I’m told almost every day, “I want to start a blog but I don’t know where to start!”
I’m writing this FIRST STEPS Post to help you make it happen!
In this post you’ll learn the quick and easy steps to getting your blog up and running TODAY!

Life will never slow down completely…Have 15 minutes? Let’s do this!

You have a voice and story to share. Sometimes, your blog isn’t even really about you…
You never know who you are supposed to reach and help and connect with through your blog.
I hope this gives you that little boost of encouragement to make it happen.
You don’t have to be an expert blogger, you don’t know have to have your life picture perfect to start…(who even does?!)
You just need to be you and share what you are passionate about.
Share what you love! I guarantee there are others who will connect with you and see your passion.
Sometimes the hardest part is just making those first steps happen, so I hope this step by step guide for
getting your blog set up gives you the momentum you want and need!

The Steps below are FREE advice – I want you to do well!
But because I want you to do well I know that you
might want a little more help as you start.
You might want someone in your corner! That’s where I come in.

I love being your shortcut and hand book to all things blogging.
Blogging turned into a main income for our family and in my Blogging E-Course I share everything
I’m doing right now to make that possible for us! Going into details on everything from how
to reach out to brands, how to grow your following, how to determine your niche, how to develop
authentic blog content and how to earn money with your blog.
Maybe you’ve been wanting to start a blog but don’t know where to start.
Maybe you already have a blog and really want to figure out how to have it help your family financially!
Maybe you’re wanting to grow your followers so you can share your passion and voice with more people!
I’ve learned things over my years of blogging and would love to help you jump ahead and start making things happen for you.
I put all the info in my ‘take at your own pace’ E-Course so that anyone wanting to learn more about blogging…
could have these concrete steps and resources in their hands!

I took Natalie’s e-course and decided to take my part-time/just-for-fun blog out into the real world.
I switched hosts and by following Natalie’s advice I’ve seen a HUGE jump in numbers —
I’ve had more visitors and views in the past month and a half than I did in the 9 months before I took her course!
I’ve also recently been “discovered” by other bloggers and websites who are sharing my work
and featuring me on their sites — something I never even dreamed of!”
– Angela from MOMtessoriLife.com

“Natalie’s Blogging E-Course for Moms is exactly what I need right now for my blog!
Being a busy mom of two doesn’t allow much time to spend researching everything I need to know to grow my blog.
Natalie puts all the tips and tricks together in one, easy to read and follow e-course.
I can read a little every night when the kids go to bed.
The course is broken down in concise chapters. What I love is that I can read a chapter and
then go apply what I learned with my own blog.
Then, I can move on to the next chapter. It’s great. It’s an amazing resource for all of you mommy bloggers!”
– Betsy from BMooreHealthy.com

OK! Let’s get into these steps to
get your domain, hosting and
Wordpress site set up!
Before you know it your blog
will be up and running!

You are going to first want to choose your domain name.
I went with athomewithnatalie.com because I want my blog to feel like what I would
share and chat about if you were over with your kids hanging out!
Try not to overthink the domain name picking process, shorter is best so it’s easy to remember and type in.
My process for picking names is to talk it out, write out key words or feelings, and look up similar words in thesaurus.
(In my E-Course I go into detail about choosing a name and how to brand yourself.)
If you already know what name you want for your domain… you are ready to roll!

Once you choose your blog name and see that it’s available, you need to grab that domain name!
I use bluehost for my blog. Most of my blog friends use them as well.
They offer a great price and have even better customer service. If you are wanting a tech guy in your corner, they are perfect.
24/7 Support! I’ve called them and chatted with them online to help with a variety of issues.
There are various packages you can purchase but they all have your domain name and emails integrated.

I LOVE that Bluehost makes it so easy for people to START their blogs…
One click WordPress Installation!! done and done.

Below are the steps to signing up with Bluehost:

CLICK HERE TO START THE PROCESS.

1. CHOOSE YOUR PACKAGE
You’ll  have different packages to choose from.
I suggest going with the Basic Plan- They all offer a domain name and custom emails!
You can always upgrade it to a Plus or Prime account if you need it down the road.

2. PLUG IN YOUR DOMAIN.

Next you’ll plug in the domain name you want, or your existing domain name to transfer.
Don’t know what you want for your domain name yet? You can skip that step and come
back to it another day if you to just take care of your hosting for now!
You’ll still get the free domain name with it you just don’t have to finalize that just yet.

3. CHOOSE YOUR PACKAGE
Next, you’ll plug in all of your info and choose your package… you’re zooming now girl!
I suggest choosing the Basic 36 month plan to get the best price.
(Then you don’t have to worry about renewing it monthly either.)
As far as the extras, the Domain Privacy Protection is the only one I would click.
It’s up to you, but I would uncheck the rest of the things they are selling.

4. SET UP WORDPRESS SITE
Once you place your order you will be asked to set up your password.
NOW you’re ready to connect it to your WordPress Blog!
They couldn’t have made it easier for you..just follow the steps!

Here is a shot of your dashboard with Bluehost once you are all set up.
I love their customer service- live chat? Just another reason you
can have confidence as you start your blog…  you CAN do this!

And your site is READY!!! You did it!
Now you just have to go to http://www.yourdomainname.com/wp-admin and
sign in with your username and password.

It really won’t take you long at all to get your blog up.
Maybe you’ve been putting it off because you don’t feel like you have enough time to do it,
but girl, today…during nap time…you can mark this off your list and be one step closer to your Blog Goals!
If you want to know more about what pages and key sections you
need to include on your blog check out my E-Course.
HAVE FUN!