It is important to distinguish between having a Wordpress account versus having your own blog using Wordpress (hosted on your own domain). The former will allow you to have a blog that readers can view online; the latter will allow you to not only have a blog but to also monetize from it.

In order to create a normal Wordpress blog (one that does not generate advertising revenue for you) you can simply visit Wordpress.com and set up an account. If you want to have a Wordpress blog on your own domain, there are a few steps you’ll need to do in order to get set up.

The first step in setting up a blog for profit is to purchase a domain name. This domain will be whatever you choose (such as www.myblog.com, for example). There are many places you can purchase a domain name, and prices will vary. It does not matter which registrar you choose. Simply do a search on your favorite search engine for domain names or purchase a domain or register a domain. Domain names are very affordable, usually only a few dollars per year.

Next, you will need hosting. It's best to find a host that works well with Wordpress. A website host is a place where your actual site will live and be processed. In other words, when people visit it, they will be downloading the content (text, pictures, etc.) from the host's server and the host will handle the traffic (bandwidth). You'll pay a very small monthly or yearly fee for this.

Simply go to a search engine and type in website hosting and get the best deal on hosting that you can find. To get the greatest value on hosting, you should locate a company offering the most bandwidth and storage space for your dollar. Customer service after the sale is a factor, too, so make sure the hosting company you choose has support via phone, email, chat or a combination thereof. But again, remember to use a host that Wordpress recommends.

Now that you have a domain name and a host, you'll need to visit Wordpress.org (as opposed to Wordpress.com) and download their software. Now, without getting into too much detail about configuring your domain and hosting to work with Wordpress, you can now simply contact your webhost and domain companies and they will be more than happy to walk you through that step!