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How to Start a Blog That Generates $3817 a Month

 


Theme selection for How to Start a Blog

Ever wondered how to start a blog and make enough money blogging to quit your job?  Your Dependable Household Moving 

You can do it. Tons of people already have.

Want definitive proof?

The blog you’re reading right now gets over 2,436,100 unique visitors a year and generates well over a million dollars in annual revenue  . Residential Moving Dunwoody GA

Just look at my revenue stats for a 30 day period:

Neilpatel.com revenue chart for How to Start a Blog

$381,772 a month is a lot of money, especially for a blog. Now you aren’t going to generate that much money, but it is realistic for you to make 1/100th of what I am making.

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That’s why I’m going to show you how to make $3817 a month.

Making $300,000 per month is REALLY hard. Making $3000 per month is a lot easier. 

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And for most folks, an extra $3000 per month would change their life. 

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So, yes. Blocks of text and a handful of images can generate life-changing amounts of money.

Want to know something else?  Piano Moving Dunwoody GA

I started from the same place you’re at right now. The only difference between you and me is that I’ve already been doing this for a decadePOD Loading Dunwoody GA

Look, I stumbled a LOT along the way. Fell flat on my face. Had tons of terrible ideas. 

This guide shows you how to avoid the same mistakes I did. Not only will your path be easier, you’ll get there a lot quicker. 


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Your 2-minute quick start cheat sheet

Looking for a barebones, quick start guide to get started as fast as possible? In this section, we won’t cover everything, only the essential steps. Everything is covered in way more detail below, so jump down if you hit a snag.

First head to Hostinger and sign up for the WordPress Starter plan. It’s just $3.99 per month and you will also get a free domain name with your hosting plan!  

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Next, follow the instructions to set up your Hostinger account and now you officially have your own little piece of the internet. Congrats!

But, don’t celebrate too hard just yet—we’re not quite finished. From there, you need to:

  • Install WordPress (your blogging platform)
  • Choose and install a cheap/affordable theme
  • Customize your new theme
  • Write and publish your first blog post
  • Stick to a regular publishing schedule

After you have your first few posts under your belt and traffic starts to flow in, you can start thinking about how you want to make your first $1. 

From selling ad space to digital/physical product offerings and affiliate marketing, there are dozens of monetization methods you can explore.

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Now let’s go through the whole process in detail. Here are the 10 steps to take:

  1. Unleash ideas within you
  2. Choose a name for your new blog
  3. Get web hosting from Hostinger
  4. Get familiar with WordPress
  5. Install a WordPress Theme
  6. Customize Your Blog
  7. Brainstorm Blog Topics
  8. Write Your First Masterpiece
  9. Create an Editorial Calendar
  10. Monetize Your Blog

Step 1. Unleash ideas within you

If you want to create a blog, you don’t need a revolutionary idea. But, your blog should be focused on something specific. 

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Remember that no idea is truly unique, no matter how good it is.

But you have unique experiences. You have a distinct voice. And you probably have a vibrant personality that will attract others who want to hear about your experiences.

When it comes to choosing your blog’s niche, there are two key questions to ask yourself.

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1. Do I Enjoy Learning About This Topic?

If you don’t love the topic, it’ll show in your writing. You shouldn’t even start a blog if you don’t love what you’re blogging about.

Whatever topic you pick, you need to love it and be naturally curious about it.

If not, you’ll run out of ideas quickly. You’ll lose any momentum you built up at the start.

Most importantly, you won’t be able to consistently create content that will build your audience.

If you are still lost, think about what sort of things people come to you for advice on. Do friends or family ask you for fitness tips? Recipe ideas? Career advice? You know what you can best speak to.

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2. Are Others Interested in The Same Things?

You might feel like the only 20-something who’s obsessed with knitting. But there are others out there.

Do a quick Google search and you’ll find over 1 million results aimed at people just like you. 

Young knitters Google search for How to Start a Blog

You might be wondering if your idea is too quirky. Or, is it too broad? My advice is to get as focused as you can on something you’re genuinely interested in.

If you want to start a travel blog, for example, stay away from generic words like “travel.” Choose a more specific topic, like “backpacking.”

Step 2. Choose a name for your new blog

Now for the fun part: naming your blog.

This is your brand. It’s how people will remember you.

But don’t overthink it. The magic of a brand gets built over time. Even if you feel stuck, keep moving forward.

The best way to land on the perfect name is to start with brainstorming. In the last step, we talked about unleashing all of your ideas and nailing down your niche.

Now, it’s time to take those ideas and turn them into a name. 

So, open up a new spreadsheet or grab a pen and paper. Then spend about ten minutes writing down every word that comes to mind. 

From there, start combining words and phrases until something stands out to you. Aim for 5 – 10 potential names and write them down. 

Now, it’s time to see if those names are available as domains. A domain is where your blog lives on the internet.

As an example, neilpatel.com is my domain. 

Neil Patel is who I am, but it’s also my brand and what you type into the address bar to find me. But that also means you can’t use the domain because I already own it. 

You could do what I did and use your personal name as your domain. 

But in most cases, I recommend choosing a different name for your blog. That’ll make it a lot easier to sell the site if you ever want to.

If none of your preferred site names are available as a .com, head back to the beginning and keep brainstorming.

Here are some extra tips for choosing an excellent domain name:

  • Always choose a .com when possible
  • Avoid using numbers, hyphens, and homophones (words that sounds the same but are spelled differently)
  • Keep it as short and concise as possible
  • Should be easy to say and understand
  • Avoid complicated and commonly misspelled words

When you land on an available name, click next to automatically add it to your cart.

Don’t buy it yet. I’ll show you how to get your domain for free in the next step. 

Step 3. Get Web Hosting with Hostinger

Now it’s time to get your blog live. 

It may seem complicated at first, but don’t worry. It’s much easier than it sounds. 

To get started, you need web hosting (where your blog lives) and a domain name (your blog’s address). The good news is that Hostinger, my favorite web hosting company, offers both as a package deal. 

Hostinger

Hostinger

Best Web Hosting

Get rock-solid web hosting at a steal of a price. Shared hosting that is perfect for your new blog starts as low as $1.99/month, or $3.99 per month if you want a free domain name. Plus, you can lock in that rate for four whole years!

Plus, it’s incredibly affordable. 

Head over to Hostinger and click “Start Now.” 

Next, you’ll see four different plans. Scroll down and select the WordPress Starter plan for $3.99/month. It includes everything you need when you’re just getting started and is the lowest-cost plan that includes a free domain. 

And you can always upgrade later if you need to. 

Hostinger pricing page for How to Start a Blog

If you want the best deal, opt for the four-year commitment. But you can also choose from one-year, two-year, and month-to-month terms.

Next, you’ll finish setting up your account.

Hostinger checkout page for How to Start a Blog
After your payment is processed, you’ll be whisked away to Hostinger’s hPanel, which will guide you through the rest of the setup process.

First, select “Myself” when the wizard asks you who you’re making the website for.

Hostinger guided setup step 2 for How to Start a Blog

On the next screen, let the guide know that you’re making a blog.

After that, you’ll tell the wizard your level of comfort with building websites. I’m pretty experienced, so I chose the second option.

If you haven’t created a blog from scratch more than once or twice, you might want to pick one of the two options on the right.

Hostinger setup experience level How to Start a Blog
Next, Hostinger will ask you which platform you want to use for your site. Select the WordPress option on the left.

If you don’t have a WordPress account already, Hostinger helpfully gives you a field to set an email address and password for one on the spot.

Once you’ve done that, you can select a blog template to start from. Or, you can start from scratch by clicking the text link at the bottom. If you’re new to this, though, I’d recommend starting with a template. There are a lot of gorgeously designed options to choose from.

Hostinger setup select template How to Start a Blog

Once you’ve made a decision there, you’ll be able to buy a new domain or connect an existing one to your site.

This will be easy since you already searched for available domains in Step 2. Click “Select” under Buy a Domain on the left, then enter your desired domain in the field that emerges below.

Select the available domain and then make sure to add on WHOIS privacy for an extra $10 per year.

It exists to keep your private information safe and secure. Without it, anyone can access your phone number, home address, and email.

You still own the domain name, but your contact information is protected against scam callers and unsolicited mail. 

It’s certainly worth the extra investment. 

After that, you’re done with the hardest part! Congrats on your new blog!

It will take just a few minutes for Hostinger to finish setting up your site. Stay on the screen until , you’re ready to move on to the next step. 

Step 4. Get Familiar with WordPress, Your Blogging Software

You can’t start a blog without blogging software. I run all of my blogs on WordPress because it’s user-friendly, free, and powerful.

If you decide to make a blog that’s not on WordPress, you’ll find that it is much more costly. WordPress offers a ton of free plugins that allow you to modify your blog in any way, shape, or form.

What’s nice is that Hostinger takes care of WordPress installation for you during setup. You don’t have to do anything to get it ready to use.

After the Hostinger setup wizard is finished, you’ll be greeted with a screen where you can connect your domain, view your site, or head to the WordPress dashboard or the Hostinger control panel.

Hostinger completed setup for How to Start a Blog

Click “Manage WordPress” and you’ll be taken to that section in hPanel. Scroll down a bit and you’ll see on the right the version of WordPress currently installed.

Hostinger WordPress version for How to Start a Blog

If you ever have a issue, you can always do a clean installation of WordPress by clicking “Install” all the way at the bottom.

Hostinger WordPress installation for How to Start a Blog

Step 5. Design Your Blog With a WordPress Theme

In the blogging world, pre-built WordPress site designs are called themes.

Out of the box, your WordPress blog will look something like this:

New blank WordPress site for How to Start a Blog

That’s the simple foundation you start with. But you’re going to want to find something that fits with your name, brand, and the experience you want readers to have.

There are thousands of themes to choose from. But it can be easy to get trapped in “shiny object syndrome”, browsing through tons of pretty pictures and templates but not walking away with a theme that fits your needs.

You can swap out your theme any time, so choose something that’s good enough for now rather than stressing over the perfect option. Like your brand, your WordPress blog’s theme will probably evolve over time as you figure out what works and looks best in practice.

Let’s go through selecting a theme step by step.

First, you need to log into your WordPress admin. You can access this by going to [yourdomain].com/wp-admin.

Enter your user credentials to log in.

WordPress login page for How to Start a Blog

If you’re new to WordPress, the dashboard might look a little daunting at first, but you’ll be an expert with a little practice.

WordPress dashboard for How to Start a Blog

To install a new theme, hover over the “Appearance” menu in the sidebar and click “Themes.”

WordPress appearance menu for How to Start a Blog

WordPress comes with a few themes ready to go, but we’re going to search for the flashier premium themes that will make your eyes twinkle.

Click the “Add New” button at the top to get access to thousands of WordPress themes.

WordPress add new theme for How to Start a Blog

Your tastes and mine may be different. Fortunately, WordPress has a “Feature Filter” that lets you search for something that will fit your style.

WordPress theme filter for How to Start a Blog

The three categories are “layout,” “features” and “subject.” You can look for themes that closely hew to what your blog is going to be about or ones that have features you’re already sure your blog will need.

Here’s what your filter requests might look like.

WordPress theme filter options for How to Start a Blog

After applying the filters, you’ll see amazing themes that would otherwise cost thousands of dollars in design fees.

WordPress theme options for How to Start a Blog

If you click on the theme’s thumbnail, you can get an instant preview of what your blog will look like. Evaluate if it fits both your personal style and the topic that you’ll be covering.

Once you’re satisfied with the sneak peek, click the “Install” button.

WordPress theme preview for How to Start a Blog

Once the installation is complete, click the “Activate” button and you’re all set.

If you can’t find a theme that you like, there are premium themes that you can purchase from sites like:

  • Themeforest
  • Elegant Themes
  • StudioPress
  • Thrive Themes

By now, your theme should be activated and ready to go. Let’s move on to customizing your theme.

Step 6. Customize and Optimize Your WordPress Blog

There are endless customization choices that you can make on a WordPress blog. We’ll stick with the essentials.

Themes are the foundation of your design and include the core functionalities. WordPress also has plugins that can add to or extend the functionality of your blog in impressive ways.

There are WordPress plugins for everything from adding ecommerce functionality or contact forms to your site to analyzing your content for SEO improvements (more on that in a bit) or boosting site security and performance.

The first step is to click the “Customize” button on your active theme.

Customize WordPress theme for How to Start a Blog

Menu options in the sidebar will vary, depending on the theme you choose. The main category to edit is “Site Identity.”

WordPress theme site identity for How to Start a Blog

Here, you can add the name of your blog and a tagline if you wish. When you’re done, click the “Save and Publish” button.

Save and publish customized WordPress theme for How to Start a Blog

Optimize for Search Engine Traffic

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a multi-billion dollar industry.

SEO is the process of optimizing your website to be found in search engines for particular keywords and phrases.

I attribute a good portion of my success to being easily discoverable for relevant search terms, which has helped me build my networks and net worth.

If you’re new to SEO, then this may seem daunting.

But, WordPress makes it insanely simple to optimize the technical aspects of your blog.

The majority of your SEO efforts will be to create engaging content for real people. Whether that’s through text, videos, or images, your job as a blogger is to spark a relationship with your readers.

And, what better way is there than through relatable and informative conversation?

You can get started by downloading a plugin called Yoast SEO.

Hover over the plugins menu on the side and click “Add New.”

Add new WordPress plugin for How to Start a Blog

Search for “Yoast SEO” in the search bar and it will be the first result that comes up.

Click the “Install Now” button. Then, hit the “Activate” button once the installation is complete.

Yoast SEO plugin for How to Start a Blog

You can access the plugin’s settings from the new SEO menu in the sidebar or by clicking the icon at the top.

Yoast SEO plugin icon for How to Start a Blog

From the dashboard, go to “Your Info” and set the foundations for your blog.

Yoast SEO insert your site info for How to Start a Blog

Make sure that your website name and tagline are correct. Then, identify yourself as a company or person.

Click the “Save Changes” button and we’ll move on to the next step.

Enter site info for Yoast SEO for How to Start a Blog

Next, go to the “Webmaster Tools” tab and click “Google Search Console.” Google Search Console is a webmaster tool that allows you to submit your site to their search index and optimize visibility.

Verify Yoast SEO for Google Search for How to Start a Blog

Sign into your Google account, whether that’s your Gmail or Drive account.

Google login screen for How to Start a Blog

Once you’ve logged in, click the “Alternate methods” tab and select “HTML tag.” 

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HTML tag in Google Search Console for How to Start a Blog

A new drop-down will appear with your search console meta code. Copy the alphanumeric string without the quotation marks.

copy tag in Google Search Console for How to Start a Blog

Next, paste your meta code into the Google Search Console text box and click “Save Changes.”

Verify Google Search Console in Yoast SEO plugin for How to Start a Blog

Finally, click the “Verify” button.

Click verify in Yoast SEO for How to Start a Blog

As you tinker around in Webmaster Central, you’ll gain a wealth of data-driven insight, such as keyword phrases you rank for, errors on your blog, and the ability to give Google a nudge when you publish a new post.

Next, go to the “General” tab and start the installation wizard.

Yoast SEO wizard for How to Start a Blog

Yoast will take you through a series of 10 quick steps to optimize your WordPress blog.

The first step is a welcome screen that you can skip.

In the second step, select the environment that best suits your site. Most likely, you’ll choose the production environment, which means that it is a real website that you intend on driving traffic to.

Yoast optimization process environment step for How to Start a Blog

Step 3 is the website type. Choose blog and click next.

Yoast SEO optimization for site type for How to Start a Blog

The next step is to set yourself up as a company or person. We already set this up before, so you can skip this step.

In step 5, you can add any social profiles that are associated with your blog. Click “Next” when complete.

Step 6 is about post visibility. The default settings are fine to use. Set your “Posts” and “Pages” to visible and “Media” to hidden.

Set post type visibility in Yoast SEO for How to Start a Blog

Next, you’ll have to decide whether you’ll have multiple authors or a solo blogger. If you choose to add another writer in the future, you can change these settings later.

If you wish to have the Yoast SEO plugin pull in data from Google’s search console, step 8 is the place to do it.

Click on the “Get Google Authorization Code” button.

A new pop-up will appear where you can allow Yoast to access your search console data. Click the “Allow” button to confirm access.

In step 9, you can verify your website name and choose a title separator.

The title separator is a symbol used to separate your blog post’s title and your website’s name in the meta title information. This is what Google searchers will see when finding your blog through a search query.

For instance, if you found this post on Google, you might have seen “How to Start a Blog – Neil Patel.”

The symbol is a matter of personal preference. Click “Next” when you’re ready to move on.

The final step is no step at all. It’s a congratulatory message confirming that you have successfully optimized your SEO settings for your budding WordPress blog.

XML Sitemaps

The last Yoast SEO setting worth configuring is an XML sitemap. An XML sitemap is a file that lists the URLs for your website.

It helps Google and other search engines crawl your site for new posts and pages. Fortunately, Yoast has a built-in feature that automatically updates your sitemap, so you can click it and forget it.

In the “Features” tab, set the “Advanced settings pages” to “Enabled” and save the changes.

A new group of menus will appear in the sidebar, under “SEO.” Select the “XML Sitemaps” menu.

Select the “User Sitemap” tab and toggle “Author / user sitemap” to enabled. Don’t forget to save your changes.

You can play around with these settings endlessly, but everything that we’ve set up to this point will get you started on the right track.

Set Up Permalinks

Permalinks are static hyperlinks that lead to a particular blog post or page. By default, WordPress automatically generates permalinks when you create a post, with the post ID number coming after your domain.

The permalink “/p=1213” is in no way sexy and it doesn’t help anyone understand what the page is about before viewing it.

The simple fix is to set a permalink structure.

In the left sidebar, mouse-over “Settings” and choose “Permalinks.”

There are a few options to choose from. I use the “Post name” structure on my blog which uses keywords from my title to create a unique permalink.

Save the settings after you’ve selected it. You’ll see this in action a bit later.

If you’re still with me, you’ve purchased your domain and web hosting, installed a theme, and optimized your website to be crawled and found by search engines.

Now, we get to the bread and butter of blogging. What are you going to write about in your blog?

Let’s find out.

Step 7. Brainstorm Blog Topics

On the technical side, your blog is all set up and ready to go. When it comes to topic generation, the world is your oyster.

The majority of your blog posts will come from personal experiences, passions, successes, failures, and new learnings.

People use questions as search queries, like:

  • What should I write about?
  • What to blog about?
  • Should I start blogging?

So naturally, you should start off with some questions of your own. I use a series of questions and a systematic process to come up with my blog topic ideas.

No need to worry. It’s not complicated and it won’t take very much time.

By following this process, you should be able to come up with about 50 working topics within a half hour of distraction-free time.

Pull out a pen and paper or open up your favorite word processing tool.

The goal of this exercise is to get 10 answers for each question. If you can think of more, note them all.

It’s time to look through the lens of your readers with these 5 questions.

1. “What Excites, Intrigues, or Stirs Passion in My Readers?”Residential Moving Dunwoody GA

Examples:

  • As a golfer, I get excited by hitting my driver farther. I’m fascinated by mental performance. I’m passionate about healthy living.
  • As a new stay-at-home mom, I get excited by budget-friendly ideas for the family. I’m intrigued by sleep-training. I’m passionate about homeschooling.
  • As an avid camper, I get excited about finding undervalued camping sites. I’m intrigued by survival tactics. I’m passionate about minimalist living.

2. “What Common Challenges Do My Readers Face?”

Examples:

  • Golfers might struggle with slicing the ball.
  • Stay-at-home moms may find meal planning challenging.
  • Campers might struggle with packing light.

3. “What Character Traits Do My Readers Possess?

Example:

  • Serious golfers have emotional stability.
  • Moms are patient and have a sense of humor.
  • Campers are adventurous and resourceful.

4. “What Do My Readers Love About My Niche?”

Example:

  • Golfers love the challenge of perfection.
  • Stay-at-home moms love being a part of their child’s mental, physical and emotional development.
  • Campers love time away from the busy city life.

5. “What Do My Readers Hate About My Niche?”

Examples:

  • Golfers hate playing with partners who complain all day long.
  • Stay-at-home moms hate being looked down on by others.
  • Campers hate getting eaten alive.

You get the point. Now that you have about 50 answers, you can begin dissecting blog post ideas from each answer. The sky is the limit.

Here are a few examples you can extract from one answer in your list:

  • Cure Your Slice: The Foolproof Guide To Hit The Fairway Every Time
  • 3 Reasons Why You’re Slicing The Ball And One Stupid Simple Fix
  • Never Slice Again: 9 Drills To Play Like The Pros
  • 7 Training Aids For Dead Straight Ball Flight
  • How To Shoot Even Par With A Nasty Slice.

Try to come up with a catchy headline that will draw your readers in and then throw them a one-two punch in the rest of your content.

Step 8. Write Your First Masterpiece

WordPress uses an intuitive editor, similar to your favorite word processing tools. New blog entries can be created directly from your WordPress admin dashboard.

Click on “Posts” in the left sidebar.

This will populate a list of your blog entries in descending order. Since we’re working with a fresh install, you won’t see anything here.

To create a new entry, click the “Add New” button at the top or in the sidebar.

You’ll be brought to the editor and you can begin blogging.

Click on the + in the right corner to see WordPress’s Gutenberg blocks, which allow you to add headings, media, quotes, and tons of other features to your blog.

First things first; add one of the titles that you developed in your brainstorming session in the title text box.

Once you save this post as a draft, WordPress will create a permalink based on the keywords used in your title.

WordPress title and permalink in post draft for How to Start a Blog

You can start typing the body of your article in the large text area and write until you feel happy with your content.

You’ll want to add visual assets to your blog posts as well. Images help engage readers and can often illustrate concepts better than words.

To add new images, ensure that your text cursor is in the place where you want your image to appear. Click the blue + sign, then select the “Image” block.

Choose “upload” or select the image from your Media Library if its already uploaded to your site.

After your image has uploaded, you can resize it, and add links using the icons at the top of the image 

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.

Your image will automatically insert into your post.

After you’ve completed your article, you’ll need to make a few last minute optimizations using the Yoast SEO plugin.

Yoast has post specific settings that can be at the bottom of the main text area.

The fur main settings are “SEO title,”“slug,” “meta description” and “focus keyphrases. 

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Completing these settings will generate a preview of what your post will look like when it is discovered in Google’s search engine results.

Create SEO titles that are attractive to click and meta descriptions that explain what your post is about.

The Yoast SEO plugin will provide real-time feedback, as you begin to optimize your title and description.

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Aim for as many green lights as possible, but don’t stress if you’re unable to get a perfect score. If you can get 80% green lights, then you’re on the right track. 

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Before you publish your post, you can view what your blog post will look like by clicking the “preview” button at the top of the page.

Preview post draft in WordPress for How to Start a Blog

Before you hit that publish button, you want to make sure that your entry looks and feels the way that you want it to.

Here’s a quick checklist to consider, before you hit the publish button:

  • Speak in a conversational tone.
  • Content flows naturally.
  • Easy on the eyes with adequate white space.
  • Use headings to separate sections.
  • Bullet points and lists.
  • Check for typos and grammatical errors.

If everything checks out, you’re ready to publish your first blog post.

Scroll to the top of the page and click the publish button that’s just to the right of the preview button to have your post go live immediately.

And here’s what my final post looks like.

WordPress post post-publish for How to Start a Blog

Congratulations. You’ve successfully set up a blog that looks great and is optimized for search engine traffic. Feels good right?

Step 9. Create an Editorial Calendar

One of the fatal mistakes I see bloggers make is to blog only when they “feel like it.”

They forget that new fans want more content and they fail to deliver.

Unforeseen circumstances will arise. You’ll let a new Netflix series take over the time that you could have spent blogging.

Life will continue to throw curveballs at you, whether you start blogging or not.

Consistency is undervalued and it needs to be something you prioritize.

I’ve written over a thousand articles and it’s not because I type 7,000 words per minute.

It’s because I follow an editorial calendar without compromise.

Schedules aren’t just for big publications like The New York Times and the Huffington Post. They’re for regular people like you and me.

Think about it like this.

If you have a doctor’s appointment in your calendar or even a lunch date with a friend, you’re going to honor it. Worst case scenario, you’ll reschedule for the next available time-slot.

Editorial calendars work in a similar fashion.

They make aggressive goals reachable in micro-steps. They keep you organized. They streamline your social media and email marketing efforts.

And, you’ll be surprised at how an editorial calendar can even help you grow in character and integrity.

We are creatures of habit.

The better you keep your dates, the faster you’ll grow your audience.

So, how do you get started and how much will it cost?

Nada.

Just open up a new Excel spreadsheet. If you have multiple writers, you can share the sheet using Google drive.

Start with four columns – Publishing Date, Title, Keyword and Notes.

Example editorial calendar for How to Start a Blog

Your needs might be different than mine, so feel free to add additional columns as needed. Common additions might include “Author,””Category” and “Persona.”

The simpler you keep it, the easier it will be to digest and follow.

Look through your calendar on your iPhone, Android, or the one hanging on your fridge. How often can you post?

Monthly? Weekly? Daily?

Be conservative with your goals, because consistently missing deadlines can lead to quitting altogether.

Next, go through the answers that you came up with in your brainstorming session and add them under the “Title” column.

Your titles don’t need to be perfect yet. Throw in a working headline that you can spruce up before publishing.

Sometimes, the best headlines come after you’ve written your article. You’ll have a crystal clear picture of what your story is about and who it is for.

The “Keyword” column is intended for SEO purposes. If you’re targeting specific keyword phrases that you’d like to rank for, add those in there.

If nothing comes to mind, you can do some keyword research later on.

Finally, there’s the “Notes” column.

This section is a perfect place to write down brilliant ideas that come to mind. Notes also act as a great tool to stay focused on the topic at hand and tackle it coherently.

You should be able to write up a set of 25 blog post topics with deadlines that you’re confident about keeping.

That’s almost half a year’s worth of blog posts for a weekly writer.

Okay. You have the editorial, but you’re still missing the calendar.

Go to Google Calendars and set up a new calendar. You can do this by clicking the down arrow to the right of “My Calendars.”

Click “Create New Calendar” and add a name, description and time zone. You can share this calendar with other participants on your team.

If you don’t have team members, share it with your spouse or a good friend who is willing to keep you accountable to your goals.

Create new Google calendar for How to Start a Blog

After you’ve filled out the essential information, click “Create Calendar” and get acquainted with your new best friend.

Make sure that your calendar is selected in the left sidebar and change your schedule view to weekly.

 Piano Moving Dunwoody GA

Click on a time slot under a day and add your blog post title as the “Event Title.” I recommend that you set a notification for a couple of days before the publishing date.

 Piano Moving Dunwoody GA

If you only write whenever it’s convenient, you’re heading down a dangerous road.

You’ll eventually run out of ideas, lose motivation and forget about the drive you once had to start your own blog.

Editorial calendars are a quick fix for a blogger’s procrastination. 

 Piano Moving Dunwoody GA

Step 10. Monetize Your Blog

The last step is to monetize your blog. You may not have a desire to monetize your blog immediately. If that’s you, then it’s a good thing. 

 Piano Moving Dunwoody GA

Hear me out.

Conventional styles of selling looked something like this:

  • Think of an idea.
  • Create a product.
  • Try and sell the product.
  • File for bankruptcy.

This method has been unsuccessful for so many individuals and businesses, because they didn’t build an audience before creating it.

They based market demand off “gut feelings.” 

 Piano Moving Dunwoody GA

And, that’s why blogging is the perfect channel for monetization.

You can build an audience through various mediums, like your email newsletter, blog comments, and social media channels.

Ask your audience

Blogging allows people into your life. If you think of your favorite bloggers, you might feel like you know them on a somewhat personal level.

Also, your market research becomes significantly easier. I ask questions at the end of my blog posts that generate hundreds of comments. 

 Piano Moving Dunwoody GA

Neilpatel.com reader questions and comments for How to Start a Blog

Alternatively, you can also send email blasts with a survey, using Google Forms, to gain valuable information on what your target audience wants.

By building a blog, you open doors to talk with potential customers. People who will give you honest feedback on what they want from you. 

 Piano Moving Dunwoody GA

If 90% of your survey respondents tell you that they want a formal course on digital marketing, then what do you think they want?

A digital marketing course that they will pay for.

Make Money With Advertisements  Piano Moving Dunwoody GA

If you don’t want to sell a physical product or service, you can do what other publishers are doing.

Sell advertising space.

Anyone can put an ad on their blog using Google Adsense. But, the real money comes from private sales of ad placements.

If you build a high traffic blog, you can make a full-time income selling ad spots on your website to large corporations.

Talk about passive income! 

 Piano Moving Dunwoody GA

The only thing that you need to do is to add their banner and keep doing what you do best – write about your passion or expertise.

Sell Physical Products

Another avenue I explored is in the nutrition niche.

Mike and I built a blog from scratch and transformed it into a $100,000/month blog selling a private label fish oil supplement on Amazon. 

 Piano Moving Dunwoody GA

Neilpatel.com sales summary for How to Start a Blog

Our success was mainly due to our blog. We published great content, understood our audience’s needs, and directed them to our Amazon sales page.

The reason why monetizing is the last step in creating a profitable blog is because money shouldn’t be the driving factor in your early efforts.

As you build meaningful relationships and community, your audience will steer you in the right direction by sharing their needs.

If you want to make money blogging, then it will be your job to fulfill those needs.

FAQs About How to Start a Blog

In essence, how do I start a blog?

Set up a CMS (like WordPress), choose a design, write and publish your first post, and stick to a regular publishing schedule.

What are some options for CMS to use on a blog?

WordPress, Wix, Shopify (for e-commerce sites)

How do I choose a name for my blog?

Use free name generator tools, check for available domains, check business records and social media to make sure others don’t have that name already.

How do I optimize my blog for search engines (SEO)?

Use a reputable SEO plugin if you’re on WordPress like Yoast, set up Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, make sure your XML sitemap is set up properly (Yoast can do this automatically), and set up permalinks.

How do I come up with blog post topics?

Ask yourself:
What excites my readers?
What are common challenges for my readers?
What are the character traits of my readers?
What do readers love about my niche?
What do readers hate about my niche?

How do I monetize my blog?

Through affiliate sales, ad revenue, product sales, and courses.

Conclusion

Starting a blog is easy. Creating one that will be successful and make money requires hard work, dedication, and grit.

But, the rewards far outweigh the risks.

Blogs are affordable and more accessible today than they have ever been before.

Like anything else in life, there will be obstacles that attempt to throw you off course. But, I encourage you to go forward with your passion and share it through your own blog.

Everything that you need to get started is here. You can begin right now by getting your free domain and web hosting at Hostinger in just minutes.

As you begin your blogging journey, remember that you’re speaking to humans.

Be you. Be adventurous. Be honest and transparent.

As you continue to consistently create great content, your tribe will flock to you, listen and convert.

Have you started your blog yet? What is holding you back?

Share

Comments (2370)

  1. Ramsay

    Absolutely epic guide on starting a blog! Managed to go into enough detail without making it seem too complicated. Seriously love how well you can tap into the beginner mindset even with your experience level.

    Love it!

    Ramsay

    REPLY
    1. Neil Patel

      I try to break it down step by step so it’s can be learned by beginners and experts

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      1. Ophe

        Thank you very much for your help. I already have a blog, but there is so much that was lacking. For example, I knew of Google Console, but did not understand how to include it on my site. I followed your steps and now I have that stumbling block out of the way. At the moment, I host my and designed own site (I learned from watching tutorials) but I feel frustrated about where I am at. I am currently unemployed and blog as a hobby because I love doing what I do. I will very much like to grow my audience and sell advertisement space as well as design my own products but I do not know where to start.

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Can you see yourself monetizing your blog? You can start offering a free ebook or tool in exchange for an email address. Build an email list and then start marketing your product (whatever you decide that to be) to that list. The most important thing is the content.

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          1. Ophelia Myall

            Hi, it is me again, I have just found my way back to your site for more ideas. The last time I was here, I was far behind, now I have learned much more. Since then, I finally got the courage to install the premium theme I bought so long ago. I have customized it and I am paying more attention to Yoast SEO when writing my blogs. I forgot you said not to worry if I did not get all green lights and as a result I had some of my titles changed. Now I realized that I didn’t need a perfect score I will be going back to change my titles. As for monetization, I got accepted by Google Adsense a bout five days ago and have started the process. I have made 7.81 so far. The first I have made since my online venture last February. Now, I am also familiarizing myself with Google analytics; I know my audience, but I have to figure out how to drive the traffic. When I pay a few dollars on Facebook, people visit, but the conversion is not too good. There have been times when I write a kiler post that resonates well, but other times, it seems not. But I am still writing. My challenge now is driving traffic without paying, until I get a source of income. You have no idea how much you have helped me. Thank you. If you don’t mind, I would like to share my domain so you take a look, I hope you don’t count it as a spam :)http://cupidandi.com/

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            1. Sid

              Hi, I just saw ur website(http://cupidandi.com). It’s great and cool. However, one this I noticed is you don’t have an SSL certificate on your website and the reason it’s appearing as “connection not secure”. Its just before http.
              Have a look at my new website https://healthtime.xyz
              you would see a secure connection here.

              REPLY
              1. Neil Patel

                🙂

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                1. gbadebo

                  hi,am a beginner l just created my account with blogger.com yesterday can l change my account to wordpress.org

                  REPLY
                  1. Neil Patel

                    I recommend getting your own hosting (such as through bluehost.com) and installing WordPress.

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                    1. Hrishabh

                      I Can’t afford all those buying cost. which source can I use so that I can earn some money.

                    2. Neil Patel

                      You’ll need to create a product or service to sell if you want to earn money. Good luck!

                    3. Shah faisal

                      Sir please make a pdf file of this important information

                    4. Neil Patel

                      Thanks for the suggestion!

                2. Richard

                  Great post

                  REPLY
                  1. Neil Patel

                    Thanks!

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                3. Fitnesssculpts

                  This article was really helpfull

                  REPLY
                  1. Neil Patel

                    Happy to help 🙂

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                    1. Daryl

                      Great post, I have a site, but I’m really struggling to determine the target audience and where I want to take it.

                      How do you get around this? how do you pinpoint the ideal audience, how do you determine the content you wish to create, who it’s for and how to market it over time?

                      I love helping others, as an IT engineer, but I’m struggling to come up with things to write about, which is crazy as I fix them for people every day!

                    2. Neil Patel

                      I think this article I wrote will help you, friend 🙂

                      https://neilpatel.com/blog/target-audience/

                4. Rehan Raza

                  Neil Sir,
                  I’m Following you from years and years on Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, well on Twitter. I’m getting all your lessons from your site. Still, i remember that day when i started a blogging career upon your knowledge motivation. I never thought to be a blogger, but how i read you, i believe there is also a big opportunity in Blogging. Thus, i think to try it once.
                  It’s about 2019 when i watched your first YouTube video from where i learn the basics of blogging.
                  The next i started to follow your site articles which Empowers me to write like you.😊
                  I’m still in Standard 9, so it was getting me tough to write articles.
                  But, how i started following you, i created my first website nextbiography.com
                  With the intention to encourage myself together peoples by reading great peoples biographies. I still getting problem, as it is a broad category niche.
                  Then, i created a micro niche site, banana-benefits.com with the intent to get health knowledge and to make my experience in blogging field. I don’t know that i will succeed or fail. But one thing i learned from you and from india’s biggest blogger, Harsh Agarwal. If we keep blogging for minimum 2 yrs, then we will see a big change within our site if we r doing well SEO.
                  And upon this I’m still waiting for my success.
                  I’m giving my full for good SEO, as I’m learning from you.
                  I want to thank you a lot for keeping inspire to us.
                  You are one of the best people on internet who use to engage with their users, while that is Twitter, insta or anywhere.
                  Thanks Neil Sir For Your Work for us.😃😃
                  Sincerely Rehan Raza
                  (Neil Patel Follower)

                  REPLY
                  1. Neil Patel

                    Wow thank you for following along, Rehan 🙂 Don’t give up, keep of hustling! SEO is a slow game, but it’s worth it in the long run. It has taken me over a decade to get where I am now with my website. Keep up the positive attitude.

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                5. Cibin Joseph

                  Is Hostinger a good host for the WordPress blog?

                  REPLY
                  1. Neil Patel

                    Yes it is 🙂

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            2. Neil Patel

              That’s great news! Happy to hear about all of your progress 🙂

              REPLY
          2. Sarita

            I m new to marketing but i have keen intrest nd good experience of counseling in life and good parenting . Can you help me to start one professionaly

            REPLY
            1. Neil Patel

              The first step is to understand your audience and where they hang out.

              REPLY
              1. Keivison

                Keivison alves bike

                REPLY
                1. Neil Patel

                  Thanks.

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              2. Bonnie Menta

                Thanks

                REPLY
                1. Neil Patel

                  You’re welcome!

                  REPLY
          3. Synthia

            I have a website for a call center set up with WordPress and hosted by hostgator, I believe. Can I blog using that platform for cooking or do I need to set up a separate one?

            REPLY
            1. Neil Patel

              Start a separate site

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          4. Andrea Savu

            Hi.. Do you have to pay for ads and email marketing to monetize the blog and can you start doing it on personal life’s experiences or events? Also, how do you drive traffic? I actually have bought some empty sites in the past and could not figure out SEO and build organic traffic nor invested in high paid Google Ads, so after loosing few hundreds I just gave up. Last, can your blog be linked to your Instagram and Facebook profiles or these have to be marketed separately? Thanks! 🙂

            REPLY
            1. Neil Patel

              No, you can either do affiliate marketing or allow AdSense to be run on your blog.

              Yes, absolutely your social pages should link to your site 🙂

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        2. michaels

          Hello Ophe, i couldn’t agree more with this article. its very inspirational and full of value, i do have some knowledge about blogging the right way but with this great article, i feel improved. one more thing! if you are looking forward to how to grow your audience faster and sell ads as quick as speed itself, you need to try this WP plugin. it has helped me alot.
          Warmest!

          REPLY
          1. michaels

            Sorry to drop the link on how i got mine, its http://bit.ly/2mzh6FD

            REPLY
            1. Neil Patel

              🙂

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          2. Neil Patel

            Thanks for the suggestion.

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        3. Leah

          I HIGHLY suggest you go onto YouTube and search for videos on monetizing your blog through affiliate marketing and even monetizing your youTube account. You can also make money using Google AdSense. Its ALL free. All you need is a website that you own. This basically means that you will have a domain name that you’ve purchased and a host that you’ve purchased. Once you get them, preferably off of a website like BluHost, you can then sign up for Google AdSense and also start putting related affiliate links onto your blog. But honestly, you’ll need to be committed to a bit of learning. Learning will be easy if you go to youTube. Hope this helps.

          REPLY
          1. Neil Patel

            Patience is the key to a lot of SEO and marketing.

            REPLY
            1. Michael

              This is incredibly true. I interviewed at this company as a driver. They asked about my hobbies, I told them I code basic stuff. 3 weeks later I’m hired as SEO Manager. Probably not great on thier part, but steep learning curve. watching your videos or webinars, and patience is key. Learning all the time, and in the space of 2 months I’ve learned a lot! Ive found tools, Plugins (wordpress platform) and drove traffic up 2400%, which sounds impressive, but when I joined it had no traffic, maybe 7 visitors a month. It now gets daily approx well.. weekends about 20-30 visits per day and weekdays from 30-80 per day. So it is working. But patience and giving it time is key. One thin I have found mind you is that with a company that is not willing to invest some cash into SEO tools its hard and you find yourself twiddling your thumbs from time to time thinking where to go next.
              As for blogs and that, I have absolutely no idea where to start, because I’m with a logistics company, and the big boys have all that kind of thing outsourced or do their own case studies. Which our boss is unable to achieve.

              REPLY
              1. Neil Patel

                It’s definitely hard to build up SEO when you don’t have corporate buy-in. Keep collecting those statistics so you can show proof that your methods are working.

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                1. John

                  I will disagree. People can use third-party free blogging platforms (Hashtap.com or Medium.com, where everything is already set up, from an SEO point of view, all that remains is to create cool optimized content.

                  REPLY
                  1. Neil Patel

                    If you just want to blog, and not create a website you can definitely just use one of those platforms!

                    REPLY
            2. David Talbot

              Too true….

              REPLY
              1. Neil Patel

                🙂

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                1. Aman kumar

                  Niel sir you are our favorite Digital marketer.

                  REPLY
                  1. Neil Patel

                    I’m honored 🙂

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      2. Black Dog Mods

        Wow! Great stuff! Thank you again for sharing such great info!!

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      3. renz

        thanks for this guide sir

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          No problem 🙂

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      4. Maryam

        You are the best, believe me

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Happy to help mainly, but appreciate the feedback.

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      5. Vijay pandit

        Thank you so much sir for your tips I just started my blogging after reading your stories till now , I started blogging here https://thesufiwithin.com/trekking/#home

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Good luck Vijay.

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      6. Nekraj Bhartiya

        NEil I have come here from Facebook sponsored ads. I want to know that how to create a fb ads with video+ link +CPA as you do? Is there any article.

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          I will try and do a more detailed article at some point for this, otherwise check out social media examiner:)

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      7. Tony Omary

        Hey Neil

        Your guide really broken down and so easy to follow. As you promised in the video, it is going to make newbies find it to get started and finally make money blogging.

        Cheers
        -Tony

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Glad you liked it Tony.

          REPLY
          1. Sachin Malik

            Hi sir… Best article till now i have read.
            I love photography but problem is my English skill is poor. Can you please guide me. How to shoot this problem.

            Please sir…

            REPLY
            1. Neil Patel

              Potentially lean on someone who can help or a bit of software.

              REPLY
            2. Pinto

              I suggest using MS Word to write your content and then move it to your blog as MS Word will suggest you grammer and spelling errors and correctoins.

              REPLY
              1. Neil Patel

                Excellent advice.

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                1. Ashish

                  Vocabulary.com app, gramerly

                  At the end, simple & basic writing does work if you content is honest

                  REPLY
                  1. Neil Patel

                    Very well stated Ashish!

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                    1. Edwin

                      Hi, thanks for such wonderful guide you inspired me to start a blog. I’m in Kenya and I hosted my blog with truehost but the problem is on my wordpress dashboard when I click on plugin and theme I don’t have options of “add new box” kindly help me how do I fix it? 

                      Commercial Moving Dunwoody GA


          2. Biba

            Hi Neil, Between the Blog, Marketing, Selling, Design etc. I am looking for a way to be mentored to learn the right approaches and methods, and to have strong results. You seem to be the one who could really get a person on the the right road. Do you have a method that mentors? I am saturated with reading manuals and having to figure it out by myself. It is very difficult and uncomfortable to assimilate and apply all in the same moment. Please let me know. I am a writer, visual arts curator, singer performer, and producer. These have to tie into one flowing line. And the international contemporary artworks are sitting and need to be sold. I dont know how. I have tons of material already for very good blogs. They are some of the most vibrant artists of the Mediterranean etc. I have tried to contact you a few times. I need your help. Thank you.

            REPLY
            1. Neil Patel

              What exactly do you need or want help with?

              REPLY
      8. Dr. Sareer Khalil

        Brilliant article. Thanks Neil

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Thank you.

          REPLY
          1. Moses

            Yeah, this article is really great Neil. Thanks a bunch! It’s really an eye-opener.

            REPLY
            1. Neil Patel

              Glad you liked it 🙂

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      9. Marcus Mavkala

        I’m a big fan. I recommend your blog to many business owners because I think you are brilliant.

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          And I think you are as well 🙂

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      10. Manishi

        I hope I will start my blog soon!

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Take action asap 😉

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      11. Rahman Hajati

        “so it’s can be” – “so it can be”

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          🙂

          REPLY
      12. Chandresh

        Hello sir.. I Am from india and i have started recently youtube channel.
        Can you please guide me how to grow my business. How to get more traffic in my channel ?

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          I would look for one of my recent articles on youtube 😉

          REPLY
      13. Lakindu Jayathilaka

        Hi Neil,

        I started a new blog called SelfGrasp which provides valuable insight and tutorials on Business, Marketing, SEO, Web Design and Web Development. It’s at https://selfgrasp.com.

        It’s been 16 days since I launched it but only has around 7 articles.

        I have two questions to ask you.

        1. All the articles that I write has already been written by 20+ blogs, including the really popular business blogs such as entrepreneur.com and thebalance.com. So is it ok to write articles on the same topics?

        2. Are the 5 categories in my blog good for blogging?

        Please let me know.

        Thanks.
        Best Regards,
        Lakindu Jayathilaka.

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Hey Lakindu, congrats on launching your blog! 1. There’s no reason to avoid covering topics that others have covered. You have your own voice. 2. They’re definitely good for blogging. I write about them myself 🙂

          REPLY
      14. sandeep

        sir if there link for beginners plz send it

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          There are many articles here on the blog that are for helping beginners 😉

          REPLY
      15. Chris

        Hey Neil.
        When ever I read your content it gets me so excited to be honest I could go on for hours reading your posts.

        So I guess that you have mastered something. 😁

        Hey man I have an question, I am about to launch a project with my partner, and we can’t figure out what should we do.

        Should we build our brand through blogging with unique and detailed content, and our supplements with clothing line and as subdomain options so that the blog that focuses on helping stays clean.

        Or should we combine all together at the launch as in fully loaded platform.

        With options like .

        Blog, merch shop, membership area, etc.?

        What do you think Neil?

        As I studied many of your blog posts and listened to your broadcasts, I got a bit dizzy and confused brother. 😁🔝🔜🤣👌

        So maybe you can give us some sort of an idea on how to do this and how to launch correctly in order to get the best results possible.

        We would highly appreciate that from you as your work is our education book, none other!

        Maybe, if that’s too much asked, you could do an kind of an action plan for us, like with which guide post to start of with and then just list them in the correct order to go through as we go and develope.

        Because you have everything, just a bit messy that’s all.. not in direct way , dont get me wrong buddy 😁

        But I think you get the idea I meant.

        Would be nice to hear back from you Neil.

        Best regards, and a happy 2019,

        Chris.

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          See what has worked well in your niche, Chris. I am not super familiar with that space. I know content and SEO can help for sure in the long-term and should be used to build a brand. But see what your direct competitors are doing and did to start to get a pulse on that space.

          REPLY
      16. willie

        dont have a comment but a question…..this article says to get Word press I use Wix can I still use bluehost as an affiliate?

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          I would switch from Wix to WordPress if I were you

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        2. Virginia

          Hello Neil,
          I am Virginia.
          I have had a website for a while now but sometimes get frustrated with all of the settings and just put it on on hold.
          For the records,this is the best blog I have seen so far that has really helped me in tackling issues with setting up. It is very smooth,you could just keep going on and on not wanting to stop😃😊.
          I won’t be searching no more,I have found my rest.

          Thank you Neil,really.

          REPLY
          1. Neil Patel

            I’m very glad that my blog has been helpful to you, Virginia 🙂

            REPLY
      17. Rafi

        Hello Neil,
        I am Rafi. I am new in blogging. I Just do SEO but my keywords don’t ranking even 100. Why?
        Yet I don’t have any backlinks. How could I build backlinks for short time?

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          It takes time, Rafi. It won’t happen quickly.

          REPLY
      18. mubaz

        Sir, i want to start a blog , the problem is with my english, its not good..and to write 10-20 post seems very difficult for me, wat will b ur siggestion on this?

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Focus on your language then. Or hire someone that can help with the English 🙂

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      19. Mike

        That is important!!

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Yes it is 🙂

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      20. Sarvesh Amrute

        Can I host unlimited websites or single on bluehost by using your offer?

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Yes!

          REPLY
      21. Dhaval Patel

        sir you are helping us so much with this free content and i will be blessed if you can show how know about in which topic we are passionate about and love to do it even free.i hope you understand what i am trying to say.

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Thanks for that suggestion, Dhaval 🙂

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      22. Kailash

        Thanks! for the amazing tutorial Neil.

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Of course 🙂

          REPLY
      23. Roderico

        Gracias Neil Patel. Por el esfuerzo y la amabilidad de compartir todos los detalles de esta complejidad inicial en un mundo nuevo. Se siente la conexión estrecha y sensible de su orientación. A preparar el equipaje para el viaje paso a paso, poco a poco.

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Happy to share it, Roderico 🙂

          REPLY
      24. Emily

        Hey Neil, I just set up my blog following your steps, thank you so much for your expertise! I did notice that many of the steps weren’t exactly how you described them. They were either out of order or menu options were different and in different places. You might want to look into updating. Also, I had trouble setting up the Google Console, it would not validate. Do you have some troubleshooting options?

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          I’ll look into updating 🙂

          What issues did you have when setting up your GSC?

          REPLY
          1. Rusith

            Hey Neil,

            I’m not sure if this is the right place to ask, but is it okay to update the content once the page is published? Ty!

            REPLY
            1. Neil Patel

              Yes 🙂

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      25. ADARSH V GOPAL

        First of all Thanks a lot Niel Ptel to give me the best and most useful way for the topic ”How to start a food blog” by using simple methods and techniques and providing in-depth details including practical methods also. As a beginner in Digital marketing, it gives me a lot of new ideas about it. I am a BCom graduate and working, now I decided to do anything extra for making extra incomes by using my leisure time. So that I decided to do writing blogs for fulfilling my needs.that’s why I came here to know about “How to start a Blog”. Now I am very confident to start a blog Because I got ideas and techniques from here in a very simple and step by step.
        They also provided from the beginning, It includes ”How to buy a website domain and hosting and, how we can manage a website, How to add additional plugins for our website also. If we are a fresher, definitely we get ideas and clarity in dept about the topic.
        Now I decided to sell homemade foods and organic products online..so now I am searching for better apps for selling my products also. So guys if you see this comment can you please suggest some apps for selling my products online. I am also giving the list of some apps for buying and selling foods online from my hand.
        Here I Recommend a few online local marketplaces for organic foods, Fruits, and Vegetables for those who were deciding to sell their products online.
        • Online Supermarket Kochi, Vegetables, Groceries, Fruits in Cochin
        • FoodPulsar – Hyperlocal Food Marketplace | Food Sharing Platform
        • Online grocery shop Trivandrum at KADA.in

        so, guys can you please suggest some apps for buying and selling Homemade and organic food products online like the above mentioned.

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Woocommerce or Shopify are great sites to use for eCommerce 🙂

          REPLY
      26. Hritik Wabale

        Can you name some good private ad placement sites other than Google AdSense that you mentioned above?

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Content.ad
          Conversant
          Criteo

          Those are all good ones

          REPLY
      27. Alin Salton

        Hello,
        I hope you are having a great day.
        Business growth enthusiast. In the last year of my work experience, I have worked as business growth and strategy expert. I can do professional Graphic Designer, Lead Generation, Data Entry and Digital marketing specialist for your business
        Just contact me!

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Thanks, I’ll be sure to keep you in mind if I’m ever looking 🙂

          REPLY
      28. Pius Emmanuel

        Thanks for this wonderful article, it has inspired me the more. I have a very strong passion for writing, recently, i join a news hub where i publish articles and all what you have said in this article is you like you are talking to me directly. These news hub pays depending on article you can publish with them monthly. But i am not concerned about the pay for now, i find it more joy to see my article’s get more click and likes, followers, shares and comment, it gives me so much joy.
        I intend to start my own personal blog early nest year and my question is this: can i write about two to three topics? Eg. Religion and believe, fashion and so on.

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          You can, but Google prefers niche blogs. It may be better to focus on one niche and then expand once you gain a following. 🙂

          REPLY
      29. Carolyn Nganga

        Epic!
        Can I start with a free website builder and then upgrade later?

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Absolutely 🙂

          REPLY
      30. Christopher

        Like seriously, That was so helpful!

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          So glad 🙂

          REPLY
    2. Rune

      Thank you for sharing

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        Glad to Rune

        REPLY
    3. adrian rodrigues

      Neil I have a web site How do I set up blog using the same web address

      REPLY
    4. Mohamed Rafi Puthukkudi

      Really awesome article.. I made a website with your guideline .. visit http://www.usetab,org then send me feedback 🙂

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        🙂

        REPLY
    5. aamir sayeed

      Hello, thanks for the information! It really helps me to start a blog. I wanted to ask you.. i want to start a blog and write my own life story as a blog posts. Episode wise coz i have had a very interesting life with full of twists and turns. I think people will gonna like it. Is it a good idea? And should i learn SEO first then start or not necessary? Thanks in advance.

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        As long as it’s for the reader yes.

        REPLY
      2. Cara Freeman

        did you start your blog? The reason I ask, I was thinking of doing one that is my daily thoughts and try to incorporate affiliate links as well but everything I read says pick a NICHE ….. NO way I can focus on one topic…. Any help or suggestions??

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Focus on a specific niche, Cara.

          REPLY
    6. Rachele

      I could not agree with this more. I’m an absolute fresh start beginner and NeilPatel.com is my go-to for all questions. – Thank you Neil!!

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        Thank you for the kind words.

        REPLY
        1. pws digital

          This is a great post, as always.. You are the best! 
          this is the full of information at has also complete Digital marketing points and it provides some new ideas to do something new. 
          Thanks for sharing. 

          REPLY
          1. Neil Patel

            I am glad you liked it!

            REPLY
    7. AJ

      Hey Neil,
      This entire process is completely new to me thank you so much for your guide.
      Whilst generally researching there is another blog site that offers the same blue host price as you’re offering … that’s not unique to you (just saying). Can you better your current advertised price of $2.95.

      AJ

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        It’s not up to me. And 2.95 is super cheap.

        REPLY
    8. SACHA

      Hey Neil ! I am thinking to create a blog about French culture in English, is it too general ? From music, film, youtube, food, place to visit.. If you think it is too general, I might focus only about entertainment (music, tvshow, film, youtube). Also, I hesitate to write in English and also in French.. what do you think ? Thanks a lot

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        Only your target audience will be able to tell you whether or not it is too general or not.

        REPLY
    9. shankar

      Great step by step. I failed at it before (7yrs ago), Trying again. Will see where it takes. Appreciate all your insights and tools.

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        Give it another go 🙂 Stick with it, you’ll do just fine!

        REPLY
    10. UDOH JERRY IKOGI

      Awesome. Thanks Neil, you’re great!

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        You’re great 🙂

        REPLY
    11. Matt

      Your keyword search tool under “travel” vs “backpacking” will either say too broad or too narrow and I tried over 20 keywords. Even the “backpacking” example is “too narrow”

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        Hello there!

        When you’re in Ubersuggest go to the Keyword Ideas tab and type in your keyword. Then Look for keywords that have a solid MSV, a good CPC and a SD below 60. You’re sitting in a good range there.

        For example, I just tested this for backpacking. “Backpacking for dogs” or “Backpacking food” are good ones to go after 🙂

        REPLY
    12. Aman kumar

      India’s favorite digital marketer

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        Thank you, friend 🙂

        REPLY
    13. Aamir Vahora

      Hello Neil sir,
      I read your blog article. I’m inspired. I want to start my blogging website but not able to decide exact niche of my blogging website. Can you please help me with this. I appreciate your help sir.

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        It’s up to you to decide that, friend 🙂 Pick something that interests you, that you could see yourself writing a lot about.

        REPLY
    14. Abid khan

      I am newbie blogger. I have to learn more to continue in this journey. I found your blog through google search. Thank you for your every detailed post on every single topic which is definitely helpfull for newbie blogger like me. Now i am regular reader of neilpatel.com.

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 Thank you! Professional Moving Company Dunwoody GA

        REPLY
    15. MDA

      Nice

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        🙂

        REPLY
    16. june sierra

      comprehensive and very helpful 🙂

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        Thank you!

        REPLY
    17. DesiRachna

      Absolutely. Agree !

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        Thank you!

        REPLY
    18. Cyberdude.com

      Love this article. Neil has a wealth of information. The challenging part is to do the work consistently. Thank you Neil for providing valuable services for free. Professional Moving Company Dunwoody GA

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        I’m so glad you liked it 🙂

        REPLY
    19. Gopal Ch Das

      Yes, Mr. Ramsay, You did say true. Really, this blog is like a container filled with healthy ingredients. It will be helpful not for only beginners but also experienced. We are waiting for such tasty content. Thank you, Patel sir. Professional Moving Company Dunwoody GA

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        Thanks for reading 🙂

        REPLY
  2. Matt

    Thanks for posting this guide, Neil! You mentioned that we should choose a topic that is narrow and deep. Finding something deep is pretty straight-forward. Just write down post ideas. If you can come up with at least 50, you’re probably good. But how do you know if a topic is narrow enough? Or too narrow? I’ve unintentionally done both before and I don’t want to make that mistake again! Thanks! Professional Moving Company Dunwoody GA

    REPLY
      1. Matt

        Thanks! Unfortunately, that only helped me figure out whether my topics are too narrow. How do I know if my topics are narrow enough? If it helps, I’d like to eventually have two blogs. One about web development (my profession) and one about weather (a topic that has always fascinated me). At first, I thought that both topics were too narrow, so I thought I’d focus mostly on WordPress for the first blog and severe weather for the second. But after reading this post and that link, I’m not sure if they’re too narrow, too broad, or just right. 

        Commercial Moving Dunwoody GA

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          You won’t truly know until you get started and see how your audience responds. I suggest you look at some of the top blogs in your niche and model what they’re doingProfessional Moving Company Dunwoody GA

          REPLY

      2. timothy

        thank you boss

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          🙂

          REPLY
          1. Julius

            Awesome work, Neil! This is what I just need 🙂 Two thumbs up for this! 

            Commercial Moving Dunwoody GA

            I just went to Bluehost using your links here. They were trying to bill me annually. I can’t seem to find the option to turn the annual fee to a monthly fee. Everytime I check out, my bill is 134$+. I thought it’s just going to be 3$+. Is this normal? I’d like to know please help 🙂

            REPLY
            1. Neil Patel

              Some do take it annually for better deals. 🙂

              REPLY

  3. Sowmay

    In-dept article I had ever seen since I started my blog. A great guide for beginner. Keep the thing up.

    REPLY
    1. Neil Patel

      Glad this was helpful Sowmay!

      REPLY
  4. Luke

    Thanks Neil – awesome post as always!
    This one seems to resonate a lot more, and the key takeaways for me are creating an editorial calendar – and your tips on creating content.
    Thanks Again.

    REPLY
    1. Neil Patel

      That’s a big take away Luke, it will help you get organized

      REPLY
  5. joe

    Very helpful Neil!
    But how do you know if your content is good “enough” when you are first getting started? I.e. what ratio do you use of creating new content, improving the quality of it, and promoting it? Professional Moving Company Dunwoody GA

    I could spend 2 hours and write 2 okay articles or 1 awesome one. But I don’t even really know if it is awesome because I haven’t built up my FB TW yet and have ~10 followers… Thanks!

    REPLY
    1. Neil Patel

      You don’t, that’s why what we’re doing is simple (not easy!). You just have to get started and see how people respondProfessional Moving Company Dunwoody GA

      REPLY
  6. Kayla Fratt

    Just so you know, the link for the “make a mindmap” just takes you to a blowup screen of your example mindmap, not a link that would actually make a mindmap! A bit misleading. Thanks for all the info, loving the read so far. Professional Moving Company Dunwoody GA

    REPLY
    1. Neil Patel

      Ah thanks for the heads up!

      REPLY
  7. Jay

    So , how do we make money? How do you get advertisers?  Professional Moving Company Dunwoody GA

    REPLY
    1. Neil Patel

      Go through the post again 🙂

      Do you have a blog you love writing?

      REPLY
  8. unlimited access

    Wonderful, what a weblog it is! This blog provides valuable information to
    us, keep it up. Pod Loading Services Dunwoody GA

    REPLY
    1. Neil Patel

      Glad this was helpful! Let me know if you have any questions, it was a pretty long post Pod Loading Services Dunwoody GA

      REPLY
  9. Lars

    Fantastic. I will start my blog now. Thank You for this indept guide. Leaves me with one question: How does one make money from this?
    Is there a blog post you can link to Pod Loading Services Dunwoody GA

    REPLY
    1. Neil Patel

      There’s lots of ways to make money, whether its simply through ads, OR you can create and sell products, both physical and digital. Household Moving Dunwoody GA

      REPLY
  10. Shawn Lim

    Hi Neil, this is seriously a long post. Packing Services Dunwoody GA

    I notice that a lot of blogger blogs about how to build a money making blog but they often shared the front part, as to how to start the blog.

    Most people never share what they do after they have lined up their content. So what are the following steps to growing the traffic? It will be great add-on if you mention the daily progress or what to do each day after that. Packing Services Dunwoody GA

    Just my opinion. Because I wanted to know. 🙂

    REPLY
      1. Shawn

        Hi Neil, this is what I need. Thanks, it is very informative. So the rest of the days will just be rinse and repeat until the traffic comes ya?

        REPLY
        1. Neil Patel

          Keep it consistent, even when things get rough, because they always do

          REPLY
          1. Ophelia Myall

            Thanks for this link 🙂

            REPLY
            1. Neil Patel

              🙂

              REPLY
  11. Ram Sai Nag

    I have just recieved 2,649 visits on my blog post. I am getting traffic through flipboard.com. I have created a magazine there and added my post ?

    REPLY
    1. Neil Patel

      That’s awesome Ram, looks like you got some good traction

      REPLY
  12. Joseph

    Wow!
    A very in depth article. I think when anyone will follow these step, they are bound to succeed. I’m a newbie (one month) to the blogging world. So this is what I’m working on. Thanks Neil for this awesome article!!
    http://www.yourwealthyjourney.com/

    REPLY
    1. Neil Patel

      You’re welcome Joseph, I’m glad this helped!

      REPLY
  13. Mukesh Negi

    I just create a blog 4 months ago, but still not earning. Now i got some trick which i will implement very soon.

    REPLY
    1. Neil Patel

      Thanks Mukesh, looking forward to hearing about it

      REPLY
  14. LerLer Chan

    This is a great article on guiding newbie. I am from Malaysia. May be next year blogger need to declare tax. I am doing the research using mind mapping way. Hopefully, the post can help other bloggers too ^^ 

    REPLY
    1. Neil Patel

      Glad to hear it! Let me know how these tactics work out for you Piano Moving Dunwoody GA

      REPLY
  15. Gozie Prince

    How about writing better Home and About pages, or are they not part of a successful blog? Next Day Move Dunwoody GA

    REPLY
    1. Neil Patel

      Great suggestion, they are 100% important Gozie. Especially your about page because that’s what will tell your story Same Day Move Dunwoody GA

      REPLY
  16. david cross

    yea ! the technical aspect of seting up a wordpress blog is taken care of now by you , but what about the monetization aspect since you often advise against adsense and affiliate marketing. millions of your readers will like to know in order to make the molla. Thanks all the same for your continuous lectures to us. Thanks Neil. Furniture Assembly Dunwoody GA

    REPLY
    1. Neil Patel

      It’s the hardest part, but anyone can figure it out, it will take persistance Long Distance Dunwoody GA

      REPLY
  17. Arpit singh

    Hello Neil,

    Amazing article, Tips and tools mention here is simply superb. The way you show us the whole process is a perfect guide for creating a blog. Thanks for sharing with us. Hourly Rate movers Dunwoody GA

    Arpit

    REPLY
    1. Neil Patel

      You’re welcome, glad this was helpful!

      REPLY
    2. Ayush

      Have you started your own blog.
      .
      .
      Actually I asked becoz my english techers name is aslo Arpit. 😀 If sir, you are what a coincedence.Furniture Assembly Dunwoody GA 

      REPLY
      1. Neil Patel

        That would be a coincidence!

        REPLY
  18. debbra

    Hi Neil, this is an awesome post. I have never found such detailed info anywhere else. thanks so much! Furniture Assembly Dunwoody GA

    REPLY
    1. Neil Patel

      Glad this was helpful

      REPLY
  19. Marcio Bueno

    Very interesting content and usefull strategies to be implemented in my first and less than 1 month old Blog! Furniture Assembly Dunwoody GA

    REPLY
    1. Neil Patel

      You’re welcome Marcio, glad this was useful

      REPLY
  20. Rochelle Lyner

    Brilliant and in so much detail, thanks for the screen grabs and hard work…maybe it wasn’t hard for you?… But time consuming I’m sure. I’ve been wanting to start a blog for years now… And yes I thought it would just be my opinion on a day to day or week by week basis… Like you’ve indicated at the start of your posts I have to say I far moreI enjoy seeing the more interactive (links), picture, photos, video clip blogs which I have been paying attention to along the way, and as you have guided to be more engaging to the reader! I am definitely starting my own blog…bucket list: Start a blog… Tick! Furniture Assembly Dunwoody GA

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