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As we began our overseas journey, we thought it important to document events in order to preserve our adventure.  It was especially important for us because we were so far away from family and friends.  Along with this curation of our memories, we hope that this blog will serve our readers with inspiration about how to best optimize their lives (whether that be through travel hacking, financial advice, or an inspirational book)

People create blogs for a variety of reasons: to showcase their portfolio, to try to sell something, or just as a creative outlet.  Blogging has definitely been something that we enjoy.  The barrier for many may be to actual logistics of starting a blog.

Here is some practical advice

How to Start a Blog

The first thing that you need to do is decide how you want to create your website.  Because very few people have the technical know-how to design their own website, many turn to management system like WordPress to help.

Here lies the first bit of confusion because there is a wordpress.com and a wordpress.org. WordPress.com allows you to create a website that is hosted by WordPress (so that means that your website might be example.wordpress.com) This is ok for a personal blog but if you ever want to try to make money on your blog (with ads or affiliate links) then you need to own your own domain (like example.com)

Luckily we work with a company, Bluehost, that does everything for you at a low price.

Step 1 – Pick a Web Host

Click on this link to go to the Bluehost website.  There are other providers available, but we like Bluehost.  In the trial and error or our incompetency, they have been patient with all of our questions and been able to solve any problem very easily! It should look something like this:

Step 2 – Select a Plan

Unless you website goes viral, there is no need to go beyond the basic plan. Plus $3.95 per month is only the price of a cup of fancy coffee!

Step 3 – Reserve your Domain

This is your blog name.  On the left, Bluehost allows you to create your own domain name.  It will check to make sure it is not taken.  Try to make it something memorable that stands out.

Step 4 – Finalize account details and pay

Pretty self-explanatory really.

Step 5 – Create a password and log on

Make sure that it is something that you won’t forget!

Step 6 – Pick a WordPress Theme

Bluehost makes it easy to start a website/blog with a bunch of free themes available.  These are more than adequate for your basic needs.  We started out with a free theme provided for us.

Should you want you can also opt to pay for a professional theme.  We chose the Divi Theme by Elegant Themes.  Divi is one of the most popular WordPress themes out there and comes with a Visual Builder that helps you customize your site in real time.  Hopefully, once we play around with it a bit more it’ll make it worthwhile!

Step 7 – Open up your dashboard and start!

Once you open up your dashboard, you will be able to see a range of different actions that you can take.  To just get started you can go to post and click ‘Add New’. There are various other things you can do.  Most of what we did is through trial and error.  Also it is amazing what YouTube can teach you!

Should you ever want to monetize your site, you can start looking at affiliate links.

We like to use FlexOffers for our affiliate links.

Basically, if someone were to click on a link that you provide and eventually buy a product or service, your website will receive a ‘share’ or the sale because you helped lead the customer there.  

It is just that simple! If you want to start a blog, you shouldn’t be hampered by technology.  Contact Bluehost today!