Where To Invest & Where To Save With Blogging

Blogging. It's one of those things that at no matter what stage you're at or how long you've been doing it for, there's more than likely so many areas that you wish you could invest in to better different aspects of your blog. Whilst investing money into your blog can certainly help to improve these areas, I know of many great blogs which have gotten by with barely shifting a penny, and so it may not be essential for everyone.

Most importantly, I personally feel that if you're a newbie into the blogging world or are perhaps considering the possibility of it right now, don't feel the need to invest financially at an instant. Blogging is something that takes up a considerable amount of time and because of that simple factor alone I see many people giving it up after a few months. The number of abandoned blogs on the Internet is probably extortionate! So just a personal recommendation, don't invest in something that you're not certain you'll love further down the line, and don't feel the need to invest at any point if you really don't want to - you can still create a successful blog without any financial investment.

But here are some of the different areas you could potentially invest in should you want to take your blog further, as well as those where you could instead save a few dosh! 

Photography

There's two things I mean when I'm speaking about photography; both the camera and the props that you might use. In relation to your camera, it's really not essential to go out a buy an expensive, fancy camera. Generally I do use my Canon DSLR for blog photos, but as an investment for my YouTube videos, why should I choose not to put it to more use? With that said, my digital camera (pictured above) does the job pretty much as well as my DSLR, and with free editing tools available online, such as PicMonkey, you can create such high quality, almost professional images without the use of expensive equipment. And using natural lighting will also help to create higher quality photos too! And it's free! Maybe when blogging gets to a more serious point for you and you're potentially generating some sort of income from it, that's when I'd consider buying a higher quality camera.

In relation to the props that I mentioned, this generally relates to anything items that could be added to possibly spruce an image up or give it a little personality. In my photos, I choose to put simple pieces that I already have around my house to great use. These include decorative plates, magazines, as well as scarves. I love to have different layers to a photo which I feel give more depth and dimension. If you don't own many of these complementary items, there are many shops that sell cheap homeware that will photograph amazingly; take Primark for example.

I also know just how aggravating it can be if you don't have any photogenic surfaces to take your images on. Personally I don't have any marble countertops or nice wooden tables lying around...but what I do have is an A2 piece of white cardboard. Don't underestimate the power of plain white card. It gives that sleek, clean feel which you see on so many photos and is evidently super cheap for each and every one of us. 

Domain

Only something that I just recently purchased myself; in fact, it was just this week! In my personal opinion, a domain is something that I don't feel you should invest in at the get-go. Wait to see if blogging is something you love - it took me over two years to finally purchase my domain. The great thing though is that if and when you eventually decide to purchase a domain, there are so many benefits that can come along with it. First of all, they're actually much cheaper than I believed them to be; buying a .co.uk domain was relatively inexpensive. Along with that, they can also make your blog appear slightly more professional and show that maybe you do actually take this whole blogging malarky quite seriously. And to go with that comes the potential of more PR opportunities, which while should never be the main focus, it's nice to get that recognition and collaborate with brands that you seem fitting for your blog.

Layout/Design

Once again, this is something that only this week I decided to invest in. To go along with my new domain, I also wanted a fresh new look. But once again, I went over two years without investing a single penny into the aesthetics of my blog and everything was perfectly fine, so it's honestly not a necessity. But, there was no doubting that unless I wanted to spend extreme amounts of time manually perfecting the design of my blog, that I was never going to get "the look" that I strived for...and honestly, I just don't have that time either. So I chose to invest in a pre-made template from pipdig. They're reasonably priced, super easy to install and customise, and look extremely clean and professional. They also do custom templates if you have a specific design in mind, but these from what I've heard can be pretty costly. However, if you don't have the time or aren't quite sure on how to create such a high quality design, definitely check pipdig out for a wide range of designs and layouts!

There are clearly many areas that you can invest in to improve different aspects of your blog, but just remember that to have a successful blog, do you in no way need to invest any sorts of finance. Blogging should start out (and continue) as something fun for each and every individual who decide to share their thoughts and experiences within this community, and these investments should only enhance that experience. And if you do decide to invest, there are usually cheaper alternatives too!

What are your thoughts on financially investing in your blog? Do you have any money saving tips?

Lots of Love