In less than 25 minutes, you can set up a blog and start making money online

Trust me, the entire process is unbelievably simple… And quite enjoyable too.

Did you know some bloggers earn as much as $50,000-$100,000 on their blogs?

It’s no lie. A lot of people have become millionaires simply by sharing their thoughts online.

Blogging can become a very lucrative online business if you’re able to commit some degree of effort to it.

You can consider it as one of those online businesses that have compounding interests.

While many earn a decent income blogging, most aren’t that quite fortunate. Wondering why?

They heard blogging pays and jumped right into it. They didn’t learn how to start a blog the right way.

Soon enough, they quit and begin discouraging others from giving blogging a shot. They sing about how hard blogging is and tell you it’s too late to even try. 

Don’t listen to naysayers. 

This article is seasoned with pro blogging tips and easy step-by-step guide to starting a successful blog.

This guide will help you avoid pitfalls that many bloggers make, and arm you with the knowledge needed to run a profitable blog. 

While creating this guide, my aim was to write for people who want to blog for money.

Hence, the title of this piece was coined to attract a “special” kind of people– individuals who want to take blogging as an online business and not just as a hobby (there’s nothing wrong with that anyway).

By the time you’re through reading, you’d be surprised at how easy it is to create a blog and start making money from it.

So relax. I’ve got you covered.

Having a blog is a fantastic medium to write and publish contents you’re passionate about.

It is an effective means to promote your business to a wider audience and earn a decent stream of income online.

Launching a blog makes it possible to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry and carve a name for yourself… the possibilities are endless.

The exciting part of starting a blog is that you need virtually zero experience in coding or programming. 

You don’t have to be grounded in computer software engineering neither do you have to be a computer wiz!

You can create a blog right from the comfort of your home this very moment. Yes, right now! Stick around and I’ll show you how.

All you need to begin a blog is a functional computer/PC and an active internet connection. In some cases, you can even make use of your mobile phone, it’s that simple!

And guess what… I used my android device to edit some parts of this post. It’s no hassle.

While it is easy to start a blog, you need to be properly guided. Beginners’ tend to make mistakes when starting out.

This guide has been overly simplified to provide a well-detailed, step-by-step procedure for starting a successful blog the right way.

This comprehensive guide is well exhaustive and covers ALL essential topics you’d need to kick off your blogging journey.

I’ll take you by the hand and show you how to install WordPress, brand your blog and make it top-class. You’ll also learn how to write compelling blog posts, where to get traffic and begin making money blogging.

By the time you arrive at the end of this guide, you’d be armed with the necessary knowledge that will transform you from being a beginner to becoming a pro blogger.

Are you ready? I’m sure you are. Now, Let’s create your blog.

Why should you start a blog?

I launched my very first blog 7 years ago and just like you, I was a rookie. I didn’t know anything about blogging neither did I know how to make money from it.

I just wanted a platform where I could share whatsoever came to my mind and gain some exposure.

I made a lot of mistakes with my first blog. I had no clear goals or objectives; I didn’t know what to blog about nor how to get to the right audience.

However, that first experience taught me valuable lessons which have been instrumental to other successful blogs I’ve started over the years.

Those lessons combined with years of experience have made me realised that the first step in starting a successful blog begins with having a set of objectives and knowing the reason you want to begin in the first place.

Possible reasons to start a blog:

• To be in control of your time having the freedom of working from home.
• To write for fun. You might want to build an online presence and talk about the things you love; Sharing your thoughts, ideas and opinions to millions of internet users.
• Another reason might be, you own a business and need a platform to write about your product or services. To generate new leads and attract potential customers to patronize you.
• A more popular reason you may want to start a blog might be to make money online. You may have heard that many individuals have become millionaires through blogging (this is true!) and you want to give it a try.

These are a few possible reasons why you may want to start a blog and yours might be different from the ones listed above.

Whatever your reasons, be ready for a fun ride. There is no limit to what you can benefit the moment your blog goes public.

What should I blog about?

I presume that you probably might have an idea of what you want to blog about.

It could be that you like fashion and want to start a fashion blog to show people current fashion trends. Or you may have decided to go by the long-existing advice to blog about your passion — It could be cars, gadgets or even something we’ve never heard of. That’s cool.

Fun fact about blogging: You can blog about virtually “anything!” If you can think of it, you can blog about it. 

Some popular topics to blog about include sports, fashion, agriculture, entertainment, real estate, etc.

While it is no doubt that you can blog about almost anything conceivable, you should also be aware of something that most “blog expert” fails to reveal to you.

“You can blog about anything, but not everything you blog about is capable of fetching you money online”

You read that correctly. And that’s the major problem I have with the long-standing advice of “blogging about your passion”.

While there’s nothing wrong in blogging about the stuff you love, but if your goal is to make money online blogging, ensure it is marketable.

Here’s what you should consider blogging about:

“Blog about what people are interested to read”.

Making money from a blog is highly dependent on the amount of traffic you’re able to pull. 

If your goal is to make a reasonable profit from your blog, you can’t risk blogging about topics people aren’t interested in.

Don’t assume everyone would be interested in the same things you like. You should choose a niche that has a substantial amount of readers.

Later in this post, I’ll reveal some of the most profitable blogging niches that pull a good amount of readers. This will give you a head start on where to begin.

Nonetheless, if you aren’t interested in making money from your blog, you can always blog about anything that catches your fancy.

How much does it cost to create a blog?

I’ve compared the cost of the domain name and hosting plan from over 50 companies and here is the conclusion:

Starting a blog will cost roughly $20 – $65. You can create a blog for less than ₦10,000.  

The bulk of the cost of starting a blog is hinged on the amount spent to register a domain name and purchase a hosting package (Don’t worry, there is a detailed explanation of these terms as you read on. Trust me, it’s nothing complicated.)

The cost of acquiring a domain name and hosting varies based on the company you purchase from.

Nonetheless, starting a blog is relatively cheap. In some cases, you don’t even need to pay a dime; You can always get a free blog to meet your basic blog needs.

However, if you intend to take things more seriously with blogging, choosing a free blog is not the best route. It is of more lasting benefit to make a tiny little investment of getting a domain name and purchasing a hosting plan when launching your blog.

In this guide, I’ll reveal a tip on how you can get both for way lesser price.

Is it too late to start blogging?

In my experience, most newbies who intend to start a blog, never do. They’ve been told a bunch of lies which have left them losing on many opportunities blogging presents.

They believe that the internet is overly saturated with bloggers and you begin to wonder if you’ve you got a shot at reaching the top.

The best time to start blogging is right is now! You can be 17 years or probably 75. it doesn’t matter. If you have an idea or probably just want to write about your personal experience, it’s never too late to start a blog.

So, let’s get on with it!

HOW TO START A BLOG. 

 
Step #1: Define your objectives.

If you already know what to blog about, you can skip this step and move to step #2.

Before you begin the process of launching a blog, decide beforehand what your objectives are. What are you planning to achieve from your blog?

Having clearly defined objectives will help you decide on what to blog about. It will help streamline your focus and guide you as you take on your blogging journey.

This will help you carefully monitor your blog’s progress.

Some possible objectives could be:

• Entertainment. You might decide to create a blog for entertaining people. You want people coming to your blog with the anticipation to get mentally refreshed.

Your goal, in this case, would be to create either a music or comedy blog – where people can get the latest songs of their favourite artiste or crack their ribs.

• Teaching. This is typical of DIY blogs. You may want to teach people how to set up a business, or how to create cool homemade crafts. In this case, your objective would be to get people more enlightened.

• Creating awareness for your brand. Let’s say you have a local business and you want to reach more people.

In this case, a possible objective would be to get online users to make a call-to-action such as placing a call or send you an email.

• Selling a product or service. Maybe you want to sell some products online. Your goal can be to create an online shop to get people to place orders online or patronise an affiliate product you’re promoting.

• Motivation/ inspiration. This cuts across various channels. Your objective, in this case, might be to get people motivated to confront issues that are problematic to them.

• To inform. This involves getting people up-to-date with the latest trends and information specific to a particular niche/topic. In this case, your objective would be getting your readers abreast with current news about their interest.

When you’ve been able to clearly outline your objectives, deciding what to blog about becomes much easier.

The process of setting a goal and defining your objectives for your blog doesn’t have to be rigid.

As you progress in your blogging journey, your goals and objectives are bound to change.

Hence, there is room for flexibility and an avenue to alter whatever isn’t serving your primary aim.

The secrete to make money blogging is to offer solutions to people’s problem.

When deciding to launch a blog, it would be of more financial advantage to you if your objectives revolve around answering questions and meeting people needs.

Step #2. Select the right niche.

Selecting a niche is simply about deciding the central theme (main topic/subject matter) of your blog.

It has to do with streamlining your blog to revolve around a particular topic.

When you decide to blog about a particular niche, it means all your blog posts are targeted towards answering questions, providing information or offering solutions concerning one particular subject matter.

For example, politics, entertainment, blogging, sports, real estate and fashion are all broad blog niches.

Let’s say I decide to pick reals estate as a niche.

This means I’ll start publishing blog posts about “property rentals”, ” how to invest in real estates”, “accessing equity loans”, “sourcing for real estate brokers” etc.

These topics are all related to real estate.

Therefore I can say my blog niche is centred on real estate.

This means that whenever someone searches for real estate tips on Google (or any other search engine), they may be referred to my blog if I’ve done a good job covering topics on this niche.

FAQ: Can I blog on more than one niche?

Yes, you can. However, it may not be advantageous to do so. Being a jack of all trade – blogging across diverse niches isn’t the best practice when starting a blog, and I strongly advise against it.

Pick one niche and focus on it.

If you focus on more than one niche, people may get confused about what your blog is about.

Whenever someone new visits your blog and find you talking about different topics that do not resonate within one primary niche, they likely won’t come back because they don’t know what purpose your blog serves.

Also, If your blog covers more than one niche, search engines (which will play a major role in your blog’s success) may not be able to accurately define your blog.

Search engines such as Google or Bing refer people to your blog when they’re able to identify your niche. They help refer people who share interests with what you blog about.

Whenever internet users visit a blog, they’re hoping to find solutions or get an answer to their problem.

They’re seeking for the best platform that talks about topics about their interest. If your blog happens to meet their need, they’ll stick around and become loyal readers.

I know for beginners, it might be tempting to blog about everything. You feel it will expand your reach and cut across various people with diverse interest.

This is counterproductive. Sticking with one will make you more productive.

Most profitable blog niches.

If you’re starting a blog to make money online, that’s a commendable cause and you shouldn’t be ashamed of it. 

 I know there are a lot of “gurus” who discredit this. They tell you not to put making money at the forefront of starting a blog.

They tell you to blog about your passion and money will start flowing in.

I’m not against blogging about your passion. But there’s a major mistake many beginners who take the “blog-for-passion-and-forget-money” advice make:

They create a blog, obviously excited to start blogging about what they love, and they fail to find out if people are as excited to read them.

Your blog won’t reach its full earning potentials if people don’t care about what you write.

Making money from a blog is largely dependent in choosing a profitable niche and then tackling problems and providing solutions to topics concerning that niche.

It’s fine to blog about your passion and make it your blog niche. It is much easier as you wouldn’t struggle writing about the things you like. 

Nonetheless, it would be of very little profit if you blog about something that isn’t marketable.

There is no secret to it. The success of your blog will depend largely on the popularity of your niche.

Bloggers earn a lot when they blog about things people are interested in reading. Hence, choose a niche that’s able to sell itself.

Step #3: Register your domain name. 

A domain name is the personal web address of your blog. It is what people type into the address bar of a web browser to access your blog (e.g yoursitename.com, yoursitename.net).

For example, DigitaCora.com is the domain name of this website. It is unique and no other website can have it for as long as I continue to make use of it.

Just as no two humans can have the same fingerprint, so also no two blogs can have the same domain name.

your domain name acts like your blog’s unique identifier.

It establishes your blog on the internet and makes it possible for internet users to visit your blog.

Tips for choosing the perfect domain name.

• Make it simple. The first step in branding a business is to come up with a name that can be easily pronounced.

Treat your blog as a brand and brainstorm on what you want to call it.

When you’ve decided on what to name your blog, you can choose that to become your domain name.

it could be anything depending on your preference or something related to your niche.

It is not a rule but most blog experts claim that it is advantageous to name your blog in line with your niche. 

Example, If you blog about cars or automobiles, you might decide to call your blog “AutoHubBlog.com”. In this case, when someone new visits such a blog, they immediately know what it’s about.

In my experience, I’ve noticed that a lot of bloggers usually change from one niche to another. It is perfectly normal and you might do the same.

Don’t be certain you’ll be blogging about the same topic in the next 5 years. 

Your preference might likely change along the line and you might choose to blog about something different from what you’re blogging about today.

Hence, be flexible and do not overly narrow your blog’s name to a specific niche. As a good alternative, you can use your name. 

Ensure it’s something that wouldn’t get people confused on the pronunciation. pick a name that is simple and catchy.

• Choose a name that can be easily spelt. Your domain name should not be something that makes people consult the dictionary for its spelling.

Pick a name that is easy to pronounce and spell. Do not use extravagant words. You’re not going to impress anyone.

If your readers in an attempt to type in your domain name on a web browser but mistakenly miss even a single letter, they’d be given an error response and wouldn’t be able to access your blog. Therefore ensure your domain name can be easily spelt.

• Avoid lengthy characters. Your domain name should be of considerable length; something that can easily be remembered. If you can come up with something short, that’ll be great.

• Avoid figures. Domain names such as “myautohub331.com” are wrong practice. People find it difficult remembering their phone passwords sometimes.

They definitely wouldn’t try to memorise the domain name of some random blog. Avoid incorporating figures into your domain name and stick with what’s simple to remember.

• Stick with popular TLD extensions. TDL stands for Top Level Domain Extension (simply known as domain extension). It is the notation at the end of a web address– the suffix or the last part of a domain name (e.g. .com)

A domain extension specifies a blog/website’s category or country. For example, A dot com (.com) extension signifies that a blog/website is a company, .org means an organisation, .edu means education, .ng means Nigeria, .uk means the United Kingdom.

When choosing a domain name extension, it advisable to pick the .com extension. It is widely preferred and by far the most popular.

Getting your domain name registered

At this point, you’ve brainstormed and come up with a nice domain name that you like. Now you’ll have to check if it is available for purchase. 

If you’re going for a generic name, there is a probability that it has already been registered by someone else.

You can check if your domain name is available for purchase through a domain name registrar.

A domain name registrar is an internet company that specialises in the acquisition of domains from ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). 

Example of domain name registrars include GoDaddy, Qserver, Namecheap etc.

To check if your domain name is available, simply go to any of the aforementioned registrars and type in your desired name. The system will look it up and inform you if it’s available or not.

If your domain name is available, you can then proceed to check-out and make the payment for your domain name acquisition.

FAQ: What if my desired domain name has already been taken and it isn’t available for purchase. What do I do?

No worries. You’ll be presented with various other alternatives if it so happens that your desired domain name has been taken. 

You can come up with another or just use one of the alternatives suggested by the domain registrar.

How much does a domain name cost?

A domain name costs an average of $12/year. This price varies and it depends on the domain registrar you purchase from.

I use Namecheap most of my domain name registrations. Their domain names are one of the cheapest on the internet and cost only $6-12 per year.

You get a 71% discount for one year when you register your domain name from Namecheap and also purchase a hosting plan from them. 

I’ll show you how to do this. 

Step #4: Purchase a hosting plan. 

To make your domain name accessible by internet users, you need a service called web hosting.

Web hosting is an internet service that houses your blog on the World Wide Web. It is where all the files of your blog/website are stored.

Think of it this way: a domain name is the address of your house, while web host is the actual house itself that points to your address.

Both are inseparable and one can’t do without the other. To “host” your website, you’ll need to purchase a web hosting package from a web host company.

These companies specialize in storing and serving the entire files of your blog. They regulate the technical nitty-gritty that’s needed to keep your blog online on the World Wide Web.

Some popular web hosting companies are Namecheap, Hostgator, Bluehost, iPage etc.

Choosing the right web host is crucial in securing the longevity of your blog. A web host will determine the speed of your blog and its uptime.

Therefore, when starting a blog, it is important to choose a reputable web host that wouldn’t cause you any unnecessary issues.

Tips for choosing the right web host.

• Look out for server speed: the server time of a web host tells you how fast it takes for the host’s server to load.

A high server time depicts a slow host, and it is advisable to avoid such. The server time of your web host will determine the speed of your blog. 

You can check a web host’s server time by using this site

• Put an eye out for customer service response rate: Customer service is the heart and core of a web hosting company. If a web host replies late to queries or mails, it is a strong signal that they should be avoided.

 You can test this by sending an email inquiring for the cost of their service and monitor how long it takes for them to respond.

A web host’s customer service response rate is very important. As you progress in your blogging journey, you’re bound to encounter technical issues that will demand the assistance of your web host agents.

Hence, the faster they respond, the quicker your queries get resolved.

• Find out the website’s age: This is not much of a determining factor but it does speak about the reputation of a web host. you can check a website’s age here .

Purchasing a hosting plan.

As I mentioned earlier, I use Namecheap for all of my web projects. I’ve been using them for years and it’s a great place to start as you gradually improve on your blog.

Remember when I said I’ll reveal how you can start your blog for a much lesser price? I didn’t forget. You get a 71% discount for one year when you purchase a hosting package from Namecheap. 

Namecheap has several hosting packages you can choose from.

For a new blog, the STELLAR package should meet the needs of your blog. As your blog grows and begins to attract traffic, you can move to a higher package.

The beginners’ package provides you with over 20GB of disk space, FREE SSL/HTTPS, Free emails etc. These are all that your blog needs at the moment. Anything outside these isn’t necessary.

How to purchase a hosting package from Namecheap.

1. Goto the Namecheap homepage and sign up for an account.

If you’ve already signed up for an account during the purchase of your domain name, there is no need to sign up for a new one. Simply login.

2. Select your hosting package: After you’ve signed up for an account and logged in, on the dashboard click on Hosting » Shared Hosting. 

3. On the shared hosting page, hover over to Stellar Hosting and click Get Started

4. Once you’ve selected your plan, you’ll be redirected to the domain name connection page. 

5. If you already have a domain name registered, choose the option to connect an already existing domain name (Namecheap or third-party). 

If you haven’t purchased a domain name, you can simply leave the option at a New Domain Name. 

Here you can make a search for a domain you intend to use. In the same page, search for your domain name and click connect to hosting. Thereafter, click Add to Cart. 

6. On the next page, you’ll see list of the items you’ve purchased (domain name and hosting plan).

Simply scroll down and click on Confirm Order. 

7. On the next page, you’ll be required to fill in your payment details. Choose your payment option, and then proceed to make payment. 

When your registration is complete, the login details to your cPanel (control cPanel) will be sent to your email.

What is cPanel?

The cPanel is a web-based hosting control dashboard that grants you access to manage your web hosting server. 

It gives users simplified graphic interphase that makes it possible to access your files and manage your blog.
keep your cPanel login details very safe. You’ll be needing them for the next step.

Step #5: Installation of WordPress

WordPress is a free Content Management system (CMS) software that makes it extremely easy to manage, design and regulate your blog.

It is used to carry out all your blogging activities such as publish posts, change theme & designs, install plugins and build web pages without having to touch a single bit of code.

There is a lot of Blogging software available in the market. Some include; Wix, blogger, Squarespace, Drupal, Joomla etc.

These are all nice blogging software but they do not provide as much flexibility as WordPress.

WordPress is the best choice for beginners who are just starting a blog.

It is open-source software that makes it possible to do virtually anything you want without needing to have any programming skill.

It has thousands of plugins capable of bringing to life any functionality or you want to implement into your blog.

Difference between wordpress.org and wordpress.com

Beginners often get confused between wordpress.com and wordpress.org. 

For the sake of clarity, the WordPress being referred to in this guide is WordPress.org

WordPress.org

WordPress.org is open-source software that gives you total control of your blog. It is free and can be used by anyone.

This particular software makes it possible to customize your blog as much as you want without being constrained or limited by a third-party.

WordPress.org have no constraining terms of service. It means you’re free to do whatever you want with your blog and publish whatever content that catches your fancy. 

You own all the files, data and content of your blog and you reserve every right to decide whatever you want with it.

WordPress.com

WordPress.com delivers it’s blogging software as a form of a hosting service. This means you have to pay to make use of WordPress.com. 

This paid service gives you limited flexibility over your blog and constrains you to abide by their terms.

Although they have a free beginner’s hosting package; which provides you with a free domain name and web hosting.

But going by this plan does not give you any ownership rights over your blog. your blog can be suspended or even deleted if you breach any of their Terms of Service.

This is not a good starting point for someone who intends to take their blog seriously and make money from it. 

Also, you cannot install free plugins, upload custom themes or place ads on your site.

Before given the flexibility to do any of this, you must first upgrade to their premium or business packages which costs between $99 – $400 per year, and their VIP package which costs $1700/month.

As you might have observed correctly, WordPress.com platform is quite limited and for anyone who intends wants to exercise full control over their blog, WordPress.org is the best choice!

Installing WordPress.org on your blog with Namecheap.

To install WordPress, you need to have acquired your domain name and purchased your hosting package (We’ve gone through these steps above).

I’ll be using Namecheap to illustrate how to install WordPress on your blog. For most web hosts, it is generally almost the same process.

1. Login to your cPanel (using the details that were sent to your mail)

2. Scroll down and  Click on the Softaculous Apps Installer menu.

3. On the home page, click on the WordPress icon.

4. On the next page,  Click install now to initiate installation.

5. On the next page, simply fill out the details of your WordPress installation.

6. When you’re through filling the information, scroll down and click on install. 

In a few moments, you’ll see a message notifying you that WordPress has been successfully installed. 

7. Login to your WordPress admin area. Your WordPress admin area can be accessed by visiting the wp-directory in your browser.

Example: https://www.example.com/wp-admin. E.g if your domain name is coraweb.com, then your WordPress admin area can be accessed through your web browser by visiting coraweb.com/wp-admin .

Step #6: Choose a blog theme.

Wow! You’ve made it this far. At this point, we’ve done the heavy lifting and already gone through the technical aspect of starting a blog.

You already know how to register a domain name and purchase a hosting plan. Big ups to you!

Now let’s get to the fun part where you get to play with your creativity.

The beauty of WordPress is that you don’t have to be a programmer to use the platform. It was essentially designed to make web design seamlessly easy, especially for beginners.

You can virtually make your blog look however you want it without having to input any bit of code. And this is made possible through the numerous themes currently available on WordPress.

A theme is a pre-made collection of templates used to define the appearance of a blog. They can be edited (by you) to suit your taste and reflect your preference.

There are thousands of themes available on WordPress. You can choose any one from them. Also, you’re not limited to just one theme. You can modify and change your theme at any time you want.

How to select the perfect theme for your blog.

Before installing a theme for your blog, there are three (3) vital things you should consider while selecting a theme.

• Simplicity: a theme packed with a lot of designs doesn’t necessarily mean it will retain readers. When it comes to selecting a theme, choose something simple. It’s not a fashion contest.

• Mobile responsiveness: This also boils down to simplicity. A theme with a simple design would almost certainly be compatible with mobile.

Before installing a theme, ensure it is properly rendered when viewed through a mobile device. You can test this by using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.

• Browser compatibility: Your viewers are going to be accessing your blog with various browsers. Although most themes in WordPress are well designed to be compatible with a range of browsers, you should also test for yourself.

Visit your blog with various browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, Opera Mini etc. To see how your blog is being displayed.

How to install a theme in WordPress.

You already know what to look out for when selecting a theme, let’s go ahead and install your first theme. Here’s how to go about it.

1. Login to your WordPress admin area. Goto appearance » then select theme.

on the next page, click on add new

Here you’ll find a list of free themes you can choose from. You can also make a featured search to specify the kind of theme you want. 

when you’ve found what you want, simply click on install

and then activate.

If you’re confused on what theme to choose, Wpbeginner has compiled a list of free cool themes you could try.

Step #7: Create your “About Us” page.

When a visitor views your blog, they may be interested to know more about your blog. That’s the purpose of the “about us” page.

The “about us” page as the name implies is a page where you get to write on what your blog is about. You could include your mission statement, type of content you cover or even include a short story on what led you to create your blog.

The essence of the page is to give visitors an idea of what your blog is about.

How to create a page on WordPress.

Go to your WordPress Dashboard area. Hover to pages and click Add new

Add the title and then move on to write the content. When you’re done, don’t forget to hit publish.

Step #8: Install  Relevant Plugins.

Plugins are software designed to add more functionality and new features to your blog.

There are thousands of WordPress plugins out there that can add more features to your blog. As a beginner, this can be overwhelming, having so many to choose from.

So, I’ve selected five (5) of the most important plugins you should have installed on your blog to get you started.

How to install a WordPress plugin.

Go to your WordPress dashboard area and click on plugin » add new

At the top right corner, search for the plugin you want to install by typing its name. When you’ve found it, click Install Now.

After installing, the plugin isn’t yet working because you haven’t activated it yet. So you need to activate it. To do so, simply click on activate.

Top five (5) plugins you should definitely install on your blog.

1. Classic Editor:

When you newly install WordPress, the default editor is Gutenberg. For a beginner, I wouldn’t recommend you use this to create/edit your posts. A lot of users have complained about its difficulty and complexity.

A much better alternative is the Classic Editor. It’s more user-friendly and easy to understand. So go ahead, install it asap.

2. WpForms:

After your “about us” page, the next most important page to create is your Contact page— which gives information on how your visitors can get in touch you.

It’s important to have one. With WpForms, you can easily create clean and simple contact pages to help your visitors contact if/when they want to.

3. Yoast SEO:

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It helps you get more traffic from search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, Duckduckgo etc.

Yoast SEO plugins offer some of the coolest tools to help improve your on-page optimisation.

4. WP Super Cache:

No one likes a slow website. Super Cache is one of the best free cache plugin out there that comes with all the tools and functionality to improve your blog speed and make it faster.

What makes it even more awesome is it’s simplicity. Perfect for beginners. It comes with very few (but effective) configurations to set things rolling.

5. Jetpack:

This is a plugin that has a wide range of functions — which includes, security, performance, analytics, social sharing, and overall site management.

It’s an awesome plugin and you should definitely have it installed. It serves multiple functions.

These plugins are a good place to start in improving the functionality of your blog. They provide all the necessary features needed for a blog thrive. Ensure you install them.

Step #9: Publish your first blog post.

So you’ve got your domain name, purchased a hosting plan, choose a great theme, and installed some essential plugins. Awesome.

You’re officially now a blog owner! But hey, there’s one more thing left.

Everything you’ve learnt so far has led to this final step— publishing blog posts. Blog posts are the life and heart of a blog. Without it, a blog doesn’t exist.

This is the most interesting part of blogging. Getting to publish content and sharing your thoughts with the world.
There are no restrictions to where your blog posts can reach. People from all over the world who have an active internet can view your posts and get influenced by it.

How to publish your first blog post in WordPress:

Go to your admin dashboard. Hover to posts then click add new

Publishing quality content is the number one factor that will determine how successful your blog will be. When you’ve finished creating your blog post, simply hit publish.

#Step 10: Monetize your blog.

The goal of every business is to make a profit — and that goes for a blog as well.

As a blogger, your blog is a business and you must see it as such– no matter how young it is.

I mean, what is the point of putting hours into crafting content if it never brings in any form of benefits in the long run?

As a blogger, your first priority is adding value to your readers by creating quality blog posts.

This will, in turn, grow your traffic and increase your reach. Your next step of action would be to maximise that traffic to generate as much income as you can.

Unfortunately, that’s not the story of many bloggers. A lot of bloggers struggle to make money from their blog. This could be as a result of many reasons, but the most prominent one is the failure to utilize the right monetization channel.

There are a lot of ways to monetize your blog. But not all monetization channel would deliver good results for you.

For example, a lot of bloggers use Google AdSense as their primary monetization channel. But over 70% fail to make good money from it.

The effectiveness of a monetization channel is highly dependent on your blog niche (I’ve covered this above).

Therefore, in deciding to monetize your blog, you must consider your niche, traffic size and audience.

Before going further, I’ve written a highly detailed, step-by-step guide on how you can make money online. I highly recommend you read it. You’ll be exposed to lucrative business ideas you can implement into your blog.

Is blogging profitable in Nigeria?

The answer is a big yes! If you’re willing to put in the work and make the commitment not to quit, blogging can change your financial story.

You can practically start from the bottom and go on to earning five, six and even seven figures! No joke. All you need is commitment and consistency.

How much does a blogger earn in Nigeria?

This depends on the traffic your blog is able to pull.

According to Myworkfromhome.com, who surveyed 150 bloggers, the average income a blogger earns is between $100 – $5,000 monthly.

However, this figure is not empirical– it’s just a rough estimate. Your earnings could be way more than this. It all depends on your blog traffic.

How do bloggers make money?

After creating a blog, publishing series of quality content, and attracting good traffic, bloggers make money from their blog by implementing effective monetization channel(s) into their blog.

Here are the top 5 ways you can monetize your blog and start making money.

1. Affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing is simply the process of promoting various products (of other people) on your blog, and getting a commission when someone makes a purchase. 

There are people and companies who have products that they intend to sell. To get more sales, they issue out referral bonus (or commission) to interested persons who promote their products and refer someone to them.

It’s basically a referral scheme. You get an affiliate link from an affiliate network and then promote it on your site.

So that, whenever a user clicks on the link on your site and lands on the page of the affiliate network, you get a commission if they make a purchase.

There are various affiliate networks out there. Examples are Commission Junction, ShareASale etc.

These networks offer a wide range of products which you can promote on your blog. You’re not limited in option.

You can simply apply to any, get your affiliate link, input it into your blog post and start making money.

Affiliate marketing is very lucrative. To benefit from affiliate marketing, you should stick to promoting products that align with your niche.

For example, if you blog about fashion trends, you can decide to promote fashion accessories such as watches, shoes etc.

2. Sell your own products.

This is different from affiliate marketing in that, the products you’re promoting here is yours. If you have a product available, you can market on your blog and sell to your readers if it’s something you feel they’d be interested in.

The best kind of product to promote on your blog in this regard are informational products. You can create an eBook on any subject and then sell it.

3. Sell eBooks.

This is an amazing way to earn money on your blog. You can create an eBook on a subject you feel people might be interested in.

The goal here is or create something that offers value. Provide adequate information on a subject that people might not be getting elsewhere. Then package it and sell.  

4. Google AdSense.

This is one of the most popular channels of monetization in Nigeria but certainly not the most profitable.

AdSense makes it easy for beginner bloggers to earn money online. It involves you pasting a script into your blog that gives Google AdSense access to display ads on your blog. 

Your earnings from AdSense is calculated in two ways. That is, CPM and CPC

CPM (cost per impression): It means you get paid whenever a reader views an AdSense ad on your blog.

CPC (Cost Per Click): This means that whenever anyone clicks on an AdSense ad on your blog, you earn as well.

AdSense is a good starting point for beginners. but as time goes on and your blog gets bigger, it’s more profitable to consider other options. 

5. Sell direct ads.

Although AdSense is very easy to set up, selling ads directly on your blog puts more control in your hands. You’ll be able to negotiate and determine your pay.

If you’ve been able to grow your blog to the point where it attracts good traffic, advertisers will often approach you to advertise their products on your blog.

You can offer such adverts in the form of a banner ad or sponsored posts.

In the long run, this channel of monetization is much better and profitable than AdSense.

Conclusion: 

Starting a blog is a great idea and the possibilities that await you are limitless. However, blogging is not a get-quick-rich-scheme. You’ll be required to dedicate time and put in work into growing your blog.  

Nevertheless, it’s nothing to be scared of.

Though you might feel like giving up sometimes, but if you just hang on and remain consistent and don’t quit, you’ll eventually reap tremendous benefits that will put a smile on your face for ages to come. 

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