Let's Start Your Profitable Blog in Less Than 6 Days.
(Yes, really!)
Welcome to my step-by-step guide on how you can start a successful blog from scratch!
Today I’m going to be talking about:
How you can get help (totally free) to make sure you start your blog the right way.
How I got started as a blogger and how much money I make now.
What you need to start a blog today.
How to start a blog step-by-step.
What to do after you start your blog.
This post is long, so you might want to copy this link and email it to yourself so you can come back later if you don’t have time now, or you can enter your email below, and I’ll send you this post, plus a whole FREE 6-day course on how to start a profitable blog.
How to Start a Profitable Blog From Scratch Email Course
I want to help your blog succeed (free to you).
If you start a blog using this free guide, you’ll get access to monthly live Q&A’s with me personally (you can attend for as many months as you want, as long as I keep doing them, you’ll have access). If you can’t make it live, you can pre-submit questions, and I’ll send you the recording. This way, I can personally help you get your blog started on the right foot. I don’t want you to quit on your blog because you feel lost or overwhelmed. You deserve to have the life of your dreams just as much as anyone else (and let’s be honest, probably more than some other people, because some people suck.)
All you have to do to get access to my live blogging Q+A’s is start a blog using this guide or my free email course, then fill out the form linked at the bottom of this page. The Q&As are on the first Thursday morning of each month at 11:00 AM EST, but you can also email me anytime with questions.
How did I get started blogging?
Before I walk you through how to start a blog, I thought I’d give you a little background on who I am and how I got started blogging.
Maybe you’re like I was, and you've got a job you can't quit until you replace your income. You've got a family that needs you present (because the question 'What's for dinner, Mom?' won't answer itself). You've got bills to pay, retirement to save for, and fires to put out everywhere.
You can't just walk away from your current income while you build something better. Real life doesn't pause for personal transformation
My blogging story starts a few years ago, shortly after marrying my husband. We were poor newlyweds; (I’m talking EBT food-stamps poor). We couldn’t afford to go on date nights or stop by Starbucks for coffee.
I did what most people do: I decided to go into a profession that would pay the bills, not one that lit my soul on fire. I headed off to school to become a nurse at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After racking up over $50,000 in student loan debt, I found myself living for my one day off a week, hating that my income controlled my life, and questioning the point of it all.
I'd genuinely lie awake wondering, 'Is this it? Work until I'm too exhausted to live, to save for a retirement I might not be healthy enough to enjoy?'
The breaking point came after another grueling week. I found myself crying on my living-room-dining room-kitchen floor (we lived in what was basically a one-room apartment), not just from exhaustion, but from the crushing realization that I hated the life I had created. I didn’t want to be a nurse, and I felt like my whole life was falling apart because I thought I was stuck becoming a nurse and hating my whole life from that point forward. Eventually, I realized I couldn’t do it anymore, I couldn’t go on hating my life that much and living for the weekends.
So I began using Pinterest and Google to try and find a way to make money from home so we could travel, pay down our debt, save for a house, and save for a baby. I came across people saying, “Try Etsy print on demand,” “Create UGC for brands,” or “Become a virtual assistant,” so I tried it all….
I kid you not when I say after working for months on all the above things, I had made like $9.
I mean, great, that’s $9 extra dollars, but that would buy me like a Starbucks coffee and a chocolate cake pop, not allow me to live out my dreams of being a work-from-home mom and wife.
While I was looking for ways to make money on Pinterest, I eventually started to come across pins like '“How I Made $10,000 Last Month Blogging”, and just like you, I decided to bite the bullet and invest the $50 into starting my own blog to see if that would be the thing that changed my life.
Here’s what happened after I started my blog…
I thought the day after I started my blog, I would make $300, and to my surprise, I couldn't even figure out how to make it look good, how bloggers made money, to begin with, or how to install plug-ins. So, needless to say, I certainly wasn't making money.
I got so annoyed with all the bloggers talking about how much money they made blogging because they had inspired me to start a blog, but none of them were actually teaching you how to blog successfully.
During my frustration, I promised myself that If I ever actually figured out how to have a profitable blog, I would help other people who wanted to find a way to make money from home.
By the 7th month of blogging, I had more than replaced my income and quit my job.
By the 14th month, my husband left his job to work on my blog with me.
Now, in 2025, I make over $10,000 every month from my blog, and we’ve gotten to build our dream home, drive our dream car, and go on vacations I couldn't have ever dreamed of taking before.
It's time to keep my promise to myself and share my best blogging advice to help people like you build blogs that will change your life.
Trust me; there is no reason I can have a six-figure blog and you can’t! I’m not special. I had no clue what I was doing when I started. No tech experience, no writing experience. I truly believe if I can do this anyone can. YOU'VE GOT THIS!
What do you need to start a blog?
Don’t get scared! Like I just said, you don’t need any special knowledge to blog. You don’t even really need any special technology or a lot of money!
If you don’t know what any of the things on this list are, I’ll explain them all; don’t worry.
To start a blog, you are going to need:
A computer.
An internet connection.
An email address.
A Computer: The reason I say you need a computer is that, for one, it is almost impossible to scroll through this guide and sign up for a blog at the same time. If you are on your phone right now, copy this link, and email it to yourself so you can follow along when you get to your computer.
Also, it is easier to be on a computer when you are working on your blog, in general, writing blog posts or editing your theme, so if you can, I suggest heading over to your computer before getting started if you have one. It doesn’t need to be any special kind of computer, even the cheapest Chromebook will work.
When it comes to the other two things I listed, I’m guessing you already have some kind of internet connection and email address, lol. If not, you are going to need those things to get started.
SIDE NOTE: Don’t let your mind get the best of you.
I was hesitant to put the $50 for Bluehost on my credit card to create this blog because that Is a lot of money (especially for a poor newlywed like I was), and I had no idea If I would ever get it back. My blog hasn't failed. It has become a full-time job.
And just like I didn't fail, I know you won't fail! Just to make sure:
I MADE YOU SOMETHING: I created a FREE ( did I mention it’s free?) 6-day email course, which will teach you step-by-step how to set up a blog, install your theme, make a logo, and create monetized content. It will completely kick-start your blogging success.
It is much like this blog post, but it gets sent straight to your email so that you won’t lose it, and you can come back to it anytime.
So, if you want to start a blog right now, follow this very blog post you are reading! However, if you want to start a blog maybe tomorrow or this weekend, follow the email course. Here is what it goes over:
Here is what the FREE email course goes over:
Day 1: How to start a blog from scratch with no experience (& get a free domain name)
Day 2: How to make your blog look ready for readers.
Day 3: How to write killer blog posts & make money from them.
Day 4: Other ways bloggers make money.
Day 5: How to start using social media as a blogger.
Day 6: How to stay motivated & not overwhelmed when it comes to blogging.
How to Start a Profitable Blog From Scratch Email Course
How To Start Your Blog:
The way I tell people to start blogs is a little different from most people because I don’t tell people “choose a topic” or “choose a niche” repeatedly, because, truthfully, I don’t think it matters.
When I started blogging, I talked about my style and affordable designer dupes (since I couldn’t afford authentic designer pieces), then spoke about simple but tasty food. Eventually, I started talking about travel, and during that time, I also spoke about money-saving tips, and I made money during each of those times.
I say all this because I genuinely think you can make money blogging about anything if you are determined to do so.
If you want to talk about lifestyle topics, do that. If you want to talk about fitness and parenting, you can do that! You can blog about anything!
So the way I will walk you through blogging doesn’t have you start by picking a topic. Instead, I will begin by talking about choosing a name, and then I will walk you through creating your blog.
Let’s get your blog started!
Don’t stress about naming your blog. You can always change the name or choose the name later! That being said, I do have a few tips that I think might help you pick a name if you want to start your blog and choose the name later.
Tips for coming up with a domain name:
- Use a .com — people are used to .coms.
- Don’t misspell words if you can help it. The reason why is that if you tell someone, you run into, “My website is candy cane dot com.” they won’t think to type in “kandeekayne.com” when they get home.
- Use something simple that covers everything you want to talk about. I started with smartandsimplistic.com because that name can cover anything I want to talk about.
Another thing…
If you are going to talk about many things, give your website a name that works with all the topics, for instance:
- Naming your website after yourself (That’s how I ended up with TaylorStanford.com).
- Calling it “lifewith(your first or last name here).com”.
If you just want to talk about one thing, you could consider something like:
- “greensforchange.com” if you just want to talk about a plant-based diet.
Can’t come up with a domain name?
Don’t worry about it; you can set up your blog without a domain name and still claim your free domain later. Not having a name for your blog is no reason not to get started because, like I said, you can always claim your free domain name later!
If you are struggling to come up with a domain name, don’t hesitate to click the contact button at the top of the page and reach out to me and we can talk about it!
This will be the most intensive part of this guide but don’t worry; it’s super simple! So don’t stress it.
First, you are going to want to click here to open Bluehost in a new window while leaving this post open.
Why I recommend starting a blog this way.
Now you might be wondering why I recommend Bluehost over things like Squarespace, Wix, and Showit. There are a few reasons.
First of all, know that I have personally tried all of them, so I am making this recommendation from personal experience.
The main reasons I recommend Bluehost with WordPress over the other options is because:
- It’s the most affordable option. Squarespace, with the features you’ll need to blog, will run you $33/mo (or $276 annually). ShowIt will run you $39/mo (or $408 annually). Wix will run you $27/mo. Bluehost is less than $35 for the year.
- It is the simplest to set up. With the other options, there are no preset templates. You have to drag in the elements you want and use different elements to get the look you want. With Bluehost and WordPress, it’s much easier to set up, especially because I’m going to walk you through it step-by-step.
- You can get started the fastest. With WordPress, once you get started and launch your blog, you can really get started making money right away. You don’t have to individually add each element to your website and drag it to the perfect location. After the initial setup, you can just log in and start creating.
- It gives you the most growth opportunities. WordPress integrates with so many things, so it really has the most room for growth. You can simply add in an online shop if you ever want to sell something; you can add in an affiliate link plugin so it remembers all your affiliate links and has them available at a click. With most other website hosts, you’re going to have to upgrade plans to add things, but not with Bluehost.
Now let’s jump back into actually starting your blog.
Those of you using this post to create a blog will get a special discount for my audience only from Bluehost plus; you’ll get my blogging email course for free, so you won’t have to navigate blogging alone.
It normally starts at $7.99 a month, now, for you guys, it starts at only $3.95 $1.99.
Bluehost has been great every step of the way. Every time I have contacted their customer service, they have been so helpful, and that is the number one reason I continue to recommend them.
What you get with Bluehost: 1 free domain, hosting, and more than 50% off.
Let’s get started! (I’m so excited that you’ve made it this far and are really going to do something that could change your entire life for the better!)
You can click here to get that extra special super deep discount on Bluehost.
By now, in another tab, you should have a page that looks like this:
You will go ahead and click “Get started,” which will take you to a page where you can choose a hosting plan. I recommend getting the “basic” plan because it really comes with everything you need to start a profitable blog. It is what I used for my blog.
After you click “choose plan” on the plan you want, you might get served a pop-up ad to upgrade your service. I recommend skipping the offer.
Final accordion section content goes here. Add multiple photos if you'd like.
Final accordion section content goes here. Add multiple photos if you'd like.
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Don’t stress about naming your blog. You can always change the name or choose the name later! That being said, I do have a few tips that I think might help you pick a name if you want to start your blog and choose the name later.
Tips for coming up with a domain name:
Use a .com people are used to .coms.
Don’t misspell words if you can help it. The reason why is that if you tell someone, you run into, “My website is candy cane dot com.” they won’t think to type in “kandeekayne.com” when they get home.
Use something simple that covers everything you want to talk about. I started with smartandsimplistic.com because that name can cover anything I want to talk about.
Another thing…
If you are going to talk about many things, give your website a name that works with all the topics, for instance:
Naming your website after yourself (That’s how I ended up with TaylorStanford.com.).
Calling it “lifewith(your first or last name here) “.com.
If you just want to talk about one thing, you could consider something like:
“greensforchange.com” if you just want to talk about a plant-based diet.
Can’t come up with a domain name?
Don’t worry about it; you can set up your blog without a domain name and still claim your free domain later. Not having a name for your blog is no reason not to get started because, like I said, you can always claim your free domain name later!
If you are struggling to come up with a domain name, don’t hesitate to click the contact button at the top of the page and reach out to me and we can talk about it!
-
This will be the most intensive part of this guide but don’t worry; it’s super simple! So don’t stress it.
First, you are going to want to click here to open Bluehost in a new window while leaving this post open.
Why I recommend starting a blog this way.
Now you might be wondering why I recommend Bluehost over things like Squarespace, Wix, and Showit. There are a few reasons.
First of all, know that I have personally tried all of them, so I am making this recommendation from personal experience.
The main reasons I recommend Bluehost with WordPress over the other options is because:
It’s the most affordable option. Squarespace, with the features you’ll need to blog, will run you $33/mo (or $276 annually). ShowIt will run you $39/mo (or $408 annually). Wix will run you $27/mo. Bluehost is less than $35 for the year.
It is the simplest to set up. With the other options, there are no preset templates. You have to drag in the elements you want and use different elements to get the look you want. With Bluehost and WordPress, it’s much easier to set up, especially because I’m going to walk you through it step-by-step.
You can get started the fastest. With WordPress, once you get started and launch your blog, you can really get started making money right away. You don’t have to individually add each element to your website and drag it to the perfect location. After the initial setup, you can just log in and start creating.
It gives you the most growth opportunities. WordPress integrates with so many things, so it really has the most room for growth. You can simply add in an online shop if you ever want to sell something; you can add in an affiliate link plugin so it remembers all your affiliate links and has them available at a click. With most other website hosts, you’re going to have to upgrade plans to add things, but not with Bluehost.
Now let’s jump back into actually starting your blog.
Those of you using this post to create a blog will get a special discount for my audience only from Bluehost plus; you’ll get my blogging email course for free, so you won’t have to navigate blogging alone.
It normally starts at $7.99 a month, now, for you guys, it starts at only $2.95 $1.99.
Bluehost has been great every step of the way. Every time I have contacted their customer service, they have been so helpful, and that is the number one reason I continue to recommend them.
What you get with Bluehost: 1 free domain, hosting, and more than 50% off.
Let’s get started! (I’m so excited that you’ve made it this far and are really going to do something that could change your entire life for the better!)
You can click here to get that extra special super deep discount on Bluehost.
By now, in another tab, you should have a page that looks like this:
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Description text goes here