So… you want to become a blog ninja and start a blog? If so you’ve come to the right place my young grasshopper!
Hi, I’m the Blog Ninja and I’ve made a profession and full-time living out of blogging and creating amazing content on the internet. I continually generate thousands of dollars every month simply by creating new articles and blogging in my free time. In this ‘how to start a blog‘ guide, I want to show you exactly what you need to do in order to get started with a website or blog of your own, while also providing you with the tools, training, and guidance to find success and possibly even make some money in the process.
BONUS: Walk through the process below, and then send me an email with your domain name, and I will provide you with $997 in blog training material — loaded with interactive training videos to increase traffic to your site and show you how to start making money online in the process.
Best of all, this process will only take a few moments to set up and I will walk you through the process step by step.
How to Become a Blog Ninja in 3 Simple Steps
In order to get started with a blog of your own, you are going to need three simple things. All of which I have laid out for you below.
1 – Choose the best blogging platform
2 – Set up your (free) domain name and web hosting
3 – Follow along as we create your blogging site and account
I’ve tried to make these three steps as simple as possible, however, if you are brand new to blogging or creating a website, it might seem a little confusing. Don’t worry, I will walk you through the complete process step by step below. I promise this will be much easier than you think.
Let’s get started!
1 – Choose the Best Blogging Platform
Starting a website or blog on the internet today is a thousand times easier than it was in previous years. In the past, you would need to hire a web designer and graphic designer to help you with the process. Now it is so simple, even a child can do it (and many have!)
Before going live with your website or blog, you will first need to choose a blogging platform that is best for you. I highly recommend that you go with WordPress, as it’s a free content management solution that makes the process of managing your blog and creating content super easy. If you know how to browse the internet and send an email, you are more than qualified to have a website or blog of your own.
Through the chart below, you will also see that WordPress now powers more than 27% of the websites and blogs on the internet today — that is in comparison to ALL other website builders and blogging platforms available!
Here are just a few reasons why I recommend WordPress:
- It’s 100% free to use
- Super easy for beginners to learn
- Tons of free resources, guides, and online tutorials
- WordPress sites look great on desktops, tablets, and mobile devices
- More than 100 million websites and blogs rely on WordPress
You don’t just have to take my word for it. Some of the top websites and brands on the internet today are using WordPress the power their own sites. TedX, NBC Sports, UPS, TechCrunch, CBS Radio and much more… just to name a few.
WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org
Before jumping ahead and getting started with your site, let me first tell you about the difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org so you don’t get confused. WordPress.com is the free hosted version of the software that allows you to create a site, however, this method is not recommended. It’s much better to use the wordpress.org, which is the version of the software that allows you to own 100% of your content, along with giving you full control over your site.
The last thing you want is to create a site and then have it deleted because you aren’t following the terms and conditions. I will show you how to create a site using WordPress, which means you can do whatever you want with it at any time — even making money with it! But at the same time, you won’t need to mess around with either of these, because I’m going to show you how to set it all up with just a click of a button.
Follow my simple steps below and we will walk through the process of setting this up so you can have a website or blog that you can do anything you like with.
Step 2 – Setup Your Domain Name and Hosting
Since we’ve already determined that we are going to be using WordPress to power our website and create its content, the next thing we are going to need to do is to get a domain name and set up our web hosting.
Here’s a quick explanation of each.
- A domain name is the website address that your site will have, and what people will type in to access its content. For example, this site’s domain name is ‘blogninja.com’.
- Web hosting is the service that allows your website or blog content to be accessed and stored on the internet for anyone to view. Once set up, your domain name and web hosting will connect with each other and make everything live on the internet.
If you’ve never created a website or blog before, setting up your domain name and web hosting is extremely easy. This process will take literally just a few minutes and I will walk you through it as we proceed.
How to Get Your Hands on a Free Domain Name
Before setting up your blog, let me first tell you about how you can get a free domain name by signing up for your web hosting through our recommended hosting solution.
As mentioned earlier, you are going to need a domain name and web hosting. I highly recommend you sign up with Bluehost as your web hosting solution. We currently have an agreement with them where readers on our site will get a free domain name when they sign up for a new hosting account.
This is something you should start thinking about, as you will want to pick a domain name that is easy to remember and also represents the brand or type of contents you were going to create. Domain names can be as long or short as you like, but here are a few useful tips you should keep in mind.
Here are some quick tips on how to pick a great domain name.
- Try to keep it short, simple and sweet
- Don’t use any numbers or dashes in your domain
- Pick a domain name that is easy to remember and also easy to spell
- Stay away from copyright or trademark names
- Feel free to use keywords in your domain that are relevant to your topic
- Choose a .com, .net or .org domain extension (stay away from others)
- If your personal name is available as a domain, I definitely recommend you get it
Millions of domain names have already been registered, and thousands of new ones are being registered daily. With this in mind, it might be tough for you to come up with a domain name that isn’t already taken. This just means you might need to get a little creative with your domain name decision process.
Again, if your personal name is available as a domain name, I highly recommend you get it. There is likely already many other people in the world that share your name, and it’s only a matter of time before someone else registers it.
Now that we’ve covered all the basics of how to set up your domain name and web hosting, it’s time to actually go through the process.
Step #3 – Creating your blog hosting account.
Please follow the step-by-step process and screenshots below.
This is simply the best way to go live with a website or blog in less than 10 minutes time.
#1 – Click this link to visit my recommended web hosting provider Bluehost. It will open our promotional money saving link in a new tab window.
After clicking on the link, you’ll be sent to the Bluehost site (as shown in the screenshot).
Here you will also see the features included in our partnership with Bluehost. This includes a free domain name, free SSL certificate, one-click WordPress installs and also 24/7 support. Basically everything you need to get started with a website or blog.
By using our referral link, you will also receive 60% off your web hosting plan.
When you are ready, simply click on the get started now button to proceed with the process.
On the following page, you will now see three different hosting options provided by Bluehost. (also shown below)
The Basic plan is more than enough for anyone to get started with their first website or blog. The main difference between basic Basic, Plus, and Prime is that you can have unlimited domain names and websites with the two larger packages. The 60% discount applies to all three hosting plans.
For anyone that is concerned about saving the most money, simply go with the basic plan, and you can upgrade later on if you like.
Next, we need to get you set up with your FREE domain name.
Bluehost is currently hosting more than 2 million domain names and websites on the internet today. Not only are they are a reliable hosting company, but they will also provide you with a free domain name at the time of signing up.
When you are on the page that looks like the screenshot below, simply fill in the ”new domain” section with the domain name that you would like to register.
If you already have a domain name purchased from another time or provider, you can simply type it into the “ I have a domain name” section.
Once you’ve filled in your domain name, click on the NEXT button and proceed to the next page that looks like the screenshot below.
Now that we covered all the basics to setting up your domain name and hosting, it’s time to provide your account information and make sure everything looks good.
With all of your personal details now filled in, it’s time to focus on verifying your web package information and making sure everything is filled out correctly. This is very important to follow, as I want you to save the most money possible.
As part of our partnership with Bluehost, you will receive 60% off your web hosting plan. However, this only counts for the amount of web hosting that you sign up for today. This means you will save the most money if you go with a 12, 24, or 36-month hosting plan.
You can see how all of this is laid out in the screenshot below
Also, make sure that all of the checkboxes are unchecked. You really don’t need these services, unless you specifically want them. It will also save you lots of money in the process. Again, just like you can upgrade your hosting at any time, you can also add these features later on as well.
The last step in this process is to fill out your payment information, I agree to the terms and conditions.
Once you’ve completed this process, you are now on your way to becoming a blog Ninja Master.
Secret Master Ninja Skill: Claim Your $997 Worth of Blog Training Material
Be sure to send me an email after you walk through this process, and let me know what domain name you registered. As a bonus gift, I will send you over $997 worth of video blog training material with actionable tips and guidance on how you can create a successful website or blog for free.
This training material has already been accessed by over 30,000+ students and covers everything you need to know about content creation, generating traffic to your site, ranking in the search results and even how to start making money online in the process.
Don’t miss out on this secret master ninja skill bonus — it won’t be around forever!
Wait! — Let me walk you through the next step so you can create your first blog post and customize your blog.
Starting a WordPress blog might look like a daunting task for many, especially those who haven’t done it before. The truth remains that it might be scary at first but by the time you ease into the process, you will discover you had absolutely nothing to worry about in the first place. In order to help aspiring bloggers start a blog, we have decided to not only put together a comprehensive guide on how to start a WordPress blog but also how to walk beginners through the initial setup and posting of their first blog content as well. Irrespective of your age and even if you have no technical knowledge you can easily follow this guide because the process is easy.
(follow these steps ONLY after you have created your domain and hosting account through the steps laid out above)
Step 1: Install WordPress
The cpanel is home to so many small icons which has different services and features attached to them. For a beginner, this can be a bit scary, so the best advice is to ignore about 95% of them because you will never need to use them. To install WordPress follow the steps below;
- Scroll down to the website section and click on the WordPress icon
- This will take you to the “Bluehost Marketplace Quick Install” screen for WordPress. Click on the Get Started button.
- On the next screen, when asked to select a domain name. Select the domain name from the drop-down and click “Next”.
- Enter your site name, username, and a password for your site
- Check all the checkboxes and click “Install”. While QuickInstall is stalling WordPress, ignore the marketplace prompting to browse WordPress themes. No need to do that right now.
- As soon as WordPress is finished installing, you’ll see the success notice in the top header bar.
- Click on the installation complete link. This will redirect you to another screen where you’ll be asked for your WordPress login URL and password.
Congratulations, you have successfully created your WordPress site. Your WordPress login URL should look like this:
http://yoursite.com/wp-admin
Click on the WordPress login link to login to your dashboard. Now that you’ve installed WordPress, you can go ahead to customize your site’s appearance to what you want it to look like and start blogging.
Step 2: Selecting your WordPress Theme
When you’re done installing WordPress, the first appearance of your blog is not appealing to the eyes, because it’s plain and unattractive. When you visit your blog for the first time, it will look something like this:
The visual appearance of WordPress is controlled by themes. Customizing the look and feel of your blog is one of the most fulfilling parts of creating your WordPress site. There are several thousands of pre-made WordPress themes available that you can install on your site. Some are free, while others will cost you a few dollars. To change your WordPress theme to something more attractive and appealing follow these steps;
- Go to your WordPress dashboard and click on Appearance
- Under appearance, click on themes
- Then go ahead and click on the “Add New” button
- On the next screen, go ahead and search from the 4100 free WordPress themes available in the official wordpress.org themes directory. (You can sort by popular, latest, featured, as well as other featured filters.)
- When you find the theme you like, hover the mouse icon on it and it will show the install button. Click on it and wait for the theme to be installed.
- By now the install button should be replaced with an Activate button. Click on it to activate the theme.
- After installing the theme, you can customize it by clicking on the customize link found under the appearance menu.
Step 3: Creating Your First Blog Post
Once you have succeeded in selecting and customizing your desired theme, you should get started on creating your blog posts. To write your first blog post follow these easy steps;
- Click on the “posts”. Under “posts” click on “Add New” menu on your WordPress dashboard.
- An editor will come up where you write your blog post.
- On the post screen, use sections such as categories and tags to organize your post after writing.
- When you’re done writing and organizing your post, click on the publish button found on the right-hand side to publish your blog post.
Step 4: WordPress Plugins & Customizations
After you must have published your first blog post, you should add other elements to your site that will make it look professional and well organized. Elements such as contact form, about page and more are a must.
To customize and add several features to your site, such as galleries, sliders, etc, you would need to use WordPress plugins. WordPress plugins are apps that support you in adding new features to your websites and there are over 46,000 of them available. Follow these steps to install WordPress plugins;
- Go to your WordPress admin area and click on “plugins”. Under “Plugins” click on “Add new”
- On the next screen, type the plugin name or the functionality you’re looking for into the search bar
- Select the plugin that is best for you from the bunch of listings provided and click on the “Install Now” button. WordPress will download and install the plugin for you. As in our search we searched for Floating Social Bar, which happens to be the first in the search results, we will click the “Install Now” button.
- After installing you will see a success message with a link to activate the plugin or return to plugin installer.
- Click on activate plugin link to activate the plugin on your WordPress site.
Step 5: Making Money from Your Blog
After setting up and customizing your blog, the next question on your mind is how can I actually make money from my blog? Not only have we mastered this art and laid out some of the best methods for you, we’ve also created a complete resource guide on some of the top millionaire bloggers on the internet today.
There are a couple of ways you can monetize your blog but do not expect to start making money right away, because it is going to take a while. Below are a few ways to monetize your blog content:
- Affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is when you recommend a product or service to your audience using special tracking links, and get a referral commission for every time someone buys after clicking your link.
- Google AdSense. This is a smart and easy way to earn from your blog. Add a script from Google to your website and start displaying ads. Get paid every time someone clicks on the ads.
- Sell ads directly. Directly selling banner ad space on your website pays more than Google AdSense
- Direct ad sales. The selling of sponsored articles, banner ads or placement of written articles on your site
- Contextual and referral marketing. Getting paid to write reviews, tutorials, and guides that serve value to your audience.
Mastering anything comes down to one thing and that is practice and WordPress is no different. WordPress has empowered thousands of people and provided full-time incomes on their own terms. Not only is WordPress free, but learning your way around it doesn’t cost a thing. On your road to mastering WordPress, constantly draw on the wisdom of others.
Mastery won’t happen overnight, so be patient and extend your skills step by step. Do not be afraid to push yourself and experiment every once in a while, after all, they say practice makes perfect. So keep doing and learning and you’ll become a master at WordPress in no time.
