Is this even possible? Starting a blog when your budget is ZERO? You have no budget for blogging, but you really want to start? PERFECT! Let’s do it right now! (Or tonight, if you’re reading this at work or waiting to pick up your kids at school!) Because it IS possible to start blogging with no budget. I did it, and I’m excited to share some of those tips with you!
Where do I start?
The best way to start is to jump right in (like learning to swim. Get in the freaking water, already!) And the best time to start is now (or as soon as possible.) The more we think about stuff like this, the more we can find excuses to NOT do it (and that’s just not going to swim well… get it? lol!)
I started my first “mommy blog” back in 2007 for FREE on blogger.com. The idea for my first book started on another blogger blog, too!
Again, I was able to do all that for FREE! At that point, I had no idea that you could become a “full time blogger” and make a decent income from it (I’ve since met a few bloggers who are doing that and MORE!)
I’m not blogging full time, but I LOVE everything about it! If you love the idea of writing a blog, sharing your thoughts with the world, making a difference, helping people and (fill in your blog aspirations here), starting for FREE is a great idea.
You can decide if it’s something you eventually want to invest money in to see it grow and to help you learn. Or if it’s just a hobby that you don’t particularly need to monetize, you just want to do it for the love. (Which is totally fine!)
Whether you want to blog and make money or not, these tips should help you get that blog started!
Step 1: Sign up for your FREE blog on WordPress.com.
While I started on Blogger.com, when I got serious about blogging and asked for advice, my successful, full-time blogger friends all recommended WordPress.org. There is a difference between WordPress .com and .org. So if you’re here to start your blog on NO BUDGET, I recommend .com to get your feet wet and figure out if this is something you really want. Eventually, when and if you’re ready to invest a bit of money (not too much) into getting a domain, host and maybe even paying people to design your logo, etc… that’s the time to move to WordPress.org. The GREAT news is that you can move all the blog posts and work from your .com to your .org when you’re ready to do that!
Step 2: Use Social Media to share your blog with the world!
Stay with me if you’re not on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. It’s fine if you just want to blog and leave it there on the internet, hoping someone will read it. Someone might! But the truth is, there’s a TON of noise and to get your blog read, you need to give it little pushes. Kind of like a mommy eagle might coax her baby eaglets off the nest. It might be a little scary and intimidating to share your blog, but sometimes when you give it that little push, it starts to FLY!
The awesome thing about using social media to share your blog with no budget is that it costs you absolutely nothing to create a Facebook page, Twitter or Instagram account for your blog. It’s all FREE!
Step 3: Seriously, get out of your head and START!
This might seem like a silly thing to add to a practical list on how to start a blog with no budget. However, we can sometimes be our worst critics. Our biggest obstacles. Our own worst enemy. Your first FREE blog may not be perfect. It might not look like your dream blog. But hear me out — if you can see that “dream blog” in your mind’s eye, this could be the first imperfect step to making that dream a reality.
This blog that you’re reading is proof that those dreams can come true!
Pro tip:
One of my “fairy blogmothers” (aka blog mentor, Vicki P.) once shared a magical website with me, that helped me launch my “more serious” WordPress blog. Since I REALLY want you to live out your blog dreams, I’ll share it here with you! It’s AmyLynnAndrews.com. And I still go there for blogging tips and advice.
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment here below!
And if you’d like a little extra help (this would go beyond that “no budget” part, but I do have an ebook to help you learn how to make money blogging. Once you get to that point (if it’s part of your dream), I’d love for you to check it out!
For now, go start that blog!
Laughing (and blogging) through life,
Coppelia