If you’ve found this post because you’re thinking about starting a fashion blog, we’re betting that you know a thing or two about the art of dressing. Want to share your style and expertise with the world? We support you, and we’re here to help.

Follow along with us as we discuss what it takes to create your fashion blog. We’re starting with how to identify your ideal audience and niche, we’ll talk about branding and owning your content, different website and hosting options for your blog, and dive into marketing and monetization.

Starting a Fashion Blog

We hear a lot of people say that starting a blog or site is intimidating. “I don’t have the technical know-how,” and “I don’t have the time to devote to building a blog,” are two common refrains.

Well, folks, we’re delighted to break it to you: Your blog can be up and running in half an hour. The tricky part is learning how to grow, market, and monetize your blog so that you see a return on your efforts. And we’ll address that, too.

We’re confident that you can launch a successful fashion blog and stand out among the 600 million blogs published online. Use the following tips to craft an exceptional blog.

• Identify your niche
• Choose the perfect domain name
• Select your hosting provider
• Decide what to include in your blog
• Create your content and content schedule
• Market your blog
• Monetize your blog

Identify Your Niche

Fashion is a broad term that means different things to many people. Someone who’s into a post-punk look might not find a preppy style fashionable and vice versa.

The more you’re able to narrow down your niche, the better your chances are of connecting with the right audience. 

Think of fashion as an umbrella term. Where do you fit in? Are you an expert in grunge? Maybe haute couture? Once you’ve condensed your aesthetic to its core style, look at other blogs similar to what you want to create. 

How is your sense of style different from those bloggers — what makes you stand out? That’s your unique twist and something you can capitalize on to differentiate yourself from your competitors.  

Search engines, especially Google, want to serve people with the best and most helpful result for their inquiries. So, if you’re a cottagecore enthusiast, use that term to describe yourself and your blog. As tempting as it may be to say you have a “country and farm-inspired style” to cast a wider net and get more visitors, it’s a tactic that will end up backfiring when those visitors bounce from your site. And search engines will take note of that, deeming your blog less helpful than others and potentially lowering your position in search results.   

Once you’ve distilled your fashion sense into your core style and identified your unique interpretation you can create targeted content and messaging that appeals to the right audience.

“Fashion is only the attempt to realize art in living forms and social intercourse.”

Francis Bacon

Choose the Perfect Domain Name

You’re into fashion, so you know presentation matters.

Think of domain names as a representation of your brand. It’s the first impression someone will have of your blog, before the page loads and they see your stylings. What do you want that impression to be?

If you want to be seen as legitimate, own your domain name. 

Owning your domain name gives you credibility and helps you brand yourself. There are plenty of sites that offer free domain names when you host a blog on their service, but spoiler alert: When your domain name starts with the name of another company, it’s not really yours. 

Your domain name is a brand asset, why use it to advertise for someone else?

The best thing you can do for your blog is to plan for its growth, and your domain name is a small investment in a big future.

Here’s how to choose the perfect domain name for your fashion blog:

• K.I.S.S. – Keep it short & simple.
  • Your fashion might be memorable, but long and convoluted domain names aren’t.
• Avoid unique spelling, hyphens, and excessive numbers.
  • Your domain name should pass the “radio test.” If someone were to hear your domain name on the radio and never see it written down, could they find your blog?
• Be descriptive.
  • Your domain name speaks to your blog and what type of content people will find there. A relevant, descriptive domain name can capture your desired audience’s attention.
• Get creative.
  • Have you heard that .com is the king of domains? It’s an incredibly popular domain extension and likely the one you’re most familiar with. But familiarity doesn’t necessarily equate to “best fit.” If you’re dead set on acquiring a .com domain name, be prepared to invest in it as it may already be registered to someone else.
  • There are thousands of domain names that you can choose from that are relevant to your blog. Some to consider are .blog, .fashion, .style, .clothing, .art, .shop, and .online. You can find hundreds more here.

Select Your Hosting Provider

Once you’ve registered your domain name it’s time to find the right hosting provider for your fashion blog.

With a variety of hosting options available, it can be hard to determine what works best for you. Should you get a free domain and hosting from a blogging service? Do you purchase your own hosting? Here’s what we think of the former option: 

Pros:

• Free.               

Cons:

• The domain isn’t yours, you have a subdomain that belongs to the service.
• Can’t control ads shown on your blog.         
• No customization beyond a selection of templates.
• Difficult if not impossible to monetize.

If you’re hoping to monetize your blog and potentially earn a living from it, find a hosting provider and self-host your blog. Many blogging platforms won’t allow you to put ads on your blog; instead, they run ads on your blog and you don’t see a dime of that money. 

Do you really want your hard work lining someone else’s pockets, just to save a few dollars upfront? Let’s look at some self-hosted options.

WordPress Hosting

WordPress hosts about 60 million blogs and is an authority in the blogging sphere, so, naturally, you’d be interested in learning more about it.  

At its core, WordPress is a platform for creating and managing all kinds of websites and blogs. They’re known for providing free, open-source software that can be installed on any hosting platform and entirely customized to suit your needs. It’s a great solution for people of all skill levels because you can either build your blog working directly with the code or by customizing an existing WordPress theme.

Here at Domain.com, we offer two WordPress hosting plans to help get your blog up and running quickly. 

These hosting plans are designed to make blogging easy and come with pre-installed plugins for optimal functionality, curated selections of mobile-friendly themes, and a customized, user-friendly control panel.

And right now, you can even get a free domain name for one year with the purchase of a WordPress hosting plan. For more details and a coupon code, check out our WordPress hosting plans here.

Website Builders

Blog creation doesn’t have to include the whole blood, sweat, and tears thing, so let’s finally do away with this pervasive myth that building a site is difficult.

If you’re short on time or don’t consider yourself technically savvy, website builders are the perfect solution as they’re engineered to be intuitive and user-friendly. You don’t have to worry about code when your builder offers a plethora of customizable features and drag ‘n’ drop functionality.

Whether you plan on creating a simple blog or want to include a store so people can shop your styles, we’ve got you covered. 

Domain.com offers three WebsiteBuilder plans to suit your specific needs.

Begin by answering a few questions about your blog and our AI-powered builder will start your site, including initial images and content, and then customize it to make it truly yours. And don’t worry, our built-in design protection makes sure that your blog always looks professional across different devices.

“Fashion is part of the daily air and it changes all the time, with all the events. You can even see the approaching of a revolution in clothes. You can see and feel everything in clothes.”

Diana Vreeland

What Pages to Include in Your Fashion Blog 

After settling on your blog’s domain name and where to host it, it’s time to build your fashion blog. As with any project, it’s best to go in with a plan, so let’s discuss the different pages and elements your blog should have.

About Page

Every good blog includes an about page. No need to be bashful, this is where you get to tell your readers all about yourself to build credibility and relationships.

Use this page to tell people about what inspired your style, how you got into fashion, share your values, and let them get to know the person behind the screen. If you want to set expectations about what people will find on your blog, do it here. 

Contact Page

Dreaming about becoming the desired influencer that brands and fashion houses want to work with? Make it easy for them to contact you by including a form that can quickly be filled out. If you choose, you can also include your email address and other contact information. 

Homepage

When people find your blog through search results, they’re likely landing deep in your blog on a post page. But that doesn’t mean you can neglect your homepage. Your homepage should make clear what your blog is all about and support your branding. If you’d like, include some links to your most popular posts on this page.   

404 Page

No one enjoys clicking links only to land on broken pages, but instead of losing your readers when that happens, turn it into an opportunity. By creating a custom 404 page, you can educate your customers on what to do or include a selection of popular posts to keep them engaged and on-site. 

Gallery

If you’re going to start a fashion blog, you need somewhere to showcase your looks. In addition to including your stylings in blog posts, consider creating a gallery where people can quickly find and view your aesthetic. 

Privacy Page

This page exists to inform people about the data you or 3^rd parties may collect on your site and how it’s used. There are many free privacy policy page generators online, or you can take a look at privacy pages on other well-established blogs and use them as a guideline. 

eCommerce Shop Page

Want your readers to shop your looks? You can send them to external retailers or keep them on-site by creating an online store. (It’s easier than you might think if you use a website builder and dropshipping model.) This leads us to the next must-have page…

Terms of Service

If you sell goods or services on your blog you’ll need to include a Terms of Service page. Just as with privacy pages, you can find templates to help you craft your Terms of Service. Keep in mind that this is a legal document, so you may want to seek professional legal help in drafting this page. 

Content Pages

Your content pages are the heart and soul of your fashion blog. Here is where you get to share your two cents with the rest of the world, exemplify the ins-and-outs of your aesthetic, and really build relationships with your audience. 

Creating Content and a Content Schedule for Your Blog

It’s time to write another blog post… about what?

Searching for blog topics every time you need to create a post is exhausting — you can spend hours perusing competing blogs or scouring through your blog to find topics to expand upon. 

Add that to the other hats you wear as a blogger: editor, SEO researcher, social media manager, graphic designer, and marketer, and you’re likely to become overwhelmed before the first word hits the page.

The biggest favor you can do for yourself is to sit down and create a content calendar before starting to write any posts.

For a basic calendar, all you’ll need is a list of blog topics and the dates you intend on publishing them. However, we recommend including additional information such as targeted keywords so that you have the information at hand when you’re ready to write.

To make your posts as SEO-friendly as possible, check out our complete guide to blog post SEO below.

Consider including other types of content in addition to blog posts. You can create online quizzes to help your readers determine their personal style, or design infographics explaining how to put together the perfect outfit. Many free online tools can help like Canva. 

“I firmly believe that with the right footwear one can rule the world.”

Bette Midler

Marketing Your Fashion Blog

What good is a blog without readers?

Marketing and promoting your blog is essential to growing your audience. Here’s what you can do to increase awareness and readership of your blog:

• Include links to your blog in your social media profiles.
• Share blog posts on your social channels.
  • Don’t share it just once and expect big results. Test sharing posts at different times of the day and different days of the week to see when your followers are most engaged with your content.
• Make blog posts easy for your readers to share by including social share buttons.
• Perform a technical SEO audit
  • Odds are good that most of your readers will find you via an online search. Make sure your website is SEO optimized to give yourself a better chance at ranking high in search results.
• Create an email newsletter.
  • Keep people coming back to your site by notifying them when new posts go live.

Monetizing Your Blog

Including ads on your blog posts is a great way to earn money from your blog. You can do this by working directly with advertisers or by creating a Google AdSense account.

If you choose to work directly with advertisers, you’ll need an ads page that includes information about your blog (traffic, views, demographics) and that details what ad spots you have available. We advise including your contact information on this page so that advertisers can quickly get ahold of you. 

Ready to launch your fashion blog?

Blogging is a fun hobby with the potential to become so much more. With careful planning, you can grow your fashion blog into a business that helps support your dreams.

Once you’ve launched your blog make sure to share it in the comments below, we’d love to see what you create!

SEO Checklist for Blog Posts

Do your keyword research.

It may feel tedious, but this is a game-changer. Aim for keywords that match the intent and lingo of your reader. 

There are many free keyword search tools available to help you choose the most targeted ones for your audience. 

Be smart about keyword usage.

Keyword stuffing is a no-no. Instead, work your keywords into your headlines, image alt tags, & meta description. 

A blog post stuffed with keywords reads awkwardly and can drive away your readers. Search engines will take note and won’t reward that behavior or tactic. 

Use supporting keywords too.

Throw some secondary keywords in too, like synonyms for your targeted keyword. Search engines pick up on this.

Include internal links.

Give visitors a chance to engage with other pages on your site by linking to them. This also signals to Google that people like your content.

Pro tip: Make sure those links are set to open in new tabs.

…and external links too.

Throw in some links to helpful content from other sites too. Search engines & visitors alike appreciate the nod to additional info that’s relevant.

Build relationships with other bloggers by giving them a heads up that you’ve linked to their site. You never know, they may reciprocate the favor.  

Keep it conversational.

Technical jargon can be uninviting and dissuade visitors from staying. Keep your writing at an 8th-grade reading level and use an active voice.

Use a tool like the Flesh-Kincaid reading scale to grade your writing’s reading level and adjust accordingly. 

Don’tcrowdyourwords.

Proper formatting can make or break you. Make use of white space, plus your H & title tags. The more skimmable your post, the better.

Nail your title.

Make sure to include your keywords and keep it under 60 characters so it isn’t truncated in search results. 

Finesse the URL.

Your URL should include your keywords, but don’t fill it with conjunctions, adjectives, and articles. Separate your words with dashes.

Update your meta descriptions.

And make ’em good. These short blurbs are often what capture a visitor’s attention. And of course, don’t forget to include your keyword!

Want to start a blog?

At Domain.com, we understand that you’re busy. That’s why we developed our AI-powered WebsiteBuilder. It’s here to help you get online fast without sacrificing quality. 

Prefer WordPress? We’ve got you covered with a great selection of curated, mobile-friendly themes and pre-installed plugins for optimal functionality. 

Let us help you find the perfect domain name and launch your blog to share your great ideas with the world. 

It should be.

Email marketing takes your blog to the next level: They’re a match made in heaven.

Email marketing and blogging: The perfect pair.

Have you ever seen one of those couples so perfectly in love it’s hard not to be jealous?

They’re in tune with one another and everything they do is in pursuit of a common goal. They bring out the best in each other.

That’s the type of relationship email marketing and blogging have.

Why do you need email marketing on your blog?

If you have a blog then email marketing is right for you — no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Do the following questions sound familiar?

• How do I build online relationships with my audience?
• How do I encourage loyalty in my readers and blogging community?

Email marketing, my friends. The answers lie in email marketing.

Email marketing is all about relationships.

Once upon a time, you could build a relationship with your audience entirely on social media. That’s not the case anymore. Every time a social media site updates their algorithm it seems to go against small businesses’ or bloggers’ best interests. What are your options? You can pay to play with the big boys and advertise your blog or have your posts buried in favor of people’s friends and family.

In this, your hour of need, email marketing can step in and help out. It isn’t just a perfect partner for your blog — it also encourages and supports other relationships your blog should have, like with your audience.

Think about it: Blogging isn’t a one-way street. You can type, post, and publish all you want, but if you don’t have any readers for your blog then no amount of work on it will do you any good. You need to capture the attention of your readers and any future readers your blog receives and turn them into repeat visitors.

It’s not as tough as it sounds. If your blog posts are informative and satisfy your audience’s needs (and we’re sure they do) you’re more than halfway there. Your next step?

Add an email marketing sign-up sheet to your blog.

It’s probably the easiest thing you can do to create repeat readers. If someone comes to your blog once there’s no guarantee they’ll be back a second time. However, if they sign up for your email list then they’ll see your content again and that keeps you and your blog top of mind.  

How do you add an email sign-up sheet to your blog? There are a variety of ways, and it will depend on the email marketing tool you use. Don’t fret though, it’s an easy task no matter how you go about it.

How do you encourage loyalty in your relationship with your audience?

Quality content.

Few things end a relationship faster than dating an absolute bore. Don’t be that person in your relationship with your audience. If your content is a snooze-fest, you’re in trouble. Deep trouble.

Your blog (and therefore email) content must be quality content. An email composed of memes won’t inspire trust and will do more harm than good. We have nothing against a good meme, but remember to prioritize substance over a cheap laugh.

When your content is high-quality and relevant to your audience’s needs they’ll want to open your emails and come back to your blog where they can find even more awesome information (so don’t forget to include links in your emails!).

Need some inspiration? Try one of these 5 types of email ideas, all of them put together specifically for bloggers to send to their subscribers.  

You can also try sending:

• Your best performing blog content.
• A guide or other freebie for your most loyal readers.
• A coupon or discount if you sell any products or services.

Whatever email marketing service you use should offer you some kind of click tracking. That means that every time someone clicks on a link in your email it’s recorded and then added to a report for you. By reviewing this report, you can figure out what type of content resonates best with your readers and cater future emails and content accordingly.

Email marketing statistics for bloggers.

Still not sold on adding an email marketing sign-up sheet to your blog? Or not convinced that the (minimal) amount of work is worth the effort?

Perhaps these statistics can convince you otherwise:

• 99% of consumers check their email every day.
• For every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $38.
• Emails related to hobbies have some of the highest open rates.
• Including a call-to-action in your emails can lead to a 28% increase in your click-through rate.

Market your blog with email.

It’s time to take your blog to the next step, isn’t it?

You know what to do to start a blog and have a plan figured for how to monetize it … now you need to woo your audience.

You can do that with quality content and an email sign up form on your blog. Capture your readers’ attention and email addresses, and never lose touch. Provide valuable, actionable information in your emails, and maybe a sweet deal every now and again, and watch your relationship with your audience bloom.

Our final tip? Make sure the email address you use when sending your emails matches your blog’s domain name. Remember, the goal here is to engender trust with your audience and build your relationship, not have them mark you as spam because they don’t know who [email protected] is.

According to Statista, there are around 31.2 MILLION bloggers in the USA alone. So if you’re ready to start blogging, you’re in good company.

If you’re curious as to how to start blogging then stick around as that’s the focus of this post. We’ll be discussing:

• Starting your blog with the right tools.
• Planning for your blog’s long-term success.
• And the best practices to help you get there.

How do you start a blog?

Before we jump into how to start a blog, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page about what a blog is.

Blogs have been around since the dawn of time about 1994. Here’s how Merriam-Webster defines a blog.

If you’re like most of the people who reach out to us when starting a blog, you’re probably wondering, “What’s the difference between a website and a blog, and which one do I need?”

Here’s our answer: All blogs are websites, but not all websites are blogs. You definitely need a blog, but not necessarily a website. If your plan is to primarily share written content with the internet-at-large, then a blog will suffice. If your blog is meant to support a product, e-commerce store, or even a nonprofit, you’ll need a website and your blog should be part of that larger website. (Otherwise, where are people supposed to purchase your products or learn more about your cause and donate?)

Starting a blog: The tools you need.

What things do you need to get a blog off the ground ASAP? Depending on who you ask, you may end up with a laundry list of suggestions. We don’t want to overwhelm any aspiring bloggers, so here are the essentials you need:

• A domain name
  • If you hope to make money from your blog, sell your products, or grow a cult following, your blog needs to be memorable. One way to do this is with a brandable domain name.
  • What’s easier to remember: yourname.someotherwebsitesnamehere.com or yourname.com? You have a plethora of domain extensions available to you, like .com, .blog, .co, .design, and more, which will only serve to strengthen your domain name’s memorability.  
  • Pro-tip: Your domain name should pass the “radio test.” If someone were only to hear your domain name, and not see it, would they be able to spell it and find your blog? Ix-nay the dashes and creative spellings.
• Website, or blog hosting.
  • Your blog has to live somewhere. Your host is where all the files and data for your blog reside, and hosting makes it possible for people to view and interact with what’s on your site.
• A content management system, or CMS.
  • A what? What’s that?
    • Content management systems give you the power to manage your digital content. They’re what gives you the ability and control to format and publish your posts, videos, images, etc.
  • Ever heard of WordPress? It’s a free and open-source content management system, and the most popular blogging service to boot!
    • Check out our site, where you can get the perfect domain name and WordPress hosting (and lots of free, mobile-friendly themes) for your blog.

Those are the three things you must have when starting a blog: A memorable name, hosting, and a content management system.

Now that you know what you need to get a blog started, we should discuss what it takes to take your blog from meh to marvelous. If your blog isn’t good people won’t visit it, and it won’t be worth your time or theirs.

Tip and tricks to plan for a successful blog.

It’s tempting to say, “I’ll feel it out and see what my blog needs,” or “I’ll create a plan next week (or the one after that …)” but if you don’t take the time to plan for your blog’s success, you’re doing yourself a disservice.  No one wants to visit a terrible blog, much less website. If you aren’t going to put the time and effort into creating a good blog, why should people spend their time visiting it?

So, let’s talk about what you should consider and plan for to create a good blog.

Best practices and questions to ask when starting a blog.

• How much time can I devote to my blog?
  • There’s no sense in biting off more than you can chew. Go into creating your blog with a solid understanding of how much time you can devote to it. If you can only devote a few hours each week, an everyday posting schedule will leave you with too much work to complete in the allotted time.
• What am I passionate about? And how can that fuel my blog?
  • If you don’t care for the topic you’re writing about, it’ll show. If you have a passion, share it!
    • One big caveat: Your passion should be something others have an interest in, too. Unfortunately, there aren’t many people interested in the finer aspects of clown décor so don’t make that the focus of your blog. If there’s no audience for the subject matter then your blog will be poorly trafficked and a poorly trafficked blog is hard to monetize (if that’s your end goal.)
• What does my voice sound like?
  • We know, we know, no one will actually be able to hear your blog. But that’s not what we mean anyway. Your writing has a voice: Your word choice, sentence structure or syntax, and punctuation will all inform how people read your posts.
    • We’ve got nothing against the passive voice, but it doesn’t really belong in a blog post. Use it in moderation. Instead, write using the active voice. Active voice grabs your readers’ attentions and helps them stay focused on your writing.
• How technical am I?
  • Blogs live in a digital world. While you don’t need a ton of technical knowledge to start a blog, a little does help. If you run into any snafus, you’ll need to know how to address them, or know where to go for help. Many content management systems have tutorials or knowledgebases where you can find your answers. If your CMS doesn’t, you may need to rely on your own technical abilities. 
• How will I provide value to my readers?
  • When was the last time you willingly spent time on something you considered a waste? Can’t think of a time when that happened? Yeah, we’re having some difficulty with that, too. People don’t spend their time on things they consider to be wastes, and if your blog doesn’t provide value in some way, you can bet they won’t find it worth their time to read and peruse.
  • Can you help someone solve a problem? Provide encouragement or respite for them? The value your posts provide will vary based on your goals and subject matter, but always keep value in mind when working on materials for your blog.
• How are people going to find my blog?
  • “If you build it, [they] will come.” That strategy was great … for Kevin Costner circa 1989. But now? Not so much. There are a lot of blogs out there all clamoring for peoples’ online attention. You should think about how you’re going to get your blog in front of your desired audience’s face.
  • Have you heard of SEO? SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the practice of positively influencing your search engine result rankings, thereby increasing the quantity and quality of your website traffic. Here’s an article we wrote about SEO that explains how it can help get your blog in front of the right audience.
• How will I measure the success of my blog?
  • Here at Domain.com, we frequently ask ourselves, “What will success look like?” before venturing into new projects. We recommend asking yourself the same question I regards to your blog. Keeping in mind that success may look different from one blog to another, and that it largely depends on your specific goals. You may want to consider using things like bounce rates, purchase volume, or user engagement as Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, of success for your blog.

Get your blog up and running with Domain.com

Becoming a blogger doesn’t have to be a daunting task. When in doubt, start at the beginning. To get your blog off the ground you’ll need a great domain name, hosting, and a content management system.

From there, make sure you know what your goals are and who your audience is. Write with them in mind, and turn your blog into a valuable resource they’ll want to visit time and time again.

Our last tip? Once your blog is thriving, consider monetizing it to make a little extra income — if you’re already putting the time and effort into it, you should get something in return.

If you have an active blog share it with us in the comments below and let us know what has and hasn’t worked for you!

That’s what I thought too, so I turned to our resident Marketing Guru, Bethany, who manages our Customer Lifecycle Marketing Program (CLM), and runs a kickass blog on the side. 

Now, from 9am-5pm Bethany sits right next to me in the office, but once those office hours are over she focuses on her passion — running. Like most people, she thought it’d be nice to try and get a return on her investment in her passion, so she created a website and focuses on her blog. Her venture has paid off, literally. In addition to her regular income, her blog generates an additional revenue that continues to grow month after month. What does she know about blogging that the rest of us ought to?

I sat down with Bethany last week to ask for her best blogging tips to help you not just start a blog, but earn an income from it, and she didn’t disappoint. Here’s what she said. 

Blogging Tips to Earn an Income from Your Website and Blog

• Pick your niche or topic FIRST.
  • Bethany’s blog focuses on her passion, running. Running is pretty popular so there’s a big audience for that topic. You need to make sure that your blog will have enough of an interested audience, too. If it doesn’t, you won’t be able to monetize it and earn that income. So before spending your precious time blogging about the anatomy and history of the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, spend time researching your options and audience size. This means doing some light keyword and search volume research. Here are 10 free tools, courtesy of Ahrefs.com, that you can use for keyword research.  
  • Bethany’s advice: Don’t let this step paralyze you. Too much research can quickly turn into “analysis paralysis.” Give yourself a time limit and commit to making a decision within that “time box” or timeframe. This way, you can move forward with your best idea and quickly. 
• Get the right domain name for your website and blog.
  • Your domain name is the first thing people will see and associate with your blog and digital presence. It should be memorable and brandable. You can choose to go with the always-popular .com, the topical .blog, or any other number of SLDs (that’s the part of the domain name that comes before the .com, .net, .blog, or whatever extension you use.)
  • Bethany’s advice: If your goal is to do this professionally and earn an income, you’ll want to choose a website builder that allows for a great deal of customization. She recommends WordPress: It’s free, it’s flexible, there are plenty of amazing free (or paid) theme options, along with tons of plugins that will help you throughout your blogging journey. 
  • Pro tip: You can purchase a domain name and WordPress hosting with Domain.com!
• Manage your time wisely.
  • When you’re starting your blog, time is going to be your biggest blocker. You must use your time wisely. That’s not to say you have to do everything perfectly the first time around, it just means you have to do something instead of overthinking or wasting time on non-essential tasks.
  • Plan your content & generally speaking, plan 1-3 months out, but be willing to pivot (just not too often). Spend less time planning and more time executing. 
  • Bethany’s advice: Pick a time-management method that works for you. Some bloggers like the Pomodoro time management method, or hybrid versions of it, but even simple time-blocking can do the trick. (She works in 20 minute “bursts” — where she sets a timer for 20 minutes and focuses on one task during that time … no social media, no checking email, etc.) Editor’s note: We can attest, Bethany knows how to get things done!
• Test & Learn Mentality:
  • When you decide to start a blog to earn an income, you’re deciding to embark on a journey to become an entrepreneur. This journey requires a growth mindset and a “test and learn” approach. Oftentimes, there won’t be an obvious right way to do things. Don’t get frustrated. Instead, you’ll need to test and find out what works for you and your blog.  
  • Bethany’s advice: Things will probably go wrong before they go right, so be patient, be persistent, and stick to it for the long haul!

Ready to start your blog and earn additional income?

Starting a blog has never been easier. 

With a little planning, time management, and a great domain name, your blog can thrive. You’re probably not going to start off earning revenue in the six digits, but little bit by little bit your blog will grow and so will your opportunities for making money from it. 

Take Bethany’s advice and choose your topic wisely, give yourself time constraints for getting things done, and learn to be ok with testing and failure. It’ll make you wiser and help you learn what’s best for your blog. 

Get your domain name today and launch your blog! Any questions? Let us know in the comments. 

When blogs develop a dedicated audience, they transform into immensely useful tools. Websites that generate traffic have an easier time attracting new customers, establishing themselves as authorities in their respective space, and creating business opportunities that would have been otherwise inaccessible. Popular blogs can also be monetized and serve as an additional source of income.

Learn more about different hosting plans at Domain.com today.

Personal blogs

Personal blogs are incredibly dynamic. They can serve as resumes, a place to compile your ideas, or a training ground to develop your communication skills. With a personal blog, you create a workspace with complete control over what people see and what you share.

Business blogs

For small businesses, having a blog is nearly essential. If a company wants to grow, running a blog helps develop name recognition and can drastically boost visibility of your consumers. A blog can help drive sales, improve customer retention, and is an inexpensive way for a company to establish their image.

What is web hosting?

It’s best to think about web hosting as a storage and management service. When you start a blog or a website, the digital information doesn’t simply exist on your computer. It’s stored by a web hosting service, like Domain.com, which keeps your information safe and secure, while ensuring that your blog or website remains operational. Without web hosting, websites, and the Internet as we know it, would not exist.

Data centers and servers

Data centers are the physical location where your blog’s digital information is stored. Domain.com owns and operates a state-of-the-art data center, which was built by network certified engineers. These same engineers manage the data center and ensure that Domain.com’s servers–powerful computers that contain all of your blog’s information–remain safe from threats like humidity or fire. They also make sure the servers continue performing at the highest possible level.

Why is web hosting important for your blog?

When most people start a blog, they’re only thinking about content; they want to start posting and building a community as quickly as possible. In doing so, they skip the vital steps of ensuring that their blog is secure, owned by them, and will remain in their control for the long haul.

Your website host is responsible for ensuring that your blog is running at a speed that accommodates traffic and is otherwise functioning as it should. When you sign up for a hosting plan, you’re essentially buying real estate for your blog in one of the data center servers, the place where your digital information will be stored and managed.

Web hosting is the only way to ensure that your blog will remain safe on the Internet. When your blog’s digital information is under the supervision of a web host, the information is encrypted, monitored, and cared for by a highly trained support team.

At Domain.com, that customer support team is available 24/7, via WebMail, Live Chat, or phone.

Domain.com blog web hosting

We’re incredibly proud of our affordable, world-class hosting services. We offer bloggers a range of options, all of which can be tailored to meet your website needs and expectations. Each hosting plan comes with a free SSL certificate–a safeguard which encrypts your website data, protecting it from unwelcome visitors–and only costs $3.75 per month to get started.

Web hosting options for your blog

For bloggers, Domain.com offers a variety of hosting options, each with unique benefits and capabilities. The web hosting plan you chose will largely determine the extent to which your blog is protected, the speed of your blog, and which platforms will be available to you.

Linux hosting

When you sign up for a hosting plan with Domain.com, you may notice the term “Linux.” This is an operating systems, a platform which uses a unique programming language, used to build your blog or website.

Linux is the most popular web hosting operating system on the Internet. It’s less expensive than other options, and is known for pairing stability with security. Without getting too technical, it runs on programming languages like Perl, PHP, and MySQL. These are open source software languages favored by developers for the freedom they offer, and their low operational costs. For bloggers, Linux offers tools which make customization simple, and allow you to creatively engage with the design process.

Shared hosting

If you’re just starting out in the blogosphere, a shared hosting plan might be best. They require minimum technical knowledge, are highly affordable, and come with a free SSL Certificate. When you buy a shared hosting plan, your blog is stored on a server with other blogs and websites. All blogs and websites on that server share the same pool of resources.

Shared hosting is like moving into a busy, safe, inexpensive neighborhood. The price is lowered because everyone in the neighborhood is contributing to the same set of resources. However, just like in a busy neighborhood, there are times when traffic picks up, and during those times everyone in the neighborhood might move a little slower until it clears. However, the difference in speed is typically negligible.

When you sign up for a shared hosting plan with Domain.com, you are guaranteed unlimited website disk space, scalable bandwidth, at least 100 email addresses, free applications like WordPress (ideal for bloggers), and many other features. You also have unlimited access to our 24/7 customer support team.

VPS hosting

VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting is a step above shared hosting plans. When you buy a VPS hosting plan, you are essentially securing a mini-server within the larger server.

If a shared server is a busy, safe, inexpensive neighborhood, a Virtual Private Server is like a gated community one district over. Bloggers with a VPS plan enjoy enhanced privacy, have greater control over their virtual space, and aren’t as affected by issues of traffic. The portion of the server you pay for is wholly dedicated to you and your blog.

VPS hosting is ideal for bloggers who have either outgrown or plan to outgrow, their shared server. If your blog starts attracting significant traffic (somewhere above 5,000 visitors per day) your website speed will suffer on a shared server. If your blog is affiliated with a business, running a slow website introduces the risk of dissuading customers from engaging with your content.

Domain.com offers world class VPS hosting at an affordable cost. If you’re having trouble deciding between shared hosting and VPS hosting options, know that upgrading later is a possibility.

WordPress hosting

If you’re only interested in blogging and don’t anticipate building out a full website, WordPress hosting is the ideal platform. It was tailor-made for bloggers (Domain.com even offers a free .blog domain name extension with a plan) and comes loaded with built-in features that allow you to easily customize your page.

If you do choose a WordPress hosting plan, you will be restricted from setting up a non-WordPress site. However, the capabilities embedded within the WordPress platform are comprehensive and can satisfy the needs of all bloggers, from beginners to veterans.

The package offers unlimited disk space and bandwidth, free domain registration, unlimited email accounts, free search engine marketing credits, and 24/7 support. If you aren’t satisfied with your WordPress hosting plan within 30 days, Domain.com will refund your hosting fees, no questions asked.

WordPress hosted blogs enjoy a selection of popular handpicked themes, designed to make your blog visually attractive. Pre-installed plugins allow you to customize your blog with extra features and functionality. A customized control panel was designed to easily access frequently used tools and streamline the blog building process.

WordPress starter plan

The introductory plan comes with all of the features described above. If you care about speed, security, and ease-of-use, the WP Starter plan is the perfect way to blog on a budget. WordPress essential plan

The WP Essential plan contains all of the options and functionality of the WP Starter plan, but comes with three distinguishing features.

Blogs hosted with WP Essential live on reconfigured servers, which means less neighborhood traffic and greater website speeds. They come with a built-in firewall and automatic malware removal, a deluxe security bundle designed by the experts at SiteLock. The plan also  connects customers to a team of support agents capable of resolving all issues related to WP Essential.

Choosing a hosting plan for your blog

If you’ve looked over Domain.com’s web hosting options but still can’t decide which is the best for your blog, there are some questions you can ask yourself to narrow the field.

How much website traffic do I expect?

If you expect that your blog will generate significant traffic, VPS hosting and the WordPress Essential plan are both powerful options which can support heightened web traffic.

Do I want multiple blogs or websites?

Both the Deluxe and Ultra shared hosting plans permit unlimited domains to be created. Unlimited domains are also offered with the VPS hosting plan.

How concerned am I about safety?

While all of Domain.com’s hosting plans are safe and dependable, the VPS hosting plan and the WordPress Essential plan provide even more protection from potential web threats.

Do I feel comfortable working on the backend?

How comfortable are you with designing your own blog? WordPress Hosting offers handpicked themes and pre-installed plugins that make assembling a webpage both intuitive and simple.

A domain name for your blog

After you’ve picked a web hosting plan, the next step is to register a domain name. Since the year 2000, Domain.com has been a leading web registrar and has made it both easy and inexpensive for web users to secure domain names. Domain.com offers the lowest registration and renewal prices, as well as the highest registration discounts.

The best way to think about a domain name is by comparing it to a street address. If you want to find someone’s house, you ask for a combination of letters and numbers that represent a specific location. In much the same way, a domain name is the Internet’s version of a street address. When you type in a specific name, your Internet browser runs a search for that address, locates it, and then takes you there. When people ask how to find your blog, you can simply provide your domain name that leads them to your website.

Remember that when you sign up for WordPress Hosting, free domain registration is included, in addition to a free .blog domain extension.

Registering a TLD

TLD stands for Top Level Domain, also referred to as a domain extension. If you’ve spent any time on the Internet, you know what they look like. The most recognizable and popular TLD in the world is .com, which is affixed to the end of most web addresses.

While .com is the most common domain extension, there are hundreds of alternative options. Domain.com offers a list of domain extensions, from the increasingly popular .me all the way to .blog and .healthcare. If you’re starting a blog for your business, it might be worth registering a TLD that fits the services you offer.

Start a blog to start talking to your customers

Whether you’re an individual, a small business, or a major corporation, starting a blog lets you connect with your customers in a new way and build a powerful relationship. Once you decided the right hosting plan for your blog, register a domain name and start producing connect that connects customers to your business.

Learn more about different hosting plans at Domain.com today.