Do you have a message that you want to spread to the world?
Are you an avid writer that loves sharing stories with others?
Sounds to me like you're a natural blogger.
Whether you're an entrepreneur, author, consultant, creative, or simply a dreamer looking to connect with like-minded thinkers, blogging is an excellent avenue to consider.
Here are some of the benefits of blogging:
- accelerates your personal brand and awareness
- positions yourself as a thoughtleader in your industry
- helps you connect with like-minded individuals
- clarifies your thinking through the process of writing
- ability to increase your rate, salary, and win more clients
- increase leads/sales of your business
Lucky for you, setting up a blog and writing your first post has never been easier, cheaper, faster to do.
If any of the above benefits have convinced you to start a blog, follow the instructions below to get started in less than 5 minutes.
Step 1: Come up with a Domain Name
The first step you need to take is to finalize on a domain name. Luckily the hosting company that I will recommend in Step 2 comes included with a free domain.
Unless you're using your name for a personal website, keep your domain name short, industry relevant, and easy to remember. My process for coming up with domain names is writing everything that comes to my mind on a piece of paper, and narrowing it down one by one after.
Simple, but it works.
Tip: Before you decide on your domain name, I would make sure the name is available on all the social media channels, in order to keep your branding consistent. I use this tool to do my research.
Step 2: Sign up for Bluehost
After doing my research, the #1 hosting service that I found is Bluehost.
It's what I use to host this blog.
Benefits of Bluehost:
1. Includes free domain upon signing up
2. Extremely easy to use (I've tried others)
3. Excellent customer service (in case you get stuck)
4. Comes with $50 marketing offers (Free Facebook Ad credits, Twitter Ad credits, Google Adword credits)
5. Very affordable
→ instead of paying the regular $5.99/month, you can lock-down a price for only $3.49/month using this link. You won't need anything more premium when starting out.
Next Step: Sign up for a Bluehost by clicking here, and receive your free domain and discounted price of $3.49/month.
Click "Get Started" → Sign up for a Plan. → Choose your free domain.
Step 3: Place your order
Fill in your personal information and pay for your order.
You will receive your login information, which you will need for the next step.
Step 4: Click on "Install WordPress"
This is the screen you will see once you have logged into Bluehost. Next we will need to install our wordpress blog. From there, click on "Install WordPress" under the Website section.
Step 5: Click the green "Install" button
Step 6: Select the domain you purchased in Step 2
Step 7: Select "Advanced Options" and customize your login and password for your WordPress Blog
This is an important step because you will choose the Username and Password that you use to log-in to WordPress.
Once you've set up your username & password: click "Install now".
Tip: Keep this information secure so you don't forget it, as you'll need to use it often to log-in.
Step 8: Click "View Credentials"
Once your WordPress Install is complete, click the "View Credentials" button above.
Click on your "Admin URL" or you can head over to:
http://yourdomain.com/wp-admin (if you signed up for a .co, .net, .me, etc then use that instead of .com)
For example: I can access my wordpress at http://thegrowthlist.com/wp-admin
Reminder: Your username and password shown below is the information that you will use to log-in to your WordPress.
Step 9: Login to WordPress
Enter the username and password from Step 8 here, and access your WordPress Blog Dashboard.
Your Login Page
Your WordPress Blog Dashboard
Note: Don't worry when your dashboard does not look exactly like the one above. This is the dashboard for this blog, not one I installed recently.
Step 10: Write Your First Post!
Head over to "Posts" → Add New
Write your first post → Publish
There you have it! Your first post published on your brand new WordPress blog in less than 5 minutes and in exactly 10 simple steps.
*BONUS STEP: Invest in a blog theme
Now that you have your blog website set up, you should browse invest in a theme that will make your blog look professional and clean. A professional theme will run you around $30-50, but it is well worth the while.
Think of it as a long-term investment.
There are two places I would recommend looking for a theme:
- Mojo-Themes: Mojo Themes is partnered with WordPress, and has an abundance of beautiful designs to choose from.
2. Themeforest: Themeforest is another great source, and I have personally bought several themes from Themeforest.
Note: I have no preference on either theme marketplaces. Both are very popular and credible locations to buy your service. What's more important is to read the customer reviews of each of the post, and make sure the publisher is active in servicing his/her purchaser's with questions.
There you have it!
5 minutes to install your WordPress blog and write your first post, and setting up your blog theme.
If you haven't already CLICK HERE to get started on installing your WordPress blog, and receive your free domain & discounted plan.
It's now time to begin your blogging journey and share your story with the world.
Let me know in the comments below if you guys have any questions, I'll answer them as soon as possible.