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How to Start a Lifestyle Blog
This guide will show you how to start a lifestyle blog in five simple steps!
Starting a lifestyle blog is a lot of fun. It’s a great way to be creative, inspire others, and even make some extra money!
With a lifestyle blog, you can have a creative outlet by writing about many different topics, as opposed to being limited to just one niche.
Related:What Is a Lifestyle Blog? (Plus 11 Successful Examples!)
Blogging has a very low investment (it costs just $2.95 a month for a domain name and hosting with Bluehost) but a high potential for profit.
Ready to start your own lifestyle blog? Here’s what you need to know!
Step 1: Choose a Niche
Your niche is simply the topic(s) you blog about. “Lifestyle” is a pretty broad niche. As a lifestyle blogger, you could write about any number of topics: fashion, beauty, travel, health & fitness, parenting, cooking, etc.
Some lifestyle bloggers pick two or three topics to focus on, while others cover a wide variety of topics. Later on in this guide, I am going to share some examples of successful lifestyle bloggers so you can see how much variety there is!
Here are some of the bestlifestyle blog niche ideas.
The most important thing is to choose topics that you enjoy writing about. Otherwise, you may get burnt out from blogging pretty quickly.
Another important thing to think about is WHO you’re writing for. Having a target audience is key for building traffic. Who will your blog posts help? Busy stay-at-home moms? Stylish shopaholics on a budget? Twenty-something women?
Whoever your target audience is, keep them in mind when you’re planning and writing blog posts! This is the key to getting traffic to your blog.
Related:What to Blog About: 150+ Profitable Blog Niche Ideas
Step 2: Choose a Name
Okay, so you have decided on your lifestyle blog niche and an idea of what you’re going to blog about… What’s the next step?
It’s time to choose a domain name! Your domain name is simply your blog’s address on the Internet. It’s important to choose a name that you love, because it’s a huge headache to change your domain name once you’ve registered it.
Related:Lifestyle Blog Names: Ideas and Examples
Here are some tips for how to pick a domain name for your lifestyle blog:
- Make your name easy to spell and say.Don’t use misspelled words, numbers, or hyphens in your domain name. All of these things will make your name a lot more confusing and harder for people to remember.
- Make sure that the .com of your chosen name is available. Try to avoid alternative domain name endings like .net or .co because they are less common, harder to remember, and less trustworthy.
- Consider a play on words with your name. Something like “Life According to Kate” or “Cup of Jo” are great names for a lifestyle blog.
- Use your own name.If you can’t think of a catchy name for your blog, using your own name as your domain name is a great move for lifestyle bloggers because it helps you establish your personal brand.
- Don’t overthink it.Try not to spend too much time on this step or worry about picking the “perfect” domain name. Chances are, whatever name you pick will grow on you and start to feel like a great fit.
Related: How to Choose a Blog Name
If you can’t decide on a name yet, that’s okay! You can come back and choose one later after you sign up for web hosting with Bluehost.
Step 3: Get Web Hosting
If you want to make money as a blogger, you will need to have a self-hosted blog. This means that you own all of your content and your blog is totally yours, as opposed to using a hosted platform such as Blogger, Wix, WordPress.com, etc.
Even if you are not a very technical person, setting up web hosting is extremely simple and only takes a few minutes.
First, you will need to choose a web host.
The web hosting company I use and recommend is Bluehost.
Here are a few reasons why I like Bluehost:
- They have some of the most affordable web hosting plans out there.
- You can get your domain name for free with them (as opposed to paying $15 to $20 with an outside company.)
- Their service is reliable and robust, so you will never have to worry about your website going down or loading slowly.
- Many of the most successful bloggers I know use Bluehost.
- They have great customer support and I have always had my questions answered quickly whenever I needed help.
Bluehost has very generously offered hosting packages starting at just $2.95 a month for readers of Blogging Her Way, along with a FREE domain name.
To get this special pricing, just be sure to use anyBluehost linkin this article!
Here’s how to set up web hosting with Bluehost:
1. Click here and then click the “Get Started” button:
2. Select your hosting plan
Which plan should I choose? I recommend the Basic plan for new bloggers.
I’m personally on the Plus plan, but that’s only because I run multiple blogs.Otherwise I would probably choose the Basic plan!
3. Put in your domain name
This is where you’ll put in the domain name that you decided on earlier.
What if I haven’t decided on a name yet?If you haven’t decided on a domain name for your blog yet, click “I’ll create my domain later.” Or you can wait a couple seconds and this offer will pop up on the screen:
Select this option and you can go ahead and set up your blog now, then use the free credit to buy your domain name later.
4. Create your hosting account
5. Choose your package and pay
This is where you’ll select your hosting plan.
I recommend the 12-month plan for $2.95 a month, for a total cost of $35.40 for the year. But you can also choose a 24-month or 36-month plan.
What about package extras?You have the options to add on extra paid services like site backups, SEO tools, or site security.
I personally don’t recommend any of these paid extras, because there are free WordPress plugins you can install that do the same things.
6. Congrats, you’re done!
Now you’re all set! Bluehost will automatically install WordPress for you.
What exactly is WordPress? WordPress is the content management platform that your blog will run on. Your WordPress dashboard is where you will go to edit the look of your blog, write blog posts, upload images, etc.
It’s extremely easy to use, even if you’re a total beginner.
Step 4: Design Your Blog
Now it’s time for the fun part – designing your blog!
When you log in to your WordPress dashboard for the first time, you will be prompted to go ahead and choose a theme for your blog:
You can pick one of these default themes if you want, but I don’t recommend it.
For one, the majority of these free default themes are not designed with bloggers in mind. Most are designed for business websites.
Additionally, choosing a premium theme over a default theme will make your blog look more professional right from the start.
Here are the benefits to choosing a paid theme for your blog:
- They come with step-by-step set-up instructions
- You will have access to customer support from the theme creator.
- Paid themes come with crucial features like a mobile responsive design and customization options.
- Your blog will look prettier and more professional.
Here are some themes I absolutely LOVE that are perfect for lifestyle bloggers:
- 17th Avenue
- Bluchic
Installing your WordPress theme
To install your theme, go to Appearance > Themes in the lefthand menu of the WordPress dashboard, which looks like this:
Then simply upload your theme file and install it.
Once you have installed your theme and are happy with the way everything looks, you can go ahead and launch your blog! Until you follow this step, your blog will just display a “Coming Soon” landing page.
To launch,go to the Bluehost menu on the top left of your WordPress dashboard:
All you have to do is fill in this info and you’re good to go:
Congrats! Your lifestyle blog is now live.
Step 5: Start Blogging!
Yay! You’ve started your blog, now what?
The first thing I would do is write your very first blog post. You can write a sort of introductory post introducing yourself and your blog, or dive right in and write a blog post related to one of your blog topics.
Before your OFFICIALLY launch your blog to the world, I recommend having at least 5 to 10 blog posts already published. This will give something for visitors to your site to read and encourage them to stick around.
Related:5 Types of Blog Posts Every New Blogger Needs to Write
Remember, the key to writing blog posts that people love is to write HELPFUL blog posts. Go back to step one of this guide and think about your target audience.
Writing posts that solve a problem (even if that problem is just something like “quick and easy dinner recipes” or “how to be more organized”) will help you get traffic and build an audience faster.
For more blogging ideas, be sure to check out my list of blog post ideas for lifestyle bloggers for some helpful ideas on what to write.
How Lifestyle Blogs Make Money
You might be wondering exactly how lifestyle bloggers can make money.
While there are so many ways to make money as a blogger, here are a few of the most popular, along with tips on how to get started:
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to make money blogging. As an affiliate for a company, you earn a commission every time someone makes a purchase through your unique affiliate link. You can literally get paid for recommending products you already use and love to your readers!
For more tips on affiliate marketing, read my guide to making money with affiliate marketing or sign up for my free list of affiliate programs for bloggers.
Display Ads
Display ads are another popular way to make money as a blogger.
Once you have enough traffic to your blog, you can join an ad network likeMonumetric (which requires 10,000 monthly page views) or Mediavine (which requires 50,000 monthly sessions.)
These networks will display ads on your site and pay you based on RPM (revenue per one thousand impressions.) Depending on traffic, many bloggers earn anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of dollars from ads each month.
Sponsored Posts
Lifestyle bloggers can work with brands on sponsored posts, where a brand pays a blogger to publish sponsored content on their blog or social media channels.
There are sponsored post opportunities available in many different niches, including fashion, beauty, home, parenting, food, travel, and more.
You can find sponsored post opportunities by joining sponsored post networks or pitching to brands directly. Some good networks to join areLinqia,Izea,Real Clever,Aspire IQ,Cooperatize, andBlog Meets Brand.
Selling Products
Finally, another great way to make money blogging is by selling your own products. Some of the most popular products for bloggers to sell are ebooks, online courses, Lightroom presets for editing photos, and printables.
The sky is the limit here and you can really get creative with the products you create. For more product ideas, be sure to read the best digital products to sell.
Lifestyle Blog Examples
Here are some examples of lifestyle bloggers who are killing it and making money with their blogs. Click the link to check out their lifestyle blog income reports:
- Just a Girl and Her Blog: $41,700 blogging about organization and decorating
- By Sophia Lee: $9,349 blogging about college, relationships, and home decor
- Chasing Foxes: $19,889 blogging about money, food, travel, and lifestyle
- One Big Happy Life: $10,900 blogging about family, home, and money
- Hairs Out of Place: $5,220 blogging about money, travel, and DIY
For more blog income reports from lifestyle bloggers, make sure to check out my ultimate list of blog income reports.
How to Start a Lifestyle Blog Recap
So that’s all there is to it! Starting a lifestyle blog is a lot of fun and very rewarding.
As a recap, here are the steps you need to take to start your own fashion blog:
- Decide on your niche.
- Choose a domain name.
- Register forweb hosting from Bluehost.
- Write 5 to 10 blog posts.
Good luck and happy blogging!
