your time, but in the end it will be very rewarding.

And don’t forget: Keep the dream alive!

Some posts on this blog contain affiliate links.
At no additional charge to you, I receive a small commission whenever a product is purchased through these links. The Dreaming Dad is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.