NJ USA
(Updated 9-20-2022)
Most new bloggers pinch pennies.
I have been there.
You may be there.
Do you need to build your blog on a tight budget?
Bloggers tend to wade through lean times as a beginner blogger.
Even billionaire icons profess to living on the Ramen budget during their formative business years.
I still bootstrap to some extent 15 years into my blogging campaign. I run no company, being an individual blogger. Being scrappy, creative and driven fuels me to create and connect as much as possible while making minimum financial investments in my blogging campaign. On one level, it takes money to make money but not as much as you would believe. Smart, generous work combined with investing a few bucks makes the difference with your blogging campaign.
Prospering individuals may feel a bit hesitant to invest much money in blogging before seeing substantial returns. In truth, time, energy and work investments lay a rock-solid foundation for blogging campaigns. Money investment is necessary but tends to play a small part in becoming a professional blogger.
If you need to blog on a budget follow these tips.
1: Spend Most of Your Money on a Domain and * Dependable * Hosting
Invest most of your blogging budget on a domain and hosting. Invest in your:
- credibility
- brand
- ownership
Use your limited capital to invest in some credibility. Buy your domain and hosting. Blog on a budget but blog intelligently too.
Blogging on free platforms is a major mistake crippling most bloggers.
Invest around $200 to $300 per year on dependable hosting and $20 per year on your domain.
Begin blogging effectively. Use most of your financial investment to emit a professional, credible brand image.
2: Socialize Your Blog Marketing Campaign
Be a social blogger to blog on a budget.
Engaging people on:
costs you nothing in terms of money. Ask people questions. Share answers. Comment genuinely on updates. Be a friend. Be authentic.
Market your blog indirectly by being social. Blogging buddies you make through social media market your blog for you through referral marketing.
Follow hashtags related to your niche on social media. For example, I follow the #blogging hashtag on LinkedIn to:
- Like updates
- comment genuinely on updates
- build relationships
Some bloggers I meet through LinkedIn visit Blogging From Paradise.
Drive free blog traffic by being engaging, strategic and persistent through social media.
3: Build a Network of Influential Friends through Blog Commenting
Comment genuinely on top blogs from your niche.
Earn trust. Make friends. Draw attention to your comments. Influence fellow bloggers and their readers to market your blog through referral marketing.
Comment generously. Write 1-3 paragraphs per comment to share your honest thoughts. Be engaging. Begin a real dialog through blog comments. Buddies you make through authentic blog commenting freely promote your blog to their followings.
Blog commenting is still one of the most overlooked ways to make friends and amplify your success because anyone can comment on any blog with comments open. Take advantage of this seamless strategy to grow your blog on a tight budget.
4: Use Free Tools
Use free tools intelligently to blog on a tight budget.
Free tools offer solid functionality for:
- helping readers
- bonding with bloggers
- building relationships with readers
I publish:
- scheduled updates
- @replies
- retweets
through free Twitter tools. Friends I make through Twitter promote my blog freely. Updates I publish market my blog for me because sharing your knowledge is the simplest way to market your blog.
5: Be a Forum Lounge Lizard
Re-read the prior sentence to get how forum marketing works as a free blog marketing method.
Publish detailed answers to questions on forums related to your blogging niche to market your:
- skills
- experience
- knowledge
- wisdom
for free via these forums.
Impressed forum members click through to your blog because you marketed your blog by sharing your knowledge for free.
Join forums related to your blogging niche. Answer questions. Ask questions. Provide help. Show off your credibility to market your blog indirectly. Give people a reason to visit your blog by generously sharing of your time and talents.
Forums
- Quora
6: Get Hyper Clear on Your Brand Message
Blogging on a budget means trimming blogging fat. Trimming blogging fat means stripping away brand bloat.
Get hyper clear on your brand message to market your blog effectively for free. Be a specialist. Do one thing well for one targeted reader. Expect to see an increase in blog exposure as loyal, happy followers and fans spread your brand message through word of mouth marketing.
Clear brands form a type of purely organic marketing, serving as a brand advocate in and of themselves. Instead of you putting active work into trying like heck to post your blog link in 54,000 places today, your clear brand message inspires 5, 10 or 50 readers to:
- promote your latest blog post on Twitter
- reach out to you with questions related to your niche on Facebook
- link to your blog via their latest blog post
Each bullet point list item above serves as evidence of a powerful blog marketing campaign based on a crystal clear brand message.
7: Pay Freelancers with Exposure / Credit
Note; this method only works for:
- skilled, trusted bloggers with large, loyal audiences
- newer or struggling freelancers willing to trade massive exposure for their services
For example, imagine building a large, loyal blogging readership over years. However, you intend to blog on a budget and wish to trade some of your blogging real estate to a web designer for their services. Some web designers hungry for massive exposure over a single, small pay day will gladly make the trade. Both parties seem happy because you gained a new blog design for free and the designer gained massive exposure in front of a highly-targeted, large, potential client base.
Conclusion
Saving money means spending more:
- time
- energy
to work in order to become a successful blogger on a budget.
As you open your wallet less and less you better hustle to get the job done.
