If you are considering starting a blog, but aren’t sure where to start, this post is all about how I started this beauty and lifestyle blog, how you can do it too, how to earn money from your blog, and tips to grow your audience.
QUICK BACKGROUND
I started a few different blogs on blogspot.com back in 2011 – 2012. One was about beauty, one was more lifestyle things I liked, and I even had a blog for my sister’s cat. I enjoyed publishing something and having it exist in the world, but I wasn’t consistent with it and eventually just let it deactivate.
It wasn’t until 2013 that I came back to blogging as a creative outlet from my stressful retail job. I started muffinchanel on WordPress.com and I told myself that if I kept it up, I would move over to a more professional platform — WordPress.org — after a year.
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT BLOGGING
I love having a platform to share my ideas and experiences with others. I spend a lot of time researching and reading reviews when I am considering taking a trip or making a purchase — so I try to make posts that could help others in the same situations. I also love making fun DIYs and sharing my recipes. Having a blog to share my favorite things and hopefully help others is really rewarding for me.
After a year of blogging for free on WordPress.com, I decided to move over to a self-hosted site on WordPress.org.
WHAT IS A SELF-HOSTED SITE?
When you blog on a free platform (WordPress.com, blogspot, blogger, etc.), you don’t own your site. It’s like posting on Instagram — yes, your pictures are yours but you have no control over Instagram itself. When Instagram goes down or changes their algorithm, there is nothing you can do about it — you don’t own Instagram. With a self-hosted site, you own it all — the server space/cloud space, your posts and pictures — everything.
Blogging on a self-hosted site gives you 100% control.
HOW TO START A BEAUTY AND LIFESTYLE BLOG
Starting a blog is really simple. If you’re familiar with computers and you have an interest that you want to share, here’s everything you need to know to get started blogging today:
STEP 1: PICK A DOMAIN NAME
The domain name is the url for your site (ex: muffinchanel.com), so you want it to be pretty simple and easy to remember. Most domains will cost you <$13 for a year, but “premium” domains can be much more.
*Tips For Picking A Good Domain*
- Make sure the spelling isn’t complicated
- Don’t use punctuation (periods, hyphens, underscores) if possible
- Keep it simple
- If possible, make it relevant to what your blog is about
- Try to get a .com domain (versus .us, .co, .net)
I bought my domain name through GoDaddy.com, but you can also get it through Bluehost for free (for the first year). Domains are usually <$13, so whichever option you choose should be fine.
Once you’ve claimed your perfect domain, you’re all set to connect it to your hosted site.
STEP 2: BUY HOSTING + INSTALL WORDPRESS
Hosting is that digital space in the cloud or on a server where your website will live. Like I mentioned before, having a self-hosted site gives you 100% control over your blog. There are two hosting sites that I’m familiar with:
Personally, I use Bluehost and have only had good experiences with them.
Select Your Bluehost Plan
I recommend just choosing the “basic” level plan since you are just getting started with one website.
Enter Your Domain or Create a New Domain
If you choose to create your domain through Bluehost, you’ll enter it in the “new domain” box. Or, if you created your domain through GoDaddy.com, enter your purchased domain name in the “I have a domain name” box.
Create Your Account + Select Your Package
Fill out the “account information” form with your information, and then select which hosting package you want. You get a monthly discount when you select a longer plan term. If you don’t care about the higher monthly rate, I recommend just starting out with the 12-month plan.
I chose the 36-month option when I started with Bluehost because it had a better monthly rate, and also because I kew that I was serious about blogging. At the time, it seemed like a lot of money to pay upfront, but you don’t have to worry about it or think about any changes for the next three years.
Check Your Email For Confirmation
Once you complete your purchase, check your email for confirmation from Bluehost. The email will have a link for you to create an account password and log into the control panel.
Install WordPress
From the control panel, click the icon to “Install WordPress”; this links WordPress to your hosting so you can start building your blog.
Check Your Email For WordPress Install Details
Your email should give you a username (your email address) and a password, so that you can log into your WordPress site. Click on the Admin URL link to access your site’s dashboard.
STEP 3: CHANGE YOUR NAMESERVERS
If you bought your domain through GoDaddy.com (not Bluehost), you’ll need to log in and point your domain to Bluehost’s hosting. This will make it so your domain syncs with your WordPress site.
The name servers to enter are:
- Nameserver 1: ns1.bluehost.com
- Nameserver 2: ns2.bluehost.com
Here’s how to point your GoDaddy.com domain to your Bluehost hosting:
- Log into your GoDaddy.com account
- Click the “DNS” button next to your domain
- Scroll down to the Nameservers section, click “Change” button
- Type in the Bluehost nameservers listed above ^
NAVIGATING WORDPRESS
Login to your WordPress dashboard and start getting familiar with what is available. Your site is not published until you set it live. Here are a few things you will want to get in place before you launch your site:
THEMES
One of the first things you’ll want to do is to pick a theme for your blog. The theme is a template layout that will set the tone for your blog. There are a ton of great, free themes available so you don’t need to buy a premium theme just to get started.
The most important thing you want in a theme is for it to be responsive. This means that it’ll adapt to look best on whatever device is viewing it. So if someone visits your blog on their phone, it’ll resize and reformat the text and images to look as great as it does on a computer.
WORDPRESS PLUG-INS
Related Posts (Sovrn) – With this plug-in, readers will get recommendations for similar posts to read next. I like this plug-in because it makes it easier for your posts to get views, and makes it easier for a reader to find similar content that they might like.
Enjoy Plugin for Instagram (Mediabeta Srl) – If you have an instagram feed that you want to share on your blog, this plug-in is nice. You can customize the grid size and your pictures will rotate through.
HOW TO EARN MONEY FROM YOUR BLOG
My blog started out as a fun way for me to share things I was loving and my experiences with others, and now it’s also a way that I earn money. A blog can earn money in a lot of different ways:
Ad Placement
When you join an ad network, like Google Adsense or Media.net, you can place a small snippet of code wherever you want an ad to appear within your site. Then, when reader’s click on that ad, you earn a small commission.
Ads are annoying though, and they can really interfere with the reader’s experience so be careful not to place too many on each post. Your readers came to read your post, not a bunch of busy ads.
Affiliate Marketing
With affiliate marketing, you link the products that you are talking about and if someone makes a purchase after clicking your link then you earn a small commission. I like this monetization strategy best because it feels less in-your-face than other methods. I already link products I’m sharing so that it’s easier for my readers to find what I’m talking about, and it’s great to get rewarded for that.
Most brands have an affiliate program (ex: Amazon — Amazon Associates Program) or they work with affiliate networks (ShareASale, MagicLinks). If you have a brand that you love and want to work with, you can apply to be part of their program.
It’s important (and it’s also the law) to disclose your affiliate relationship with a brand to your readers. I am used to affiliate links, so when I see an Instagram story and someone says “swipe up to see my sunglasses”, what they aren’t telling you is that that link is an affiliate link. So yeah, maybe they do like those sunglasses, but maybe they just want you to click their link so they can earn money. It’s kind of shady seeming to me, so I always like to put a statement on my blog posts — “This post may contain affiliate links. All opinions are my own” — even if there are no affiliate links. That way, it’s clear to the reader because I value their trust way more than any commission I’d make.
If you work with an affiliate network, you can work with multiple brands and see all of the information in one place rather than logging into each individual affiliate program. Plus, sometimes it’s easier to get approved to a network than an individual affiliate program. I don’t use all of these networks, but here are a few of the main ones I know of:
Sponsored Content
Sponsored content happens when you agree to post about a brand/product in exchange for money or free product. This method will earn you the most money up front. Like with affiliate marketing, a sponsorship relationship needs to be disclosed to the reader.
While this method can earn you more money up front, the brand usually has to review and approve your post before it is released. They may request that you make changes or not mention certain things, so it’s important that you discuss your terms before signing any contracts.
It’s also important that you remain authentic to yourself and your blog. Your readers keep coming back because they like you and your content; so be careful to not lose your voice.
Increase Your Views
Each of these monetization strategies requires views on your posts in order to convert, so it’s way more important to focus on providing high quality content for your readers. As you grow your audience, you’ll be able to increase your earnings.
BLOGGING TIPS
Be consistent. You want your readers to know that they can come back to your site and find new content. It can be helpful to map out what days you want to post on a calendar. I would try to aim for posting at least 1 – 2x’s a week, but whatever you decide, be consistent and don’t stress out about it.
Know your audience. Once you get into your beauty and lifestyle blogging groove, you may realize that your readers really like when you post about XYZ. Whatever that is, pay attention. When your audience tells you what they like/want, give it to them!.
Create relevant post titles. You don’t want your titles to be misleading, so tell your reader what your post is about in the title.
Create great content. Take your new beauty and lifestyle blog seriously and post only great content. Anticipate your reader’s questions and answer them. Or be really thorough in your reviews. Whatever you blog about, make it something you would want to read yourself and something that you are proud of.
Use media in your posts (pictures, videos, etc.) You want visually appealing images in your posts to aid your reader in understanding what you are talking about, or just to break up the text and add interest. We are visual people and we like to see images. With a beauty and lifestyle blog, you will want to show your beautiful images. I take all my blog photos on my iPhone, so you don’t need any fancy equipment just to get started.
I hope this post has been helpful for you in starting your blog, and I hope you’ve gotten to know me a little better. If you have any questions, DM me on Twitter; or share the link to your blog, I’d love to check it out!