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Running a successful blog isn’t free, there are some upfront costs but once you start making money these small costs of running a blog are well worth it! Read below to find out just how much $$ it takes.
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Costs of Running a Blog | Website Cost
Running a blog can be hard on your pocket-book if you don’t know where and what to invest in first. I remember bouncing from blog to blog purchasing what they said I should without doing any research of my own. I over paid for hosting, paid for courses I didn’t really need at that time, and paid for a scheduler that sat idle for a month or more before I had enough posts to even use them. Needless to say, I wasted a ton of money and lost the support of my partner because I wasn’t seeing a return in my investment right away.
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- Start your own blog
I don’t want that to happen to you! I want to provide as much straight forward information as possible to help you make it in the blog world without going into more debt. I can almost guarantee that most of you reading this are probably in a desperate position, and need to make money now! (I know I was when I first turned to blogging, though it didn’t work out for me back then MUCH has changed and it is now so easy to get your information in front of more readers).
The first thing you need to start a blog is hosting, right? NOPE, the first thing you need is a plan! If you treat this like a business right away you risk losing out, so creating a business plan is the best first step, this way you aren’t wasting your hosting, you are ready to go right from the start.
Costs of running a blog – Website cost
Hosting
Bluehost is the best and most affordable option when starting a blog. I first started with Siteground and it was fairly costly for the same things.
You get:
- Free domain
- 1 click WordPress install
- 24/7 support
- Free SSL Certificate for a year
You get that for only $3.95/month, which you can see below how the plans are laid out. I went with the basic plan as it was the more affordable plan and had everything I needed starting off.
Right now the price is $2.75!
I will continue on as if you purchased the basic package, if not then your total will be less which is good.
To claim the deal price you need to purchase your hosting for 36 months, this is a one time expense and well worth it for how much a blog can make you. However, if you are on a very tight budget you can change your plan to 12 months.
[lgc_column grid=”50″ tablet_grid=”50″ mobile_grid=”100″ last=”false”]36 months: $110.88[/lgc_column][lgc_column grid=”50″ tablet_grid=”50″ mobile_grid=”100″ last=”true”]12 months: $62.88[/lgc_column]
Theme
Next up is your theme for your blog, if you are not very tech savvy but don’t have the budget to pay hundreds of dollars for a pro to make your website then trust me, you need to purchase a theme. My theme is basic and very easy to use, I purchased mine through Pretty Darn Cute, but in order for these themes to work properly you need to purchase the child framework from studio press. Studio press also has some very good themes, here is the link to check them out: Click HERE to browse Studio Press themes!
-$195.29
This is all you need to start your blog off strong! For $258.17 you can have the best possible start for your blog, this might seem like a lot but the return is WELL worth this investment. Also these are mostly one time fees, the hosting is for an entire year, if you do not make this money back within a year then you are not putting any effort into your blog.
How I started my blog for free!
When starting my blogging journey I spent a ton of money and never seen a return, my blog tanked and I put it behind me as an epic failure. Fast forward 8 years and I was working a job I hated, about to have my second child and knew my passion was blogging.
My partner would not let me spend a dime on starting a blog because he had supported me the first time around when I failed. I understood his concerns so I knew I had to find a way to make the money on my own. I researched quick ways to make money online and only found survey sites that yes you can make money from them but not fast. Check out my post about easy ways to make money online here.
I eventually checked out Fiverr, I had bought things off Fiverr before but thought I would give it shot. BOY am I glad I did, they know have better ways to make even more money then before. Check out my post here where I will show you exactly how I made money using Fiverr in one week.
It took me 3 weeks to make enough to purchase my hosting and theme. I now had everything I needed without taking money from my family.
Other costs of running a blog
As your blog grows you’re going to want to invest in other tools that will help automate some of your blogging duties. I am going to only include the tools I use to help automate my blog so I have more time for other things, like writing posts!
- Pinteresting Strategies: I recently purchased this course on manual pinning because my Pinterest had been stuck at 40K and I needed a boost. I am happy to say within just a few weeks my Pinterest is now at 80k and climbing!
- Tailwind: I use tailwind mainly for the tribes, which you get so many submissions per month for free. So this tool has no cost to you unless you want to use it as a Pinterest scheduler.
- SmarterQueue: The best tool I have found for scheduling content to all my social media platforms. You won’t need this right away but once your blog has grown a bit this will be very helpful! Use the link to get an extended trial, from 14 days to 30!
There you have it, that is all I pay for when it comes to running my blog. I do always continue to invest by purchasing courses, better themes, advanced plugins etc. What I have listed are the basics and are what all bloggers should have, especially when starting out.
I hope you found this post helpful in making your decision to start a blog.
