Note: Affiliate links may be used in this post. When you buy through my affiliate links I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Full disclosure here.
How to Start a Personal Development Blog
Do you want to learn how to start a personal development blog today?
This guide will show you exactly how in five simple steps!
Personal development is a popular topic because self-improvement is a constant journey, and people are always looking for information on how to improve their lives, discover their purpose, and achieve their goals and dreams.
If you’re passionate about personal development, starting a blog is a great way to share that passion with others. You can also make money with a personal development blog, which I’ll talk more about later in this guide.
Blogging has a very low investment (it costs just $1.99 a month for a domain name and hosting with Bluehost) but a high potential for profit.
If you’re ready to learn how to start a personal development blog today and make money blogging, keep reading for an easy step-by-step guide.
Step 1: Define Your Niche
The first step to starting a personal development blog is defining your niche. Your niche is simply the topic or topics that you write about on your blog.
Personal development is a niche in itself, but there are many sub-topics you can focus on if you want to make your blog stand out from the crowd.
For example, you can focus on personal development topics like:
- Productivity
- Mindset and mental growth
- Journal prompts
- Habits and routines
- Career growth
- Goal-setting
- Mental and physical health
- Relationships
- Work-life balance
- Confidence
- Leadership and influence
You can be successful with a broad personal development blog that focuses on many of these topics, or a narrow niche blog focusing on just one or two.
For example, I have seen a very successful personal development blog on Pinterest that exclusively focuses on journal prompts, quotes, and affirmations.
It’s up to you to decide what direction to take your personal development blog in. You can always start with one topic and expand to more later, or do the opposite and narrow your focus as you discover what works best for you.
Related: What to Blog About: 150+ Profitable Blog Niche Ideas
Step 2: Choose a Domain Name
Once you’ve decided on your niche, it’s time to come up with a domain name.
Your domain name is simply your blog’s address on the Internet. It’s the first thing people will remember about your blog, so it’s important to choose a good one.
Related: Personal Development Blog Names: Ideas and Examples
Here are some tips for choosing a domain name:
- 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.
- Make your name related to your niche. This way, people will instantly know what your blog is about. For example, picking a name like Designing Your Dream Life would work well for a personal development 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 always a safe bet.
- 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 $1.99 a month for readers of Blogging Her Way, along with a FREE domain name.
To get this special pricing, just be sure to use any Bluehost link in 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
3. Put in your domain name
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
I recommend the 12-month plan for $1.99 a month, for a total cost of $23.88 for the year. But you can also choose a 24-month or 36-month plan.
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 have personally used and loved:
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 personal development blog is now live.
Step 5: Start Blogging!
So you’ve started your blog – now what should you blog about?
I recommend getting at least 5 to 10 high-quality blog posts published right away. That way new visitors will have something to read on your blog!
I put together a big list of blog post ideas for personal development bloggers to help you come up with topics to write about on your blog.
How Personal Development Blogs Make Money
You might be wondering how to make money with your blog.
There are so many ways you can make money as a blogger, but here are a few of the most popular ways to monetize your personal development blog.
Related: How Do Bloggers Make Money? Top 5 Ways Explained
Display Ads
Display advertising is an amazing way to make money as a blogger because it is totally passive income based on how many blog views you get. This is a great choice for personal development bloggers who generate a lot of traffic.
Once your blog is receiving a consistent amount of traffic each month, you can apply to ad networks that will place display ads on your blog. Payment is determined by RPM (revenue per one thousand impressions.)
With enough traffic, you can easily earn anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of dollars each month just from ads.
For new bloggers, I recommend Journey by Mediavine. You only need 10,000 monthly sessions to join, but you can go ahead and apply at any point before you reach that level of traffic, and they will notify you as soon as your blog is ready to start displaying and earning money from ads.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is an arrangement where brands pay affiliates commission on all sales that an affiliate generates through a unique affiliate link.
For personal development bloggers, you can join affiliate programs like Amazon (for recommending specific products), or online education platforms like MasterClass (for developing new skills) as a couple of examples.
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.
Sponsored Posts
Sponsored posts are where brands pay bloggers to share sponsored content on their blogs or social media channels in exchange for payment.
Payment for sponsored posts can be anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars, depending on the campaign and the size of your audience.
In order to find sponsored posts, you can either pitch brands directly or apply for opportunities through sponsored post networks. Networks are an easy option because they connect brands directly to bloggers for campaigns.
Selling Products
Finally, another great way to make money blogging is by selling digital products. Many personal development bloggers earn money by selling online courses, ebooks, printables, and so on. This is a great niche for digital products.
The opportunities with this are limitless and you can really get creative with digital products. Be sure to check out the best digital products to sell.
Personal Development Blog Examples
Are you looking for more inspiration to start a personal development blog?
Here are some examples of successful personal development bloggers who are getting consistent traffic and are well-monetized, based on my analysis:
- Boss Babe Chronicles
- A Point of Light
- Living Like Leila
- The Chic Life
- One Big Happy Life
- Mom on Purpose
- HerPaperRoute
- Inside of Happiness
You can also check out my huge list of bloggers who share blog income reports to get some more real-life examples of successful blogs.
How to Start a Personal Development Blog Recap
So that’s how to start a personal development blog and make money blogging!
As a recap, here are the steps you need to take to start your blog:
- Decide on your niche.
- Choose a domain name.
- Register for web hosting from Bluehost.
- Write 5 to 10 blog posts.
Once you have established your blog and started to build an audience, you can monetize your blog through affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, and ads.
There are quite a few personal development bloggers out there who are doing this as their career, and you can be one of them too if you follow these steps, commit to blogging, and give it your best! Good luck and happy blogging!