Do you have a great idea for a blog but lack the funds to make your vision come true? Or perhaps you’d like to try your hand at blogging but don’t want to dedicate too much money to something in which you’re unconfident.
Maybe it’s just a casual hobby of yours.
Whatever the case, you’ll be happy to know that blogging can be done completely for free and that you don’t have to pour loads of money into your blog in order to be successful.
You’ll soon find that you can bring your blog to life in front of thousands, maybe even millions, of people with some dedication, effort, and time.
Keep reading to find out how you can start writing your blog immediately without spending a single cent.
Choose Your Free Blog Host
The first thing that stumps people is finding a place where they can post their blog.
We’ve listed some of the top website hosting services that will allow you to create a site domain and publish your blog for free here:
WordPress
The original purpose of WordPress was to be a blog publishing site, but it soon expanded to general website hosting. Still, they’re one of the best options for bloggers and have a plethora of helpful features to create and customize your blog’s site.
The problem with WordPress is that while it offers a great range of creative freedom, it requires a bit of coding and various plugins to make the magic happen.
For those of you who want to spend less time on website creation and more time on writing blogs, these next options might be better suited for you.
Weebly
If you like simple functions and want to get your blog started as soon as possible, then Weebly should be your first option.
Out of Weebly, WordPress, and Wix, Weebly is the easiest to use and has the most straightforward interface. You’ll be able to build a beautiful website incredibly fast, but at the cost of creative freedom.
Wix
Wix is the middle ground between Weebly and WordPress.
It’s not as hard to use WordPress, but it has vastly more functions than Weebly. You won’t have completely free reign when creating your website with Wix, but you’ll have enough tools to accomplish most things in a timely manner.
Blogger
Unlike the previously mentioned services that are general website hosting sites, Blogger is entirely for blogs. It is the most blog-optimized option on this list, though you won’t have as many options for website design (you’ll still have quite a bit, though).
Blogger also allows you to have up to 100 blogs per account and has various services for marketing and monetizing your blog.
Tumblr
Tumblr is a popular social media platform mainly tailored for writing short stories, microblogging, and text-based posts.
Like most other forms of social media, Tumblr is completely free and allows users to post with no hassle consistently. You don’t have to deal with any website creation with Tumblr, and your blog will have better discoverability.
Why Are These Services Free?
If you know the adage “nothing is free,” then you may be skeptical about using these sites that advertise free blog hosting. Well, fret not because their “cost” is of no harm to you and won’t jeopardize your bank account in any way.
The caveat to using sites like WordPress, Wix, and Weebly is that they’ll implement their name into your free domain as well as implement unintrusive advertisements into your free blog.
This isn’t really an issue considering it’s not costing you anything while passively supporting the host site. There are also paid options on these sites that offer more benefits and features.
Sites like Blogger and Tumblr make money entirely through targeted advertisements on free blogs and posts.
Writing Your Blog
Once you know where you can post your blog, it’s time to make a stellar game plan. Assuming you already have an idea of what you want your blog to be about and have chosen a place to host your blog, the next step is to create an eye-catching title.
Creating a Title
The title of your blog is extremely important. It’s the first impression people get of your blog and is how they will remember it.
When creating a title, keep it simple but unique. Avoid generic wordplay and choose something that captures the attention of people. Try to research the psychological effect of certain words and sounds as well as historically trending titles to get an idea of what will work best.
The title will also usually double as your website’s domain, so keep that in mind.
Customizing Your Free Blog
Depending on which blog hosting service you choose to use, your experience in customization and creation may vary. Regardless, it would be best if you tried to keep it organized and easy to navigate.
If people can’t find what they’re looking for right away, they’re more likely to leave.
You’ll also want to use color schemes and formats that match your blog’s theme. Keep it appealing to the eye, but don’t overcrowd it.
Making Your Blog Go Live
Once your site is customized and ready to go, it’s time to make it live. Most blog hosting sites make going online easy and allow you to make edits accordingly.
Before you go live, you might want to consider some additional pages, such as an about page and contact info. Try to write a fun bio about yourself and why you decided to write a blog.
People are more willing to follow your blog if they can get to know the writer.
Post Consistently
Your success as a blogger depends on a few different variables. One of them is how often you post. Once you get your site up and running, you should post as much as you can while maintaining high quality.
A good rule of thumb is posting weekly or bi-weekly, but this frequency may change based on the nature of your blog.
Marketing Your Blog For Free With Social Media
Having high-quality content is only the second most important thing about a blog. The first is the audience. A blog isn’t a blog if there isn’t anyone to read it after all.
There are many services you can pay to increase views and traffic to your blog, but they can get quite costly, and they sometimes give you bot viewers, which isn’t what you want.
An excellent way to market your blog free and organically is through social media marketing. Here are some of the best sites where you can advertise your blog.
Your first choice as a blog writer should be Twitter. While you’ll want to be using numerous social media accounts, Twitter is one of the quickest and easiest to post on.
Using short, text-based posts and hashtags to increase discoverability, you’ll be able to get your blog’s name out there without spending too much time or effort.
Reddit is a forum-based website where groups of people can talk about topics and share media under specific discussion boards. This is a great place to freely market your blog and connect with other users who share similar interests to you.
There are a few different ways you can advertise your blog on Instagram. The first is using a personal account and selling your personality. People are likely to read blogs by influencers they follow and love.
Another is to make content related to your blog. For example, if you’re a travel-oriented blog, then you’ll have an Instagram where you post pictures about your travels. If you have a food blog, you’re probably going to be posting your dishes.
Similar to Twitter, Instagram goes off a hashtag tagging system and is an exceptional place to grow your audience.
Pinterest is image-based like Instagram but has a different interface. You’ll be using pictures to draw people into your posts where they can learn more about your blog.
If you’re great at drawing or photography, Pinterest is a viable option for blog promotion.
Tiktok
Tiktok is a social media platform revolving around short, to-the-point videos. Given its immense popularity in recent years and the marketing opportunities, there’s no reason not to use it.
You may have to put in a little extra effort since you’ll be editing short videos, but it’s by no means complicated and is an excellent way to increase the growth of your blog exponentially.
Monetizing Your Free Blog
Just because you didn’t spend any money making your blog, that doesn’t mean you can’t make any money!
That said, spending a little bit of money can expedite your blogging process and increase efficiency, but that isn’t always an option.
Building up is key, and you can accrue a respectable amount of income through these monetization methods:
Allow Ads on Your Site
Many free website hosting services have ways you can make money on your free site through ads.
Many of these ads are pay-per-click, but they can sometimes pay based on your traffic. Be sure to review the monetization and payment policies of your blog’s host.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is when you pull in commerce to a company’s services or products in exchange for traffic-based compensation.
You’ll have to choose businesses relevant to your blog and promote them somewhere in your posts, but it’s an excellent form of target marketing.
Amazon Affiliates is a good place to start for people new to affiliate marketing.
Sponsorships
If you’ve gotten to the point where you’re big enough to receive sponsorship opportunities, these are excellent for generating extra cash.
Businesses will reach out to you and pay you to mention them in your blog. It’s similar to affiliate marketing, except there’s a direct connection between sponsor and sponsee.
Tips For Starting a Free Blog
To end things off, here are a few useful tips when creating a blog.
Do Your Research
Being well versed in your content and knowing relevant trends is vital to optimizing your search ability and findability.
Make sure to do adequate research on demographics, topics, and news relating to your field.
Be Consistent
When you don’t have the luxury of money to accelerate your growth, consistency is key. That means being consistent in how often you post on your blog and social media accounts.
It’s also important to be consistent in the type of content you post. Avoid being a jack of all trades and stick to a single topic.
Create An Audience
People won’t come to you unless you give them a reason to. Try to create a dedicated fan base through social media and constantly try to draw people in.
Creating an audience happens away from your blog. It’s on you to find them and lead them to your content. If it’s something people are interested in, they will come.
Experiment
Don’t be afraid to try new things.
Changing up your style and presentation can lead to great things if you give yourself the chance to experiment with different ideas. They don’t always work, but that’s okay. You learn more from failure than you do from success.
Have Fun
If you’re making a blog to make money, you should probably reevaluate your priorities. Blogs don’t typically make too much unless they’re at the top of the top, and it’s likely not worth the effort.
Blogging is something you should only do if you enjoy it as a hobby or as a form of expression. Don’t be afraid to experiment and have fun!
Final Thoughts
Creating a blog is something anyone can do for free. The success of your blog is ultimately up to you, but remember that you never have to spend money on one if you don’t want to and be just as successful as someone who has pumped thousands into theirs.
Remember that consistency is key, and don’t be afraid to put in the time and effort. A blog can be a rewarding experience and something you should absolutely try if you desire to do so.
Happy blogging!
