Budget Friendly Blogging Tips
What if you want to start a blog, but you are too broke to use all the paid tools and features out there that will help you blog better?
What should you do?
The good news is that you can really truly blog frugally. You can even blog for free. Its hard work, but if you have more time than money, you have to do what you can, right?
What should you do?
The good news is that you can really truly blog frugally. You can even blog for free. Its hard work, but if you have more time than money, you have to do what you can, right?
*This post may contain affiliate links. When you buy or sign up through my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Full disclosure here.*
If you are going through a difficult financial period (or just wanting to test the waters before you invest a boatload of money), but you still want to start a blog and turn it into a profitable business, these 8 tips for blogging frugally can get you started:
This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy or sign up through my link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read my the full disclosure here.
1. Prioritize Your Blogging To-Do List
I'm not kidding when I say that running a blog takes a lot of work. And that is with all the fancy stuff designed to make it go faster and smoother.
Since you will be doing all the work yourself in the beginning, you will need to sit down and research everything you need to do for your blog. List them by order of importance.
Focus the majority of your efforts towards the top of the list (obviously things like writing posts and building page views.)
If you are working with a budget, then prioritize that too. For example, if you don't have a huge social media following yet, then spending your money on a self-hosted website rather than a subscription to a pin scheduler would be the better choice.
2. Take Advantage of Free Trials and Versions
Almost every service out there has a free trial or a free version. Not only does this allow you to get your site going on a budget, when you DO have money to invest you will know exactly what you want to upgrade.
Some of my recommended freebies includePicMonkey photo editor for editing your blog photos and creating graphics, and Hootsuite for scheduling tweets and Facebook posts.
Both are worth upgrading to a paid version when you can, but until then, the free versions will help you immensely.
3. Take Your Own Blog Photos
Even if you don't have high-end camera equipment, an awesome phone camera or a decent point-and-shoot can still give you some workable photos. Practice taking clean, bright photos. Use sunlight, lamps, white poster board, backdrops and pretty props from around your home.
Spend a little extra time resizing and editing with PicMonkey to create images that are suitable for all social sharing sites.
Besides saving money, you also avoid the hassle of licensing, attribution, etc. And you may just stumble across a signature style that speaks to your readers!
If you don't have a camera, at least start with free image sites like Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons before you start paying for your photos.
4. Take Advantage of Free Information
There are a lot of places out there that are going to try to sell you courses, guides and e-books about blogging. Usually, they are created by successful bloggers who promise to teach you all the tricks that worked for them.
And that is awesome! BUT...
Sometimes you just don't have the money to spend.
And that is okay too. Because there is tons of free information out there. Look at it this way: you can spend a fairly large chunk of money learning how ONE person succeeded.
Or you can read the advice of thousands of bloggers for free. Just head to Pinterest or do a Google search to find new advice and tips.
You can always invest in these guides and courses once you are more financially stable. Blogging is a lot like art--you might be a pro, but there are always some new techniques out there to try.
5. Take Advantage of Discounts
If you do have a bit of a spending budget, you can spread it a little farther by using discounts and free trial periods. You can usually find these through other blogger's affiliate links.
This helps the blogger who is helping you, saves you some money, and allows you the chance to test something out before you start paying regular price.
You can usually find what you are looking for by searching for blogs where a particular service or product is being reviewed.
6. Keep a Separate Bank Account for Blog Income and Expenses
Its so tempting to spend that first payout on a reward for your hard work. Or add it to the household account as proof that you are contributing.
You can do that later. In the beginning though, keep your blog income separate. This way you can easily track your income and expenses, and you will know exactly how much you have to reinvest in your blog.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy or sign up through my link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read my the full disclosure here.
1. Prioritize Your Blogging To-Do List
I'm not kidding when I say that running a blog takes a lot of work. And that is with all the fancy stuff designed to make it go faster and smoother.
Since you will be doing all the work yourself in the beginning, you will need to sit down and research everything you need to do for your blog. List them by order of importance.
Focus the majority of your efforts towards the top of the list (obviously things like writing posts and building page views.)
If you are working with a budget, then prioritize that too. For example, if you don't have a huge social media following yet, then spending your money on a self-hosted website rather than a subscription to a pin scheduler would be the better choice.
2. Take Advantage of Free Trials and Versions
Almost every service out there has a free trial or a free version. Not only does this allow you to get your site going on a budget, when you DO have money to invest you will know exactly what you want to upgrade.
Some of my recommended freebies includePicMonkey photo editor for editing your blog photos and creating graphics, and Hootsuite for scheduling tweets and Facebook posts.
Both are worth upgrading to a paid version when you can, but until then, the free versions will help you immensely.
3. Take Your Own Blog Photos
Even if you don't have high-end camera equipment, an awesome phone camera or a decent point-and-shoot can still give you some workable photos. Practice taking clean, bright photos. Use sunlight, lamps, white poster board, backdrops and pretty props from around your home.
Spend a little extra time resizing and editing with PicMonkey to create images that are suitable for all social sharing sites.
Besides saving money, you also avoid the hassle of licensing, attribution, etc. And you may just stumble across a signature style that speaks to your readers!
If you don't have a camera, at least start with free image sites like Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons before you start paying for your photos.
4. Take Advantage of Free Information
There are a lot of places out there that are going to try to sell you courses, guides and e-books about blogging. Usually, they are created by successful bloggers who promise to teach you all the tricks that worked for them.
And that is awesome! BUT...
Sometimes you just don't have the money to spend.
And that is okay too. Because there is tons of free information out there. Look at it this way: you can spend a fairly large chunk of money learning how ONE person succeeded.
Or you can read the advice of thousands of bloggers for free. Just head to Pinterest or do a Google search to find new advice and tips.
You can always invest in these guides and courses once you are more financially stable. Blogging is a lot like art--you might be a pro, but there are always some new techniques out there to try.
5. Take Advantage of Discounts
If you do have a bit of a spending budget, you can spread it a little farther by using discounts and free trial periods. You can usually find these through other blogger's affiliate links.
This helps the blogger who is helping you, saves you some money, and allows you the chance to test something out before you start paying regular price.
You can usually find what you are looking for by searching for blogs where a particular service or product is being reviewed.
6. Keep a Separate Bank Account for Blog Income and Expenses
Its so tempting to spend that first payout on a reward for your hard work. Or add it to the household account as proof that you are contributing.
You can do that later. In the beginning though, keep your blog income separate. This way you can easily track your income and expenses, and you will know exactly how much you have to reinvest in your blog.
7. Don't Buy Ads! Instead, Socialize More
Using ads and promoted pins probably gets more eyes on your blog. But they can't replace the value of a good social reputation.
If you have more time than money, don't blow your budget promoting yourself in the beginning. Instead, socialize with other bloggers. Be friendly on social media. Commenting, pinning, retweeting, replying, liking, and sharing are all free!
8. Try Some Clever Offline Advertizing
People are curious creatures. They still read fliers, business cards and brochures that are just lying around.
Have you seen those fliers where someone offers a service and writes their number on little tabs that can be pulled away? You can do that with your blog too, especially if you are marketing to a specific niche.
If you run a pet blog, why not ask the vet if you can hang a flier on their bulletin board?
You can also advertise at local events. One woman I know gets traffic to her business site by handing out little bags filled with candy and her business cards during local festivals!
Related Post: Can You Make Money With a Frugal Living Blog?
7. Don't Buy Ads! Instead, Socialize More
Using ads and promoted pins probably gets more eyes on your blog. But they can't replace the value of a good social reputation.
If you have more time than money, don't blow your budget promoting yourself in the beginning. Instead, socialize with other bloggers. Be friendly on social media. Commenting, pinning, retweeting, replying, liking, and sharing are all free!
8. Try Some Clever Offline Advertizing
People are curious creatures. They still read fliers, business cards and brochures that are just lying around.
Have you seen those fliers where someone offers a service and writes their number on little tabs that can be pulled away? You can do that with your blog too, especially if you are marketing to a specific niche.
If you run a pet blog, why not ask the vet if you can hang a flier on their bulletin board?
You can also advertise at local events. One woman I know gets traffic to her business site by handing out little bags filled with candy and her business cards during local festivals!
Related Post: Can You Make Money With a Frugal Living Blog?
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