How To Start A Blog Without Looking Like A Joke

Starting a blog is scary as heck.

Because you will be putting in A LOT of time and effort, and most likely you will be totally ignored (statistically speaking).

But what´s even worse than being ignored…

…is that if people think that you and your blog are a joke!

They might be laughing behind your back, or perhaps even in your face.

And I totally get that. I was afraid of that too in the start.

That is why we need to focus on your WHY.

Then over to the one million dollar question…

WHY do you want to STAND OUT with your blog?

Let me repeat it…

WHY do you want to STAND OUT with your blog?

Perhaps you want…

…more targeted traffic your website

…more targeted leads (subscribers

…more comments on your blog posts

…more social shares on your blog posts

And I can teach you how to get ton of traffic, subscribers, comment and social shares.

But that is NOT my point right now.

Let´s move on to an equally important follow-up question:

WHY do you want that?

Why do you want more traffic, leads, comments and social shares?

Most likely there are two options:

Option #1: You want to share your YOUR thoughts and opinions to more people
This might be to share what you ate for breakfast, how many times your cute kitty pooed or how you were walking in the forest and finding a leave that looked like a heart.

And that is totally fine, seriously. But if that is you, you have probably come to the wrong place.

Because I focus on people who choose…

Option #2: You want to help a lot of people because you truly want to make the world a better place
And if you are positioning yourself as an authority in your field and dramatically increasing the income in your business…

…then so be it.

As Zig Ziglar said it: “When you help enough people to get what they want, you will finally get what you want”.

If you are still reading, then you have chosen option #2.

A high five to you!

*SLAP*

The only thing is that…

…it´s FREAKIN´ hard to stand out with a blog.

According to WordPress.com there is being published 69.8 million new posts every month (and that is just on the WordPress blog platform).

And how is your blog posts going to stand out from 69.8 million blog posts every month?

Just thinking about that makes you feel totally empty inside, right?

You think that the chance of you surviving throwing yourself in front of a pack of running polars bears is far better than to stand out with your blog posts.

Note: Even though what I said above is probably true. I do NOT advice anyone to throw themselves in front of polar bears, regardless of how cute you think that they might look.

But fret not. I got your back.

You might be thinking, “Tor, it´s cool that you got my back and all that. But is it really possible to stand out with your blog?”

A great question!

Judge for yourself…

In about 1,5 years with my first blog, I was able to do the following:
– I got featured on 158 top blogs in 14 months
– Build an email list of 4500 subscribers
– Wrote a blog post that generated 20,231 page views in 6 days
– Won “Most Epic” blog post award on the legendary blogger Jon Morrow´s blog
– #50 On Top 100 Personal Development Blog 2016 (Wisdom Times)
– 2nd Best Post on SumoHacks in 2015
– #8 On Top 40 Personal Development and Leadership Blogs (Coupon Machine)
– Got interviewed two times on the biggest YouTube channel for entrepreneurs, Evan Carmichael awesome YouTube channel
– Got interviewed on the #1 business podcast in the world, John Lee Dumas´s EOFire

And this year I am being published in a book with some of the best bloggers and marketers in the world: Seth Godin, Chris Brogan, Brian Clark, Yaro Starak and Evan Carmichael.

And even though, all of the above is kind of cool.

It´s when you get these type of emails, that make you know that you are on the right path…

But nothing of that could have been possible if I hadn´t started my blog.

Disclaimer time
I am not mentioning this to brag. But to show you that if a guy from Norway with English as his third language can do this.

Well, then guess what?

So can YOU (if you do it strategically).

Building a blog is like building a house.

You need to build it on solid ground.

Here Is A Simple Guide On How To Start A Blog:

Note: I only recommend services or products that are top notch. Needless to say, Bluehost totally kicks *ss. And yes, this is an affiliate link, so if you decide to buy through my link I will get a commission, but at no extra charge to you.

But I like to create win-win situations, right? So when you buy services on Bluehost through my affiliate link, send me an email and I will give you access to an exclusive 1,5 hour training that I did for my good friend Daniela Uslan´s inner circle. Value: $750

This is what Daniella said after I did the training: “That was fan-freaking-tastic. Seriously. My mind was blown. Thank you so much for doing that session with my members. I will be using your strategies in my own blog this year!”

Okay, let´s get started with setting your blog up.

Step 1 – Click here to go to Bluehost

Click the green “get started now” button.

Step 2 – Select your plan

If you know that you are going to create a membership site(s) or online courses in the nearest future, you could go for the plus package.

If you are thinking, “Eh, what did Tor just say now?” Go for the basic plan.

Click the green “select” button on the plan you want to go for. Don´t procrastinate.

If you are unsure which plan to go for, go for basic.

Step 3 – Sign up

If you have a domain name, then enter your domain name in the right box that says “i have a domain name” and click the blue “next” button.

If you don´t have a domain name, enter a suggestion for a domain name you want in the left box that says “new domain”and click the blue “next” button.

You might be thinking, “Tor, I don´t have a domain name. How the heck do I pick one?”

Great question!

I got your back again.

BONUS section: How To Pick A Domain Name

When I was being interviewed by my good friend Andrea Beltrami on How To Choose A Brand Name That Fits You Like A Glove, I answered:

“When you start a blog or an online business your brand name is really important. Why? Because a good brand name will help you to stand out from the overcrowded marketplace. In addition, it will be the name that is associated to your success.

And you are going to be successful, right? Duh! Of course you are. But there is one thing that is essential before you choose your brand name. Can you guess what it is?

If you answered “knowing your target niche, your target audience and your own expertise” then a flying high five to you! *SLAP*

Once that is nailed, you can move on to pick your brand name. I will show you three ways to do that (Andrea probably knows 452 ways).

Approach 1: Use A Brand Name That Is Your Name

This is self-explanatory. Your name is your brand. However, in order for this to work you should be a well-known public figure, or at least well-known within your niche. If not, it just seems pretty lame.

It’s like saying: ‘Oh, look at me I started my own blog for the first time and my brand is my name – John/Jane Doe’. You might as well say that your brand name is “John/Jane Is A Lame Newbie”.

Examples where it works: Brendon Burchard by online entrepreneur Brendon Burchard and Evan Carmichael by serial entrepreneur Evan Carmichael.

Approach 2: Use An Attention Grabbing Brand Name That Stands Out, But Doesn`t Make Sense

This should be a name that makes people think: “Say whaaaaat?” The name would make no sense regarding what the business is about. It`s all about disrupting people`s focus, so they will notice and remember your brand name.

Examples are: ViperChill by SEO expert and online entrepreneur Glen Allsopp. VideoFruit by online entrepreneur Bryan Harris.

Approach 3: Use A Brand Name That Will Immediately Tell You What Your Brand Is All About

Examples are: Boost Blog Traffic by blogging coach Jon Morrow. Successful Blogging by blogging coach Sue Anne Dunlevie.

Okay, then over to the main question…How did I come up with my brand name?

I first went through approach 1 (use a brand name that is your name). Well, no matter how much I really wanted it to be true, as a beginning blogger and online entrepreneur, no one knew who I was. Sad, but true. Yes, it`s a merciless world *Wiping tears* So then I had to scratch Tor Refsland. That is a brand for the future (and yeah, I have registered the domain). I would recommend you to register the domain name of your name. Who knows, perhaps you will become super successful? On the other hand, it kind of sucks BIG time if someone grabbed your domain name and was using it to post videos of farting animals. Not cool! Note: If you think that is cool, you should perhaps seek some help from the people with the white coats.

Then I went for approach 2 (use an attention grabbing brand name that stands out, but doesn`t make sense). Even though my girlfriend, Sara, suggested that I should choose the brand name Dead Sexy, I kind of felt that it would give people the wrong impression of my business. By the way, if you ever ask Sara about that, she would of course deny it. I was thinking about words that would stand out and make no sense, but easy to remember…

Crazy Orange…

Goat Superhero…

Big Dwarf…

Awesome Cupboard…

Super Cool Dude With No Beard…

Obviously you can see that making a brand name that sticks out and makes no sense is kind of risky. In order for it to work you have to be crazy good at building your online brand consistently…

and most likely it will not happen with your first blog (yup, let’s face it). The only thing that was left was approach 3 (use a brand name that will immediately tell you what your brand is all about).

I Went Through The Following Questions:

What am I so good at that people will actually pay me money to teach them? It quickly landed on time management, productivity and reaching goals.

What is my niche? Time management, productivity and goal setting.

I needed to pick one, so I went for time management.

Who is my target audience? At that time it was too general, it was everyone who needed help to become better with time management.

Note: If you haven’t narrowed down your niche enough, which is almost never the case at the start, you should pick a brand name that is broader. It’s better to go a little bit too broad, than the other way around. And then you will have a brand name that is targeting the wrong audience.

Example: you are a life coach, and you thought you wanted to coach truck drivers (don`t ask me why). So your brand became Truck Driver Life Coach. Then you decided that you would rather teach teachers. Yeah, you see where this is going.

So How Did I Land On Time Management Chef?

As mentioned above, I wanted the words time management to be included in my brand name. Then I got this epiphany that a chef is staying in the kitchen…experimenting with ingredients in order to constantly improve his craft…and his/her dishes…and when a dish looks good, tastes good and is healthy, he serves them to his customers.

So I was thinking, hey! Why not the Time Management Chef?

I ran it by my blogging coach Yaro Starak, and he thought it was a good idèa.

So I registered the domain name and the rest is history.

Even, though I recently narrowed down my audience to bloggers and online entrepreneurs, where I help them to skyrocket their productivity and crush their goals so they can grow their business, it does’nt hurt that it’s called Time Management Chef.

As mentioned above: if you are unsure, use a broader name.

It would really suck if I let my brand name reflect my first target audience:

Time Management Chef For Limping Hunchbacks Who Are Afraid Of The Sunlight.”
So now you know how to pick a domain name, right?

Cool, then let´s continue.

Step 4 – Fill in your account information

Step 5 – Choose your package

If you don´t want people to find out who owns your domain name, you can choose to buy the “Domain Privacy Protection”.

Personally, I don´t use that.

Why?

Well, since my blog is run under my own name people don´t need to be Sherlock Holmes to find out who owns the domain.

That being said, I am still surprised that some there are some fools out there that reaches out to me and don´t know that my name is Tor. Anyway, that is a story for another time.

Step 6 – Enter your billing information

Fill in your billing information, click the “I confirm”-checkbox, and then click the green “submit” button.

Step 7 – Get welcome message and do a happy dance

Congratulations!

You are now allowed to do a happy dance!

Have you done it?

Then do it.

Okay, now you can click the blue “create your password” button.

Step 8 – Set your password

Fill in your password and click the green “Create” button.

Step 9 – Login to cPanel

Done?

Cool, now you can login to your cpanel.

Cpanel is a fancy word for control panel.

Insert your domain / username and enter your password, then click the blue “submit” button.

Step 10 – Install WordPress from cPanel

Yes you are now in your control panel.

Click “Install WordPress” icon.

Step 11 – Click “Start” to install your WordPress

Step 12 – Choose which domain name you want to install WordPress

Click the dropdown menu below, and click the green “Check Domain” button.

Step 13 – WP Login

Fill in the data below, check the “I have read the terms and conditions” checkbox, and click “Install Now” button.

Step 14 – Installation in progress – go and grab yourself a coffee

Step 15 – Install complete

The install takes a few minutes, but that it will glow orange once it’s finished.

Click on “View Credentials” and record the information just in case.

This information will be emailed to you, so check your email so you can keep it for your records. There’s a chance this email will be sent to your spam folder so double check that.

Step 16 – Mojo email

Write down this information.

Step 17. Login to your WordPress site

Click the URL, and insert your username and password below, and click “Log In”.

Step 18. Dashboard

Congratulations again! You have now successfully logged into your WordPress dashboard.

Let the creation of awesomeness begin.

What To Do Next…

As mentioned before, if you want to start a blog (or change over to a new domain host), click here to set up your blog on Bluehost.

Note: I only recommend services or products that are top notch. Needless to say, Bluehost totally kicks *ss. And yes, this is an affiliate link, so if you decide to buy through my link I will get a commission, but at no extra charge to you.

But I like to create win-win situations, right? So when you buy services on Bluehost through my affiliate link, send me an email and I will give you access to an exclusive 1,5 hour training that I did for my good friend Daniela Uslan´s inner circle. Value: $750

This is what Daniella said after I did the training: “That was fan-freaking-tastic. Seriously. My mind was blown. Thank you so much for doing that session with my members. I will be using your strategies in my own blog this year!”