Obtain a bitcoin wallet. Bitcoins are stored in digital wallets that are encrypted to protect your money. These wallets can be stored either locally or online. Online services are generally considered less secure as your money could potentially be lost if something catastrophic happens on their end. With local services, it is your responsibility to backup and secure your data.

Most established bitcoin users recommend using a local wallet for security reasons.

Local wallets typically require verifying the entire blockchain, which is the history of all bitcoin transactions. Hosting a blockchain is what helps keep Bitcoin running and secure. Syncing this blockchain for the first time can take a day or more.

Popular local wallets include BitcoinQT, Armory, and Multibit. Multibit does not require downloading the entire blockchain.

You can also get wallet apps for your mobile device. These do not require downloading the entire blockchain. Popular apps include: Blockchain and CoinJar.

If you lose your wallet, you lose your money!

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Secure your wallet. Since there is no "ownership" when it comes to wallets, anyone who gains access to your wallet can use your coins as they please. To prevent this, enable two-factor authentication and store the wallet on a computer that doesn't have access to the internet, perhaps storing the wallet on your memory stick or SD card if you need to eject/dismount it later and have the wallet on the go.

3

Choose a cloud mining service provider. Over time, the process of mining Bitcoin requires more and more processing power. Today, it is impractical for many users to invest in the equipment needed to mine Bitcoin personally. Cloud mining allows users to rent processing (or hashing power) power to mine Bitcoin remotely. Typically, you will be payed in Bitcoin.

Some popular cloud mining services include: Genesis Mining, and HashFlare. Cryptocompare maintains a list of Cloud Mining companies with user reviews and ratings.

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Choose a cloud mining package. After you decide on a cloud mining service provider, you will need to choose a cloud mining package. To choose a package, you will need to decide how much you are willing to pay, and see how much hashing power that will give you. Many cloud mining companies will give you an estimate of your return based on the current market value of Bitcoin. However, it is important to remember that the market is volatile, and a return on your investment is not guaranteed.

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Pick a mining pool. Most cloud mining companies will ask you to join a mining pool. This is standard practice if you are cloud mining, or mining Bitcoin yourself. It increases your chances of earning Bitcoin. It is recommended that you join a well established and proven pool.

Most pools charge a small fee (around 2%) of your earnings.

When joining a pool, you will need to create a "worker". This is a subaccount which is used to track your contributions to the pool. You can have multiple workers at once. Each pool will have instructions on creating workers

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Put your earnings in your own secure wallet. It is recommended that as soon as you start to see a return on your investment, that you withdraw your earnings and put them in your own secure wallet