How to blog anonymously and make money online? If this question bothers you, then read on. In this article, I will discuss everything you need to know about starting a blog anonymously and how to make money blogging.
Starting an anonymous blog is no different than starting a regular blog.
There are only two differences:
- You cannot disclose your identity (not even your name)
- Make money the anonymous way.
No one knows who you are, but you can still make money blogging. There are no obstacles in the way of your success as a blogger too.
If your blog provides valuable information that people like, they wouldn’t care if you disclose your name.
They might even appreciate the fact that your identity is anonymous.
Usually, people want to be appreciated when they do something good. This is what most bloggers want too. They want recognition for the information they provide in their blogs. But, if you provide valuable information while still anonymous, you can get a lot of positive feedback from your readers.
The best part?
You don’t have to worry about the negative comments too.
Because you are anonymous.
Anonymous blogging has its benefits and that’s why many people choose to blog anonymously. You can also make money blogging anonymously.
In this article, I will show you how to start an anonymous blog successfully and make money from your blog, yes anonymously.
So, if this is what you want, then let’s dive right in:
What is an Anonymous Blog?
An anonymous blog is a blog that is run by an individual or a group of individuals who do not disclose their identity. Most people create anonymous blogs because they want to write about something that is highly sensitive in nature.
For example, they might want to talk about their personal life or share opinions that are considered “sensitive” by society.
Other reasons include political views, religious beliefs, etc.
Anonymous bloggers are usually people who want to get the truth out there. But they don’t have the courage to do it with their actual names attached.
That’s why they choose to remain anonymous.
Why Blog Anonymously?
Anonymous bloggers are typically people who wish to share real facts with the world without disclosing their identity.
They are not willing to do so using their real names.
Well, this is the most common reason why people start anonymous blogs. But there is another reason why people choose to run anonymous blogs too. Because you don’t want to disclose your identity.
It doesn’t matter how much money you make blogging anonymously. It only matters that you are able to run a blog without disclosing your identity. No one knows who you are, but that doesn’t stop you from making money blogging.
Isn’t this amazing?
There are many reasons why people prefer to remain anonymous.
They might want a fresh start in life. They may be going through a difficult phase which is better not talked about.
In some cases, they might have received threats from various sources or been blackmailed. In such cases, it is better to blog anonymously so that you can save your life and well-being.
Running a blog anonymously is not that difficult though.
You just have to get the right blogging tools.
Also, the cost of starting an anonymous blog is similar to the cost of starting a regular blog. The only difference between the two is that you cannot disclose your identity or name. Other than this, everything else is similar.
Even the security standards are the same because you don’t want someone to hack into your account and expose who you really are. So, you have to follow the security measures that are common for most blogs.
How to Start an Anonymous Blog?
Whenever you decide to run a blog anonymously, the first thing that comes to your mind is “how to start an anonymous blog?” Well, I already told you that there is no difference between starting a regular blog and a blog anonymously.
You will still have to do the same thing you would normally do if your blog wasn’t anonymous. That is, set up a hosting account and install WordPress.
The following is the 3-steps process you can follow:
Step 1: Buy a Domain and Hosting
Web hosting provides offer the services and the technology required for running your blog on the internet. Web hosting providers make sure that your blog is available over the internet and someone can actually view it.
You’ll get web server space which will be used to store your blog’s files and database associated with it. They also provide similar support to your anonymous blog as they would provide to a regular website.
The first thing you have to do is purchase web hosting for your anonymous blog. You can purchase web hosting from any hosting provider.
I recommend HostGator as they provide good services and support to their clients without charging too much. They have a good reputation and offer excellent services to their customers. HostGator hosts more than 2 million websites.
Simply, go to HostGator and click on the ‘Get Started‘ button.
On the next page, you have to choose your domain name.
A domain name is the URL for your blog. In simple words, it is the identity or the internet address of your blog.
You have to get a domain name for your anonymous blog so that others can visit it via a browser and read your blog content.
I suggest you buy a domain with HostGator. Because you will get it free for the first year. So, you’ll only need to pay for the hosting.
As you select your domain, you can choose a hosting plan.
The available HostGator plans are:
- Hatchling plan – $2.75/month
- Baby plan – $3.50/month
- Business plan – $5.25/month
I suggest that you choose the Hatchling plan as a beginner. The reason is that it offers you unrestricted bandwidth and one website.
Check all the features to decide which one you’ll need, add your preferred plan to your cart, and visit the payment page to complete the payment.
Once your payment is confirmed, your account will be set up immediately.
You’ll also receive a confirmation email with all the password, login, and nameserver details. Make sure to keep this information in a safe place.
Read – 25 Best Web Hosting Services for Your Blog (Ranked).
Step 2: Install WordPress
Once you have purchased web hosting, the next step in the process is to install WordPress on your domain. WordPress is the most popular and user-friendly blogging platform available. It offers you a lot of features that will help you set up and manage your blog easily.
Why you should choose WordPress?
WordPress is the easiest platform for blogging. It offers you excellent features to create, manage and monetize your blog without any hassles.
- It’s open-source
- It is free and
- Thousands of plugins
- Thousands of themes
- Huge community
- Supported by most web hosts
- Highly secure
- Powers over 40% of all websites on the internet
To install WordPress, simply log in to your hosting control panel and click on the ‘Install WordPress’ icon. You’ll be taken to a page with the installation wizard. Just follow the steps in the wizard to set up your blog within minutes.
Once you complete the installation process, you’ll see a ‘Successful Installation‘ page. Then, you can log in to your WordPress dashboard.
I can understand it can still feel quite difficult if you have never done anything like this before. For a step-by-step guide with relevant screenshots, I’ve created a comprehensive tutorial for beginners, check out:
Read it here – How to Install WordPress on HostGator Hosting?
Step 3: Make Your Blog Anonymous
The final step is to configure your WordPress blog to make it anonymous. There are a few ways that you should follow.
First, of course, you’ll need to log in to your blog’s Admin Dashboard. There are several ways you can log into your dashboard.
The most common way is to simply type yourdomainname.com/wp-login.php in the address bar of your browser and press enter.
You’ll be asked for your username and password.
Simply enter the username and password you created while installing WordPress. If you did not change your settings during the installation process, the username would be admin and the password will be what you typed.
To follow the instructions below, you must first log in.
First, you’ll need to change your WordPress administrator email id.
1. Change WordPress Admin Email
First, I will suggest that you change your WordPress admin email to make it different from your primary email address. It’s better to keep the primary email address private and use a separate one for blogging.
You can create a free email like Gmail or Hotmail.
While creating your email, use a nickname or your name as the display name. For example, if your name is John then use ‘John’ or ‘John Doe’ as the display name. Or, you can use the wrong name as you want to stay anonymous.
You can also use a private email service like Proton Mail.
Once you have created your email, log in to your WordPress dashboard and go to the ‘Users‘ section. Click on the ‘Add new‘ option and add a new user with your email address. Then click on the ‘Add user‘ option. Make sure you add an administrator, editor, and author role for your email address.
Now, log in with your anonymous email and delete any other user profile.
Basically, you can create a new user profile or change your administrator email inside WordPress to make it anonymous.
2. Use a Pseudonym/Nickname
You can also use a pseudonym to be used on your blog. A pseudonym is a fictitious name that you choose to be known by when blogging.
It is similar but not the same as an alias, which is a fictitious second name that you use (not necessarily to be known by the public).
Using a pseudonym prevents third-party individuals and organizations from linking your blog website to you personally and hence increasing the likelihood of someone discovering your true identity.
Aside from making it harder for third parties to figure out who you are behind your blog, using a pseudonym also prevents any unexpected association between what you post online and your real name.
To add your pseudonym, go to Users » Your Profile.
And, check the Nickname field next to the name you want to use.
After you’ve entered your name, go to the drop-down menu next to ‘Display name publicly as‘ and choose your nickname.
Don’t forget to save your changes.
3. Use a VPN
One of the best ways to make your blog anonymous is by using a VPN.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is an online computer network that uses a public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote access and shared resources to users.
A VPN can be used to connect to remote locations or other devices. It secures connections to the Internet through encryption and security procedures so that only authorized users can access the network and information on it.
The VPN hides your real IP and also encrypts all the data that you send over the Internet, making it harder for anyone to track you.
To use a VPN, first install the software on your operating system and then sign in using your email address and password that you created.
Once you connect to a VPN, it will change your current location and make it seem like you are in another country.
Since all the data that is sent or received will be encrypted, it’s next to impossible to spy on what you are doing.
The VPN may also help in increasing your internet speed.
When using a VPN to make your blog anonymous, you shouldn’t forget that having an active VPN connection can slow down the performance of your computer. So, if you don’t need a VPN to connect to the Internet, turn it off.
Also, note that not all VPNs are secure.
So, it’s better to opt for a paid VPN rather than one that’s free.
I will recommend using NordVPN ($3.29/month) as it has strong encryption and it is very reliable and it offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
4. Buy Domain Privacy Protection
Domain name owners are not required to make personal information about themselves publicly available.
So, if you don’t want your details to appear on the Whois directory, you can buy Domain Privacy Protection (DPP). DPP is a service that hides your personal information like telephone number, email address, and physical address on any new domain registrations, transfers, or changes of the registrant.
You can easily buy DPP when you buy hosting from top web hosting providers like HostGator or Bluehost while signing up.
Also, most popular domain registrars like Namecheap allow you to buy DPP when you purchase a domain name with them. The protection usually costs as low as $10-$15 per year for a single domain name.
5. Use a CDN
If you want complete privacy, I recommend that you hide your WordPress site behind Cloudflare. Cloudflare is a free service that will mask your IP address and will make it difficult for anyone to track your true location.
First, you have to sign up for a Cloudflare account.
They will provide you with the DNS record.
Now, go to your HostGator Control Panel (if you bought it through HostGator as recommended) and click on ‘Advanced DNS Zone Editor‘ under the ‘Domains‘ section. Click on the ‘Add Record‘ button.
Simply edit your domain’s nameserver details as provided by Cloudflare and save the changes made. Voila! You are done.
If you’ve bought your domain from Namecheap or Bluehost while signing up, just login to your account to change the details.
Congratulations! Your site is now anonymous.
Note: It may take 24-48 hours for the changes to take effect.
So, that’s all! If you have followed all the steps correctly, your blog should be anonymous and you will be able to blog anonymously.
How Anonymous Bloggers Make Money?
There is no difference in the way you create a blog and monetize the website if it’s anonymous or not. You’ll have the same earning opportunities as regular bloggers do, such as display ads or affiliate marketing.
You write about topics that are profitable, but you must not use your own name or information online. Basically, you need to promote products that are related to your niche while using an alias or pen name.
Even though there are plenty of different ways to make money from a blog, usually most blogs earn money in only 5 main ways:
- Display Ads
- Affiliate Marketing
- Sponsored Posts
- Selling eBooks
- Selling online courses
You can make money online even without selling an actual product or service, but you should know that this is very difficult.
You can make money blogging anonymously in this way using display ads if you have a lot of visitors, but it won’t be easy.
I recommend that you start making money from your blog anonymously by simply selling an electronic or physical product. As you gain success and earn more money and get more traffic, you can start selling ads on your blog. This way you will make more money and will be able to blog anonymously more easily.
Let’s take a look at each of these methods one by one:
1. Display ads/CPC Ads
Showing display ads is the most common way to make money from a blog and they can pay more than any other method of monetization. You just need to sign up with Google Adsense, Ezoic Ads, or Media.net.
There are lots of ad networks available other than these 3, but I recommend them because they pay more and their approval process is quite smooth.
You can make $50 or more per day with display ads if you have a decent number of visitors every month. It all depends on the ads you show and the number of money advertisers are willing to pay.
2. Affiliate Marketing
Though affiliate marketing sounds a little bit like blogging for money, it’s quite different from it. If you are interested in making money online, affiliate marketing is one of the best opportunities for you.
Basically, you will promote someone else’s product and earn a commission when your visitors buy that product through your link. You can promote almost anything through affiliate marketing.
It’s easy to start making money with affiliate marketing.
But, the only downside is that you’ll have to invest your time to write the content focused on promoting these affiliate products.
Affiliate marketing can be highly profitable and so it’s a very popular method of making money from a blog. If you want to make money blogging anonymously, then affiliate marketing is the way for you.
There are many affiliate networks you can join to find affiliate products to promote. But, I recommend using ClickBank for beginners. Because it’s the best place for finding high-quality affiliate products you can promote.
Also, you don’t have to be approved to promote any ClickBank product. You simply sign up for an account and can start promoting right away.
3. Sponsored Posts and Paid Reviews
Sponsored or paid reviews are another effective way to make money blogging anonymously. Basically, companies approach bloggers like you and send you their products or services, free of charge.
Then, they ask you to put up a review of their products or services.
They will pay you for this. If you want to make money blogging anonymously, then this is a great opportunity for you.
You can write honest reviews and still get paid by companies.
But, it’s better if you write positive reviews.
You can say anything in your review that you want, just make sure that the company gets a good review overall.
But, if you don’t want your review to be taken seriously, you may add some negative comments to it. You can say something like ‘I was not very much impressed by their product’ or ‘the service lacks a few features.
However, your review should be more positive than negative. This way sponsors will be ready to pay you for your reviews.
4. Sell eBooks
eBooks are digital products, so they are easy to produce. All you need is a computer and some basic knowledge of writing skills. If you can write, then you can make a lot of money by selling eBooks.
An eBook can be a short book, a report, or even a few pages long.
If you have enough knowledge of any interesting or high-demand topic, you can write an eBook on that and sell it online.
You can use your blog as a platform to sell eBooks.
Your audience wouldn’t care if you are anonymous or not, as long as you deliver the information they need.
5. Sell online courses
Online courses are quite different from eBooks.
You can’t produce them in a few days or weeks. When it comes to selling online courses, you’ll have to invest your time, money, and effort.
In most cases, you can’t earn a lot of money with just an eBook.
It’s just a one-time sale.
An eBook can be sold at a maximum price of $100. Anything more than that will not be affordable to most of the buyers. And, people don’t usually like to pay more than $100 for just an eBook. It doesn’t make sense.
But, an online course can be sold for $200 or even more than that. This is because you will teach your visitors about
Also, you can design your courses as a recurring revenue source.
You can make your students pay you over and over again for continuous access to your courses. And, they will become your loyal customers.
All you need to do is create interesting online courses about interesting topics. And, distribute them through your blog. You can sell them directly on your blog or you can use third-party platforms to sell them.
So, there is a lot of money in online course creation and selling.
You just have to take time and effort to create one.
You could also set up your own website for this purpose. But, it would require some extra investment. I recommend going for third-party platforms like Udemy, Teachable, and Coursera for selling online courses.
If you want to blog anonymously and make money, then this is the best way. You will have complete control over your online courses.
The best thing?
You can create them under a pseudonym and make money.
So, these are some of the best ways to earn money from an anonymous blog while keeping your true identity a secret.
There are other ways to monetize your blog as well.
Should You Blog Anonymously?
It depends!
Blogging anonymously can help you stay safe.
Blogging without anonymity can attract the attention of people who don’t like your ideas and opinions. They may try to harm you in some way or the other.
So, it’s better to stay anonymous while blogging.
Your content marketing strategy will work without any problems when you blog anonymously. Also, you will be able to protect your exclusivity as your content won’t be published on another site.
You can use your anonymous blog to produce content and keep it exclusive.
One of the main benefits of blogging anonymously is that you can work on your blog round the clock without attracting any attention.
People won’t come to know about your location or office timings.
Also, for bloggers who blog about controversial topics, anonymity is the best way to stay safe. But, when you start a regular blog, it allows readers to get to know more about you. So, it’s your decision how you want to blog.
I recommend blogging anonymously if you blog about topics that could get you into trouble, like politics and religion.
Of course, you can use your real name on your blog if it doesn’t attract any legal issues. But, you should take some precautions.
Additionally, blogging anonymously can give you a chance to experiment with different topics on your blog. You could write about the most popular topics on the internet without revealing your identity and analyze what works best for you.
Also, new bloggers can use anonymity to test the waters before they start blogging with their real name. When you blog anonymously, you don’t have to worry about your personal opinions and decisions getting out in the open. You can experiment with your blog without the fear of public judgment.
Also, you need to keep in mind that blogging anonymously doesn’t mean that you are completely off the grid.
When you blog anonymously, people will still be able to find your identity if they know where to look for it. So, you should take some essential steps to protect your identity and privacy while blogging anonymously.
The Cons – Anything Wrong?
There are, of course, some cons associated with anonymous blogging.
If you blog anonymously, you will lose some of your authenticity. Also, your readers won’t know the real identity behind the blog post they are reading.
So, they won’t be able to connect with you personally.
Staying faceless can also have an impact on your blog. For example, if you don’t share anything about yourself, then there won’t be any comments from your readers about who you are, where do you come from, etc.
This can affect the overall engagement of your blog.
But, If You Must…
There are some cases where you may need to use your real name.
Usually, it’s when you get a job in the industry related to your blog or when you are an influencer in your field. For example, if you write about something technical like programming, then staying anonymous is not a wise decision.
In fact, if you don’t use your real name on your blog, people may think that you are a fraud and may not trust your advice. If you are working on a blog related to finance, you need to use your real name. Because it is considered an unsuitable topic for anonymous blogging.
Also, you need to be sure that using your real name on your blog is safe if your country imposes heavy censorship on the internet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Even though most bloggers use their real name while blogging, there are some who decide to use a pseudonym and blog anonymously.
Using a fake name on your blog helps you to protect your privacy and manage your online reputation in a better way.
Here are some frequently asked questions about anonymous blogging…
How to Blog Anonymously?
There are many ways to blog anonymously. The first step is obviously creating your blog on a blogging platform that will let you blog anonymously.
There are many free blogging platforms where you can set up an account with a fake name and email address and start blogging. This way, no one will know who you really are. Well, this is not a recommended way if you want to build a business that actually makes money for you.
Note: If you just want to share your opinions on something without revealing your true identity, third-party blogging platforms can be a good choice. But, it’s different when you want to build a business with your anonymous blog.
When you are serious about it and want to make money blogging, it is a smarter choice to own your website rather than hosting it somewhere else.
To own your website, you’ll need to buy a domain and hosting.
Then, install blogging software, preferably WordPress on your domain. You can do it right from your hosting control panel.
Once the software is installed, you’ll be able to configure it and make it anonymous in every possible way. If you are doing it with WordPress, as recommended, the following are some of the steps you should take.
How to make a WordPress blog anonymous?
- Use a pseudonym
- Use a fake email address
- Use a fake username
- Use a VPN to connect to your site
- Buy domain privacy protection to hide your identity
- Never reveal who you are when you blog
Pretty simple, right?
When you follow all the above steps, you should be able to blog anonymously, without any issues. And, of course, you would be able to make money too.
Is blogging anonymously ethical?
Yes, it’s perfectly ethical as long as you are not revealing anything that could harm yourself or others. Of course, there are some cases where blogging anonymously can be unethical.
For example, if you are a whistleblower, then it’s not ethical to hide your identity. In fact, in such cases, hiding your identity and publishing sensitive information can even put you in trouble.
Using your real name while blogging is not unethical as long as you are not revealing any sensitive information about yourself or others.
Is anonymous blogging legal?
Generally, anonymous blogging is legal in most parts of the world because it’s not against any law.
However, if you are thinking about blogging anonymously because of censorship or other factors related to your country, then it may not be legal for you.
How to start an anonymous blog?
There’s no difference between starting a normal blog and an anonymous blog. You just need to follow some steps and start blogging.
The only difference is that you need to be more careful about your identity so that no one can find out who you are.
Just follow these steps to start anonymous blogging…
Choose the topic you want to blog about.
Choose a hosting service to host your website and domain. Install blogging software on your website or domain name (like WordPress).
Decide on a name for your blog.
Do some research on the blogging topic you have chosen so that you can write the best content. Write some high-quality content on your blog.
Is anonymous blogging effective?
Yes, anonymous blogging can be very effective provided you write high-quality content and target the right audience. It works great for promoting your business and making money blogging.
In fact, many bloggers prefer anonymity when they are starting a new blog. And, after building up a strong audience, they start revealing their identity.
However, if the blogger is starting a new blog and has no online presence yet, then it’s better to reveal their identity because it attracts more audience.
Is anonymous blogging safe?
Yes, anonymous blogging is as safe as normal blogging.
You just need to be more careful about revealing your identity and location because if you do that, it might put you in trouble.
There is no need to worry about your identity and location as long as you don’t reveal it. Another point that needs to be taken care of is not to share your location and IP address in any way if you want to stay anonymous.
Are there any benefits of anonymous blogging?
Yes, a few important benefits…
- No Pressure – Since you are blogging anonymously, you can write whatever you want without worrying about anything.
- No one will know who you are – This is another great benefit of anonymous blogging because, if you do it right, no one will know who you are.
- Experiment with different topics – With anonymous blogging, you can experiment with different blog topics and find out what works best for you.
- Make money like regular blogs – If you follow the right strategies and write quality content, you can start making money like a regular blog.
- No shyness – If you are shy and afraid of sharing your ideas, then anonymous blogging is the right option for you.
- No fear of reputation loss – Blogging anonymously has another wonderful benefit. When you are anonymous, there is no fear of losing your reputation.
Are there any downsides of anonymous blogging?
Yes, there are a few downsides…
- No connection with readers – Since you are anonymous, you can’t connect with your audience personally. Your readers won’t know who is behind the blog and they won’t be able to share their thoughts with you.
- No social presence – When you are anonymous, you can’t create a strong social presence for your blog because most social platforms require you to reveal your identity. So it will be hard to create a strong social presence.
- No brand value – When you are anonymous, there is no way you can create brand value for your blog because you don’t have a reputation yet.
Well, there are always exceptions.
Who can benefit from anonymous blogging?
There are different types of people who can benefit from it…
- Individuals – If you are an individual like a freelance writer, blogger, artist, etc., and want to write on different topics without revealing your identity, anonymous blogging is the perfect option for you.
- Companies – If you are a company and need to create a blog but don’t want the world to know about your business, anonymous blogging is the way to go.
Overall, anonymous blogging can be effective for everyone. It’s just important to write quality content and build a strong audience.
Final Words – Anonymous Blogging
It’s been quite a journey.
I hope you liked this article and that it was able to answer some of your questions about anonymous blogging. There is still a lot I’d like to talk about, but the article is already getting too long.
But, I am pretty sure that now you know more about anonymous blogging, and whether or not it’s right for you.
So now I would like to ask…
Did you like this article? Did it help you in any way? Or do you have some questions I left unanswered? Did you learn how to blog anonymously?
If so, please share this blog post.
It doesn’t only help me grow this blog but helps other people learn about anonymous blogging. I am sure that they’ll be able to create their own blog too.
Well, finally, I want to say that I am not an anonymous blogger. In fact, I am an entrepreneur and created this blog to help people like you.
So if there is anything you would like to ask me, please drop a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible. I personally want to use my real name while blogging, but I have an open mind about anonymous bloggers too.
Honestly, it’s completely a personal choice.
Please share this blog post. It will take less than a minute. Thanks!
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