So you want to start a lifestyle blog and eventually make a living with your ideas.
I LOVE that.
This guide will show you exactly how to start a blog, but more specifically, how to start a DIY or lifestyle blog. Since this is what I have a ton of experience with.
There are a ton of bits and pieces of information out there and it’s kind of hard to know where to start.
That’s one of the reasons why I’ve put this 2 part ‘How To Start A Lifestyle Blog’ guide together.
It goes without saying, it’s what I wish I would have found when I was first starting out.
Blogging has (and continues to) change my life.
It’s mind-blowing that I’ve been able to create my own blog with my own style and have it be a business, to say the least.
It also means I don’t have to hold down a 9-5 if I really don’t want to (yay!).
And income only keeps growing as I bring in more traffic and create more blog content. Now, many ‘how to start a blog’ posts leave out the most important chunk of it all.
Related: 41 Women’s Blogs To Inspire You On Your Own Blogging Journey
How exactly do you get started making money from your lifestyle blog once you get it all up and running?
Here is a Table Of Contents to get you started:
Part 1: Start Your Blog (The step-by-step setup)
Part 2: Monetize It (How do you start making money?)
It doesn’t matter if you are a veteran blogger or you are just getting started for the very first time, there are plenty of takeaways in this guide that can help you on your own blog journey.
Why a lifestyle blog?
A lifestyle blog is great because you can write about almost anything you can think of (that falls under your general lifestyle category).
This way you won’t work yourself into a box, you have more options, and you don’t run out of things to blog about while making money in the process.
Update: Check out the first income report on the blog here!
It’s the perfect set up for new bloggers to find their voice and find their strengths as they grow and learn more about blogging.
Not to mention, when you actually care about something, you’ll have a much easier time creating kick-ass content that people can find online and will want to read. More on lifestyle blog ideas later.
How to start a lifestyle blog
So it’s best to start a self-hosted blog using WordPress.org (not wordpress.com- the free version).
To be able to use WordPress.org to create your blog, you’ll need to get hosting— but more on that in a minute.
Choose a blog name that works
Oh, man.
This is where many people spend way too much of their time. And understandably so! It can be hard to make such a commitment.
For me, it didn’t take too long to come up with Teal Notes because I had kept a journal of brainstormed names for when I was ready to start a business (I just had no idea which kind of business I would start— enter blogging!)
A domain name is just a fancy way of saying your website’s URL. For example, my domain name is tealnotes.com.
Some people choose to use their own name as their domain name, which is great. Others tend to go with more creative blog names.
It’s entirely up to you.
Blog names and blog name ideas can be easily overcomplicated, but as long as it fits your overall blog theme, you’ll be good. Try making a blog names list to brainstorm some lifestyle blog name ideas.
If you’re still at a complete loss for names try a blog name generator for some inspiration. Additionally, if you’re wanting to create a mommy blog, I found this cool list of names to draw from.
You can also check out if your domain name is up for grabs below:
Some important tips for choosing the perfect name:
- It is always best to keep it short and memorable
- Make it something that won’t change in the future e.g. avoid numbers if you can
- Make it so that it reflects your brand and style (everyone’s is unique!)
Sign up for hosting
On to step three.
What exactly IS hosting?
Hosting simply means buying server space from a company for your site to be stored in and up and running for people to visit.
With hosting, you want to get reliable service while taking care of your budget at the same time.
When I started this blog, I had come across Michelle’s Making Sense of Cents blog and decided to use her tutorial to get started (especially because at the time it seemed so thorough). She recommended Bluehost as an affordable option for new bloggers and its what I’ve been using ever since.
It’s a good option for beginner bloggers because of a bunch of its features.
It’s what I’ve started with, paying less than $4 bucks a month, and I’ve yet to have problems with their customer service or my site.
What stands out to me from Bluehost is their 24/7 support feature that you can tap into every time you have any questions or concerns or if you’re ever confused about something.
On top of that, you also get a FREE domain name when you sign up with them here.
Paying $3.95 a month can still be expensive for some people (after all, it’s one whole burger and fries combo per month).Investing in your blog will be worth it in the long run. If you aren’t ready to financially invest in your new blog business, then you might want to reconsider blogging as a way to make income.
How to sign up for Bluehost
After you get on Bluehost.com, click on Get Started Now.
Then It’ll ask you to pick a plan. For blogging beginners, the best plan is the basic plan. For now, it is all you will need to get started successfully.
Next it’ll ask you to choose a domain name. Plug in your name to see if it isn’t already being used by someone else. If it is, it’s not the end of the blogging world, Bluehost will help you generate a variation of that name or you can choose a different one all-together.
The cool thing is, with Bluehost, you get a domain name for FREE.
Once you’ve secured your domain name, it’s time to enter your account information.
Now, after entering your account information, you get to review your package info and pick the one you like best according to your own blogging goals.
You can either choose to uncheck the check boxes or leave them, as a beginner, I’d say you don’t need all the extra additions for now, and you can always go back and add them later.
Now, after processing your payment with your order, you’re ready to start installing WordPress.
How to install WordPress With Bluehost
To install WordPress, after processing your payment and accepting their terms and conditions, Bluehost will prompt you to log back in.
…And you’ll be met with this dashboard:
If you scroll down, under the Website section, click on Install WordPress.
Then It will ask you to verify your domain name. Click install and then click install again.
After WordPress is Installed, it will say Installation Complete and it will ask you to view credentials.
That is where you’ll get the login info to login to WordPress, along with your username and password to start publishing your first posts!
It will all be l