Are you going to be breaking the bank if you start your very own blog? How much does it cost to have a blog website?
Did you know that there are close to 4.4 billion blogs published every single day? The truth is that it can cost very little or nothing at all to start your own blog.
However, do know that your blog will be limited in certain ways in terms of its functionality if you do not want to spend much money. And in today’s post, I am going to be talking about the essentials of your blog.
You can go the ‘free’ route if you want to do a blog that is just for fun, or as a hobby.
If you want to have a blog that will be your online business, then I recommend that you sign-up for an online training platform that will offer you everything under one roof!
Check Out My NR.1 Recommended Online Training Platform For Newbies, CLICK HEREHow Much Does It Cost To Start A Blog – A Summary Of All Your Main Expenses
Here are the main things that you are going to spend money on to get a blog off the ground.
(1) You need to buy a domain name (compulsory) – PAID
(2) You need to get top-notch hosting (compulsory) – PAID
(3) You need a theme for your site (not compulsory) – PAID
(4) Buy paid plugins (not compulsory) – PAID
(5) Outsource the content creation for your site (not compulsory) – PAID
(6) e-Mail Autoresponder service (not compulsory in the beginning, but should consider it later on, when the traffic starts coming in) – PAID
(7) Social media marketing (not compulsory, but highly recommended and it’s FREE)
(8) SEO Suite (not compulsory) – PAID
(9) Training On How To Build a Profitable Blog – (compulsory) PAID
(10) MOST IMPORTANT – Time and Dedication.
As you can see initially, you do not need much to get started with your own blog. A domain name would cost you $13(yearly renewal). As for the hosting, that can vary from $5 to $50 per month!
You also need training on how to build a blog with a solid foundation. That can be pretty expensive. However, I recommend the Wealthy Affiliate platform.
They offer domain purchasing, top-notch hosting, and a comprehensive training course, with an interactive online community all for $49.
But the biggest expense to start a blog is not even a monetary one.
It’s YOUR TIME.
The more time and dedication you put into your blog, the more successful it will be.
Let’s take a look at these criteria in a bit more detail.
Recommended Reading: Is Writing Blogs For Affiliate Marketing A Waste Of Time?
What Are The Major Expenses To Starting A Blog?
Your first two expenses are your domain name and website hosting.
These two go hand in hand. The domain name is the website name or the URL of your site. For instance, my site is www.RoopeshGovind.com
How do you choose a domain name for your website?
It depends on a number of factors. You can have your name as your brand, or it can be related to what your niche is all about.
If your website is about golfing, you could call it golfersparadise.com
If you are not sure and do not want to spend $13 just yet, you can go for a subdomain initially.
What is a subdomain?
Golfersparadise.wordpress.com is a subdomain. It’s not owned by you. A subdomain is usually free.
Once you are happy with your blog and feel you are ready to move on, you can have your subdomain moved to your personal domain.
Hosting is important.
That is what will serve your site to your visitors. FREE hosting services are not always good.
Some hosting services cram WordPress sites along with other CMSs(content management systems) on the same server. This can cause your site to suffer downtimes, or even be prone to malware attacks.
Choose your hosting services carefully.
Do You Need An Expensive Theme When Starting A Blog?
It’s not compulsory.
Make sure though, that when you choose a theme, it is both mobile responsive and will allow your site to load fast.
These days, it’s all about fast loading time for websites. I used the GeneratePress theme for this site.
I use the paid version. It cost $59 per year! But I can use it on up to 500 websites! (I wonder if I will even get to 10)
Do you really need that many blogs to make a good income online?
Not at all.
My mentor once told me, you only need to have one website to make it a success in the online world.
And that really is the key to having a successful blog. You need the best training to start a blog. And that’s what I am going to talk about in the next section.
Recommended Reading: Do You Need To Be A Good Writer For Affiliate Marketing?
How Do You Build a Successful Business Blog?
You can use YouTube or do a number of Google searches to learn how to set up your blog, the differences between a post and a page, what plugins are, how to go about structuring your first article, etc. or you can choose an easier route.
Join a business training platform that will walk you through the process of getting your first site live.
A good platform will help you build a solid foundation for your business.
There are many things to learn on this exciting journey.
If you choose to write content for your blog, then you are already saving money by not hiring a freelancer.
However, you need to know how to write content that will rank on Google and other search engines.
They call this SEO or search engine optimization.
Apart from SEO, you can learn how to use social media, like Facebook or Instagram reels, Youtube, and TikTok to get FREE traffic.
Once your business is gaining traction, and you are getting a steady flow of traffic, you can start building your e-mail list. That’s where you would want to invest in an e-mail service provider.
At that point, you can market related affiliate products to your list, and earn a commission. (this is a business model called affiliate marketing)
Once your blog is established, you can also register with a display ad company and earn passive income from ads.
As you can see it’s all a step-by-step process
- Learn the basics
- Build the framework for your site
- Publish your first article
- Learn how to get organic traffic to your blog (SEO, social media)
- Grow your e-mail list
- Give value to your audience
- Earn commissions (from affiliate sales)
- Monetize your site (put ads, etc)
- Enjoy LIFE!
The best way to build that successful blog is to get the best training. I would recommend this training platform for that purpose.
The Most Expensive COST Of Starting A Blog Is…
Dedicating sufficient time and effort to your business.
As you see above, there are not many expenses involved in starting a blog.
The common expenses are the cost of the training platform(including domain, hosting, training, and support).
Later on, you can focus on upgrading the theme of your site, investing in certain plugins, and registering for an e-mail service provider.
The MAJOR expense is committing to your business. Set habits to work regularly on your site. Try to do at least one thing a day to grow your online business.
Learn something new that will help your business go forward.
Most importantly, ask questions along the way, and reward yourself.
Even if you did a small thing for your business today, reward yourself. You did something that is taking you a step closer to your dream.
I wish you everything of the best in starting your blog.
If you need any help or have any questions, just reach out to me.
I will get back to you.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Regards