Easy steps to wordpress blog

Setting up a wordpress blog can be both challenging or easy depending on what position you are in terms of blogging. I was totally clueless as to what a blog is. I did not know how to set up a word press blog with my own domain name. Okay let me be honest, I thought that if you buy a domain then you have a website.

This post caters for people who are like me before I knew how to set up a word press blog. I have realized it is very easy. This is my second blog. My goal is to set up at least one blog every two months. Have one work on it to monetization and then set up another one.

So here we go, I will quickly go through setting up a wordpress blog and explain where necessary:

First you need to get a domain name. A good domain name should be easy to remember and also reflect what your blog is about. However I have seen domain names that do not reflect directly what the site is all about. You should think about your target market or niche as you choose a domain name. More about that later.

I did not do any detailed research for myebizjournal.com. I am lucky to be in Lynn Terry Elite Mastermind group and so I posted a thread and people gave me suggestions. What a breeze.

It is important to know what you want to do with your blog. If you have no intention of making money then get a free word press blog. However if you want to do some internet marketing, internet based Affiliate Marketing or niche marketing then you have to buy a domain name and get hosting.

There is a clause in word press terms and agreements that you cannot do affiliate marketing with the free word press blog.

If you do not have your domain name, then can go buy it. A good place is godaddy.com.

Once you have your domain name then you will need hosting to make it LIVE on line. You can get cheap hosting at hostgator that you pay monthly. If you buy through my link here I do get some commission. Thanks.

It takes some time for the hosting to take effect so you will wait for like 12-72 hours. Well, I cannot explain that.

Once your hosting is ready hostgator will send you an email with your new name servers. You will then log into your godaddy account and into the account manager and then change the name servers of the particular domain from the one godaddy gave you to the one hostgator just sent you.

If you are stuck, hostgator has such an awesome customer support and tutorials.

Once your site is live then it is time to set the wordpress blog.

You will log into your control panel through http://yourdomainname/cp. I could not figure this out myself but I went to the live chat at hostgator and they directed me, it was like 3.am in the morning.

In your hostgator control panel there is a small icon called fantastico. Click on it and on the left side click on wordpress. Follow the prompts for a set up of the blog.

You will then be directed how to get into your blog by a URL like http://yourdomainname.co/wp-admin. Using the user name and the pass word you created you can then log into your new blog.

If you click on themes in your blog you will see two not very promising themes. No need to worry since word press has like sixty free themes to choose from.

Change your themes;

To get to themes click on appearance then click on Add New themes.

Click on install themes. Scroll down and click on find themes.

Go through the themes and choose the one you want. Click install.

In the small pop up window click install now, then click activate.

You can then go visit the site to see the effect if you do not like the theme. Repeat again until you have the theme you like.

All the themes you have installed will be stored in the available themes section of your blog.You must have word press 2.8 to have these feature

With my first blog I had to upload the theme to an FTP before it was ready for my blog, and It took me days to figure out the FTP thing. So I was so excited to know that now you can install the themes by just clicks on your blog.

The blog is now ready for posts and you can click on add new posts to start blogging on the admin area. Simple.

However these are really the basic steps, there are widgets and plugins that need to be added and even now I have not figured how to do that. I am considering buying a course by one of my Elite group members Traci Knoppe, called from beginner to blogger in four weeks. If you need a head start in blogging with the details check out beginner to blogger in four weeks.

For now I will keep blogging. And these steps seem so easy to someone who knows but if you are like me before knowing how to build a word press blog then a simple guide like this is great.

I hope to post a video on the same soon.

Before I end let me add some very important points to consider.

There is a clause in word press terms and agreements that you cannot do affiliate marketing with the free word press blog. So if you want try make some money like I am doing, go get ya some domain name and host it.

Before you get to work on your blog however it is important to have a goal a plan of actions. One important thing is to choose a niche or a market you want to target.

Choosing a niche can be tricky especially for a total newbie. You may have passions but will they make you money quickly or you may want to get something that makes you money and the get back to your passions later. There is a great blog post on that by Lynn Terry at Click newz.com here is the link http://www.clicknewz.com/2010/passion-or-profit-video/

If you want a serious head start on choosing a niche check out Affiliatenaire an affiliate internet marketing course by Jimmy D. Brown.

I hope to post a video on the same soon.