Running a blog comes at a cost, whether thats financial, physical or mental. There is a cost. It’s alot of work, and I don’t think alot of people realise how hard it can be. When you run a blog alot of things go through your mind. I’m sure many other bloggers can relate to this. I have so many drafted posts that I’ve never published because I think they’re not good enough. I’ve trashed perfectly fine posts too because I felt like my audience won’t enjoy them. Sometimes it’s a battle with self, and nothing more.
It takes alot of courage to start a blog, and there are many people out there who hide this from their friends and families because they worry about their reactions. I thought today we could talk about the real cost of running a blog, and everything that comes with it. The good, the bad and the ugly. In hopes that this will give my readers a-bit of an open door into the reality of blogging.
THE FINANCIAL COST
I thought I’d start off this post talking about the financial cost of running a blog. I am a WordPress user and hosting your blog through WordPress isn’t cheap, especially when you want to get access to all of the functions that help to grow your blog. When I first started blogging I upgraded from a free plan to a premium plan, which cost around £84. After a few months I decided it was time to upgrade my plan from premium to business. Thankfully I was able to use some of funds I spent on my premium plan, towards the business one. And WordPress kindly sent me a discount code. In total my business plan cost me £103, but without a discount it will cost £240. The only other cost for my blog is the font you see on my homepage, I purchased that for £15.
So as you can see, blogging doesn’t come cheap. But with anything, you make an investment and you’ll get money back from your hard work and money spent. Of course you don’t have to upgrade your plans and you don’t have to make these additional purchases, but for me I wanted to make my blog as professional as I could.
THE TIME COST
If you are a blogger you will relate to this. I didn’t know or under estimated the time and effort that I would spend on my blog. I spend hours sometimes in the evening creating posts, interacting with other bloggers, maintaining my Instagram. The list is endless sometimes. Sometimes blogging has taken over days for me, especially during Blogmas preparation. I spent 3 evenings in a row creating content for my blog and Instagram so that I could just get it finished.
It’s even harder to balance both blogging and ‘real’ life when you’re a parent or student, or even if you have a full time job. It can come as a big cost if your blog is your sole income too.
THE MENTAL COST
I know so many bloggers who stress and worry over their blog, whether its stats, follower numbers, other bloggers or just in general. Blogging is fun and it should be light hearted, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t worry about it. I always say, that if you care about something then you’ll worry about it. And the same goes for blogging. You worry because your blog is important to you. One thing that is a worry is being so open on the internet. The internet can be a scary place and negativity usually comes along with it, and thats why I tend to keep my private life private when it comes to my blog.
THE POSITIVE COSTS
There are so many positives that come with blogging and thought I would share some here!
- You make so many connections with people you wouldn’t usually connect with
- You get opportunities to work with brands
- You get to read amazing work by other bloggers
- You get to be apart of other peoples blogging journeys
What sort of costs do you think blogging has had for you? Positive or negative.
I thought this topic would be great to talk about, as it gives an insider perspective of some costs blogging has had on me and my own blogging journey.
Very informative and relatable post. Thanks for sharing! ✨
Thanks so much! So glad it was 🙂
Pleasure is all mine! 😇
Fantastic post. This is very accurate. Only after I started blogging again five months ago have I begun to realize how much of a financial investment blogging is. I also wanted to make my blog crispyconfessions.com as professional as possible so I’ve upgraded to the personal account. But then soon realized that I still would need to upgrade to the business account in order to use the plugins. What are some of the best plugins that you’ve found to be helpful for your blog?
Thank you Helen!
I was very naive when I first started and didn’t realise you would need to invest so much into your blog in order to make it successful!
One of the best plugins that I use currently is Yoast SEO. Its a tool that helps you whilst you write your posts to make sure your content is search engine friendly. And since I have been using it, I have notices a significant increase in Search Engine Traffic to my blog.
I haven’t explored much of the others yet as im quite new to the business plan myself but I’d recommend the Yoast plug in for sure! It helped me so much in learning about SEO! Hope thats helpful!
Good to know thankyou! when I upgrade to the business, I will be sure to take advantage of the Yoast plugin 🙂
Why dont you opt for other hosting providers like hostinger godaddy etc. They are much cheaper and provide cpanel ie wpadmin panel as well.
I have thought about it, and its possible something I’ll consider in the future, but at the moment im happy with the current platform I have!
You just have to migrate ur blog there which will take up ur entire day to be honest
Also with wp premium plans u cant do adsense
You cant, but you can do wordads, which aren’t as good but better than nothing 🤗
Totally relatable. You covered all the positive and negatives of Blogging. Felt like i am not alone feeling these points. Thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts and tips! 👌😊
You are not alone at all! There are many costs to blogging! Were all in this together 🤗
Yes thanks for the assurance. We are in this together! ❤️❤️
I think the main positive blogging has had for me is being able to help people that read my blogs, and making them smile. I write a lot about mental health and lifestyle so people are able to relate to my blogs which is always nice 🙂
I agree about the time cost. To make your blog grow, you need to spend time on it, and balance it with your other commitments. As we discussed before, balancing blogging with life is not easy, and a level of commitment is needed!
Yes for sure, spending time doing and perfecting anything you do you will see the benefits!
Wonderful post!! It’s true there can be such a mental strain with blogging. I found that one to be my biggest cost over money.
Oh for sure, you can really get in your head cant you about blogging. We all do it whether we want to admit to it or not. Were in this together 🤗
Yes Olivia, there are no free lunches in this world 😊
Oh for sure! This is something im learning!
Great post as always! I think the biggest thing is the ‘opportunity cost’. The time I spent on my blog, I don’t spend writing my thesis. 😂 But I like it a lot more than reading scientific papers!
Also, it may take a toll on mental health the same way the social media does. It may become stressful to see how much other bloggers post, how much engagement they get, etc.
Yes! I love this👏🏻
Blogging can be such a distraction cant it? Sometimes a welcomed distraction and then sometimes not, especially when you have things to do!
I think thats a common theme, that blogging can take its toll. But its as you said, its a social media platform and you can’t help but compare yourself to others. Thats why sometimes taking a break from blogging is needed!
Yes Olivia, I can relate to this post, the energy and time I spent so much time on the my blog but its all worthy. Wonderful post!!
Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment. All the time and effort spent is worth it in the end, isnt it?☺️
It is, it’s a reward knowing that you create content that people want to read and worth reading 🌸
Yes for sure 🤗
I think about my blog all the time. Constantly thinking and stressing about posts/what to write. It’s non-stop. But it’s fun too! Its something I like to do. Engaging, connecting and creating.
I found the financial part very helpful, I am thinking about upgrading my free-plan. As always thanks Olivia🧡🤗 xx
You’re not alone. I really love it too. It can almost become an obsession don’t you think? A healthy one for me at least. When you care about something you want to constantly make sure its okay and everything is right!
Upgrading your plan to premium has many benefits! Happy to talk if you need it🤍
Yes, but like you said a healthy obsession. Thank you Olivia —I am still tiptoeing around the idea. You are kind. Thank you🧡🤗 x
I’d like to differ and say that mine doesn’t cost me at all, but the opposite. But then my goals are different— I’m less interested in it growing, and more interested in just getting my thoughts out in a therapeutic, creative way. With the potential bonus of helping other people through relating to them. Which I’m sure makes it more of a niche/acquired taste. Which is also something I wouldn’t have any other way, haha.
And yeah I refuse to let it cost me financially xD, since that would reverse some of the therapeutic benefit, besides that I couldn’t afford it to. It’s more of a hobby but still a very important one to me since I’m otherwise unemployed 😆. Also I as much need the social interaction/connection through it.
Thank you for sharing that with us. Its interesting to see the other side of the coin, as they say!
I think you are right in what you’re saying, it depends what your blogging goals are. If you are here just to get your thoughts out there in the world, then you for sure wont have any of the costs I mentioned.
I would say that when you are trying to grow your blog and increase your following, it can become a little more stressful, but I don’t think its lost its therapeutic benefit for me either. I still love to write about whatever comes to mind, there’s just another level or aspect behind it, as I have other goals in mind too!
The social interaction is something I love the most about blogging, just like having conversations like this!
Cool :). No you’re right, I do still have certain (evolving) standards for it, then it’s finding a balance between that and letting myself simply write when I need to. And then those standards are different depending on how creative it is. Like if it’s purely creative, especially trying to be humorous— haha, you’ve got to be good at self-monitoring sometimes! 😆
Yes exactly— sometimes it’s worth writing just to connect! As well as the reading. Then you realise how much you needed it and it helps to unlock something :).
The only thing hard to me about a blog is wordpress.com
don’t care enough about their blogging writers to build a publishing company!
I think WordPress really do have alot they need to work on to make their platform more user friendly. I often have technical issues and such.
WordPress.com
is a business with its own agenda to lure the best talent in for freestarting wkith a free blog as a landing point for a year to sell their products to members making the company millions and nothing iswrong with that, but something is wrong with wordpress.com not creating a publishing company and for a precentage make authors out of their blogger writers who are creditable writers. I call it like it is!
I don’t think there’s much to gain from them having a self-publishing system, since using Amazon or others would already give you much more exposure. And the process of creating something publishable would already involve carefully going through/editing what you’ve written anyway, so logistically there’s not much to gain I think. I think WordPress have their niche has a blogging platform.
I am talking about traditional publisher (publishing). Self publishing is for a price only and this is why anything can be published for a price minus value in 75% of the cases and I am talking about writers who can’t afford to self publish and publishing for free with Amazon writers make pennies on book sells as opposed to Amazon making most of the money and your response let wordpress.com off the hook, and you count the writers here aspiring to be authors would thank you for trhat!
wordpress.comindeed need a staff with members vision!
Haha! It’s funny, the perspective is exactly the same even as a software developer/tech person trying to work with it. I never imagined how controversial/similar the user opinions would also be of it! 😆 But then it makes sense— the user difficulties largely stem from the difficulties that the people in the background are facing, as a result of a build up of messy legacy things and a system that’s hard to change. And inevitably layers and layers of middle-management in WordPress itself.
If a newer, similar platform could come along and capture a similar market share I’d definitely move to it!
when writers play 2-ends-against-the-middle-and-burn-the-candle=at-both-ends then doubters can see the light at the end of the tunnel. If Steve Jobs would went your way here ‘Apple’ wouldn’t be on the tech map, but I respect your give minus take on this but I don’t buy it!
Ok! That’s all fair enough :D.
Your comments and responses are verb superb on point and you made some good points as well and you are brilliant!
Haha, thank you!
100%
Thanks for the conversation.
Thank you as well creative thinker!
Those positive costs are so true in my case!
So glad to hear!
This is a perfectly-timed post for me, it’s like you’re reading my mind. I’m definitely balancing a full-time job and a kid and growing my blog and being about to find time for it all is extremely difficult. I’m also currently on WordPress Premium, thinking about taking the next step. Upgrading to WordPress Business makes sense to me as the next step, and sounds easy enough, but why do so many other bloggers recommend “self-hosting” and running their WordPress through another site like SiteGround or BlueHost? Is all that really necessary? Sounds like extra complication and I’d like to stay as simple as possible.
I am currently using the WordPress free hosting. But i am simultaneously working on another website for which i purchased the hosting from hostinger. Maybe all are suggesting so as the cost of WordPress hosting is much more tham the other hosting sites. Morover, the customer care for other hosting sites is faster than WP (i am saying so from the research and views of others not personally experienced). Also, you can enjoy the WordPress power with hosting from these sites, so you don’t miss out much with paying less on these things. That’s what my inference was from my research. Hope it will help you somehow! 😊
I’m so glad this post came at the right time for you, its funny I almost posted something else today but went with my gut, and maybe this is why!
I was the exact same, It felt like the right step to take after being on the premium plan for a while.
Im holding off going self hosted, it all sounds really great and something I will probably do in the future however, I have hear no good stories from transferring to self hosted from WP. So many websites break, people lose their followers and it all sounds abit stressful to me. Yes there are benefits of going self-hosted, you have so much more freedom, but I think its just the same amount of work if not more when you’re self hosted.
I don’t know how to code or set up themes, you’d need to hire someone to do that. You’d have to pay for someone to transfer your site and there’s many other costs involved too. I guess you need to do your research and see which fits you better. But for me, I’m sticking with WP.
After upgrade your plan it’s really helpful I guess but I don’t have traffic yet what should things must I hv to do …
There are many things you can do to grow your following, post regularly, interact with other blogs etc
You are magic to me thanks for the information babes❤️❤️
You’re welcome!
Refreshingly honest and true!
Thank you kindly!
You always come with such wonderful blogs.This one is also very informative and powerful. I also want to upgrade my plan but some confusion are there. I am not clear about it.
Thank you so much, so glad you found this helpful. Please don’t hesitate to email or message me on any of my social media platforms. Happy to help you!
Sure.Actually I want to know about the business plan and also I don’t have any idea about if I need to design my website by myself or WordPress desings it automatically. 😊
Do you have email? We could chat there and I could explain it a little. Mine is – olivialucieblakeblog@hotmail.com
Yes.rosida.b22@gmail.com
It is
rosida.b22@gmail.com
Great! Please send me an email with any questions and I can answer those for you!
Sure and thanks alot for your respond💝
I agree with the part about not sharing with friends and family. I only have one friend who knows about my blog. I work with some very unsupportive people who I really don’t want seeing my weight loss progress photos. I kind of feel like I’m working undercover sometimes, writing blog posts on my lunch break at work haha.
A undercover blog writer sounds kinda cool don’t you think?? You own that title!
Hey I might just make a post about that!
You should! “What its like being an undercover blog writer” 😉
Even though blogging is very time consuming and a lot of “work”, I find it not to feel like a job because I enjoy it that much. And there’s something to say about finding something you love doing. These points are so true. Great post as always!
– Brittany 💕
Me too! Its hard work, but its something I love. And you don’t mind putting work in, if its something you love! 💕
I love your positive costs! That’s why I’m here! ❤️🦋🌀😉
thank you Shiela, so glad you are 💛
Thank you so much for this post…
Really helpful as I am considering upgrading from my free plan too.♥️
Thanks so much for reading! If you need any help or advice, please don’t hesitate to get in contact!
Oh! Thank you so much!
I relate to so much of what you’ve said in your post. The cost of time is the greatest burden for me, there is so much that needs to be done running a household, keeping a job, family commitments, etc. and sometimes I trade those off so I can blog. I prefer to write then do anything else so things get left undone and of course there are the complainers! Also the family feedback can be brutal if I post something they object to! C
Honestly, I have not seen the time and money I put here as a cost, but I can see how they can be perceived as such. In that case, all you mention is a type of cost I experienced.
Its different for different people isn’t it! Most people who blog have no costs, and some do! 🙂
I blog for the joy of it. It is worth the expense!
This is true, very true. I also use the pro version of Canva and was considering convertkit which I know many bloggers use~ all costs! And Internet and electricity if I’m being a bit petty 🙈 when it’s time to claim your taxes, list those too! Lol
There are definitely more costs to running a blog than just financial… you’ve nailed it on the head! thanks for sharing x
Great things to think about – I’ve noticed it really does take a lot of time to craft something to your specific audience and I try not to stray too far from enjoying blogging as my hobby! I’m currently figuring out the best way to balance both real life with my full time job as well as my blog here and on Instagram too. Thanks for sharing, I think you do an incredible job with your content and consistency! ❤️
I hope you find that balance! Once you do, its a great feeling.
Thanks so much for your kind words💛
I do it because I like and because I get a chance to improve my writing while meeting some great people who post such interesting things. I am a writer but blogger is so much freer. My writing is slow and frustrating as I am learning as I go. Working on second novel now and have learned so much and a lot of that has come from other bloggers. However you are so right. There is a cost, mentally, physically and financially. But when I find bloggers like you, it seems worth it.
You are so sweet, thank you so much for your kind words!
I love that you’re here! Keep up the hard work
So apt!
So glad you think so!
This is what I needed to know, even though I’m very happy at the pace of which my blog is growing, I would, in the future like to upgrade my plan and become a full time blogger. Thanks for the great read
I’m sure you will get to that point!
The positive costs are why it’s all the work you put in worth it. Thanks for sharing some intersting insights many of us can relate.
Yes i agree! They outweigh the other ones!
Exactly especially that part where I draft a lot of post I think they are not worthy
I do this, and I’m sure alot of other bloggers do too!
This is so true. But there are rewards that come with some of these costs. I blog as a hobby and somewhere I can just vent, but most importantly it keeps me from spiraling out of control. Blogging does take money (in some form) and time (a lot of), but it gives me great satisfaction. So it can be a balancing act sometimes.
I agree, there are probably more positives than negatives for me with blogging. You’re right, it really is like a balancing act. Balancing blogging with everything else in life is a skill!
My blog had my first one month birthday yesterday, I’m so glad you said how hard work it is. Most post Iv read about starting a blog has made it sound easy. I’m still figuring things out but I’m enjoying it. It’s definitely an investment and it’s 24hrs – especially Instagram. Really enjoyed reading this one Thankyou for sharing x
Happy 1st Blogging Birthday🥳 I’m still figuring it out too! I think it takes a while to get into your own groove!
I can definitely relate to the “maintaining a blog while being a student” bit- there are only 24 hours in a day! As for the financial costs- I’m still debating whether or not to upgrade from the free plan! Any advice?
It can be so bard balancing life and blogging can’t it?
I’d recommend upgrading to the premium plan for sure! You get access to premium themes & are able to put ads onto your blog too. And it provides a free domain for a year!
I’ve been writing content for a local business in Ottawa for almost 3 years now and so I really relate to the mental/time cost mentioned here. Thinking up ideas that answer the audiences’ questions, writing an informative blog that is in the right tone, formating for SEO and Google snippets – it’s a lot but it can be so rewarding when it helps bring more awareness to a brand 🙂
Yes! Even just reading that list made me tired😂
Can totally relate. I’ve just started my first blog and I feel like it’s taken over my life!
Hahah welcome to the club!
When I first started blogging and had no idea what I was doing I didn’t realize how time consuming this actually is. Now, that I’m consistent and publishing posts every other Monday, I love it and I cannot see myself not blogging. I love creating and sharing my content. For me it’s not about the numbers of followers, its just getting my words out there and loving what I do.
Yes me too! I really appreciate and love the interaction that blogging gives us! 🙂
This was pretty helpful for me (a noob blogger). That mental cost part was relatable for me. I tend to keep stressing over my blog. I guess I am not alone in that feeling. 😄😄
Oh I could probably say that almost every blogger stresses about their blog. 😅 Its very normal!
Ohh yeah 😄
This is a really amazing. I think of these day and night and some times I feel I can’t really do it. But I’m glad I came in touch with this amazing post of yours. Thanks so much.
You can do this! We’re all in this together! Dont forget that!
Thanks☺
Loved reading about you and definitely blogging comes with a cost. 🙂
Thanks so much. And yes, you are right!
A great and important read, Olivia! I’ve only started posting this year during lockdown so still an amateur with no niche nor readers. I’m aware I’m not impressive and definitely no Zoella or Co. Due to fear and other factors I put off blogging for many years and I didn’t develop any skills. I’m unemployed but I’m paying for Bluehost with WordPress and admittedly keen and trying to make an income from my blog but I’m not getting anywhere and each day morning to night I’m deeply researching to try and understand what I’m doing wrong and how to reach the right people. I don’t have digital skills and I made my logo in a mad rush on a site where I paid 99p or something so I’m finding it all very scary. I call myself a ‘general, real life blogger’ as there’s many topics I want to speak about and it’s not specific. I can’t provide a service based blog as I am not a professional nor academic. The thing is ,despite how clueless I am , I really want to become a full time (and monetised) blogger but I’ve no readers! I know things take effort, time, consistency, patience and risk but if there is anything you can suggest to help me kickstart my success I’d be up for any feedback , bad and good. Thank you
Hi there,
thanks so much for sharing this. I’d really love to help you! Do you have an email I could contact you on?
Yes, Olivia, its similar to podcasting. The more you put into it, the more you will get out of it. Interacting with others is vital as well. Cool to have found you, you run a very nice site.
Tony
Finding Subjects Podcast
Yes for sure👏🏼
Your blog is very informative, I think positivity over comes on negativity.
Thank you!!
Rome wasn’t built in a single day and this applies to a blog too! It might take years to see results but it’ll be worth all the hard work.