Writing articles and blog posting as a hobby can be done for free.
There are free blogging platforms that offer blog posting for free.
If you want to create your own and write in your free time just as a hobby then you can use the free platforms.
But if you want to be a professional blogger and run a full-time blog then you have to bear some expenses.
It is advisable to pay for certain things to start blogging professionally because that will set you apart from the people who are blogging just for their hobby.
I have listed all the costs below that you need to pay to start your blog and run it professionally.
Once you go through this article you will have a clear idea of how much money you need to start your blog.
Table of Contents
Blogging Hardware Costs:
As a professional blogger first you need to set up all the equipment that you need for blogging.
A decent laptop, a webcam, microphone, and even a DSLR for some cases can make a huge difference between your blogs and a casual blog.
Here is a detailed analysis of how this equipment can help you and how much money you need to spend on them.
A decent laptop:
A laptop can provide you more benefits as a blogger compared to a desktop computer.
It allows you to write, maintain and post your blogs anytime anywhere.
For a decent working laptop, you need long battery life, an HD screen, average weighted, at least an i5 processor with 8GB RAM. An Indian cost can be 30,000 Rupees.
If you prefer Apple over any other brand then go for the MacBook Pro 15 inch that comes with 10 hours battery life at $2,399.
If you are not an Apple fan and want to spend much less then you can choose the HP Envy.
It offers a 13.3 FHD screen, 8GB RAM, an i5 processor, and 256GB SSD at only $679.
Webcam and microphone:
The audience always wants to see the person behind a creation so having a webcam will help you make videos and interact with your followers.
When it comes to webcam, Logitech is the best option compared to the price it comes at.
You can get an HD webcam from Logitech for only $40 (2800 Rupees) and if you want to shoot in front of a green screen then you should choose an expensive higher quality webcam.
To record your voice you need a microphone, but nothing fancy or expensive.
You can get the Audio-Technica ATR2100 at $69 which is ideal for this purpose.
DSLR and lenses: Images are a great medium to get the attention of your audience.
If you can add your own clicked images to your content it will become more authentic and engaging.
An ideal entry-level DSLR camera would be Nikon D3300 18-55mm that costs $450 and provides everything that you need.
In case your niche requires zoomed photos you can consider getting a lens of 18-200mm at another $450.
Blog Hosting Costs:
There are numerous hosting providers offering blog hosting at different prices.
To avoid downtimes and get 24/7 customer support you should choose a trusted hosting company.
A hosting provider can cost you from $2 to $20 per month depending on your plan.
If you add additional features or choose an advanced level plan you will have to pay extra for that.
I will recommend you Bluehost as a host for your blog.
Bluehost is affordable and comes with a free domain name for the first year.
Bluehost also provides a 30-day money-back guarantee so if you do not wish to continue you can quit within 30 days.
Blog Domain Costs:
A domain name represents your blog and adds more credibility to your content.
You should buy a domain name either from a register or a hosting provider.
You can expect a price of $14 per year for a .com domain.
You can also select Bluehost as your blog host and you will get a free domain name. But don’t go with Bluehost Indian hosting. Always choose Bluehost US server and pay at USD price. Bluehost Indian hosting support and speed are not good compare to the US team.
Blog Design Costs:
If you want a custom-made design for your blog and make it look professional and unique then you can invest a large amount in that.
You can also choose WordPress, get a theme for your blog and modify it if needed.
Except for these, one more factor can impact your budget and that is whether you choose a freelancer or a company to design your blog.
WordPress has ready-made themes for every niche costing around $30-$60.
That is the cheapest option for you.
If you require a fully customized professional design then you need to spend between $500 to $2500 and more.
To give a complete professional look you should also add a custom-made logo and header for your blog.
Remember these prices are approximately how much you need to pay.
The exact amount may vary depending on your requirements.
Content Writing Costs:
If you want to grow your blog organically then consistency is the key.
You can write one or two quality content every week to eventually increase organic traffic.
If writing an article takes a lot of time for you, you can hire a professional copywriter to speed up the process.
You should try to get a writer who has a fair amount of experience in your niche.
Generally, copywriters take $15 to $50 per hour. But you can get article writing services from my team just 1,000 Rupees for 1,000 Words.
In case you run a business and need to post every day, it is better to hire a professional copywriter from the beginning.
Once your website gains authority of 35 or more, you will start getting offers from contributor writers.
Advertising Costs:
There are many ways to promote your posts for free.
But if you already have quality content blog posts and want to reach out to more people then you can use advertising.
Google AdWords is a great tool to promote your business on Google search.
The best part is they will only charge you if a visitor clicks on your blog link, Google will not charge for showing your blog link.
You can change or stop the advertising plan anytime you want.
You will be able to choose a suitable plan depending on your requirements.
Depending on the keywords, each click can cost you from $1 up to $50.
Facebook advertising is also an effective way to promote your blog
Facebook lets you target a specific audience and you need to pay between $0.16 to $1 or more per click.
On Twitter, you can use promoted tweets to grab the attention of your audience.
Twitter will charge you from $0.50 up to $4 per engagement.
On LinkedIn, the average price for advertising is $2 per click.
Blogging Software:
Most of the blogging software is available for free for example Google docs.
However, it is advisable to pay for a few software to become more efficient in blogging.
You can find a speech transcribe tool to write by using voice and find new words in your niche.
This software comes at a price between $35 to $80.
You can also get a project management tool that you can use to sort, write and track the posts.
The average price of these tools is around $40.
Making your content grammatically correct and rich sounding is very important.
You can use tools to check the spelling and grammatical errors in your writing, fine-tuning, editing, and vocabulary improvement.
This software can charge you up to $30 per month.
I will recommend you to use Grammarly for proofreading your content.
Since most bloggers use WordPress as their blogging platform, I will suggest using a Headline optimizer.
Plugins like Headline optimizers check your metrics to determine if the content is accurate enough to reach its potential visitors.
The average price for these plugins is around $70.
Conclusion:
To sum it up, if you are starting as a new blogger the initial expenses would be around $850 to $4500 depending on how big you want to start with.
After starting with your blog, you will have to pay around $21 to $51 monthly for other expenses.
But if you are from India then there is much more cheapest option to find the solution. For more information reach me at my WhatsApp group.
Prasenjit Dutta Chowdhury, Known as a @digitalprasen is a digital marketing expert, passionate about SEO & content marketing.
He is a blogger, affiliate marketer, writer, author, consultant, and specific SEO & content marketing expert!
He blogs about blogging and Webhosting @Copyproblogger.com
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