How To Start A Blog Today
How To Start A Blog Today
I have tried writing blogs on:
- yalls.org
- BTCpayServer over TOR
- bludit
- Wordpress
- Ghost
- and now nostr
Nostr is different. No need for hosting services or a virtual private server. You don't need to host it on a rasberry pi or computer. No need to buy a domain. Satoshi tried fixing DNS with a shitcoin called Namecoin, but it didn't work. Blogs on nostr don't need DNS. No need to ask for someone's email or send them spam. They could just follow you on one of several nip 26 enabled nostr blogging sites like Blogstack or Habla.news
Blogging On Nostr Is Different
I only started publishing on nostr a few weeks ago, but this seems different. There's something about the censorship resistance on nostr. Even when I have hosted websites/blogs on my own computer, I have censored myself either because the power went out or I was busy banging my head against the keyboard to figure out what the %@&! I did with the ports.
I was able to to accept sats on my blog using btcpayserver. I first got the idea in 2019 when I came accross yalls.com. Anyone with a lightning node could create a paywalled article. This motivated me to run a lightning node before you could just spin up an Umbrel.
In a few years to finally set up BTCpayServer. I didn't feel comfortable with Putty. I didn't even understand it was a program used to ssh into a Linux computer from Windows...but guess what?
You don't need to do that anymore. You just need a nostr key and a lightning address.
Write.
People will pay you if they find what you write valuable.
With nostr, you just need to write. It helps to know markdown, but you don't need to. I learned Markdown by blogging for a year on Ghost. Even though many of my earlier blogs sucked a big ding-dong, learning markdown really helped but I learned mostly by following this cheat sheet.
I mention this because I wanted to give you some background on why I started this blog. I love learning this stuff. This is way more interesting than drooling BTC/USD charts. I wanted to write a blog about how I use bitcoin, not what I think the price in USD will be by block 1,050,001.
Why I Created This Tutorial
504 or so blocks ago, someone asked me:
Hey I was just looking at blogstack.io - I want to start writing blogs on nostr and that could get zapped, is blogstack.io the right place to do this?
Is there a guide to doing so?
How would people zap?
Does a blog post show up in nostr apps?
Can I use my same nostr key I’m using here to publish that blog post?
One other question, can people comment on a blog post?
Instead of answering via text, I thought these questions could better be answered over PeerTube. So I've decided to show and not tell you how to start your own blog on Nostr. Be sure to click my affiliate link...Just kidding. There's no referral link like most other blog tutorials have. Even the Minimalists have hosting services affiliate links.
In this tutorial, I will teach you how to start a blog today with no hosting, no coding, not even an email. You just need a nostr key.
Before I begin, I want to reiterate that this is a** new blogging business model**. Most blogs like Mr. Money Mustache, use affiliate marketing to monetize thier blogs. Some, like The Marginalian use donations. She even has a legacy bitcoin address. She also funds her blog with affiliate links. The Minimalists don't have ads because they say ads suck, but they have a video that teaches you how to start your own blog using WordPress using shared hosting from an affiliate link.
If you want to start a blog the traditional way, watch The Minimalist Video. It's pretty good. They inspired me to create my own blog, but I want to have my readers pay me directly in bitcoin. I also realize that the people coding the software that allows me to create this blog want to get paid too. I don't have all the answers yet, but I want this blog to be ad free because ads really do suck. You can't be honest when someone is paying you to promote their product. You can't say, "Try the new Ledger, just don't give them your email because they got hacked and now I get phishing emails from them." Here is how to start your own blog on nostr. My only affiliate link is my BTCpayServer and zaps on nostr.
Here are some testimonials.
- Just
- Kidding
- I don't have any testimonials. This information is provided free of charge. I do ask if you find value in it please send some value back in the form of time treasure or talent.
Thanks for reading.
782,056
Follow me on the nostr clients:
npub1wkljx5c6a8uccc5etws8ry0y3r4dgavh2dcav0tal4rtmcdl4z2sfu5u0t
