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Starting my blog three years ago completely changed my life. I went from being a high school band director that hated his job to working from literally anywhere that has an internet connection and choosing my own hours.
I don’t have a degree in writing, and there’s nothing “special” that I have which led to my success as a blogger. I’m just a former teacher who worked hard and figured things out along the way.
And since I get emails and private messages every single day asking how to start a blog, I decided to put my teacher hat back on and show you exactly how to start your own money-making blog right now!
I’m going to show you everything you need to know to get started blogging, and have even put some great free resources together for you. Over the years I’ve seen so many people who want to start blogs and don’t, and I’ve realized that even if you know exactly what to do, getting started is still the hardest part.
The learning curve for growing a blog seems steep, and unfortunately, it’s what keeps thousands of potentially incredible bloggers from starting their own blogs every year.
That’s why I decided to create Launch That Blog – to make starting a blog easy
My goal is to help you focus on what matters most with your blog: sharing your unique message with the world (and make money doing it).
I’ll talk more about Launch That Blog (LTB) and how this free service will make the process of starting a blog simple, but first, I want to help you figure out if starting a blog is a good choice for you.
Let’s get this out of the way first – I’m not some kind of tech genius. I had no idea how to run a blog before I started this website. I was a high school band director that had worked hard to pay off a lot of student loan debt, and I wanted to help people that were in the same situation that I had been.
In fact, I was so intimidated by the prospect of starting a blog that I put it off for months. I would share what I had learned about personal finance on my private Facebook page but realized pretty quickly that I could only reach so many people that way.
I wanted to reach thousands of people, not hundreds. So I finally jumped in and started my own website.
Talk about stressful. All of the sudden, I was drowning in technical terms like themes, plugins, hosting, and more. It kinda sucked, honestly. All I wanted to do was write!
That’s where Launch That Blog comes in. My team takes care of all the tech stuff so that you can get started blogging faster. I spent hours and hours watching YouTube walkthroughs, reading OTHER blogs about how to actually get mine started, and slogged through tutorial after tutorial just to get to the point where I could even write my first blog post.
Launch That Blog will do all of the hard stuff for you…for free
We set up your blog, teach you how to use it and make it look awesome, and even make sure that the essential tools you’ll need to start blogging are installed for you. All for the low low price of…free. Seriously.
Here’s the deal: There’s a good chance that you have something you want to share with the world, and blogging is an awesome way to do it.
Let’s say you make incredible recipes, and you want to teach other people how to cook food like you.
Maybe you have a big financial goal, and you want to inspire other people by telling your story.
Or…maybe you just like puppies and want everyone who loves puppies to love puppies with you. Puppy blogs are the best blogs.
For me, I just wanted to share my message with other people that had student loans and show that paying them off early was a real thing that they could do too.
Now don’t get me wrong, I wanted to make money blogging. I’m not shy about that. And the cool thing is that making money with a blog is a real thing, and you don’t have to be the next Mark Zuckerberg to make it happen.
Remember…I was a teacher. A high school band director. Now, I work from home full-time making great money and have been on Forbes, Business Insider, CNBC, and tons of other sites that I never even dreamed of being on. I’ve even been on TV before, all because of my blog.
Am I promising that you’ll do the same? Heck no. Not at all. But I’ve seen enough bloggers reach success to know that it’s possible for you.
What I am saying is that blogging is a platform that you can build a reputation on and do so much with. It’s not just about making money from ads or selling products on your website. You can make money as a freelancer or as a speaker, or even land book deals.
I have so many blogging friends that have used their blog to build a completely different career path for themselves. Some have become authors. Some have become speakers. Some travel full-time in RV’s and Sailboats while working online. It’s pretty incredible, really.
And here’s the other thing – you don’t have to be a professional writer to make this happen. I’m pretty notorious for typos. I’m not exactly perfect in the grammar department either. But that’s OK because what matters is authenticity.
If you have a real message to put out in the world, you can blog. That’s the truth and Launch That Blog makes it easy to start.
There is probably something you know that others don’t, or maybe something that you have a passion in your life that you love telling all your friends about (if you start a wine or bourbon blog, let me know…I’ll read ALL of your posts), so why not write up a blog post and share it with the world!?
If you’re here, reading this post, you already know how powerful a blog can be and maybe have even had your life changed because of one. How much more do you think owning a blog can change your life?
For me, and many of my blogger friends, it changed everything. Instead of spending every day at a job we hated, we work when we want from the comfort of our own home often making more than we did that job anyway.
So now that you know what a blog can do for you, and now that you know how easy it is to set up your blog via Launch That Blog…
What are you waiting for?
If you’re ready to start your blog, let me show you how much Launch That Blog will do for you, for the low cost of free…
When you start your blog using Launch That Blog’s free service getting started is easy, you’ll get a ton of great benefits, and it will take you under two minutes, because we do everything for you.
Here’s what you get with Launch That Blog…
- Launch That Blog will handle the entire installation process of your self-hosted WordPress blog and deliver it to you within two business days so that you can get up and running quickly, with none of the tech headaches
- Launch That Blog will install our favorite customizable website theme so that your blog looks professional from day one
- Launch That Blog install the 10 essential plugins that every professional blog needs to have
- Launch That Blog will also send you 4 training resources – both video and PDF guides – that I’ve created to show you exactly how to get a strong start and make money from your blog
- And you’ll get a FREE domain (free for the first year) and exclusive monthly hosting rates through Bluehost
Here are the sweet free bonuses you’ll receive as well:
- Creating Blog Posts in WordPress: A Step-By-Step Walkthrough
- The Key Ingredients To the Perfect Post (Step-By-Step Video Guide)
- The Professional Blogger’s Toolkit
- The Blueprint To Building a Profitable Blog
- Facebook Ads 101 Training For Bloggers
- BONUS: How to Customize Your Blog – my web developer for Millennial Money Man and Laptop Empires (my other blog) has put together a special bonus training showing you exactly how to customize your theme to make your blog look great in minutes!
Here are a few examples of what you can create with our free Launch That Blog setup:
What does it cost?
There is literally only one thing you have to pay for…hosting. Launch That Blog does everything for you but store the website on a server. You’ll need to pay for that, but fortunately, you can get that as low as $2.95 per month (billed annually) when you use Launch Your Blog to set up your site.
Here’s how to start your blog in under 5 minutes without touching a single line of code (quick-start guide)
1. Choose your Bluehost/Launch That Blog web hosting package here
*Rakuten users, formerly known as Ebates – please do not activate Rakuten when you purchase your hosting! Ebates will take our commission when activated on Bluehost, which means we will not get credit for the sale and won’t be able to install your blog for free.
Now, this part is important – if you want to take advantage of Launch That Blog’s free setup service and all of the bonus training material that I provide, you’ll need to purchase Bluehost hosting through Launch That Blog’s link.
Why, you ask?
Well…it’s simple. When you purchase hosting through our link, we get a commission from Bluehost for sending you their way. Using our link does not add any extra cost to you, but the commission from Bluehost allows us to provide you with this free setup service.
I’m basically bribing you to use my link by giving you a ton of free stuff. It’s a win-win for you and me.
So which plan should you choose? (Hint: Basic)
Here’s how it works – you’re going to see three options for your Bluehost/Launch That Blog hosting:
- Basic
- Plus
- Pro
My advice to you as a brand new blogger (but soon-to-be awesome blogger after you get all of my free Launch That Blog training videos) is to select the Basic plan.
The other ones look great with all of the extra features, but you don’t need them. You’ll have everything you need to create an incredible blog with Basic, and you’ll keep more money in your pocket.
I am a personal finance blogger, after all. I can’t have you spending more money than you need to. 🙂
How much is Bluehost going to cost?
You’ll have several different options, but here are the pricing options I think you should choose from:
1. Basic hosting for 36 months ($2.95/month billed up-front at $106.20)
If you’re looking for the most value and lowest per-month cost, this is the option you’ll want. I recommend this option because it locks your hosting in for three years at less than $3 per month.
Also, that $2.95/month for hosting is an exclusive perk for anyone who purchases hosting through Launch That Blog. I’ve been with Bluehost for a long time, so they give my people a discount (it’s usually about a dollar more per month).
2. Basic hosting for 12 months ($4.95/month billed up-front at $59.40)
Yes, the total cost of this option is cheaper in the short-term, but you’re locking yourself into a much higher price that will likely go even higher when you have to re-renew after the first year.
Also – I’m a firm believer that you need to go into blogging with the expectation that you’ll be doing this for more than just one year.
I want you to commit to doing this for the long haul so that you can really do something special with your blog.
So basically, choose “Basic 36 Month Price” from the drop-down menu if you want the best value and lowest monthly cost. Pretty simple.
Which hosting add-ons and extras should you choose?
After you select the Basic plan, Bluehost will give you add-on options.
You DO NOT need all of them. The only one that I recommend is the “Domain Privacy Protection” add-on.
Domain privacy protection keeps all of your contact information hidden, and for about $12/year, I think it’s absolutely worth it.
If you don’t select it, you’ll get a bunch of spam phone calls and emails.
I went the super-cheap route when I first started my blog and opted out of domain privacy protection, which turned out to be a very inconvenient/annoying decision.
Here’s exactly what I would select for the extras/add-ons:
Create a password for your Bluehost account and SAVE it somewhere!
This is extremely important – after you pay for your hosting, you’ll be prompted via email to create a password for your Bluehost account.
Create a great password (please make it something that someone can’t guess), and don’t just rely on your memory. Write it down and do not lose it!
You’ll need to send Launch That Blog your password using our secure form below so that we can install your blog and set it up with everything that you’ll need.
2. Fill out our Launch That Blog Request Form and we’ll start your free blog setup and send you all the bonus goodies
You’re almost there! Once you submit your Bluehost information to us through our secure form, Launch That Blog will get to work on installing your blog and making sure it has everything you need to be successful.
Remember – you’ll still need to make your blog look the way you want it to after installation (we include an awesome training that walks you through the steps), but we are going to take care of everything else for you.
Please give us two business days to complete your installation. We’ll also send you an email with all of the free bonus training guides that you get for using our service as soon as we verify that you used our exclusive Bluehost link to purchase your hosting.
If you have a message to share and want to make an impact on others while growing an incredible business, starting a blog is the way to do it. Our team at Launch That Blog will it simple for you to start blogging.
One last time, here’s how to get your blog installed for free:
1. Select your hosting and receive a free domain name
2. Complete the secure Launch That Blog onboarding form
That’s it! Please allow two business days and we will have your brand new blog installed for you and you’ll have plenty of free bonus goodies to get started quickly.
Taylor Davidson
That’s a pretty neat guide for the beginners like me. I am still struggling with the monetization part. Probably, it is because I have not achieved the ranking yet. SEO and link building seems to be a more difficult task than anything else
Millennial Money Man
Glad you liked it Taylor! SEO can be tough. The biggest advice I have on SEO is to make sure that you do it 100% white-hat. Write great content and build your network with blogs and people that have high ranking websites.
Ronald
Hi Taylor,
I have the same issue and monetizing is pretty difficult! Still working on my SEO and using the Yoast plugin in WordPress for that.
Ronald
Tyler
This is a awesome guide, I just started my blog about a month ago and will be working on monetizing it soon so I was hoping to read more about that (not that my daily trips to smartpassiveincome.com don’t help with that). I’m struggling with the fact that the easiest way to monetize is to put ads up but that I don’t want to do that, I’m working on a resource page and that’s about all I can think of as of now, I’m much more interested in freelancing than making money directly from my blog.
Millennial Money Man
Thanks Tyler! I actually think that freelancing or offering blog management services for companies is a FAR more effective route to fast monetization than ads. People think that you need to make money from your blog, but it’s really about making money from your blogging abilities!!!! Ad revenue takes a ton of time and traffic to be really effective.
Kalie @ Pretend to Be Poor
Maybe I missed this in a previous post, but where does your actual blog income come from? How much of it is from ads, affiliate income, sponsored posts, or freelance writing?
Millennial Money Man
Hey Kalie! Check out my latest post: “3 Strategies I Used To Grow My Blog Quickly”. I detailed exactly where my income came in last month from the blog.
Peter
Hi Bobby,
I am using the free WordPress and none to bright on IT things. Can I transfer my free WordPress blog (with the free theme) to Bluehost, would I first need to upgrade from my free WordPress plan?
Thanks
(I like your blog too)
Millennial Money Man
Hey Peter! Send me an email ([email protected]) and I’ll walk you through the export process!
Mikey
Thanks to this post I now have a blog! I followed it to a T and it was super easy! My site and even first few blog posts are now in the history books! I wish I would have seen this sooner.
Excellent work M$M!
Millennial Money Man
Glad it was easy for you! Let me know if you need any help ????
Brad Grimm
Blogging has created very cool opportunities for me. My income is split between three sources; physical product sales, affiliate marketing sales & Google Adsense income. Be sure to chose a nitch you are passionate about and be consistent.
Millennial Money Man
For sure! I like writing about $$$ so much that it doesn’t feel like work. It’s awesome!!!!!! 🙂
Bruce
Any recommendations on how to develop a logo for a website, blog, or app without spending an ungodly amount of money and/or sacrificing quality? Thanks in advance!
Millennial Money Man
I used thelogocompany.com for mine, which cost about $150. That’s a little high for people that are just starting out blogging and may not be serious, but for a good quality design with ALL of the necessary high resolution files (which is KEY) it’s a fair price. You also get unlimited revisions, but make sure that you have an idea in mind of what you are looking for and the process will move faster. A lot of people use Fiver, which is super cheap for ok quality. It’s a tough question because you can spend a TON of money if you hire a firm, or as few as $10 on some sites. Hope that helps!
Kathy
Thank you for the suggestion of thelogocompany.com and the reasons for doing so, that is super helpful!
Millennial Money Man
You’re welcome! They did a good job on my logo so I usually point people in their direction.
Andrew @ DebtFreedomJourney
This is an excellent and thorough guide, a must read for any beginner. You’ve definitely given me some ideas on how to improve my similar guide.
I decided to go with a paid theme and I’m very happy about that fact. I didn’t have to spend a lot of time customizing and the code is speedy and efficient. I had a very pleasant experience with MyThemeShop but there are other really great resources for premium themes out there as well. Great post as usual.
Millennial Money Man
Thanks Andrew, glad it helped (this post took me FOREVER but a bunch of people have used it)! There are good free themes out there, but I worry about some of them from an SEO standpoint. A lot of the free ones just aren’t coded as well as some of the good paid themes out there and have issues because of it.
Marita
Thanks for the post! Quick question, over what base/considering which factors you make the recomendation of WordPress being “best” for blogging? The interface, the cost, the capabilities to monetize? Also, what about Squarespace, any opinion on that? Thanks again!
Millennial Money Man
Hey Marita! Great question – here are my thoughts:
WordPress is fairly easy to get started in my opinion, but I do know that the learning curve is a bit steeper than it is on Squarespace. Most of my blog coaching students have no issues with wordpress other than just understanding the layout when you are in the admin panel.
The reason I like WP so much is that everything is focused around your content. It’s easy to write posts, publish, edit, etc. That’s the most important thing about blogging anyways right?
Every blogger that makes significant income that I know uses WordPress. Every. Single. One. Any big financial blogger you can think of is on WP. My marketing clients also use it for their businesses, and it works perfectly for using content to market their brand.
Squarespace doesn’t quite have the range of customization options that WordPress gives users. WordPress is open-source, so there are thousands of plugins that you can use to customize your site. The only issue is that some of them are coded poorly, so always stick to the ones that are rated highly in the plugin area and you will be fine.
That’s not to say that Squarespace is a bad platform. From talking to people and looking at SS websites, it looks like a good option for beginners or people that want everything wrapped up into one package. It’s ALSO a good option for people that need a visually based website rather than content based (photographers, artists, etc.). The issue that will come up over time is that when you are ready to go ultra custom with your theme (which you absolutely will if you blog long enough), it will be more difficult there than on WordPress. I only know about two bloggers that use SS, and both have told me they wished they had started with WordPress from the beginning.
The last piece of advice – I would say avoid WordPress.com (most serious blogs you see are self-hosted wordpress.org sites). I just have too many people that have issues trying to transfer over pictures and posts from a wordpress.com site to their self-hosted site when they decide to make the jump.
Hope that helps!
Bobby
Dalton
Hey Bobby,
This is a great guide and extremely helpful. So, thank you for putting it together. Quick question: Is there a stock photo list you pull from for you blog posts? Or do you use your own photos for all? I’m unsure if there is a plugin that can be used instead having to upload photos all of the time.
Thanks!
Millennial Money Man
Thanks Dalton! Glad it helped. Pexels is great for free pictures, and I also search on Google for creative commons pictures. I actually have started paying for pictures recently, but I don’t think any new blogger needs to do that. Plenty of free pictures out there. I upload my photos after editing them in Picmonkey.
Neeshay
Hello!
So I am just thinking of setting up a site and I’m confused about one thing. If I go with the free wordpress theme, will I not be able to add advertisement banners or get paid using good adsense?
Millennial Money Man
Hey Neeshay! If you are on a self-hosted WordPress site like the one this tutorial shows you how to make, you CAN use advertisement banners and adsense even with a free theme.
Brenda
Hi M$M,
I was wondering you ever took a blogging course? Or did you just learn as you went along? I started mine a few years back but haven’t been consistent (I just read your post on full time work and blogging, this will change this year) and still do not know how to change the font on my posts. The blog course I’m looking at is about $350 which is quite a bit of money for me, I keep going back and forth on this decision.
~Thank you~
PS I’m a new subscriber and really enjoy reading your blog.
Millennial Money Man
No I didn’t take a course, I learned as I went. What course are you thinking about taking? For the fonts (assuming you are talking about changing the heading sizes) check this page out – it might help! https://web.vanderbilt.edu/blog/2011/09/06/wordpress-visual-editor/
I’m so glad you like the site!!! 🙂
Alice Keesey Mecoy
M$M, where do you get your photos for your posts? I am working on redoing my blogger blog in WordPress and am fascinated by the pictures you use.
Love the blog for the financial info and the blogging help. I’m a baby boomer, hope I’m still welcome here!????
Millennial Money Man
Hey Alice! I use a mix of Bigstock and Pexels. Thanks for the kind words about the site! 🙂
Mat Frink
Bobby,
This is a great post and very easy to follow. I used your link to start hosting my own blog, I hope that gets you some commission. I’m just wondering where you get the pictures you use in each of your blog posts, whether they are paid or free through creative commons? I am aware of some good websites like picjumbo.com that allow you to use many of their photos for free without attribution. Do you have any recommendations?
Thanks,
Mat
Millennial Money Man
Hey Mat – Thanks so much! Glad it was helpful 🙂
Take a look at Bigstock and Pexels, they usually have good creative commons stuff.
Stephen
Looking forward to seeing your side by side comparison of thesis and Genesis. I’ve been debating taking my blog to the next level with a paid theme for a while now, I just haven’t pulled the trigger on which.
Millennial Money Man
Yes I definitely need to get that review out. It really just depends on how much you want to spend. Thesis is better if you want to stay in the $100-300 range for your site, and Genesis is really all over the place but much harder to create if you don’t have coding skills.
This current version of the site runs on Genesis, but it was custom coded and cost ~$4,000. The last version of M$M that I used for a year and a half ran Thesis that I paid $200 for. This one is obviously a lot nicer, but there’s no way I could ever make something like this by myself! I made plenty of money with the Thesis version too 🙂
Kathy
Hi M$M, I’ve enjoyed this course so much, and am just now getting ready to start my new blog. I’ve been looking at Genesis and it seems like the themes there don’t require knowing code, so I was wondering about your comment above. Are the themes not ready to go?
I’m trying to figure it all out, and I am definitely not tech savvy! I noticed the themes available through Genesis are about $100 and some have eCommerce options, and that all the themes come with different numbers of widgets. I don’t know if I’d need eCommerce, or if some of these themes come with some of the widgets I would want, anyway? Can I pick a theme with eCommerce and just not use it for now? I noticed your Stellaris site uses the Altitude Pro (which I also really liked), but it doesn’t look like you are using the eCommerce feature that comes with it, is that right? BTW, http://www.stellaris.com looks awesome! Do you recommend a minimum number of widgets for a blog? When I looked up widgets online to see what they were (I’m really, really not tech savvy!) I liked widgets like the optin monster, featured page widget, social count plus, recent posts with thumbnails, and maybe even a YouTube channel gallery (although I have not created any YouTube videos yet). I look forward to your thoughts, thank you sooo much!!!
Millennial Money Man
Hey Kathy!
You can do some building on Genesis without code if you use the palate design plugin, but it’s very limited in my experience. There are some great tutorials on YouTube, but they still aren’t very easy haha.
eCommerce is tricky – it just depends on what you are doing with your site. WordPress is compatible with several eCommerce themes like Woocommerce, but I’d suggest using a separate service like Bigcommerce.com. It’s just easier and inexpensive for the functionality and ease of use.
I think you might be mixing up widgets and plugins (which is totally fine, it happens!). PLugins are basically apps that you can install on your site to get different functionalities (like optinmonster), where widgets are areas of special code that lets you do things like put ads in the sidebar. Once you start messing around with WordPress it will all make more sense!
Kathy
Wow, this is all so informative and very helpful, M$M, thank you! I’m on Day 3 of your M$M blogging course & loving it! I’ve played around with a WordPress blog in the past, but it was really just for fun. I’m getting really excited about learning more and starting a new blog. 🙂
Millennial Money Man
Awesome Kathy I’m so glad to hear that!
Kendra Johnson
Thank you for all of the tips! I love your site. Question about social media. How do you join groups/post as your “M$M” instead of yourself. Doesn’t Facebook prohibit you from joining groups with a company name?
Millennial Money Man
You’re welcome and thank you! I really don’t do a lot of posting in groups – your Facebook page can be named whatever you’d like if I remember correctly. I’ve actually switched back and forth between M$M and Millennial Money Man a few times before.
William
Hi Bobby!
I came across your blog (I think through my uncle) and soak up all the great content!
Getting ready to roll out my new blog-first timer-later this summer.
4 questions:
1. WordPress org vs. com. I’ve read com is free but org may be better if interested in monetizing? FYI will most like go through Bluehost.
2. Relative to question 2. Any compatibility issues for affiliate links, Google Adsense or ebooks with com vs org WordPress options?
3. Online merchandise. Can WordPress host merch sales ok?
4. Lead captures and management. Should I use a system like convertkit or similiar email management tool? When capturing email, is it necessary to post a dedicated landing page only when offering a new product?
Thanks in advance for the time. This blogging is all new to me! I do publish with a traditional publishing house (health/fitness space) so if you ever need a guest blog etc around that would enjoy the collaboration! Best, William Smith, NJ
Millennial Money Man
Hey William!
.org is hands down the best way to go if you’re serious about doing this well. You’re talking about $70ish dollars to really do it right instead of going with the free .com and having to transfer all of your files over later. Just trust me on this one.
.org won’t have any compatibility issues
Yes, WP has several options for online sales. Woocommerce is a good plugin, but I’d actually do a bigcommerce or Shopify store and link to it from your blog. So much functionality with either of those last two sites. Fairly cheap too.
Convertkit is the bomb (what I use). The only other one I’ve used is Mailchimp, which is OK but not as intuitive for bloggers.
I definitely suggest that you take my blogging course in the sidebar. I think it will help you with a lot of your questions about getting started!
Will
Bobby, thank you! I apologize about for replying sooner. The comments section is gold on your site. So many good answers. I had a not so great experience with a couple websites about 10 years back spent way tooo much money. Taking it slow this time. You’ve validated a lot of my research thank you. I will check the course as well! I may have signed up but overlooked some of the content! You know full time job, 3 kids and commute! Regards Will
Millennial Money Man
No problem – you’re welcome!
Will
Bobby, had one more question. Regarding formation of a formal business entity, LLC etc. did you form one from the get go or wait a bit until you started generating revenue?
Millennial Money Man
I waited until I started to generate revenue. Look into a LLC with S Corp designation when the time comes and see if that’s a good setup for you.
Valerie
Hi! I am following these steps from my phone … I am at the installation of WordPress step.. Seems like its not working …is it possible by phone? U have an Android if that makes a difference.
Thanks! Val
Millennial Money Man
Hey Val – here’s an article that might help: https://www.webhostingplanguide.com/details/bluehost-work-iphone-ipad/
Micalicious
My old laptop won’t work so I am looking into buying a chrome book or something. Do you think that would be an issue in the long run if I start my own blog? Any thoughts?
Millennial Money Man
Nope! You should be good to go.
Shawn @ NMI
Thanks so much for this post, Bobby! After reading this post and doing some hard work for the last few months, I finally launched my blog today!
Any chance I can get a shout out? 😉
Millennial Money Man
Shoot me a tweet on Twitter 🙂
Shawn
I am about to start my first blog. Before I do I am a bit confused on how to make money. What is the approach to getting links on your wordpress site to make money. What makes the most money? How do you get paid? Can you elaborate a bit more on making money and how to get companies to pay you?
Millennial Money Man
Hey Shawn! You’ll want to take my free blogging course – it discusses a ton of monetization strategies: http://millennialmoneyman.com/the-free-millennial-money-man-blogging-course/
Taylor
Thanks for the information! Finally pulled the trigger on a blog thanks to your push. I am excited to see what I learn.
Millennial Money Man
Congrats! Just remember to have fun and don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Content = king!
Hari
Thank you for taking the time to write this! I recently just started my blog and it’s definitely a lot to manage but kinda fun. Just not when I skip other things that I need to do because I got too focused into my blog. But, feel free to check out my website, it’s still definitely a work in progress!
Brittany
I’m ready to start my blog and just signed up for WordPress but am completely overwhelmed with the actual setting up part of the blog. I am an elementary school teacher and have run a Weebly website the last four years as a “hub” for my students. (We’re a 1:1 school where all students have an ipad so there’s daily technology use). I just use the free version and there’s no monetization of it. It is extremely easy to use as Weebly is a complete drag and drop feature. After choosing a theme I can drag and drop buttons, images, text boxes, imbed youtube videos or files, etc. all right on the page. This is the only format I’ve ever experienced and I think I’ve become spoiled with it!
I just signed up for WordPress and this is niave, but was totally overwhelmed when I realized that it is not drag and drop. I have a vision of the layout I want for my blog but am very confused at how to set that up within the website. What would take me 30 minutes to do on Weebly is taking much longer on WordPress. I feel that a basic knowledge of coding (which I don’t have) is necessary and scares me!
From the little bit of research I’ve done it seems like I can eventually monetize a Weebly site as well with affiliate marketing and google adsense. I’m very tempted to cancel my WordPress subscription and just do the paid Weebly subscription and stick with what I know/am comfortable with.
Would this be a mistake? Do I need talked off a ledge?
Thanks in advance for any guidance!
Millennial Money Man
I’ll put it this way – I don’t know a single professional blogger on Weebly. There are definitely themes that you can use which have drag and drop features which will allow you to avoid any code.
You’re better off to jump in now and get the learning curve out of the way IMO! (It’s really not that bad)
Jessica
I set up my blog on wordpress and was told there is a difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org. I can’t tell the difference but was told it affects if I ever want to monetize my blog. Thoughts?
Millennial Money Man
With a .org site, you own the blog and content. The .com version is not self-hosted. The simple way to put this is that I don’t know a single professional blogger on the .com version. Hope that helps!
Kristen Reyven
Bobby,
I already have the domain name I want through bluhost. Is this still something I can utilize? I have been wanting to get this up and running for some time and all I have accomplished is the domain #failmuch #moneynotwellspent I “own” bloggeddownnurse but also wondered about changing it (too wordy, double letters??).
Kristen
Millennial Money Man
Hey Kristen! As long as you purchase the hosting for the site through my link, you’ll be fine. When you get to the “choose your domain” section, you’ll just need to enter your domain into the right-hand box instead of searching for one on the left side.
I’m not sure exactly what you’re going to be writing about, but I think the domain name is actually really clever haha. If you have any questions feel free to shoot me an email to Bobby @ millennial money man.com
Adam
This sounds great! How do I know what to blog about? I’m not an expert on anything! Thanks
Millennial Money Man
All you need to do is pick something you’re interested in! That’s how I started M$M 🙂
Lauren
hi bobby,
For the setup service are you using the divi theme? Thanks!
Millennial Money Man
Hey Lauren! We’re using the Astra theme for the setup service. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Lauren
Thanks for responding so quickly and thanks for offering this service. I can’t wait to take advantage of it. Take care!
Millennial Money Man
You’re welcome!
Michael
So, after the year us up, who owns the domain name? If we are succesful in developing an audience, do you charge a large fee to allow us to use it, or do you try to sell it to us for it’ s new market value based on our sucess?
Millennial Money Man
Hey Michael – just to clarify, you are getting a domain name through Bluehost, not through me. I get an affiliate cut from Bluehost when you sign up for hosting, which allows me to provide the setup service at no additional cost to you. All we do is set your site up for you once you’ve purchased your hosting and domain. Your domain would renew at $11.99 after your free year through Bluehost regardless of your success or audience size. Hope that helps!
Kiera Fuller
I just signed up with your link! Looking forward to finally getting this blog I’ve been dreaming about up and running. You have been been a huge inspiration for me for, well, years at this point.
Thanks so much for the great resource!
Millennial Money Man
Thanks so much, and you’re welcome! Hope you like the resources and service. 🙂
Jenn
Hi! I am trying to figure this out… do I need to purchase WordPress as well as Bluehost?? I want to understand better!
Thank you!
Millennial Money Man
Hey there! You will be able to install WordPress for free after you purchase your hosting through Bluehost. Basically we set it all up for you so you don’t have to touch a thing 🙂
Phil spencer-harris
Hi Bobby. After finding you guys on LapTop Empire about 4 days ago I have now taken the plunge and purchased my Bluehost package via this website. I’m very, very nervous/excited about this as it’s around $200 (New Zealand) so I’m behind the 8 ball, so to speak! While I’m here, well done with your blogging and podcasting success. I enjoy listening to your dicussions as I find them frank and honest and inspiring, you are the reason I am launching that blog! Now if you ever need some little nuggets of parenting advice, be sure to drop me an email. Cheers from New Zealand!
Alex
Was curious if one would still own their site even after getting the Launch You Blog help?
Just double-checking on that
Millennial Money Man
Hey Alex!
Yes, you own your site. All we are doing is setting it up for you.
Hope that helps!
Ryan
Hi Bobby-
Long time reader and owner of your awesome FB side hustle course. Looking to get into blogging for my wife’s counseling business and just had a few questions.
1- I know you to be super ethical and honestly I have to ask- the Launch Your Blog deal just seems frankly too good to be true. There’s no ongoing payments or what not to your team we are paying for this awesome service? Your compensation for this seems solely to be affiliate income based. Asking for a friend.
2- Being super new to the blogging setup jargon, when you say that you pre-install a theme, does that mean we don’t get to customize/design the look of the site? Seems silly even as I say it…
Thanks!
Ryan
Future Blogger
Millennial Money Man
Hey Ryan!
1. Nope, no ongoing payments. We get a commission from Bluehost when you sign up for hosting through our affiliate link, which is how we make money providing this service. The billing for hosting is done through Bluehost, so we don’t ever see or have CC information on our end to charge you with any kind of ongoing work.
2. So we install the Astra theme, install the plugins to get you started (basically they are add-on pieces of software that make the site work well), and then you get all of the training materials that I mentioned, along with a video guide to further customize your site. We’re essentially taking all the tech parts/installation out of the equation so that you can start with a site and customize to your liking on your own.
Hope that helps!
Ryan
That helps a lot. You and Mike really are rock solid human beings.
Side note- just started listening to the podcast this week. Good stuff.
Millennial Money Man
Thanks so much! Glad you’re liking the podcast 🙂