How to Start a Successful Blog in 2023

Learn how to create a blog in less than an hour. Become a blogger today by following the steps we used when we started our blog, which has now reached over 20 million people and been seen in the New York Times, TIME magazine and the TODAY show.

How to become a blogger in 5 easy steps

1. Choose your blog name and get your blog hosting.
2. Start your blog by adding WordPress.
3. Choose a simple theme to customize your blog.
4. Add two key blogging plugins to find your readers and track stats.
5. Write compelling content to create a blog your readers will love.

How we started this blog

Want to create something meaningful? Why not start a blog? Why not become a blogger? Creating this blog is one of the best decisions Ryan and I ever made. After all, our blog is how we make a living. More importantly, it’s how we add value to other people’s lives.

So you’re thinking about starting a blog, but you have no idea where to start, do you? Guess what, neither did we! Before we became “The Minimalists,” we wanted to start a blog to communicate our thoughts and express our feelings, but we were overwhelmed with options.

Clueless, confused, and confused with options, we had no idea how to start. a blog or how to be a blogger. When should we start? How do we register a domain name? What is lodging? What blogging platform should we use? How do we choose a blog topic? What is a plugin? What should we write about? Heck, we barely knew how to spell HTML, let alone start a blog!

But good news: it turns out that starting a blog is a lot easier than you think. We’ve learned a lot of lessons during our rise to millions of readers, and now you can learn from our pain and suffering to avoid much of the tedium that goes into blogging.

How to Become a Blogger: Tutorial on video

If you’d rather see our process for setting up a blog, we’ve created a step-by-step instructional video, How to Become a Successful Blogger Today, which walks you through the entire initial process. -a company-blog. Otherwise, keep reading.

How to Start a Successful Blog in 5 Steps

1. Choose your blog name and get your blog hosting.
2. Start your blog by adding WordPress.
3. Choose a simple theme to customize your blog.
4. Add two key blogging plugins to find your readers and track stats .
5. Write compelling content to create a blog your readers will love.

While there are other blogging platforms, such as Blogger.com and Tumblr.com, almost all serious bloggers use a self-hosted WordPress. site because of its creative freedom and flexibility.

The Minimalists uses WordPress because it gives us more control over the look and feel of our blog, more creative control than any other platform. Oh, and WordPress itself is free!

These are the exact steps we followed when we created this website. By following these five steps, you’ll learn how to set up a blog in less than an hour.

Step 1 Choose your blog name and get your blog hosting

First things What we did when we started our blog was go to Bluehost and register our domain, which is free with hosting. We’ll cover hosting in a bit, but let’s talk about your domain name first.

Choose your domain name

Your domain name is an important part of your blog because it creates a first impression: is the name of your blog. Also known as your URL, your domain is also your address on the web. For example, our domain name is www.theminimalists.com.

So what do you want to call your blog? Maybe it’s YourName.com. Maybe it’s YourBusinessName.com. Or maybe it’s a creative brand you came up with. If you’re having a hard time thinking of a good domain name, try Wordoid, a wonderful naming tool that will give you lots of great options. Just make sure you don’t buy the domain from them, as Bluehost will give you a domain for free. (If you’ve already bought a domain elsewhere, that’s okay, too, because Bluehost will make it easy to transfer your existing domain during the setup process.)

Set up blog hosting

A Once you’ve decided on a domain name, you’ll need to set up hosting for your blog. While WordPress itself is free (see Step 2 below), you need a reliable place to host your WordPress blog (your blog must be on a server somewhere on the Internet).

For the hosting, we recommend Bluehost for several reasons:

• We use Bluehost. We personally use Bluehost to host The Minimalists. If you recommend a company, you better be willing to use their product yourself. We also use them to host several other websites of ours.
• Great prices. TheMinimalists.com is a Bluehost affiliate partner, which means that in addition to using their service, you also Receive A commission for referring new customers. However, to be fair, we would still use Bluehost even if we weren’t an affiliate; we have used them for a long time. Ergo, we don’t recommend Bluehost just because we’re an affiliate (all hosting companies offer a similar affiliate program); We recommend Bluehost because it is the best and most reliable option. Also, because we’re a partner, Bluehost offers a discount of more than 50% for The Minimalists readers: only $2.95 per month for the first year.
• Free domain. When you sign up for hosting, Bluehost will give you a free domain name, allowing you to avoid the upfront and recurring fees associated with purchasing a domain on your own. If you’ve already purchased your own domain name, don’t worry; you can still use your domain with Bluehost (it’s just one extra step).
• Money-back guarantee. Bluehost offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so there is no risk if you change your mind.
• Reliability. Bluehost facilities are world class. They have their own custom built 20,000 square foot data center with enough backup generators to power a city.
• Friends and family. Many of our friends and family also use Bluehost for hosting. your blogs.

Now that you’re ready to get started, go to Bluehost and click the Start Now button.

Next, choose your hosting plan.

You’ll see prices range from $3 to $6 per month, depending on whether you want a basic hosting plan, single blog hosting or a more robust plan that allows you to create multiple blogs.

Once you select your plan, you’ll choose or log in. This will be your domain name.

If you don’t have a domain name, simply enter the desired blog name in the New Domain box. p>

If you already have a domain name, simply enter it in the I have a domain name box.

Click Next.

Finally create your blog account.

And click Create your password to complete your blog hosting setup.

Just like that, you almost became a blogger!

Step 2 Start your blog by adding WordPress

Next, you’ll install WordPress, which is free. However, don’t let the word “install” intimidate you. It’s much easier than it sounds, and Bluehost does all the work for you.

To get started, just click Login.

Bluehost provides several blog layout options, just scroll to the bottom and click Skip This Step (you’ll see why in a moment).

WordPress is now installed. Just click Start Building to go to your new blogging dashboard and continue to Step 3.

Step 3 Choose a simple theme to customize your blog

A theme allows you to choose a layout for your blog without any coding experience or design knowledge. In other words, a good theme helps you design your blog exactly how you want it to look. If you’re not a programmer (I’m certainly not a programmer), then a theme makes design work a million times easier.

Our blog design is by BYLT, a platform created by our good friends. in SPYR. They have several beautiful and simple WordPress themes to choose from and you can actually buy the same theme we use if you want.

Just go to BYLT and find the minimalist WordPress theme that best suits your needs. needs. desired aesthetic.Their themes are rich in features; Plus, once you buy your theme, you’ll have the same team supporting your work that we trust to support ours.

Once you purchase your theme, you will be able to download your WordPress theme ( a .zip file) from your BYLT board. Save this file to your desktop because you’ll need to upload it to WordPress in a bit.

Remember how easy it was to install WordPress? Well, installing your blog theme is just as simple.

First go back to your WordPress Dashboard.

You should already be logged in, but every time you log out, go to my.bluehost. com, enter your new domain name (or username), your password, and click Submit.

From here, Go to My Sites and click Login to WordPress.

Next, in your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance > Themes .

Themes” />

Next, click the Upload button.

Then, click on the Load Theme button followed by Choose File button.

Browse for the .zip file you downloaded from your BYLT board (this is your theme file) and click Install Now to install your new simple blog design.

Finally, click Activate and your blog theme will be installed.

Step 4 Add two key blogging plugins to find your readers and track statistics

Plugins are third-party appendages that add extra functionality to your blog.

It’s best to keep your number of blog plugins to a minimum and install only the best ones, because U Using too many plugins, as well as unreliable plugins, can slow down your site. We use very few plugins at The Minimalists.

In this section, you will install and activate the following free plugins:

• Yoast SEO is the SEO plugin de facto standard for WordPress. For details and everything you want to know about WordPress SEO, read Yoast’s Ultimate SEO Guide.
• Google Analytics for WordPress by MonsterInsights allows you to track the traffic to your blog easily and with lots of interesting data: general traffic, traffic sources, views by author and category, automatic tracking of outgoing clicks and page views.

In your blog control panel WordPress, go to Plugins> Add New.

Search for Yoast SEO.

Then click Click Install Now followed by Activate It and your blog will have improved SEO immediately.

Next search for MonsterInsights.

Then click Install Now followed by Activate.

Next, click Run Wizard! and follow the steps to complete the MonsterInsights setup.

Finally, so that people can receive our blog posts by email, we set up a free Feedburner account. For a more feature-rich email subscription service, we recommend ConvertKit (affiliate link). (By the way, if you haven’t already, please subscribe to The Minimalists blog via email.)

Step 5 Write compelling content to create a blog your readers will love

Congratulations! You started a blog and now it’s time to start posting. This is where the fun begins.

Now that you have your own blog, you can make it your own; you can turn your vision into a reality.

• Content. Start writing and publishing the content for your basic pages: create an About page, a Contact page, a Home page, and any other pages you want in the header of your new blog.
• Photo. Add a photo of yourself (pro tip: you can start with a well-lit selfie, but when you get the chance, take some professional shots—it’s worth the cost because people identify with other people more than they do with logos).
• Logo. Create a basic logo using a program like InDesign, Photoshop, or a text editor (note: although we have no design skills, we were able to use Apple’s Pages app to create our simple logo after downloading some free vector artwork and choosing the type of lyrics that best suited our aesthetics). Or you can hire someone like 99designs or SPYR to design a professional logo.
• Images. Bring your blog posts to life with high-quality photos and images: Paul Jarvis (free), Unsplash (free), Library of Congress (free), iStock (paid), Shutterstock (paid).
• Comments. Determine whether or not you want comments on your blog; they are often a useful way to receive feedback and interact directly with your readers.
• Social. Establish a social media presence on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram (or all three).
• Post. Start writing new blog posts. Post at least once a week, especially when you first start a blog, so you can build an audience. Below, you’ll also find 20 blogging tips to improve your writing in the How to Blog section, as well as 15 Reasons Why You Should Start a Blog and 3 Reasons Not to Start a Blog.

We hope you have a lot of fun expressing yourself on your new blog. We are sure that it will be a great growth experience for you in the coming months. You have now officially become a blogger. Wherever you go, make sure you enjoy the journey ahead.

How to Blog: 20 Tips to Improve Your Writing

We get a lot of emails asking how to blog. , topics and about creating meaningful content. Most of this essay explains how to start a blog, but that’s just the beginning step. Now is the time to start writing and publishing your content.

Here, to answer the frequently asked question “How can a beginner start blogging?”, there are 20 tips for beginners on how to blog.

1. Find your niche. You don’t need to have a niche, but it helps. When learning to be a blogger, it’s important to ask yourself what you’re passionate about. Run? Cooking? Be dad? Have you found your passion? If so, whatever it is, write about it. If not, you must first find your passion. Note: We generally recommend that people don’t start a blog on minimalism or keto or any other highly crowded topic. But what we really mean when we say this is: don’t blog about something unless you have a unique perspective. If you’ve embraced the simple life and have a unique perspective, then by all means do so.
2. Define your ideal readers. Once you’ve found your niche, you need to know who will be reading your blog. For example, we blog about living a meaningful life with less. Therefore, our ideal readers are people interested in exploring minimalism in order to clear the path to more meaningful lives. If you want to write about your newborn baby’s growth, that’s wonderful – your ideal readers are probably your friends and family. If you want to write about classic car restoration, that’s fine too. Tailor your writing to your readers (whether it’s your family, your local community, or anyone else reading your blog).
3. Add value. Your blog should add value to the lives of your readers. You want to help people solve problems. This is the only way you’ll attract high-quality readers to your site (and keep them coming back). Adding value is the only way to gain long-term buy-in from someone. We both learned this after a decade of leading and managing people in the corporate world. With everything you write, it’s worth asking yourself: Is this adding value?
4. Be original. Yes, there are other blogs about the same thing you want to write about. Question: So why is your blog different? Answer: For you. You are what makes your blog different. It’s about your perspective, your creativity, the value you add.
5. Be interesting. Write interesting blog posts. Especially if you want people to share it with others.
6. Be yourself. Part of being interesting is telling your story.Each person is unique, and their story is important. However, the important part of storytelling is removing the superfluous details that make the story uninteresting. A great storyteller cuts out 99% of what’s actually going on (the absorbing details) and leaves the interesting 1% for the reader.
7. Be honest. Your blog must be authentic, it must feel real, if you want people to read it. You can be your blog, or your blog can be you. That is, do you really embody the things you write about? If not, people will notice. “Be the change you want to see in the world” is Gandhi’s famous quote. Maybe bloggers should create the blog they want to write for the world.
8. Transparency. Being transparent is different from being honest. You don’t have to share every detail of your life just to be honest. Always be honest and transparent when adding value to what you’re writing. (Because everything we write should serve the common good, you’ll never see pictures of us using the bathroom, that’s just not relevant.)
9. Time. Once you’ve learned how to start a blog, you’ll learn that blogging takes a lot of time, especially if you’re as neurotic as we are. That being said, once you’ve set up your layout, don’t change it. too much. Instead, spend time on your writing.
10. Vision. The reason our site design looks good is because we have a great host, we have a great theme, and most importantly, we had a vision of what we wanted our blog to look like. Once we had the vision, we worked hard to make that vision a reality. (Note: none of us had design experience before starting a blog.) It’s hard to create a beautiful blog if you don’t know what you want it to look like.
11. Find your voice . Over time, good writers discover their voice and their writing tends to develop a certain flow, which is attractive to their readers. Finding your voice makes your writing feel more alive, more real, more urgent. To read more, check out our blog post on Finding Your Voice.
12. Us instead of you. Use the first person plural when possible. The us and our statements are more powerful than you and your, especially when talking about negative behaviors or tendencies. The first person is much less accusatory. Think of it this way: we’re writing among peers, we’re not gods.
13. When to post. Question: What is the best day and time to publish a blog post? Answer: It doesn’t really matter. We don’t adhere to a particular time of day, but we do post at least once a week because consistency is important. However, you don’t need to get bogged down in the details.
14. Social Media. Yes, we recommend using Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to help you connect with your audience and other bloggers, but don’t get too caught up in it. Focus on writing first, then social media.
15. Ignore negative reviews and stupidity. Sure, we get a lot of negative comments and stupid questions from ignorant people who aren’t really our readers (“They’re not really minimalists!”). We call these people seagulls: they fly in, shit in place, and fly away. But we don’t pay attention to them, because we didn’t start our blog for them. Please delete your comment and continue.
16. Research. Spend time researching what you are writing about. The reason we can use so many useful and relevant links in our essays is because we spend time researching our topics.
17. Keep it simple. This is where minimalism can be applied to start any blog, regardless of its genre. No need to place superfluous ads or widgets all over your site. Stick to the basics and remove anything you don’t need; remove anything that doesn’t add value.
18. Image. Put a photo of yourself on your blog. People like to see the face of the person who is writing the blog. If two goofy guys from Dayton, Ohio aren’t afraid to put their photos up on your site, then you have nothing to worry about.
19. Comments. If you’re going to have comments on your site, read The Five Words That Kill Your Blog by Scott Stratten.
20. Live your life. You’re starting a blog about your life (or about certain aspects of your life, at least), so you still need to live your life. There are things that we always put blogs before: exercise, health, relationships, experiences, personal growth, contribution. Simply put, live a life worth writing about.

15 Reasons Why You Should Start A Blog

We were inspired to research and write this post blog post after reading Joshua Becker’s 15 Reasons. Reasons Why I Think You Should Have a Blog, in which he discusses 15 Great Reasons Why You Should Start a Blog.

Why is the keyword here? Fundamentally, Becker writes about the purpose of blogging, not just how to start a blog.That’s what so many of these other “blogs about blogs” seem to miss: they miss the point: the why behind starting a blog.

Here’s a rundown of our three favorite reasons on the list. from Becker:

1. You will become a better writer. “In essence, writing is communication. It’s about recording thoughts on paper and forcing others to agree with them,” Becker writes. “To that end, writing (just like every other form of communication that has ever existed) improves with practice. Blogging won’t force you to become a better writer, it will just happen as you do. And becoming a better writer has important benefits for the rest of your life, whether you’re creating a book, presentation, resume, or anniversary card for your spouse.” Correct! Writing blog posts is not only a great way to improve your blog writing, it’s a wonderful opportunity to improve everything you write, from business emails and text messages to that novel you’ve been dreaming of writing.
2. You will meet new people. “Whether it’s through comments, emails, or social media, you might be surprised at how quickly you meet people online,” Becker writes. That’s true! The Minimalists blog is responsible for many of the most important relationships I have developed over the last decade: long-term business and personal relationships born from this very blog
3. You will have more confidence >. “Blogging will help you discover more confidence in your life,” Becker writes. “You will quickly realize that you live an important life with a unique view and that you have something to offer others.” So true! Writing helps us better understand the life we ​​lead and the consequences of our actions.

3 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Start a Blog

So now you have 15 reasons why you should start a blog, and we show you how to start a blog, step by step, based on our personal experience.

But after giving you those detailed instructions, which could save you hundreds of hours of wasted time , we also want to give you some good reasons why you shouldn’t start a blog. (Please note that these reasons are our opinions only, and we do not claim to offer them as a collection of empirical blog maxims.)

1. Money. You should not start a blog to make money. We have to get that out of the way first. If your main goal is to replace your full-time income from blogging, forget about it. It does not work like that. Do you think Jimi Hendrix took his first guitar so he could “supplement his income”? No, he didn’t. Rather, he did it out of love, for the joy and satisfaction he received, and the income came later, much later actually.
2. Notoriety . Don’t plan to become “internet famous” right away. Not all sites grow as fast as ours, but that’s okay. The truth is that we were lucky. We found a great domain name, we cobbled together a logo and site design that people liked, we wrote pretty well, and our content connected with people in a unique way. However, we didn’t start this site to become “famous”. That would be ridiculous. We started this site to become a blogger and share a message. Our popularity came as a surprise to us, and was the result of a bit of luck and a lot of passionate hard work.
3. Traffic. Not all traffic is good, so don’t worry about getting thousands of readers right away. Spend your time producing meaningful creations and eventually the audience will show up if you are helping people solve problems. In other words, focus on adding value, not increasing traffic.

The funny thing is, all of these things can happen. You could earn a full time income by creating a blog. We do it, Corbett Barr does it and many others too. And you could become an internet famous blogger like Leo Babauta or Chris Brogan.

But if these are the only reasons you start blogging, you’ll be miserable because it will seem like work. And if it feels like work, you won’t be passionate about it, so you’ll either hate it or fall flat on your face (or both).

Instead, become a blogger and write because you’re passionate…

4 Blogging Resources

If you want to learn more about blogging, publishing, writing, and SEO, check out these additional resources:

• What kind of media count? (Seth Godin)
• How to Publish an Independent Book (Asymmetrical Press)
• How to Write Better: Online Class (Joshua Fields Millburn)
• A Few Fun Thoughts on SEO (Exile Lifestyle)

Infographic on starting a blog

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Frequently Asked Questions When Starting a Blog

• How do bloggers get paid money? Are blogging still profitable in 2023?
• How many hours do bloggers work?
• Is it hard to write blogs?What do bloggers actually do?
• What does blog mean?What does blog mean?
• Squarespace vs WordPress: Why should I use WordPress instead of Squarespace?
• How do I become a blogger?
• What’s the difference between a blog and a website?
• Are blogs dead?
• Does anyone read blogs anymore? Is it a waste of time?
• Are blogs still relevant in 2023? Is it worth starting a blog in 2023? Is it too late to start blogging?
• Should I start a blog or should I start a podcast?
• Do I need a business to start a blog?
• Is blogging a career? was it realistic? Do blogging careers have a future? Is blogging a good career?
• What has replaced blogging?
• What blog content is better? What should I blog about?
• What does a good blog look like? What is a blog for? What makes a good blog?
• What makes a successful blog?
• What kind of blog is most popular? What kind of blogs are the most searched? What are the popular blogging topics?
• How do you start a blog with no money? How do you start a free blog?
• How often should I post?
• What should my first post be about?
• How do you introduce yourself? on a blog?
• Why do blogs fail?
• Does Bluehost charge monthly or all at once?
• Have a question we didn’t answer? ?

How do bloggers get paid? Do bloggers make a lot of money? Are blogging still profitable in 2023?

How to make money blogging is the topic that beginner bloggers are most interested in. At The Minimalists, we earn money in several ways:

1. Creations. By building an audience that finds value in our message, we have been able to offer our three books and our documentary, Minimalism, to an audience that is willing to support our creative work. Consequently, all three books have been bestsellers and are now translated into more than a dozen languages; and thanks to Netflix, our documentary is available in 190 countries. (To learn more about our book publishing process, read this series of blog posts: Publishing an Independent Book.)
2. Contributions from the public. Since we refuse to clutter our popular blog or podcast with ads, we rely on audience support to fund our podcast production. With over 5,000 followers on Patreon and many others via PayPal, The Minimalists Podcast is fully funded by audience support, which means we can pay for our podcast producer, filmmaker, and studio space with no ads on our platforms. .
3. Speak. As we built our audience, many organizations, universities, and conferences began contacting us to speak at their events. At first, we started talking for free just to build a name for ourselves. Then we started charging a few hundred dollars per event. Now, we can charge a lot more money because the demand for our talks is high. So far, The Minimalists have spoken at Harvard, Apple, Google, Allstate, SAP, SXSW, TEDx, and many other organizations. We talked about a wide range of topics, from the simple life and “simple work” to health, relationships, writing, publishing, social media, personal growth and giving, and it all started because we started this blog. (Anyone interested in booking us to speak can visit our talks page for more details.)
4. Tours. In the past eight years, The Minimalists have embarked on eight speaking tours, including the 2017 “Less Is Now” 50-city theater tour, which drew an average of more than 1,000 people per night, with audiences considerably larger. Big in the biggest cities. Our 2014 All That Remains Bookstore Tour spanned 119 cities in eight countries and drew 75,000 attendees.
5. Writing classes. I get countless questions about writing, so I’ve been able to transfer that skill set to help hundreds of students improve their writing over the years. I teach a four-week online writing class designed to improve writing for people at any level: beginner, intermediate, or professional.
6. Amazon Links. If The Minimalists recommends a product like this photo scanner and then a reader buys that product, we receive a small commission on that sale at no additional cost to our audience. However, we are careful what we recommend because as minimalists we want you to consume less and to consume intentionally.
7. Affiliate Sales. When we recommend services like Bluehost and ConvertKit, we receive a referral fee. Again, though, that’s obviously not why we recommend these services.Just about every hosting company has an affiliate program, so we feel it’s best to recommend companies we trust.

Through these various means, Ryan and I are able to earn a full-time income through blogging But it’s worth noting that making money from your blog isn’t the best place to start.

While there’s nothing wrong with making money, which you can do Through affiliate links, advertisements, and your own products and services, the best reason to start blogging is because you have something to express.

If you make money along the way, great. In fact, if you help people solve their problems, you’re almost guaranteed to make money from your blog, eventually. Just remember that there are at least four resources that are more important than money: skills, time, energy, and attention.

That said, let’s not fool ourselves by acting like making money is irrelevant, it isn’t. . Making money from our blog is simply not the main driver of our creativity or why we became bloggers. Although people often think of money as a last resort, it’s the least important of the five listed above.

Money won’t necessarily improve your life, but it will amplify your existing behaviors. If you have bad habits, more money will make your life considerably worse. And if you’re already a giving person, more money can help you be more loving, supportive, and considerate.

How Many Hours Do Bloggers Work?

Personally, I write one or two blog posts. I blog a week, usually in the evenings or on the weekends, so it doesn’t interfere with my other activities. That’s the great thing about blogging: you can write whenever you want, no one tells you what to do, when to do it, or how much to do. Within five months of learning to blog, you’ll find your own pace that works for you.

Is blogging difficult? What do bloggers actually do?

Starting a blog is fun and simple. By following the instructions in this post, you can set up a blog today and start posting this afternoon.

This may sound simplistic, but bloggers write blog posts. Of course, that’s not all we do. Most of the bloggers I know are passionate about a particular topic (interior design, rock climbing, music reviews) and use their blog to express their thoughts and opinions on that topic.

Writing a blog does not require a title. or special training. In fact, all you need is a desire to communicate with an audience. If you have that, then starting a blog is ideal for you.

What does blog mean? What does blog mean?

According to Wikipedia, a blog is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of “unobtrusive, often informal, journal-style text entries (posts)” . The term “weblog” was coined by Jorn Barger on December 17, 1997. The shortened form, “blog,” was coined by Peter Merholz, who jokingly split the word weblog into the phrase we blog in the sidebar of his blog at 1999.

Today, blogs come in many shapes and sizes. Many are public journals that people use to express their feelings. Others, like this blog, exist to help people think critically and solve problems.

There are blogs that cover just about every topic, ideology, and interest, from sports and politics to religion and travel and everything in between. the rest. Even the biggest news organizations in the world (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, and MSNBC) have their own blogs.

Squarespace vs WordPress: Why Should You Use WordPress Over Squarespace?

Seems like we hear about Squarespace on every podcast. But when you compare Squarespace to WordPress, you soon discover that WordPress is superior in many ways.

While Squarespace isn’t a terrible option, it lacks the personal control that is available with WordPress. This is why every serious blogger I know uses a WordPress blog.

Here are five reasons why WordPress is better than Squarespace:

1. Design (Themes). Squarespace provides some beautiful templates, but they’re limited by the number of designs available. Since WordPress is a free and open source blogging platform, there is an ecosystem of tens of thousands of themes ready to satisfy every want and need. While this variety is a benefit, we know all too well that too many options can lead to a paradox of choice. That’s why we recommend starting with the premium themes designed and supported by our friends at SPYR. We have worked with SPYR since the early days of The Minimalists and continue to recommend their products and services. (This is not an affiliate link; SPYR just does a great job.)
2. Features (add-ons). While Squarespace has a rich feature set, no blogging platform can compare to the immense scale of features that WordPress offers. WordPress has a library of over 54,000 free plugins that can handle any task.While we suggest you keep the number of plugins on your blog to a minimum, the level of customization provided by WordPress is unmatched. Aside from plugins, a key feature that is built into WordPress, but not Squarespace, is version control. Versioning keeps track of your changes and allows you to compare revisions and go back to a version of your page or post at any time.

   I use this feature all the time because I know that if I’m not happy with something I’ve changed, I can quickly roll back to the previous version. This feature provides failsafe that allows bloggers to compose, compose, edit, and publish their posts within WordPress, making it a complete blogging solution.

3. Your content is yours

strong>. Owning your content means you have full control over what you express on your blog and full access to take that content and use it wherever you want. To enable the latter, WordPress provides tools to export your data for use on whatever hosting provider you choose to use. With Squarespace, you can never actually download a complete copy of your server’s files or database, but with WordPress you can create an exact replica. from your blog, at any time. This is most valuable for keeping backups or in case you choose to restart a blog with a new hosting company. With WordPress you have 100% ownership of your content, files, data and design, and everything can be backed up.

4. SEO. Out of the box, both WordPress and Squarespace are search engine friendly. But with just one plugin, WordPress elevates your SEO (search engine optimization). One plugin that we recommend for every blogger is Yoast SEO. This free WordPress plugin allows for deep customization of your on-page SEO, but more impressively, it provides automated content analysis. This helps guide you in improving and optimizing your content for better readability and better search engine reach. While SEO isn’t everything, we all start our blogs hoping that people will read what we’ve written. Following proper SEO practices can be a differentiating factor in reaching new people.
5. Growth. WordPress is extremely robust and customizable. It allows you to create a blog exactly how you would like. But what happens as your new blog grows? If you outgrow the out-of-the-box option, maybe it’s time to work with a designer to create a fully custom website that fits your brand and image. Since WordPress gives you full ownership of the platform, it also gives the designer the freedom to build and create their blog layout without restrictions. Nothing is forbidden.

How do I become a blogger?

The answer is in the question: the only way to become a blogger is to start a blog. This may sound overly simplistic, but that’s because it’s not that complicated. By following these steps, you will become a blogger and start posting today.

1. Choose your blog name and get your blog hosting.
2. Start your blog adding WordPress.
3. Choose a simple theme to personalize your blog.
4. Add two key blogging plugins to find your readers and track stats.
5. Write compelling content to create a blog your readers will love.

There’s an old truism: “Writers don’t like to write; they like to have written”. I think the opposite is true for bloggers: because of the instant gratification of the WordPress “Post” button, I find that bloggers enjoy writing because they are constantly sharing that writing with the world.

The barrier to entry is gone, so start blogging if you want to become a blogger. It really is that simple.

What’s the difference between a blog and a website?

While the lines have blurred over the years, the most Simply put, a blog is a type of website that catalogs, over time, the personal or professional thoughts and beliefs of a person or organization.

As your thoughts, beliefs change and ideas, so will your blog. It’s nice to have a time capsule of our thoughts, as they’ve evolved over the past decade.

Are blogs dead?

No, blogs aren’t “dead.” In fact, blogging is more alive than ever!

In fact, our blog has grown every year since 2010 and now has over 3.78 million readers and an email list that continues growing every month.

Does anyone read more blogs? Is blogging a waste of time?

Millions of people read our blog every year and our audience continues to grow because, thanks to our blog, new people find our work every day. But it’s not just The Minimalists who are successful. Blogs are popular all over the world and are the easiest way to publish content without intermediaries or gatekeepers.

Blogging is the opposite of a waste of time. If you have a genuine desire to share your creativity with the world, then it is one of the best “time investments” you can make.Our blog is simultaneously our practice space, where we share new ideas and writings with the world, as well as a bulletin board that keeps our audience abreast of any new developments in the world of minimalism.

Continue blogging still relevant in 2023? Is it worth starting a blog in 2023? Is it too late to start blogging?

Starting a blog is possibly more important than ever. Whether you want to publish your writing, build an audience, open a business, or start a podcast, your blog is home to your creative endeavors.

Once you’ve started a blog, you’re no longer dependent on other people’s platforms. There is nothing “bad” having an Instagram or TikTok account, but those platforms are ephemeral. If they lose relevance, then so will you (remember MySpace). However, that is not the case with a blog. Because you own your blog, it stays with you no matter where the culture moves.

The best time to start a blog was a decade ago. The second best moment is now. If you have an idea you want to share, get started!

Should I start a blog or should I start a podcast?

You don’t have to choose one or the other. You can start a blog and start a podcast. That’s what we did. After starting our popular blog, which is now read by millions of people, we started a similar podcast which, as of this writing, has over 100 million downloads. Frankly, our podcast wouldn’t have been as successful if we didn’t also have a blog. So if we had to pick one, we would start a blog. But luckily, you can choose both if you’re into both creative outlets.

Do I need a business to start a blog?

No, you don’t need a licensed business to start a blog. Even if you start making money from your blog, you can claim that income on your personal taxes under your name and social security number. It took several years before Ryan and I turned The Minimalists into a Limited Liability Company (LLC).

Is Blogging a Realistic Career? Do blogging careers have a future? Is blogging a good career?

Blogging is still a career for many people, a great way to generate additional income for even more people. But Ryan and I don’t think of blogging as a career. Rather, for us, it is an opportunity to add value to people’s lives. Of course, if you add enough value, revenue tends to follow. Blogging has also allowed us to showcase our books, podcasts, movies, social media, and other projects that add value to our audience.

What has replaced blogging?

While new forms of media continue to enter image podcasts, newsletters, social media, nothing replaces having a home for your creative work. The Minimalists has a podcast, an email newsletter, and several social media accounts, but none of them could supplant our blog. Instead, we use our blog to flag these additional resources.

Which blog content is best? What should I blog about?

We often hear people say that you should blog about what you are passionate about. That’s great advice if you know what that passion is. Maybe it’s technology, finances, baking, music, or rock climbing. If so, write about it!

If you don’t know what you’re passionate about, though, don’t worry. Passion doesn’t just stumble; it is grown.

Here are six questions to ask yourself to help you determine what you should blog about:

1. What are your values? Whatever you write, you want it to align with your values.
2. What excites you? There will always be hard work, but if you find something that excites you, you will be able to to overcome monotony.
3. What makes you angry? If something doesn’t excite you, then anger is often a great motivator. If there is something in the world that you want to change, write about it. It will help inform and strengthen your values.
4. How can you solve problems? You will feel fulfilled if you can provide solutions to people’s problems. Coincidentally, if you write about solving your own problems, that will also help other people solve those same problems.
5. What if money wasn’t important? If money If one factor was not important, what would you do with your life? Yes, you need to make money, but just as important, you want to do something meaningful. Write about it.
6. Who is the person you want to become? Your writing should help you become the person you aspire to be. Write like you’re writing to make yourself proud in the future.

What does a good blog look like? What is a blog for? What makes a good blog?

A blog is good for two things: expressing and communicating. A good blog can bridge communicative writing and expressive writing to create blog posts that are both informative and entertaining.

As you consider how you want to use your blog to communicate and express yourself, ask yourself these questions:

1. What message am I trying to communicate? ?
2. Does the writing express the emotions I want the reader to feel? What are those emotions?
3. How can I make the storytelling more urgent?
   • Does this sentence serve a purpose?
   • Can I cut this line and keep my message?
   • How can I make this more concise?
   • Do I need all these modifiers and qualifiers? (Hint: no!)
   • If I deleted the first two paragraphs, would this piece be better?
   • How could I restructure this sentence/paragraph to make it more climactic?
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What makes a blog successful?

You can define how successful your blog is. Perhaps your goal is to reach a thousand true fans, publish a blog post every day, or build a large audience so you can sign a book publishing deal with a major publisher. It’s possible to accomplish any of these feats with your blog (I’ve done all three). Blogging has brought me more success than I expected: New York Times bestselling books, millions of readers, international book tours, an Emmy-nominated Netflix movie, speaking at Harvard, and so much more. None of these accomplishments fit my original idea of ​​success, but as I added value to an audience, I discovered what was possible.

Which type of blog is most popular? What kind of blogs are the most searched? What are the popular topics to blog about?

Although it’s best to blog about topics that interest you, here are some of the most sought-after blog topics:

• Relationships
• Professional Tips
• Literature
• Movies
• Music
• Travel
• Politics
• Art
• Knitting
• Sports
• Games
• Pets
• Science
• Design
• Local Interests
• Food and Drink

In short, what do you find appealing? Blog about it! Your blog is more likely to become popular if you are passionate about the subject.

How do you start a blog with no money? How to start a blog for free?

The good news is that starting a blog is free with WordPress. All you need to pay for is hosting, as outlined in the step-by-step instructions above.

There are also other “free” fan services like Tumblr or Blogger that allow you to start a blog on those web platforms. company. Just be careful, because you may not own your content if you post it on someone else’s website. That’s one of the many reasons we use WordPress.

How often should I blog?

When talking to my writing students, I recommend writing every day and posting one blog post at least once a week. We usually publish two blog posts per week on this blog. Seth Godin blogs about him every day.

Whatever you decide, we recommend you stick with it. Setting a weekly schedule helps you create accountable partners (your readers) so you feel compelled to write even when you don’t want to write.

What should my first blog post be about?

Avoid grandiosity. Avoid clearing your throat. Your first blog post doesn’t need to be a grandiose mission statement. And your first blog post doesn’t have to be a bland, self-serving introduction to your blog.

Instead, find something that interests you today and write about it. Use the directions in the “What should I blog about?” section above.

For reference, you can read the first post on this blog, circa 2010: Being on the Mountain.

How do you introduce yourself in a blog?

Don’t worry about introducing yourself in every blog post. Instead, create an “about” page that new readers can refer to if they want to know more about you, your life, and the projects you’re working on. See the About The Minimalists page for an example. Our friend Derek Sivers also has a wonderful Now page that might work for you.

Why do blogs fail?

There are at least three reasons why blogs fail:

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Some bloggers have low expectations. If you start a blog today and expect a million readers overnight, you’re setting yourself up for failure. But if your motivation is sincere, if you want to add value to the world, your expectations will change.

Some bloggers don’t add value. Rather than metrics like subscribers or follower counts, The Minimalists focuses on adding value to our audience. If you help people solve problems, success will come from there, not the other way around.

Some bloggers put money first. There’s nothing wrong with making a living from your blog (we do), but it doesn’t have to be the main goal. Good blogs make money; Great blogs make a difference. Put another way: we allow money to have a seat in the car, but it is never the driver.

Does Bluehost charge monthly or all at once?

Bluehost bills annually, so when you use our link to receive the discounted rate of $2.95 per month , you will be billed for the entire first year.

That being said, if for any reason you decide it’s not right for you, Bluehost offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

More Blogging Questions

Have a question about becoming a blogger that hasn’t been answered above? Tweet @theminimalists with your question and a link to this essay.

Ask your question

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