How To Start a BLOG That MAKES MONEY (2024) (2024)

How to Start a Blog that Makes Money – Updated January 2024

This is a thorough step-by-step tutorial for beginners to start a blog.

Today you're going to learn exactly how to start a blog of your own on WordPress.

Blogging has been game-changing in my life for many reasons.

One of which is that it has given me the opportunity to makethousands of pounds a month of business income in order to keep The Humble Penny sustainable as a Free platform.

All from doing something I really enjoy doing.

In fact, I love it so much that in April 2020, I quit my 6-figure job to do blogging full time and live my dreams 😊

One motivation for this is that the blog now makes me more money than I ever did in my day job. So why not take the leap?

Click here to create your wordpress blog and simply follow my guide below to set things up.

Is money-making a motivation for starting your blog?

It's absolutely possible but I do have to stress that it takes hard work and this does not happen overnight!

Plus not everyone is interested in making money blogging.

Some do it as a creative outlet, whilst others do it as a means to make an extra income.

You can begin your own blog cheaper than you'd imagine!

It's literally as cheap as having one coffee a month!

However, it requires some time commitment which can vary depending on what your goals are.

How To Start A Blog And Make Money

If your ultimate goal is to make money blogging, I can certainly tell you that it's possible to make a recurring income.

However, I'm going to be very honest with you, this is not a get-rich-quick path!

It takes time (a few months if you're diligent) before you could see anything significant.

You'll likely make nothing in your first couple of months, but then it picks up and snowballs.

However, if your only goal for starting a blog is to make money, you'll get frustrated quickly!

Again, I stress – Your interest in blogging has to be beyond making money.

Money and other possible rewards (such as improved communication, positive relationships, etc) come as a reward for adding true value to others.

As always in life, you get rewarded when you focus first on giving.

Feel free to join the How to Create an Impactful Blog Course to learn more about how to do exceptionally well blogging.

How To Start a Blog: Pre-Blog Set Up

I have added a link below to a special negotiateddiscount rate atBluehost for only the readers of The Humble Penny 😀.

This discounted price will give you access to a Free domain, hosting and a money-back guarantee.

This price is for a limited time only, so do take advantage of it if you're serious about starting a blog.

Follow this link to start your WordPress Blog, and then literally follow the step-by-step tutorialguide below.

Using Bluehost is brilliant if you want to create a blog in a cost-effective way, and it is highly recommended for WordPress users all over the world.

Bluehost is globally a top hosting company. You can get started byhosting your blog for as small as £2.35 per month.

NOTE: This Step by Step Tutorial forms part of Day 3 of the below FREE 7-day Impactful Blog Course.

Join below if you haven't already and get to learn all the non-techy sides to blogging success:

For those interested in making money from a blog – To make a serious income from your blog, you should definitely use WordPress as a platform.

Don't use others such as Blogger/Blogspot. WordPress is Open-source and fully customisable.

There are a lot of people now making that painful transition to WordPress and you don't want to waste time doing that.

The best part is, you get WordPress through your blog setup!

You can allow adverts from Mediavine (see course above), affiliate links, etc.

In fact, it is a MUST if you want to make money on your blog as it is self-hosted.

Other free platforms such as Blogger make this process tricky and you don't want to be frustrated before you've even started.

Self-hosting on WordPressis highly recommended as it will not only give you the Pro look but also complete control of your blog as an asset 😎.

Below is a summary of the many reasons why I believe Bluehost is the ultimate choice:

• Easy to navigate. Even my mum can set up a blog on WordPress using the below tutorial.
• 24/7 tech and back-office support
• Very affordable. For the price of only £2.35 per month, you can start your own kickass blog business!
• FREE domain
• FREE SSL Certificate
• FREE WordPress via Bluehost and one-click set up
• 30 days money-back guarantee
• Become self-hosted. This is a MUST for making money from your blog
• Get the Pro Look by Self-hosting through Bluehost. This draws companies to working with you.

To get started, follow the link below to Bluehost and grab these perks.

Click to begin setting up your new blog

You can of course host with other companies, but I personally use Bluehost and can highly recommend them. It is also no coincidence why many top bloggers use them too.

2024 BONUS FROM ME

When you sign up, take a screenshot of your Bluehost receipt and send it to me for your special bonus.

I'll share with you exactly what helped me to make enough money monthly to quit my job! 😎

How To Create Your WordPress Blog

STEP 1: Register A Unique Domain Name

Click here take up your Free Domain and Buy Hosting. Next, you just need to follow each step of the tutorial below.

Your first step is that you need to brainstorm a domain name. This is very important as it will become the name that people will remember always.

My wife actually suggested my blog name, and then she checked onBluehost to see if it was not taken.

Below are some tips to help you pick a domain name. Choose one that is:

• Fun, unique, and easy to remember e.g. thehumblepenny.com
• Based on a phrase or keyword that is often searched for e.g. “Financial Freedom”
• Unique or spelt differently e.g. Houzz.com
• Short, easy to spell and remember e.g. Apple.com vs. GirlFriendsWeddingDresses.com.
• End in .com for more credibility, followed by .org and .net. Alternatively, choose your local one like .co.uk

If your domain name is not available, then Bluehost will give you a bunch of alternatives.

You get the Free domain provided you grab at least 12 months of hosting, which you need anyhow.

STEP 2: Buy Your Blog Hosting

Here's how you save money:

• Lock in 3 years at £2.35 a month (that's £84.52 today, £144.36 saved) <—- BEST SAVINGS
• Lock in 1 year at £3.94 a month (that's £47.28 today, £20.04 saved)

I personally recommend the 36 months plan as the price per month is even cheaper!!

In addition, I also recommend the the Basic Plan below (you can always upgrade in the future if need be):

Choose a FREE domain name or choose one later or use one you already have:

You don't need any extras to start unless you want to. Ensure your cart balance is still the same:

Finally, you simply check your total, and pay:

STEP 3: Bring It All Together – Domain plus hosting

FYI: Skip this step if you bought BOTH your domain AND hosting directly from Bluehost above.

If you bought adomain via GoDaddy but hosting through Bluehost, you must first attach your Godaddy domain to the new Bluehost account as they are different.

Visit GoDaddy toset up a nameserver for your existing domain name(s). See an extract below from that link:

Here are the steps to change the DNS Nameservers if your domain is at Godaddy and Hosting is at Bluehost:

1. First, you log into your Godaddy account and head over to Account Manager.
2. Click a domain name in the list below to go to itsDNS Managementpage
3. On theDNS Managementpage, underNameservers, clickChange.
4. UnderChoose your new nameserver type, selectCustom.
5. Enter the custom nameservers your hosting provider gave you and then click onSave. The custom nameservers for Bluehost are “ns1.bluehost.com”and “ns2.bluehost.com”. TheBluehost nameservers can also be seenhere

Next, you need to insert the Godaddy domain you've got as an additional domain to the domain hosting you now have with Bluehost.

Simply log into your hosting account with Bluehost,head over to “Domains” followed by “Assign”.

STEP 4: Install FREE WordPress on Your Bluehost

This is a Major Step! Please pay attention here.

Bluehost makes it all super easy to create your blog for Free.

WordPress is by far the most popular publishing platform on the web.

WordPress is easy to set up and use and is extremely customisable with endless amounts of free widgets and themes to choose from.

• After setting up your password, they take you through the next bits to create your blog
• At first, you get asked to Select a theme. Although you can pick one here,I'd recommend a Professional looking theme, see step 5 below.
• Then you need to click on the “Start Building” button
• You get asked to pick “Personal” or “Business” or “I do not need help”. I chose the last option.

Install WordPress:

Choose where you want to install WordPress, in most cases with a new website.It will just be the domain name you originally picked.

Choose your WordPress login details. I'd suggest keeping the box checked for “Automatically create a new database for this installation”.

CONGRATULATIONS! You have now set up your WordPress blog! Fantastic!!

You'll ofcourse have to make it look great etc, and in time, start creating awesome content, etc.

STEP 5: Get A Professional Looking Theme

The Genesis Theme is one of the most loved themes out there for bloggers, and it is what I use at The Humble Penny. You pay a one-off fee of $59.95 and you have a theme with a sleek layout that is fully customisable.

The theme is also SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) friendly and loads a lot faster than all other themes due to its framework. Load speed and design are critical and will help you retain visitors to your blog!

If you don't want to pay for a theme, there are many free ones too. Simply log into your WordPress account and go to “Appearance” on the left hand.

NEW: In addition to the tutorial on ‘How To Start A Blog’ that you’re reading, check out our YouTube Channelfor…

How much it costs to start a blog (Basic and Pro blogs):

STEP 6: General Tips, Resources, and Tools

• Make sure you save your WordPress login details that you receive by email. You'll receive the email after you complete step 4 above. This email will include your unique WordPress login URL, your username, and password. Keep this very safe!
• You can start creating new posts– Go to “Posts” in the dark bar to the Left below, and click on “Add New”
• To add a picture to your post, just click on “Add Media” as shown above.
• For add-ons to the footer area, home page, sidebar etc, you can add these as “widgets”. Head to “Appearance” followed by “Widgets”, and you can choose image widgets etc.
• If you want to send out emails to a subscriber list or a newsletter, then the best tool to use is Convertkit. It has amazing ways in which you can tag your subscribers, automate and schedule your emails as well as segment people etc. This is what I use when I email you.
• For information on ALL the blogging tools, I use to run The Humble Penny, read my page.

STEP 7: How To Write A Blog – Tips To Help You Grow Your Blog

i) Focus on writing great content.Keep your content original and unique borrowing from your experience and perspective at all times. Also, ensure your posts are entertaining and that people can walk away with value they can apply.

ii) Comment on larger blogs in your niche.Writing really well thought through comments on these blogs attract not only the attention of the blogger but the audience each time. This can lead to a couple of visitors heading over to your blog because each comment leaves a link back to your blog. Over time, this adds up and leads to an increase in your blog readership!

iii) Guest post on largerblogs in your niche.This is a great way to massively boost your traffic and diversify your audience. “Digging your well before you're thirsty” applies here as you're meant to do some work first to show the blogger some love before you ask.

Consistently comment on their site and share their content on social media, thereby build an initial relationship as they'll quickly take notice.

Do this for about 3 months, and then get in touch by email. Ask if you can create a guest post that is unique to your style and perspective but leads off from something he/she already wrote about or something new entirely. Aim to have at least one link back to your blog.

iv) Publish content consistently.The Humble Penny publishes on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Although this schedule was pretty tough at the start, I have persevered and it's nice to see my readers anticipate the posts and the effort that goes in.

v) Build a community.The most successful bloggers in the world have built great followers and tribes based on future based causes or movements. They demonstrate their passion for their subject and cause and build large raving fans and communities that follow and support them everywhere. Have this community in mind whenever you're publishing content.

Feel free to Join The Humble Penny Community.

This is the end of the tutorial on how to start a blog. I hope you've found it useful.

Don't forget to REPLY to me if you're having any issues. I totally don't mind and can help you if you're stuck with your blog set-up!

I often offer 15 minutes of freeCoaching to anyone who takes the leap and starts their own blog.

If you haven't already, join the freeHow To Start An Impactful Blog Courseto learn the non-technical aspects of blogging.

These include how to tell your story, how to decide your blog niche, how to actually make money blogging etc. Don't miss it!

Good luck and enjoy blogging! 🙂

NEW: In addition to the tutorial on ’How To Start A Blog’ that you’re reading, check out our YouTube Channelfor…

Posts to read next:

• Blog Coaching – One to One With Me
• 7 Ways To Make Money Blogging
• 7 Guaranteed Ways To Make An Extra £1,000 Per Month

Considering how to start a blog? Or have you already started a blog? What's your current challenge? Please comment below.

Do please share this post if you found it useful, and remember,in all things be thankful and Seek Joy.