Setting up a Blog and Make money online in Kenya 2020 step by step

So you are all fired up and you want to start a blog in Kenya today? You have heard or seen people make money blogging and you believe you can follow the same path? Okay, I will teach you how to create a blog from scratch and make money. It is easier said than done. Many people who are making money online in Kenya today work very hard to achieve their goals. They are disciplined and grind every day on end.

Disclaimer: If you are not ready to work hard, to be disciplined, to spend time working on your blog, to be committed, then this is not for you.

Setting up a blog from scratch is easy and does not require you to know how to code (forget HTML, PHP, CSS). If you have been asking yourself how to start a blog in Kenya, follow the following steps and in less than 60 minutes you will have your blog up and running.

Pick a niche or Blogging topic

Why do you want to blog?

Before you even start buying a domain name or writing, you need to know why you want to start blogging. Having a clear goal will help you to determine the direction you are going to take. Some people already know why they want to take this path while others don’t. If you do, that’s good. If not, you need to figure out the reasons why.

Some of the reasons for starting a blog in Kenya 2020 are;

• To make money online
• A blog helps build an audience around your business or brand
• To challenge yourself and become a better writer
• It lets you help other people by providing information
• To express yourself and your ideas
• As a tool for getting credibility and lands consulting gigs
• To help you build a network

What does your blog focus on?

The most important thing to do before starting a blog is to know what you will be blogging about (blogging topic).  This is mostly dependent on your passion and hobbies. If you want to be a successful blogger in Kenya, you need to focus on something you are good at. It means you can continue writing about it even when you don’t get a comment or a single like after hours of hard work.

Some of the areas you can blog about include;

• Fashion
• Travel
• Food
• Lifestyle
• Technology
• Politics
• Business
• Sports
• Career
• Finance
• Marketing

Knowing what you want to blog about helps you in coming up with a unique blog that people will read.

Choose a domain name

Once you have decided on why and what you are going to blog about, the next step is to come up with a domain name.

A domain name is your brand. It is going to be a representation of what you blog about. This is what people will type to find you online. For example www.wanderkenya.com or www.YourName.com

A good domain name will cost you about $10 per year.

There are many domain extensions to choose from.  The main ones if you are in Kenya are .co.ke, .com, .net and .org.

There are many companies selling .co.ke domains at a good price in Kenya. Contact us to get the best deals on a .co.ke domain today.

If you have settled on a .com keep reading to learn more about how to do it.

Things to keep in mind when coming up with a domain name

• Ensure that your domain name is not copyrighted to avoid legal issues
• Pick a domain name that relates to what you are blogging about.
• Ensure that your domain name is brandable.
• Choose a domain name that is easy to remember, pronounce, and type.
• Keep your domain as short as possible.
• Choose a domain name that is limitless.

If at some point you are going to expand the areas of your blogging, make sure your name puts that into consideration the first time. For example, if you want to write about traveling a name like www.beyondnairobi.com is better than www.nairobitraveler.co.ke

Choose a web hosting platform.

A web hosting platform is a space where your blog or domain name will be hosted. It is where all your files, images, and posts are stored. Without a domain name and a hosting platform, you will not have your website online. Think of the web hosting as the hard drive on your computer or laptop.

There are many good hosting companies out there. The best ones are Godaddy, BlueHost, and Siteground. Their hosting plans start from $3 per month and comes with a free .com domain name.

How to get started with a hosting platform

• Sign up with a Web hosting company (I recommend Goddady.com)
• Type in and choose a free domain name (Choose a .com)
• Choose the best hosting plan (always start with the basic)
• Complete registration and make payment with PayPal, MasterCard or Visa.
• Install WordPress

Choose a Blogging Platform

WordPress (self-hosted) is the best blogging platform. It powers most of the websites in the world. The good thing about it is that is free to install and use. You only need to have a domain name and a hosting platform.

It should not be confused with wordpress.com (hosted online by WordPress) which is free.

There are many blogging platforms out there. Most of them are free (online) and you don’t have to worry about buying a domain or a hosting platform. There are both benefits and drawbacks of these free platforms.  An example of a domain hosted on such platforms would be (yourname.wordpress.com or yourname.blogpost.com)

If you are looking forward to making money online and have control over your blog, avoid them. But, if you just want a platform to express your ideas, you can go with them.

Some of the blogging platforms include

• WordPress.org (self-hosted) – The best!
• WordPress.com (free online hosted)
• Wix
• Joomla
• Blogger
• Weebly
• Magento
• Drupal
• Medium

If you have been following this post, then WordPress.org (self-hosted) is what you are going to use.

Design your blog

After you have bought your hosting plan and installed WordPress, now it is time to design your blog.

Log in to your blog

To log into your WordPress powered blog, Open a new tab in your browser and type the following www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin

Key in your login details (username and password) to get to your dashboard.

Install a free WordPress theme

Choose a theme that goes well with your blog niche/topic. There are plenty of themes to choose from. You can try a couple of them until you have settled on a particular one.

Install all the necessary plugins

After installing a WordPress, then you need to install necessary plugins. Plugins help in the functionality of your blog. Some of the recommended plugins are; Yoast SEO, Jetpack, Akismet, WP-Cache, Contact form 7, Social share, Pinterest share button and WP Smush it among others.

Create images and Add pages

You can create pages and add images to your blog with one click. When adding images from your device, ensure you rename them to match your post or Blog Name.

The most important pages to start with are the Contact and About pages.

Start Creating Useful Content and Great posts.

Now that you are all set, the hard and most rewarding part is creating content that people will read. Many people give up when they get to this point especially if their reason for blogging was not strong enough at the beginning.

To create great content, you have to keep the following in mind.

• • Write useful and helpful posts. The only reason people will follow you is if you are helping them solve a problem or if you are entertaining them.
  • Focus on SEO; Write posts with the right content and keywords. Ensure your post has a slug and that you have Alt attributes in your images.
  • Avoid copying other people’s work at all cost. Plagiarism will have you penalized and have your website shut down. Be original.
  • Place useful links in your posts. Link back to your articles and other useful blogs.
  • Have a schedule for your posting. It could be daily, weekly or monthly.
  • Join and interact with other bloggers online. Comment on their blogs and request for backlinks.

Start growing your blog and make money

By focusing on creating great content, advertising your blog, and marketing, you will start gaining traction and have people read your blog.

At this point, you can start looking for ways to monetize your blog.

There are a couple of ways to do this. Some of them are;

• Earning money with Google Adsense by placing ads
• Affiliate marketing
• Sponsored content on your blog
• Featured Ads
• Product reviews

Conclusion

If you follow the above steps you will be able to launch your first blog in Kenya. It is a learning process and along the way, you will figure out so many other ways to grow your blog and make money. Just get started.

I understand that it may not be as easy as I have outlined it to everyone. If you would like to hire someone to set up the Blog for you at an affordable price, you can contact KMedia and use KENYAMAX when contacting them to get 30% off.