How Much Money Does it Cost to Start a Blog
If you are considering starting a blog it can be an exciting experience, but you might ask the question, “How much money does it cost to start a blog?” The good news is that starting a blog doesn’t have to break the bank. Starting a blog is a low investment in comparison to other businesses. However, there are still costs associated with starting a blog that you need to be aware of so you know what you need to get started.
Which platform is best for blogging?
The best platform for blogging is WordPress.org because you will be building a self-hosted blog that you own. The best part about building your blog on WordPress.org is that it’s free!
You also have more control over your content, customization, analytics, and SEO by being on a self-hosted blog. WordPress.org can feel overwhelming to some when they get started blogging, but we promise you, you will much prefer figuring out this platform than having to change down the road.
Once you know the platform you will be on, there are additional items you will need to consider in order to give your website the functionality you need.
Domain Name
The first order of business is to purchase your domain name. We recommend NameCheap and they usually have domains for a reasonable price. You shouldn’t need to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for a domain name, if you do, we’d recommend going back to the drawing board because most domain names can be purchased for well under $100 per year.
Hosting
Since we recommend a self-hosted site, you will need to purchase website hosting. To learn more about website hosting, you can read this blog post.
Choosing a hosting company is very important. We have used several different hosting companies and have found who we feel is the very best, BigScoots Hosting. They are an amazing company and we believe they support your website the very best. You are in amazing hands with BigScoots.
You have a few different options in regard to hosting. If you are just starting out and/or have a smaller site, you can do their shared hosting plan which is $9.95 a month. Or, if you would like more support and/or have more traffic, we recommend the Starter Managed Plan which is $32.85/mo or $394.24/year.
Themes
You will need two themes for your self-hosted blog, a parent theme, and a child theme.
- Parent theme: This is the basis of functionality for your blog. We recommend Kadence for your Parent theme, and it is has a free version. Kadence is very easy to customize and is very user-friendly, even for the beginning blogger. There is also a paid version of Kadence if you want a lot more customization and more fonts, but it is not necessary.
- Child theme: Your child theme is what is going to give your blog character and allow you to customize it to fit your needs. There are a ton of child themes to choose from, but the ones we highly recommend are designed by Restored 316. These themes have been approved by SEO experts and are beautiful themes that deliver a wonderful user experience.
Restored 316 child themes ranging from $129-$199 and is a one-time cost. To learn more about why we love these themes you can listen to the podcast episode we did with the founder of the company, Lauren Diershke.
Plugins
A plugin is an add-on or extension that you add to your site to give it additional functionality that you need. The way I describe a plugin is to compare it to apps on an Apple iPhone. You purchase the phone and it works fine the way it comes, but you buy apps that can give you functions you need or accessibility to programs you use. Think of a plugin that same way in regards to your website.
The kind of plugins you need will vary depending on what kind of blog you have. For instance, if you are a food blogger, you’ll need a recipe card plugin so Google will recognize your recipes as a recipe, but if you don’t have recipes you won’t need that plugin.
There are a lot of different plugins to choose from, so the cost may vary, but we recommend plugins for the following functions. In total, the plugins we recommend can cost up to $300 for your first year. Some plugins do have annual costs associated with them.
- Image compression
- Recipe card
- Caching
- Comment Spam
- Security
- Website backup
- SEO
- Social sharing
Branding & Design
There are a few things to consider when it comes to branding, and the cost of branding can vary greatly depending on what you want and also what you can afford.
Keep in mind that you do not have to spend any money when you start blogging on either of these areas. It is totally optional and it is something you can do later.
Logo Design/Branding: You can hire a graphic designer to come up with a branding package for you that will include logo, fonts, and branding colors and the cost of that can vary depending on who you hire. Or, when you start out you can use Canva and design your own. Canva has a free version which is great, but if you want more features you can use Canva Pro which is $119.99 per year.
Brand Photography: If you want to have some photos taken that you can use for your website and marketing materials we recommend hiring a local photographer who can take images that you can repurpose in several different ways for your blog. The cost will vary depending on where you live and how you hire.
You can also have someone take a picture of you that you can use on your About Me page to get started. Just ensure that you have good lighting and it’s a simple picture without a lot around you. You can learn more about brand photography on this episode of The Ultimate Blog Podcast we did with Corry Frazier.
Email Marketing
Growing your email list is an important part of growing your blog business and it’s an area we recommend working on from the start. In order to grow your email list you will need an email marketing provider that will allow you to send emails to readers who subscribe to your blog.
Our recommendation for email marketing is ConvertKit. ConvertKit is the easiest platform to use and has a lot of functionality for you to utilize as your business grows.
ConvertKit also has a free plan that is available to you until you reach 1,000 subscribers. You also have more functionality offered with plans that start at $9/month.
Accessories
Depending on the kind of blog you have, you may need some additional items to support your blog business.
These are not required, but they are things that could assist you in your business. There are other accessories you could utilize but we recommend keeping it as simple as possible when you start.
- Computer– you don’t need anything fancy here, just something that allows you to browse the internet and edit photos if you’ll be doing your own photography.
- DSLR Camera– if you are doing food photography you will likely want a DSLR at some point. If you are just starting out, your iPhone can do a good enough job to get you started.
- Ring light– this is helpful with photography and video. You can find several different options on Amazon for reasonable prices.
- Food styling props- if you are food styling, you’ll need some props such as dishes, napkins, and textures. You can easily find some great pieces at your local goodwill.
- PO Box- the main reason we recommend a PO Box is that you will have to input an address that will be on every email that you send out. For safety reasons, we do not recommend you put your home address. If you use a ConvertKit paid plan, they do provide an address you can use, otherwise, you will want to go to your local post office and purchase a small PO Box so you can use that address in your marketing.
Legal
Most importantly, we don’t want you to forget to protect your new blog business. We know this isn’t the “fun stuff” but trust us, take yourself seriously from the start and you’ll thank yourself later.
Privacy Policy & Terms of Use: Every website needs a Privacy Policy and Terms of Use which is why Berkley Sweetapple created templates that bloggers can easily customize for their websites. We highly recommend these templates and if you use code SPARK20, you can save an additional 20% on her templates. There is a bundle with the privacy policy and terms of use that we recommend to anyone setting up their blog and that is $395 before our discount code is applied.
LLC: While we aren’t attorneys, we have spoken with a number of them on our podcast so we feel confident recommending that everyone should start by setting up an LLC for their blog business. You can learn more about why this is important and how to do it on this podcast episode with Andrea Sager. The cost of setting up your LLC will vary depending on if you have a lawyer do it for you or you do it yourself, and also what your state charges for the set up.
Trademark: Something to consider when setting up your blog is whether or not the name you are choosing is already protected by a trademark, or if you want to trademark your business name. To learn more about trademarking, listen to this episode with Whitney Bower about trademarking your blog. We have found that most lawyers charge approximately $2,500 to set up a trademark and it currently takes around 1 year to secure.
If you feel a bit overwhelmed by everything needed to set up your blog, we get it. It’s a lot to think about, but we want you to feel empowered that your blog is set up the right way from the start. If you are ready to start your blog, but would love to have support on the journey, we can help!
The Ultimate Blog Bootcamp
Our signature course, The Ultimate Blog Bootcamp, is the answer to your blogging prayers. If you are ready to start blogging and want a step-by-step process with support from both of us, The Ultimate Blog Bootcamp was created for you.
This course is for anyone who is ready to start their blog and put in the time and energy to get it done! With 15-20 hours a week for 4 weeks, you can have your blog set up and ready to go.
Here is what is included:
- A step-by-step course that teaches you how to set up your blog from beginning to end. We teach you how to purchase your domain, set up WordPress, install and customize your theme, download and activate plugins, create content, set up email marketing, and how to do keyword research.
- 4 weeks of Slack support from Jennifer and Amy so we are there to answer any questions you have about blogging as you work through the course. The support we provide is what makes us different than any other blogging course out there. You have our guidance as you set up to bounce ideas off of and ask all the questions you need!
- After the 4 weeks, you will get to join our alum membership, The Ultimate Blog Membership for a 2-week free trial. This membership supports our alum members with a community forum where they can ask questions all month long and 2 coaching calls each month. One coaching call is a Q&A to troubleshoot any questions about blogging, the other is teaching by a guest expert or ourselves.
If you are ready to start your blog, you can join TODAY!
*The values that are listed in this blog post are subject to change and are current as of March 2023.