How to start your blog in 2022

Should you start a blog in 2022?

Is it worth it to start your own blog now, in 2022? The world is full of blogs, ideas, and creations, should you really add another? It’s 2022, you’re wondering if blogging still has a point, if it still matters to someone. There are so many alternatives – social media, video content, email marketing. Why bother with a blog?

These are good questions to ask, and the answers are not so obvious. With that said, if you’re here you have at least some curiosity about starting your own blog.

You feel like you have something to share, a voice to bring to the world, and that is the most important part.

The answer to the question of blogging is worth it in 2022 is “Depends”. There are many upsides and downsides to each and every platform. Let’s do a quick overview of them and come to some conclusions.

	Pros	Cons
Video Content	Easily consumed High attention rate Can be very engaging	Hours to produce one video Expensive equipment and software Hard to re-edit in the future
Social Media	Leveraged reach Engaged audience Dynamic and fast	Not owning your content Different styles of content for every platform The account can get banned and lost
Blog	Owning your content Controlling the design and style of blog Evergreen content (Good forever) SEO practices lead to great traffic Your own personal asset	Harder to get traffic at the beginning Takes time to write articles A bit more of a learning curve to set a blog up

As we can notice, there isn’t one platform that is the best pick. It all depends on what you are looking to do. If you are great at video editing and love creating engaging videos – go for video platforms like youtube or TikTok. In case you love creating engaging posts and graphics, you might prefer social media like Instagram.

If you love writing, I recommend you start your own blog coupled with a Twitter account.

So it’s still worth opening a blog?

Yes, I truly believe it is. There’s nothing that feels better than having your own library of knowledge and thoughts shared online with the world. The ability to have your own digital home, your own creations out there for people to see can’t be compared with anything.

You can always use your blog in the future as your resume and body of work for writing jobs, and also jobs related to the field you write about.

Perhaps you might be able to get counseling jobs due to the knowledge you demonstrate on your blog. You might even find a new passion you didn’t know you had to talk about.

Ask yourself, how many times have you read someone’s articles on the web that gave you fresh perspectives and ideas. Maybe articles that helped you do something that you couldn’t do before?

It’s a great feeling to create for others as well, especially if you have great ideas to share with the world.

Is it easy? It’s not easy, and it takes time. But it’s not very hard as well. You just need to put in the time and effort to create articles consistently and create connections with other creators on social media.

Consistency is the name of the game.

If you have love and passion for creating and writing, by all means, go ahead and create a blog.

Build a library of thoughts that will live on forever.

Can you make money from your blog?

This question is simple, yes you can. You can make money from anything. The thing is that making money from your blog will take time. It depends on how much you are growing, creating, and using great SEO practices. How much traffic are you able to drive to your blog, and how good are the articles you produce.

The big thing I want to tell you is that if you are going into blogging just to make money, you are doing it for all the wrong reasons. You should go into blogging for the love of creating and sharing your ideas. You should go into blogging because you want to, not only to make a quick buck.

More on monetization later in this article.

Why start your own blog

There are many benefits to starting a blog-

Lifestyle

You can work on your blog from anywhere, and at any time. All you need is a computer and an internet connection

Value to share

If you have value to share, you will be able to help many people and improve their lives. Society rewards those that help others the most.

Knowledgeable

If you have great knowledge on a topic, there isn’t a better way to share it. You will be able to create a library of deep intellectual knowledge and share it with the world. You never know how this knowledge can help and improve their lives.

Improve your Writing

When you write for your blog, you will practice writing and becoming better. It’s much better than writing for yourself without the world seeing it.

Think better

When you build a blog, you start understanding what people want more of, what areas in their life you can help improve. When all you do is think by yourself you are not able to create a dialogue. You are stuck in your own head – go out to the world and hit the publish button. I promise that you will feel great about it.

How to start your blog: step by step guide

So after all that build-up, let’s get into the step-by-step guide on how to create your own blog with ease.

I recommend you follow each and every step to ensure you get this right.

Tools you will need:

1. Domain Name
2. Cloudways Hosting
3. Installing WordPress
4. WordPress Theme

Step 1 – Getting a Domain

Before we start, you should get yourself a domain name. I recommend you get a .com domain, it’s the most trusted and well-known around the world.

Feel free to choose differently if you feel like it.

I recommend you get a domain from NameCheap. I get all my domains from them and they are one of the best providers in the world. They also have great pricing with no surprises. Getting a domain is crucial in order to start your own blog.

Click here to get your domain.

Step 2 – Creating your Cloudways server

In order to start your own blog, you will need to create your own Cloudways account, and afterward, you will need to set up your server.

Check out this guide I wrote to set up your server, and then come back here!

Step 3 – Install WordPress

Now that you got yourself a server, it’s time to install WordPress on it.

WordPress is the number one content management system that allows you to create amazing websites for free. WordPress is open-source software that is provided free of charge. It has great systems to manage articles and posts and it is the one I use on this site as well.

If you followed the guide for setting up a Cloudways server you have successfully installed WordPress. Your site panel should look like this.:

Step 4 – Connect your namecheap domain

1. In the same panel of your wordpress site you installed, you need to click “Domain Management”.

2. Now you can add your domain that you bought in the “Primary domain” area.
   
3. Click “Save Changes”
   
4. Now you need to go to Namecheap and add your Server Ip to the DNS Records.
   
5. Back in Namecheap, go to the Domain settings and then “Advanced DNS SETTINGS” Tab:

Now add a new “A” record:

After you click to add a new record, you will need your IP address. Your IP address can be found in Cloudways Here:

Now that you have your IP address, Put @ in the Host and add your Cloudways IP address in “Value”

After that click “Save all changes” back in NameCheap. You have now connected your domain. Be aware, it can take up to 24h for the DNS settings to propagate.

Step 4 – Install SSL certificate

In the same panel in Cloudways, click “SSL Certificate”

Now, add your email address and Domain name in the proper fields.
Click Install Certificate and wait until the process is finished.

Now your website is secured with the added security of an SSL connection.

Step 5 – Connect Elastic mail to recieve emails from website

Here is a great guide by Cloudways on how to activate emails on your server.

You have now finished most of the technical parts for your website. Well done! Now it’s time to pick a WordPress theme and customize it.

Step 6 Choose a WordPress theme:

Login to your WordPress website using the Admin Panel in Cloudways, and go to the “Appearance” tab to choose a theme. There are many free ones to choose from and you can create great websites with them.

Now you can start customizing your theme using the “Editor” tab. Spice it up to your needs.

Recommended Plugins

I recommend you install the “Yoast SEO” Plugin in the Plugins section, and also “Monster Insights” to connect with your google analytics. They are essential plugins to have on your website to start getting a better ranking on google and understand where your readers are coming from.

How to Create Articles in your Blog

Now we’ve already gotten through a lot! It’s tons of work but the most are behind. Now starts the real work of putting in the hours to research and create great articles for your audience.

I advise that you choose a niche you are good with and have enough knowledge about. It’s not easy to niche down, but the more specific your content the easier it gets to attract the right audience. With that said, if you have enough knowledge on many topics – you can write on it, but try having somewhat of a connection between all these niches.

After you created your articles upload them into the “Posts” tab in your WordPress website and hit publish. Now it’s time to promote those articles!
You can start promoting using social media and SEO practices.

How to Monetize After you Create a Blog

There are many ways you can start monetizing your blog. Here are a few ideas for you:

1. Affiliate marketing – you can help market other companies and products on your site, and in turn get a small comission when purchased from your link.
   
2. Google Adsense – you can plug google adsense to your website in order to display ads and get a small comission.
   
3. Paid promoted posts – Some blogs may get enough traffic that other bussinesss wil be willing to pay to contribute an article and get exposure to their business
   
4. Freelance services – You can offer your own Services, like content writing for other blogs, building websites, graphic design and marketing on your blog. You are already demonstrating your own work, so it’s much easier to sell those services that way.
   
5. Creating your own products and courses – You can sell products that you create to your readers, it could be digital courses, magazines, physical products, and more.
   
6. Become a consultant for your niche – if you get to a high level of expertise in your niche, it would be a great way to monetize your blog by providing strategic advise and methods to other businesses in your niche. This one requires a good system and process but you will be able to sell this service with a high price.

There are many ways to make money with your blog but it shouldn’t be your only focus

All of these options require work and patience to build and create. I recommend you choose no more than 2-to 3 of those after you start your own blog and it is set up well. It’s better to focus on creating great content and articles at first until your blog is well established. The more effort you put into it, the easier it will get to make more money in the future.

You don’t want your blog to look like it’s made purely for a quick buck as no one will enjoy it or like visiting it again. You want your blog to be of high value and bring back people to enjoy it.

Summing things up

Creating a successful blog requires lots of patience and hard work, if you want it you can get it. You are well set on the path to creating a great blog. Let me know in the comments section if there’s anything you want to learn more about.

Let’s sum up what you’ve learned:

1. Creating your first server
2. Getting and connecting a domain
3. Setting up your WP site
4. Creating a theme
5. Publishing articles
6. Ideas on monetization
7. Why you should start a blog and the benefits of it

If you liked this article, feel free to share it with others so they can enjoy it as well.

Thanks for reading. I wish you great success in your blogging journey!

Limitless Reader

P.S – if all this was a bit too complicated, you can reach out and send me an email at: [email protected]. I will do my best to help. You might be interested in hiring my services to help you set up your own blog or website. I will be able to guide you on the best strategies and directions to create a winning website and market it to your audience. You can also send me a DM on Twitter if you prefer.