Blogging has opened so many doors for me including a few that I had never thought would be possible. It has allowed me to be at home with my daughter to homeschool her. It has allowed me to provide a very comfortable life for my family. It has taught me things about myself and other people that I never would have had a chance to learn. And finally, learning how to make money blogging has allowed me to have a career only for myself. When you work for someone else, you are helping them to build their dreams. That has never made much sense to me.
I don't normally publish income reports here on the blog and I don't talk blog numbers. I don't feel that it's really anyone's business, but I'm also not going to say "hey, my blog earns an income" and not tell you how much. That wouldn't exactly get the point across would it?
I earned $111,000 in 2016 from this blog.
I don't tell you that to brag or anything. The simple fact is that I earn a lot less than some bloggers. I'm okay with that. Six Dollar Family, as it is today, is only a year and half old. I'll take a six figure year only 18 months after I started it.
With all of that said, one of the most common questions that I get asked by people is how to make money blogging. While I am perfectly willing to mentor you and teach you how to make money blogging, you'll need to actually have a blog first. You'll also need to understand that to make money blogging, you're going to have to work very, very hard and that it won't happen overnight. Anyone and I do mean anyone who tells you that you can earn thousands of dollars each month starting your first month is lying to you. Plain and simple. Can you earn money? Yes, but you very likely won't earn much. In my first 6 months of blogging, way back when, I earned $34.00. Yes, you read that correctly. $34.00 for six months.
If you're reading this post, the chances are good that you don't actually have your own blog yet. That's perfectly fine. It is totally possible to start a blog and make money blogging in just a few weeks or months. Are you going to make six figures? Likely not, but you can make money blogging pretty quickly. These days there are tutorials and blog articles from bloggers who are earning to help you. I wasn't smart enough to look for them when I was first beginning since there wasn't that many around who blogged about how to make money blogging. You'll need to set up your new blog on either your own domain and hosting service (a.k.a. WordPress.org), via Google's Blogger service or on the free WordPress.com blogging service. While there is nothing wrong with Blogger or the free WordPress, if you are wanting to make money blogging, you absolutely will want to be on a self-hosted WordPress.
My reasons for this are numerous but they boil down to this; with a Blogger (aka Google) hosted site, you don't actually own your content. Blogger can delete your content and/or your entire blog at any time they want to with no warning or explanation. The reason for self-hosted WordPress versus free WordPress is simple. It is against the terms of service for WordPress.com users to monetize their site in any way, shape or form. It makes it kind of hard to make money blogging when you can't monetize at all, right? Violate their terms of service and you can (and likely will) lose your entire site.
With that in mind, this tutorial will walk you through how to create a self-hosted WordPress.org blog. If you have absolutely no technical skills, it may seem as if creating a blog is impossibly hard, but actually, it's quite simple. You only need to know the steps that need to be taken and the order in which you'll do them. First and foremost, you'll need to choose your blog name. Keep in mind that you'll want it to be simple and easy for people to remember. Also do yourself a favor and do a bit of research on the name you would like. The very last thing you want is to start a blog with a trademarked name only to have to pull the entire thing down because you're violating that trademark.
You'll also need to choose a reliable host that will host your new blog. While there are several good hosts out there, I recommend using Bluehost for new blogs. Not only are they incredibly affordable at just $3.95/mo for hosting, but new accounts will also get a free domain name when they sign up for a Bluehost account. Setting up your new Bluehost account so that you can create a blog on it is super simple too.
On the next page, you'll need to choose your hosting package and fill in your personal info. You will also have the option to choose domain security, backup services, search engine help and Whois privacy. Of these two, I recommend that you at least include the backup service and the Whois privacy options. Site Backup Pro will give you an extra layer of security in case your site has something major happen to it and Whois privacy will keep your personal information private. Without the Whois privacy, your name, address and phone number are very easily found. Whois blocks this info from being public.
Once you've chosen your hosting options, you'll be taken to a payment page to pay.
Got the payment part taken care of? Great! Guess what? You're about halfway through creating your blog! I told you that Bluehost made this easy! The screen that you have now been taken to is what is called your Cpanel. Think of this area as the spine of your site. Your cpanel holds you databases and more so you'll need to be very careful whenever you're working in it if you aren't sure what you're doing. For now though, you need to be in there working and to keep everything safe and sound, I'm going to walk you through how to create a blog in Cpanel.
Your goal is to install WordPress on your new blog. Scroll down your Cpanel to where you see "website builder" and click the "Install WordPress" button. If you're having trouble finding it, check the image above.
On the next page, you'll start the installation of the WordPress blogging software on your server. Right now you have an empty server with no software to blog on. Click the "Install WordPress" button to begin the installation.
On the next page, choose your domain from the drop down menu. If you only have one domain added to your new hosting account, it will be your only option. If you have others, select the one that you want to install WordPress onto and click "check domain." The server will check that your server can run the WordPress software.
This next screen is incredibly important. This is the page where you will set your blog log-in username and password. Make sure that "show advanced options" is checked. Enter your blog's name, your username, a password and your email. Whatever you do, do not use the username "Admin" and do not use a password that you commonly use. Doing so is a fantastic way to wake up and find your block hacked. Take that from someone who learned the hard way in 2012.
Once you've set all of that information, check the terms and condition box (yes, you should read them) and click the green "Install Now" button.
Once you've started the install, your cpanel will do what it needs to. WordPress will be installed and you will be given your log-in information including the url that you log in at. Make sure to take note of this url and to bookmark it. Log into your new blog and get to work! You'll need a WordPress theme (a quick Google search will help you with that) to get started. Once you've got a theme and a blog design, it's time to start writing and researching ways to make money blogging!
Ready to get started? Head over and sign up for a Bluehost account and you'll be well on your way!
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Stacy Barr Stacy Barr is the face and brain behind the frugal living and lifestyle blog Six Dollar Family. A true gypsy soul, her newest blog, Unsettled Hearts, chronicles the journey of her family to become full-time travelers. By the age of 30, Stacy had overcome an alcohol addiction, a drug addiction, divorce, survived domestic violence and had built a life for herself and her daughter after spending 10 months in a homeless shelter. Her book, also called Six Dollar Family, has sold more than 7,000 copies since its release.Click here to learn how I made over $100,000 blogging in 2016!
Ready to take your blog to the next level? You need a mentor! Let me help you reach your blogging goals!
Latest posts by Stacy Barr (see all)Source: How to Make Money Blogging with the Blog of Your Dreams
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