Welcome to your free blogging guide! Over the next several days, you're going to learn everything you need to know to start earning money online with your blog.

Bookmark this page - you'll want to refer to it later. 

The guide will be in your email inbox shortly. But in the meantime, let's go ahead and get started with some of the blogging basics. The first step is choosing a place to host your blog, and for that I recommend Bluehost. 

Start your blog with bluehost

When you sign up through my link above, you'll receive these great bonuses:

• My exclusive $2.95/month pricing (60% off normal pricing)
• FREE domain name for the first year (i.e. yourblog'sname.com)
• FREE SSL certificate to keep your site secure and safe
• 24/7 Bluehost support
• 1-click WordPress install
• 30-day money back guarantee

But in order to get all of the above bonuses, you must use my link.

If you use another link to purchase your hosting, it will not count. 

Why you should start a blog...

I’m not exaggerating when I say that learning how to start a blog has completely changed my life.

Here’s the short version of my story… 

I was working as a high school band director and started working on this site in the evenings and weekends. Then, after six months of blogging, I quit my steady day job to blog full-time. Three months later, I was outperforming my teaching income from the skills I picked up working online. And just four years after that, my business is regularly bringing in around $75,000/month, and my best month so far was over $155,000!

Now I'm not saying that every person who starts a blog will earn the type of income that I do. But if you're willing to put the work in, the earning potential is pretty incredible. Some blogs earn upwards of $1 million per month or more!

Every blogger I know has a slightly different story and timeline, and there are lots of opportunities online and money to earn when you learn how to start a blog.

But outside of the money, I think the biggest benefit to blogging is that you can create the lifestyle you want. I used to slog through work every day at my teaching job, and I wasn't happy. Starting and growing my blog allowed me to eventually quit my job and spend time doing what I want to do every day.

I truly wake up every day and have my dream life. It's amazing.

Choosing What You Want to Blog About...

This step is all about knowing what you’re going to blog about. And if you think you already know, please stick around and read through this step because picking a topic is more nuanced than you might expect.

Here’s what I mean… finding your voice is all about defining your audience from the start of your blog.

Here are some ways to form your blog’s message:

• Pick a topic that you really enjoy talking about. If you’re excited about something, that’s going to show up in your writing. It’s also a heck of a lot easier to write extensively on a topic when you enjoy it.
• Pick a topic that you know a lot about. Sharing your wealth of knowledge with others is an awesome thing, and you’re establishing yourself as an expert that your readers can trust.
• Blog about a skill or topic you’re learning about. On the flip side, you don’t have to be an expert in your topic. People love connecting through learning experiences.

Once you have a foundation for your blog’s topic, you can niche down by defining your audience.

Starting Your Blog

If you think blogging sounds complicated, it isn’t. You don’t need to be a computer wizard if you want to learn how to start a blog, and it’s also not going to cost you a ton of money to start your site.

Actually, starting a blog is one of the most affordable business models because you can start a successful blog for under $3/month, and you can have total control over your content.

Why do I recommend Bluehost?

Paying for hosting services with Bluehost is my favorite option for new bloggers because it’s designed specifically for bloggers who are just starting out but still want to take their blogs seriously and make money.

Here’s why:

• Bluehost has a ton of themes to choose from that will make your blog look professional without paying for web design services.
• You’re going to get stellar customer service.
• You get a free domain name for the first year.
• WordPress is included with Bluehost (more on why this is so valuable in just a minute).

start with bluehost for $2.95/month

But, the most important reason to pay for hosting services is because you will own the content you put on your site.

Free hosting services can own your content and control how you monetize your site. Nope, no thanks. If you're putting this much into learning how to start a blog, it should be your rules, your content, period.

Now that you know why we’re going with Bluehost, back to learning how to start a blog…

How to Setup Your Blog (Screenshots Included)

Now that you know why we’re going with Bluehost, back to learning how to start a blog…

1. Follow this link to start your blog with Bluehost.

You'll hit a page that looks like this (with a picture of yours truly):

You'll notice that you get an exclusive lower monthly price when you use my site to start your blog. That's because I have been working with Bluehost for years and have negotiated a special price for my readers! You'll also get a free domain, free site builder, 24/7 support, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Go ahead and click the "Get Started Now" button, and you'll move on to the next page.

Bluehost has three different pricing plans, and I recommend the Basic plan for new bloggers. It’s only $2.95/month when you sign up through my exclusive M$M link.

2. Register your domain name (optional)

Your domain name is your site’s web address, so it’s how people will find you. I see a lot of new bloggers get hung up here. My biggest piece of advice is to just keep moving through this step! My free guide (which will be in your inbox shortly) will teach you everything you need to know about choosing a domain name.

For now, just click "I'll create my domain later" and continue with the setup process.

3. Create an account

You’ll use your account to log in and out of Bluehost, but for the purpose of this step, it’s also how you pay for hosting services.

You do have to pay for your blog hosting package upfront to get the special pricing. Basic is $60/year if you go with 12 months, but you get a much better value at $2.95/month if you choose the 36-month option.

Bluehost is going to ask you if you want any extras, but one of my biggest tips, when you’re learning how to start a blog, is to keep things simple. You don’t need all of those extras right now, but I do recommend adding on the Domain Privacy Protection, which keeps all of your contact information hidden. Well worth the $12/year IMO.

The final part is entering your payment information, and bam — you’ve just started your very own blog!

Now keep an eye out for my emails, and I'll walk you through the process of making money with your blog over the next week.