I’m really excited to publish my very first post about blogging today!

Over the years being an internet entrepreneur (I started in 1996, so you do the math!) many people have asked me “Gonzalo, what’s the easiest way to get started doing an online business, working from home, and kiss my boring job goodbye?”

I told everyone, without exception, no matter how techie, nerd or a total neophyte they were, get a blog. But a blog you own, not a shared wordpress.org thing you can get for free. If you’re really serious about doing it, and you’re planning to invest some time and effort into building an online business, then “invest” some few bucks a month and get a blog you own.

I run a blog for 7 years that consistently generated 7 figures a year. Yeah. A simple BLOG. A TON of money.

Oh, and btw, I have included a very interesting discount price that I personally negotiated with Bluehost so you can get started really cheap. It doesn’t get any lower than that. If you’re really serious about quitting your job, and invest in building your online business, get started today (I’m not sure how long they’ll offer you this amazing deal.)

If you’re looking to start a WordPress blog for cheap, then choosing Bluehost for your hosting needs may be your answer. Being able to work from home, spending time with my 2 children (actually pretty much all day), is really priceless.

The thing is I believe anyone can make money with a blog. It takes persistence, hard work (at the beginning to set everything up) and then it can run on autopilot. You don’t even need to write any content, you can use the content that’s already available online!

>> CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED!

Let’s dive into the 5 Easy Steps:

1. Register Your Domain Name.

You can click here to purchase a domain name and create a blog, then continue to follow the easy steps below.

Bluehost is one of the top web hosting companies in 2016 and you can start your own blog with them for as low as $2.95 a month (this low price is through my link only)!

Also, if you sign up using my link, then you will get your domain FOR FREE, a $15 value (valid only if you purchase a 12-month plan -or longer). If you’re not committed to give your online efforts a minimum of 12 months… well, don’t even bother getting started.

The very first thing you will need to do when starting a WordPress blog on Bluehost is to think about what you want your domain name to be. This can be difficult if this is the very first time at this, but keep in mind that’s going to be your identity online, so give it some serious thoughts.

I love coming up with creative names, such as Inspower, KillerStartups, GauchoNet, MaximAccess… But that’s me, maybe you want to go using your last name, or a name that doesn’t mean anything.

If you decide to go with the free domain option, just continue to the next step as you can buy your hosting and get the free domain all in one step.

2. Get Hosting For Your Blog.

Setting up a WordPress blog on Bluehost is VERY EASY.

First of all, let’s talk about the costs of blogging:

• To receive the cheapest price to start a blog, then choosing the “Basic” plan is really all you need. It’s only $2.95 per month through my link (due upfront in full) if you sign up for 36 months. If you sign up for a 24 month plan, then the price is $3.45 per month. If you sign up for a 12 month plan, then the price is $4.45 per month. $4.45 is still extremely affordable and it’s a great plan to choose. If you are unsure about blogging, I would sign up for the 12 month plan as this is still a great price and very affordable for one year of blogging. If you purchase a 12 month plan, your total price is only $53.40 a year, which is still a great price. Plus, you still receive the free domain name when you sign up for 12 months or more which saves you money.

• The Basic plan is all you really need for now, so skip the Plus and Business Pro plans as they are more expensive. You can always change it later to a different plan if you want to (and just pay the difference), so there is no need to sign up for extra that you do not need.

• Other than the above, you do not need the other items that Bluehost will try to up-sell you to, so uncheck any of the extras that are listed.

Blog hosting will most likely cost you around $53.40 a year on average, or $106 for 3 years, which is a great deal! If you purchase a 12 month plan, your total price is only $53 a year, which is a great price.

When you are ready to create your blog, follow the steps below to buy hosting for your blog.

1. Go to Bluehost and click the “Get Started Now” button.
2. Click on the package you are interested in.
3. Enter your domain name you registered with earlier, or sign up for a new domain name here.
4. Enter your personal and payment information.
5. Next you will be asked to enter a password. Make sure it’s secure as this information is very important.

3. Link Your Domain Name To Your Hosting Account.

Note: You can skip this Section 3 if you buy your domain directly through Bluehost.

But if you got the domain from other domain provider, such as Go Daddy for instance, then you will need to connect your domain to your hosting account. Go Daddy has a full support page for setting nameservers for your domain names. Below is a snippet:

“When you register a domain name with us, we set it up on our parked nameservers so a temporary page displays when visitors go to your website. After you determine which hosting provider to use, you can change your domain name’s nameservers to remove the parked page and activate your domain name.

If you registered your domain name with another provider, you can still purchase a hosting account with us, use our Off-site DNS services, or use our CashParking® or Quick Content services. If you do any of those, you must view your nameservers in your account with us, and then set the nameservers with your domain name registrar.”

How to modify your DNS Nameservers when you are using Go Daddy for your domain and Bluehost for your hosting:

1. Log into the GoDaddy.com Account Manager.
2. Select Manage Domains from the Domain Names drop-down menu or the Manage Your Account list.
3. Select the domain name you wish to modify using the checkboxes and then click Set Name Servers.
4. Enter your updated name server information in the spaces provided under the blue Name Servers heading on the right side of your page and click Save Changes at the bottom. Your entries should look like this: ns1.bluehost.com; ns2.bluehost.com.

You will then need to add the domain you bought (such as through GoDaddy) as an addon domain to your Bluehost web hosting.

You can do this by clicking on “Domains” when logged into your Bluehost web hosting account and then clicking on “assign.” Follow the steps and it is very easy!

4. Install WordPress On Your Hosting.

Finally! I’m sure this is the step you were waiting for.

Bluehost makes it very easy to create a WordPress blog.

• 1. When you are in your cPanel (you will receive a link to this in your welcome email from Bluehost), find and click on the image that says “One Click Install.”.
• 2. Then, click on the WordPress icon on the next page located under “Blogs.”
• 3. Click on the “Start” button. This will begin the installation.
• 4. Once in the installation process, you will have to decide which domain you will want to install WordPress on. Click the dropdown menu to the domain you plan on using.
• 5. Now, you will see “Advanced Options.” This is where you choose your username and password for your WordPress website. You should choose something that’s really secure. Think of it as your digital safe. Don’t use “Admin” as your username. For my website, I receive many hackers each and every day and that is the number one username they use to try to hack my website. Instead, create a username that is a combination of different letters, numbers, and anything else you can use. You will want to check “Automatically create a new database for this installation” as well, unless you already have a different database (if you don’t know, then you probably do not).
• 6. Click “Install Now.”
• Note: Remember to save your username and password in a safe place.

YESSSSS!!! You now have a WordPress blog. It’s time to start sharing the url with your friends, and in social media for everyone to know how to find it and do business with you.

Some very general (and basic) tips for how to find your way around WordPress:

• To sign into your WordPress account, you will want to save the WordPress login information that you receive in a separate email. You will receive this email after you complete the steps mentioned above. That email will include your WordPress login URL (your URL is separate from everyone else’s and it’s the only way you can access your WordPress account), your username, and your password. You want to keep this email safe.
• You can add and create new posts by clicking on “Posts” on the left-hand side when you are logged in. If you want to add a page, simply click on “Page.”
• If you want to add an image, click on “Media” on the left-hand side.
• You can go to “Appearance,” then “Widgets” in order to add items to your sidebar, footer, and so on.
• If you’re looking to send out frequent communication with your reader/subscribers, such as sending them a newsletter, I suggest you go with MailChimp. That’s the one I use.
• If you’re looking for a nice design, I’ll go with Forest themes. Just go to “Appearance” on the left-hand side when you are logged into your WordPress website and click on “Themes,” then activate whichever one you are interested in testing out. By doing this, you can start designing your website easily!