In 2022, your own blog or company blog is no longer an online diary that is promoted via link exchange. Instead, it serves as an outlet for internal company news, advice, advertising space and, last but not least, to provide customers with more background knowledge about their own industry. But setting up and running blogs costs money despite the availability of open source software, low-code offers and ready-made templates. How to calculate the budget around the blog.
Who needs a blog?
In the early 90s, blogs were one of the first opportunities to share content with the entire world. Long before it became common for companies and self-employed people to run their own websites, IT enthusiasts posted code information, instructions and virtual diaries on their blogs. In the 2000s, blogging boomed, especially among private individuals who shared their hobbies along the way. This is another reason why the proposal to set up a blog for their own company is initially met with reluctance by many older decision makers.
But like everything on the Internet, blogs have also evolved. They are now an important part of websites instead of external individual projects. Thanks to SEO, a well-maintained, professionally integrated blog attracts a large number of visitors to your website. Here you can read interesting articles, insider tips, service information and access products and services directly from the blog.
Blogging itself has also developed into an extremely lucrative industry, in which influencers and testers generate revenue like smaller media companies by reporting on trends, new products and developments. A sponsored post or a cooperation with a brand can generate several thousand euros in profit per placement on a popular blog.
Blogs are worthwhile for companies from all sectors, but especially SMEs, self-employed and freelance artists and, of course, hobby enthusiasts who focus on the joy of sharing information instead of making sales. They are absolutely essential for agencies and all entrepreneurs in the marketing and IT sector. Customers require expertise and the sharing of news via their own blog.
Low-code/no-code providers for blogs and websites
The theme Low-code and no-code software and browser solutions are of interest to anyone who does not have the know-how or budget to have websites programmed, designed and maintained by specialized service providers. Today, the offerings range from editors who can be used to create not only a blog but a fully functional website with checkout functions, such as Webflow or Bubble.io, to systems such as Shopify, which are aimed specifically at retailers with their own online shop.
No-code and low-code alternatives
With an offer such as Webflow, this effort is eliminated. Webflow is a classic no coding application that can be controlled via a graphical interface. The website can be created completely freely or with the help of a template; a sub-section for your own blog is very easy to set up. This type of design is called visual development.
Shopify is for anyone who wants to open their own shop and set up their blog in addition. The focus here is on presenting products. A lean solution, as when working with Webflow, the CMS is beginner-friendly, so that it is possible to manage subpages, product pages and blog even without specialist knowledge.
The no-code offer Bubble.io combines all these functions and offers options to arrange booking processes, checkout, contact forms, text, image and video content via drag & drop. Bookable options such as renting an attractive domain also make hosting much easier with all three tools. Instead of extensive databases, DNS settings, IT security and regular updates, you use a graphical interface to create and maintain your websites and blogs, which lets you know when there are updates or problems.
How much does it cost to create a blog
When running your own blog, using the classic method, there are numerous individual posts. With an all-in-one provider, you avoid some of these costs, which add up quickly.
CMS and web design
The website itself comes before the content. To create a blog, you need a functional website with a graphical interface that allows visitors to navigate and consume and share content. Creating a new website via an agency can cost many thousands of euros and takes several months. Although agencies also like to work with templates and editors, if you want something completely unique, creating your website involves several programmers and web designers.
If you use Webflow, for example, there is no additional expenditure unless you hire a professional to design your website. The system also enables laypeople, self-employed people and small companies to create an attractive and functional web presence in-house. Webflow costs 35 dollars a month in the Pro version (as of February 2022) and allows you to create an unlimited number of projects.
Buy or rent a domain
Many companies choose to buy their corporate domain rather than rent it. For corporations and companies with a long tradition, this is an excellent opportunity to protect their brand in the long term. Start-ups and SMEs with a low budget should rent the domain, i.e. the address of the customers, to find you, instead. Attractive domains can cost several hundred euros a year, but the costs are usually lower.
Have content created
Content is at the heart of your blog. Without attractive content, websites, online shops and blogs won't attract visitors. Content is anything that contains information. It can therefore include articles, advice texts, brief information, press releases, videos, tutorials, infographics and much more. Product pages must also be provided with meaningful product photos.
When hiring photographers, copywriters and illustrators, first calculate around 300 to 500 euros per subpage of your website. Blog articles can be ordered cheaper later, starting at around 200 euros per text, if you use stock photos for illustration or have graphics created in-house at your own expense.
Fixed costs and predictable expenses
In addition to the costs of creating and launching a blog, you should also keep an eye on the current budget. Regardless of whether you have opted for a specially programmed web solution with CMS or a provider such as Bubble.io, the presence must be maintained and kept up to date.
Hosting and security
Where you have your website hosted determines how high the costs are. Some providers provide hosting free of charge. Here you pay a monthly fee for the complete website + hosting + security package for your content. However, you can also host your blog via your own IT infrastructure, such as an in-house server center, or hire an external host. The cost range is several thousand euros for the purchase of servers, operation, maintenance and security of them up to hosts such as Alfahosting, which offer web space with support from just around 5 euros a month.
Latest content
Search engines such as the globally operating giant Google show a strong tendency in their algorithms to best rate daily websites. Anyone who publishes content on a daily basis and constantly updates and revises their texts is recognized as active and therefore relevant. On average, as a company, you should publish at least one blog post per week. The website itself must also always be up to date. If you hire external service providers to maintain and update the content, you should plan for around 800 euros a month.
The calculation at this point is very different for professional bloggers who employ their own editorial team. The content team is often employed on a permanent basis and there are wages of 5,000 to 10,000 euros a month to publish 3 to 5 professional content a day.
Evaluation and optimization
If you run your own blog, you naturally want to know whether this blog has a positive effect on your sales and reach on the Internet. Providers such as Webflow provide statistical tools for this purpose. Google Analytics is also easy to use for beginners and professionals alike.
However, if you want simple reports created and evaluated, you should hire an external service provider who is familiar with reporting on web performance. Through short briefings, you can check on a monthly basis how visitor numbers are developing, which products are accessed particularly frequently from the blog and where you should focus on content. Depending on the provider, reporting services start at around 200 euros a month.
Professional content — a must?
As a company that runs a blog for SEO and marketing purposes, are you required to employ external copywriters and graphic artists? A clear answer is not possible here, because one thing is shown time and time again: Professionally written and illustrated content has more reach, more impact and increases sales.
Promote your blog via social media
If your blog is connected to your company website and is intended to target new customers in a targeted manner, you first need the necessary reach to be able to display new articles in a targeted manner right from the start. To do this, your company should use at least one of the currently popular social media platforms. Twitter and Facebook can be set up and used to share links without much previous knowledge. But beware, very few users want to work with accounts that use the account as a “link dump”, i.e. link to news without further information.
Maintaining a social media account can be expensive and time-consuming. But especially with regular blog content, you can reach almost every target group here. If you are not using any of the platforms privately yet, you should first familiarize yourself with the format, speeches and interactions or set up a team that exclusively takes care of the accounts. The costs here are somewhere between no additional costs due to self-support or a few hundred euros for temporary agency services up to the creation of full-time jobs.
Make your blog better known through ads
Did you know that with just a few hundred euros of advertising budget a month on Google, you can not only significantly improve your ranking but also address completely new customer groups? Regardless of which platform you choose, your blog posts should be promoted in the same way as the company website itself. Plan here with a budget starting at 200 euros a month.
Conclusion: How much does a blog cost?
By choosing your own blog, you are in control of where you host, who creates web design and CMS, what type of content you publish and whether you trust your own team to maintain the content. With a no-code solution, the initial costs are less than 50 euros per month. Here, all you have to do is plan content and advertising for the blog within your budget.
In contrast, there are commercial blogs with large editorial staff, their own CMS, contracted agency service providers and premium content. They report spending by a small company, starting at around 2,000 to 5,000 euros a month, but earn their money almost exclusively through professional blog offers.
We would be happy to advise you on the right solution for your website with your own blog or develop the perfect web solution for your project.
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