How To Start A Blog (Blogging For Beginners)

Want to start a blog? Here is How To Start a Blog in 2024 And exactly How I Started My Blog (i.e. naming my blog and buying the domain, building a website, creating all my social media accounts, setting up an email list, posting my blog posts + including analytics and tracking, etc..) all in a DAY less than 24 hours! This is Blogging for Beginners!

I honestly could’ve done it in an hour, BUT I had a little technical difficulty trying to cut corners and deviate from the path I don’t usually take… and well that cost me a lot of time.

Either way, this entire Born To Blog Club blogging empire was built in a day! So, If you’re one of those wannabe bloggers who say “I want to blog but dont know where to start” here are all the steps to start a blog!

Choosing a BLOG name
Researching to confirm Name is available!
Buying the domain URL
Creating an email address
Securing all the same social media handles
Setting up an email list,
Building a website
Set Up Tracking & Analytics for my Website
and of course, posted my first blog post!

The BEST part is that it is EASY to Build a Blog, but more importantly a BRAND and replicate the same process, although it might take you a little longer. Keep referring back to this page as a guide for the steps you need to take. And, if you have any questions I don’t cover about beginning a blog be sure to drop them in the comments below!

Naming My Blog

When it came to deciding on a name for my blog the phrase “Born to Blog” just kept ringing in my head so I already knew I wanted to use it and thought about what could I add to it. I wanted the name to be Less than 15 characters so that it would work on all the social media platforms. And I wanted it to include the Keyword “BLOG” in the name. I also thought about how I wanted it to be a “school, course, etc… some kind of program where people thought they were learning. So I chose the “Club” part because it sounded more like “community, secretive, exclusive, you name it”.

Plus I thought it was cool to say join my club! or Check out my “Club”. I also wanted something easy to remember and kinda catchy too! I wanted it to be VERY OBVIOUS what my BLOG aka website and content was about not just to visitors but for SEO (search engine optimization).

Research

Next, I did a little research to see what names were available and not taken online. Whether you’re trying to decide on a name for your blog, or already have a name in mind you want to use be sure to do your research to see if anyone else is already using it, and if so how? Also, is the website URL (i.e. www.YourBlogName.com) available?

What about the social media username handles for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok etc…? Can you get the same handle on every platform such as @YourBlogName? I want to look uniform like a real brand and business or should I say BLOG online! It’s called Branding!

Again BEFORE NAMING MY BLOG I did some RESEARCH to make sure all the following steps will work! I searched Google for “Name Checkers” or “Business Name Checkers” which will do a quick scan of the website domain URL, and EVERY social media site known to mankind. BUT, the problem is that the results are not accurate 100%.

So I also did a little manual research on Google, GoDaddy, and all the Social Media Platforms I wanted to use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok etc… to see if the username and handles where all available. — FYI I’d rather have all matching social handles and a different website www.com address than a bunch of different handles.

Buying the domain URL

The first thing I did was secure the domain name for my blog www.BornToBlogClub.com via GoDaddy which is where I purchase most of my domain names. I already knew it was available because I had researched this before deciding on my final blog name “Born To Blog Club”

Creating an email address

I like to have a separate email address for my blog brand vs my personal email address that I normally use for all my bills, doctor’s appointments, etc… So I set up a Gmail account for my brand with something like Hello.BornToBlogClub@Gmail.com or maybe Hello.BTBC@Gmail.com this you’ll use to set you all your social media accounts and for emails for now.

Securing all the same social media handles

Next, I spent a few minutes creating all of my social media accounts, securing the usernames and @handles for @BornToBlogClub on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube. Again I already knew these were available because I had done some upfront research before deciding on the name “Born To Blog Club”

And, I was only worried about securing the handles NOT taking time to upload a photo, header, add a bio, etc… I’ll come back and do that later.

Instagram

I also took a few minutes to secure the username and @handle for @BornToBlogClub on Instagram — Since I had already done my research before deciding on a name for my blog, I knew that it was available! Meaning I wanted the URL to be https://instagram.com/BornToBlogClub nothing else is important right now except getting the account setup! I’ll come back to updated it later!

However, sometimes I’ve gone back through and updated it immediately after creating all my social media accounts. I’ll just add the headers, profile pic, bio, etc… all at the same time.

Facebook

I also spent a few minutes setting up a new Facebook Page and changing the name username and @handle to @BornToBlogClub on Facebook — Since I had already done my research before deciding on a name for my blog, I knew that it was available! Meaning I wanted the URL to be https://www.facebook.com/BornToBlogClub/ nothing else is important right now except getting the account set up! I’ll come back to update it later! i.e. add the headers, profile pic, bio, etc… all at the same time…

Twitter

Another social media platform I set up an account on and one of the most underrated is Twitter (now X) — which is ESSENTIAL for my BLOG since it’s mainly a text-based communication platform, easy to use and Not to mention great for backlinks! For Twitter, I set up the username and handle to be @BornToBlogClub so people can find me via https://x.com/BornToBlogClub plus it would match all the other social media accounts and make my brand look uniform. I’ll come back to update it later! i.e. add the headers, profile pic, bio, etc… all at the same time…

Next, I LOVE Pinterest for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to help rank my blog posts in Search results! So I made sure to set up an account so I could secure the social media user name and handle for @BornToBlogClub — which not only makes me look like a brand but helps others find me with they search or try to tag me. All I cared about was securing the https://www.pinterest.com/borntoblogclub/ URL link. Again I’ll come back to update it later to add the headers, profile pic, bio, etc… all at the same time.

For LinkedIn, I already have a personal account via @BloggingBrandi so I just set up a company page for others to be able to find and tag me as @BornToBlogClub or via my company URL https://www.linkedin.com/company/borntoblogclub/. I’ll come back to update the page later and add the headers, profile pic, bio, etc… all at the same time.

TikTok

I have to be honest I have NEVER used TikTok or looked at it for more than 5 seconds. I don’t know much about it other than how to set an account up and secure the social media username and handles I want like I did for @BornToBlogClub again so people could find me and tag me online. Plus just to have the handle or people can find me via my TikTok URL: https://tiktok.com/@borntoblogclub I’ll come back later to add a profile pic, bio, etc…

YouTube

Last but not least and in no particular order I secured the YouTube. handle and Channel for @BornToBlogClub so others can find me and tag me. Even if I don’t plan on posting a video (right now or ever) I can still create playlists and set-up a profile on YouTube. So people can subscribe to my YouTube Channel and turn on notifications for when I DO post a video they’ll be the FRIST TO KNOW!

Another thing I like to do for all my YouTube Channels is create a SECRET SUBSCRIBE LINK that will generate a pop-up box encouraging visitors to click the button and subscribe to my YouTube channel!

All I have to do is add a little secret code ( ?sub_confirmation=1 ) to the end of my channel link to get more subscribers and views.

Mine is:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC932q7SMXl2vt4xVKjmUbiA?sub_confirmation=1

Setting up an email list

I also spent some time setting up an email list in my MailChimp Account. I have a paid account so I set up a new audience and sign-up form. Eventually, I’ll add tags and spend more time customizing the page, add a photo, logo, — everything but for now, I just have a simple newsletter sign-up form to collect first name, last name, and email addresses!

Building a website

Next, I used GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Hosting platform (the bottom lowest cheapest aka “BASIC PLAN”) to build a website, with an online shop, and of course a BLOG! All I did was click a few buttons and fill out a name, choose a theme, etc.. and a few minutes later Whala I had a fully customizable website I could edit to make my own. Then I launched it and made sure to connect it to my new domain via https://borntoblogclub.com/ — remember the one I purchased earlier again from GoDaddy.com 😉

Now the one thing I did on this setup was NOT use a GoDaddy Template Theme and start from a BLANK Template because I plan to install one from EnvatoMarket’s Theme Forest Later. So I had to spend a little time arranging the menus, adding an About page, and contact page, etc… When I say Blank I mean BLANK SLATE!

FYI temporarily I just plan to use my first blog post as my about page & the home page since it tells “about me” and why I BLOG ya know a little bit of “My Story” that is until I post another blog post (probably this one)!

I was more focused on getting the website and social media handles setup or secured should I say vs posting content!

Set Up Tracking & Analytics for my Website

I also took the time to set up Google SiteKit which ties to Google Analytics and helps track any page views I get, as well as how they found me, what pages they seem to visit and engage with most, etc… This is a Plugin I get free via the WordPress plugins tab >> add new >> search. Thankfully, I already had my Gmail address set up! So, Google SiteKit walked me through most of the installation process making it easy!

It takes several days before results start to show up, but after 24 hours the next morning when I woke up, it seemed to be working! So all that hard work paid off! But SEO and analytics all take time to work. Plus they need enough data aka time, more blog posts, information, and visitors, to generate the most accurate reports!

Posting my first blog post(s)!

Now I have to admit I already had several “BLOGS” written about “Blogging” which is why I even decided to create this BLOGGING website to begin with! I did not have anywhere to post all of it. I was worried my personal brand audience at www.BloggingBrandi.com would get tired of seeing social media posts and getting emails about blogging so much! Plus, writing a book seemed like a longer not such an overnight quick process.

But, I thought having a blog where I could put all my content about blogging would be a great solution. So the first blog I posted was more of an about me type of post or why I felt the need to blog instead of vlog! And, I used that as my home & blog page. YEP just that ONE BLOG POST! However, I had a list of other topics 50-80% done and in the editing process sitting in draft mode!

Let’s Review…

If you’ve ever wanted to start a blog this is how I was able to set up this blog in ONE DAY less than 24 hours! (i.e. choosing a name, buying the domain URL www.BornToBlogClub.com, and setting up a website. Plus creating an email address! Also, Securing all my social media user names and handles for @BornToBlogClub on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube. Oh and let me not forget — Starting an email list for my blog subscribers to get my newsletter, and began posting my first blog post! That’s EXACTLY how I built this entire blogging empire in a day!

Choosing a BLOG name
Researching to confirm Name is available!
Buying the domain URL
Creating an email address
Securing all the same social media handles
Setting up an email list,
Building a website
Set Up Tracking & Analytics for my Website
and of course, posted my first blog post!

The BEST part is that it is EASY to Build a Blog, but more importantly a BRAND and replicate the same process, although it might take you a little longer. You can save this page and keep referring back to it as a guide for the steps you need to take. And, if you have any questions I don’t cover about beginning a blog be sure to drop them in the comments below!

ABOUT ME:

If we haven’t officially met, Hi I’m Blogging Brandi an EX-Corp Kool-Aid Drinker, born to be a blogger, Creator, and Entrepreneur! I also have a Degree in Finance and am a Licensed Cosmetologist. Plus, I LOVE RVing and hanging out with my Dogs ( I have a Cat too!)…

Can’t wait to read your comments below and hear your thoughts on this post. Also, don’t forget to Sign Up for the FREE NEWSLETTER & Join The Born To Blog Club! 😉

Blogging Brandi