How To Start a Blog That Can Become a Source of Income

33 comments

Updated: August 31, 2020

How do you start a blog? And how much does it cost to set up one? These are two questions that people I meet often ask me whenever I tell them that a part of my income today comes from blogging.

And with computers and affordable broadband internet connection now easily accessible to most Filipinos, it’s not a surprise that many are considering joining the growing number of Pinoys who make money online.

So if you think you have what it takes to become a blogger, and would like to make it a source of personal income, then below are the most basic steps.

But first, let me tell you three things…

#1 Blogging involves a lot of self-study.

Unless you personally know someone who can help you with blogging – you’re on your own kid!

Don’t worry, there’s a lot of free resources online about blogging; just try not to overwhelm yourself and learn at your own pace.

#2 Making money online takes time.

Blogging is not a get-rich-quick scheme.

Expect to earn nothing from it in your first three months; then good, consistent income (at least $100 every month), on average (based on the people I know) – can take almost a year to achieve.

#3 Never blog simply because you want to make money online.

Blogging requires focus, time dedication, and passion.

So if you’re just in it for the money – you might soon find yourself losing interest and eventually quitting.

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Now that you know what’s up ahead for you, it’s time to give you a “crash course” on how to set up a blog.

There are three things you need to start blogging:

  1. A domain name (the url or internet address)
  2. Webhosting (the server or the company where you will put your files)
  3. A blog platform (the “online software” you will use to blog)

Domain names, on the average, currently costs $10 a year – but it’s usually a little more. And it’s always better to get a dot com (.com) in my opinion.

Meanwhile, web hosting will cost you around $2 a month – but this is assuming you have low traffic (20 – 100 visitors a day).

When your blog starts to get around 5,000 visitors a day, you may be required to get a web hosting service that costs around $30 a month.

Fortunately, the blog platform is free and is available through the web hosting company. This blog uses the WordPress blogging platform.

Get it all for FREE… here’s how:

Sign up and create a blog through Blogspot. Your domain name will look something like yourblogname.blogspot.com, you’ll be using Google’s servers as your web hosting and your platform will be that of Blogger’s.

There are also other websites that allow you to create and maintain a blog for free – but personally, I recommend Blogger if you don’t want to spend a single centavo.

So why pay if can create a blog for free?

  1. Because you want your own domain name like www.myawesomeblog.com.
  2. You want full control and ownership of your blog.

Most free blogging service websites (such as Blogger), allow you to buy a custom domain name – and still use their servers as your web host for free.

However, your blog is “at their mercy” – which means if they think that your blog violates their service terms and conditions, then they can just shut it down and delete it without much warning.

Also, since the blog is in their servers – to which you have very limited access to, then you do not have full control on your blog’s layout and design, plus it’s harder to create a back-up of your photos, articles and other content.

Lastly, it will be difficult to get private advertisers because if you’re on an “all free” account, they’ll have an initial impression that you’re not serious about blogging.

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For people who wants to see if blogging is something they can do:

Start a blog in Blogger.com and see how it feels to become a blogger. Write your content, and focus on developing a regular blogging schedule first.

Once you feel ready to “level up”, look for a web hosting company and migrate to a self-hosted WordPress blog. That’s what I did actually, my address used to be readytoberich.blogspot.com. I transferred after 3 months.

For people who are really serious about blogging:

Buy a domain name, spend on web hosting, and use WordPress.

Get unlimited disk space and unlimited bandwidth by signing up with Dreamhost. They are my current webhosting company.

Your domain name is free for life if you get them as your web host, but be ready to spend at least $2.59 a month for the web hosting service of your WordPress blog.

Of course, you can sign up wherever you want – just be sure that whichever web hosting company you choose, you actually know someone who is using them so you can get honest feedback first with regards to the quality of their service.

Moreover, you can always just stick with Blogger.com for the web hosting and blogging platform; and just buy your own domain name – I have friends who have been successful at this route.

Just be sure that you read and understand their terms of use so your blog won’t get flagged as inappropriate and get deleted.

I guess that’s all you need to know about creating and setting up a blog, at least the technical side of it. So before I end, let me give you some final tips:

  • Before creating a blog, choose your niche first – be sure it’s about a topic that you have unlimited enthusiasm in and can write “endlessly” about.
  • Choose an easy to remember name or title for your blog. Using that as your domain name is recommended but not required. If you’re building a personal brand, buy the domain name of your name just like what I did.
  • Never promote or market your blog until you have at least 20 posts and you’ve already established a regular blogging schedule. You want first-time visitors to bookmark your blog because they can’t finish reading everything, and by the time they come back, you already have new posts!
  • Read through my Collection of Blogging Tips I’ve Given During Events

Congratulations! You’ve just finished your crash course on how to set up and create a blog. If you have questions, just leave them in the comments section below.

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Photo credits: barnett and krisolin

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33 comments

  1. Thanks again sa tips sir Fitz. I’m currently on my 5th month na rin pala in blogging. At sa 5 months na yun, andami kong natututunan paunti unti and alam kong marami pa kong matututunan. wala pa kong plan kumuha ng hosting in the near future. Hopefully next year 🙂

  2. Thanks Sir Fitz! I actually had a hiatus at the moment but im excited to get back on track and share what i’ve learned from books im reading now. God bless!

  3. thanks fritz,

    i already started couple years back,then i lost my momentum and now i am still slowly acquiring that long lost love for blogging, but i will not stop , no matter how frustrating it feels now..nah… ;p

  4. This post is nice way of earning income through blogging. Highly recommended. Filipinos can try their hands on blogging to earn money online.

  6. i like writing, and blogging is one of my personal option, and for me to earn as well. but I don’t have so much idea to make a powerful blog, this article could help me to start.. thanks…

  10. I remember those days that i used to blogs and earn $100 dollar in my 3 months. I was so happy that time. The feelings that I try something new is so wooow! Thank you for this tip Sir Fitz.

  11. hello sir, thanks for it serves as a reminder. I’m now blogging for almost 6 months..its true u must be passionate of doing it, not to think yet about monetizing..our blog should serve other peoples need and make them happy..the success of our blog is thru our visitors 🙂

  13. Thanks for reposting this. Writing was my first love, hope to take it up again….feeling around which of my interests I should focus on. Will bookmark this article as guide , when I finally start.

  14. Thanks! Me and my girlfriend are truly blog & Article lover. We want create our own, and this help me to have an idea how to be a responsible blogger. We are improving ourselves to things like this thru readings and attending seminars & training and I believe, by that, money will follow. 🙂

  15. Love the content. To you Sir Fitz…Thank you! Definitely will follow the guides you have provided. I am a newbie to blogging but have planned to join the industry soon. Not to make money yet but to enjoy posting great content. All the best Sir.

  16. Thanks for sharing blogging tips, I m so glad to hear your source is really helped me. I had no idea about make money online through blog.
    Thank you.
    Life time earning opportunity app: – goo.gl/k7hSXE

  17. Thanks for sharing this Sir Fitz. By the way, how are you optimizing your blog so that your posts can be easily searched in Google? Are you using some paid SEO service? Thank you.

  21. Good day Sir! I just created my own blog after reading your post. This has been very helpful to me. I shall follow your advise not to market it until I have at least 20 entries. Once again, thank you for giving your insights. God bless you always! 🙂

  24. hi, sir! i already have a domain name via wordpress. do i still need to find a web hosting? sorry medyo confusing pa sakin ung mga terms eh. thanks for the help!

  25. it means your webhosting is also wordpress. you don’t need it anymore, but there are limitations to your wordpress webhosting. i believe they don’t allow ads on the website if you’re in wordpress.com

    so if you want to put ads on your website, then you have to transfer to another webhosting, but you can keep your domain name in wordpress.

    —

    domain name is your website address, webhosting is the computer server where you will put your website… they’re two different things, but companies like wordpress offer them as a package

    many offer free webhosting, but they have a lot of limitations, which includes terms that they have the right to terminate your account anytime

    imagine facebook suddenly closing your account and you’ll lose all your posts, no way to get them back

    with a paid webhosting account, you have access to your files, which you can save in your computer

    —

    it’s okay to start with a free webhosting account, but over time, it’s better to transfer to a paid webhosting account simply because you have more content that you want to protect with your own backup and you want more freedom as to what you want to do on your website

  26. What you’ve said is true sir? About passion in blogging. Personally, I shed tears, sweat and blood when I started blogging a number of years ago. It was hard but since I love it, I succeeded until Google Adsense sent me a mail and said I can monetize the blog. My hard work paid off and I average 12k to 15k a month for 2 years or so. Then algorithms hit me bloody hard. I’m no longer earn a decent income for my original blog.

    So, I decided to to create a new one. Hopefully, I succeed on this one. Thank you so much for the inspiration you give on this post, sir Fitz.

  27. Hello, what are the Philippine laws that we should be aware of when starting a blog? Do we need to register this business? Do we need to pay taxes? How about consumer act, and the type of information we should be sharing? Anything that will guide and keep us on the right side of the law and avoid lawsuits.

    Thank you!

  28. @Dee
    When you start earning more than P250k or if you’re selling your own products to consumers, then you should register it under sole proprietorship or you can register yourself as a professional writer. And of course, you need to pay taxes.

  29. Hi Fitz. I am a fan in blogging. I love to read. I want to make this blogging a success. I have no momentum yet. Nich is still far I guess. But, yes I want to do this and I am learning things that are not familiar to me. I am afraid I guess….confused where to start being serious…blogspot or wordpress. But, because of the article…., I think I know what to do. Thank You Fitz.

  31. Hi Sir Fitz!

    Because of this article, my blog is born. I started in Blogger a month ago and bought my domain name in GoDaddy. Now I already have 20 blog posts and planning to apply for AdSense but so much technicalities I am facing right now to make it qualified for AdSense, like the SEO, Website ranking , HTML and others and I don’t have a mentor who could help me. It bogs me down. I am thinking of getting a webhosting service but don’t know if it’s time to avail now. I don’t know what to do and I don’t want to lose my momentum. I hope and believe you could give me an advice. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge. More power to you!

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