How to Blog Anonymously (Step by Step Guide)

In this anonymous blogging guide, I’ll help you learn how to start an anonymous blog, promote it without outing yourself, and make money with it. Also, check out the top image hosting services here.

So you’ve got something to say but don’t want to draw unwanted attention or be judged. Or maybe you want to keep your personal life private and don’t want your friends and family reading your thoughts.

Whatever the reason, you have decided to blog anonymously. 

And you’re not alone! According to a Pew Research Center study, 86% of internet users have tried removing or masking their digital footprints. It’s great that you want to enjoy anonymity from the start.

But why blog anonymously or not?

Why Anonymous Blogging & Why Not

While secret blogging offers some protection, it doesn’t ultimately save you from cyberbullying, online harassment, or legal action.

Let’s first dive into the pros and cons of blogging anonymously, then learn about starting and making money with it.

Top 3 Solid Reasons to Make An Anonymous Blog

There can be tons of reasons to make a pseudonym blog. Step Social, for example, discusses why she kept her blog a secret. Have a look at some of her quotes:

“Why I kept my blog secret from my family and friends was the fear that they would judge me.”

Listen to this podcast, “Should You Blog Anonymously or Use Your Real Name?” by Darren Rowse, to get more insights. 

Now let’s discuss the top three advantages of making an anonymous blog.

1/ Take Back Your Privacy

One of the biggest reasons to create an anonymous blog is to keep your privacy. You can prevent people from knowing your identity and still say what you want.

Alternatively, you can create pseudo-anonymous blogs like those of Jon Dykstra. He doesn’t reveal his blogs and still makes around $100K per month from his blogs.

2/ Create a Safe Space (And Avoid Getting Judged)

Blogging anonymously allows you to create a safe space for yourself and others. For example, you may not feel comfortable sharing your story publicly if you’re a survivor of sexual assault.

An incognito blog can also be a great way to build an online community without fear of judgment. You can join online support groups or create one for yourself.

3/ Enjoy Creative Freedom (And Make an Impact)

Creative freedom is one of the main reasons people choose to blog anonymously. It’s helpful for aspiring writers who want feedback on their work before going public.

Explore content to find your audience and make an impact with your words. It’s much easier to be brutally honest when nobody knows who you are.

For example, Heather Armstrong published satirical accounts of her career at a dot-com startup on her secret blog Dooce. She was later fired after revealing her identity. But she enjoyed creative freedom without a doubt.

You can share your deepest, darkest secrets or create a fictional world without revealing your identity.

3 Reasons NOT to Start A Secret Blog

Let’s discuss the top three downsides now.

1/ Give Up Your Byline (And Authority)

So you want to create an anonymous blog, right? Of course, you’ll have to give up your byline or authority. Your byline is your identity, and it adds credibility to your work.

But an alias can work fine if you are not trying to build your brand. Don’t care about your byline unless you want to build your portfolio.

See what Google’s John says about fake bios and anonymous author names:

https://twitter.com/JohnMu/status/1151777567462121472

2/ Can’t Leverage Your Network

Using your real name, you can easily leverage your network and share your blog posts with friends and family. You can’t do that with a pseudonym blog.

But don’t worry; you can still get traffic from Google without revealing your identity. Many bloggers prefer to stay anonymous to avoid personal drama or harmful backlinks.

3/ Face the Criticism and Get Caught

If you write something sensitive or controversial, you may still face some threats to your safety.

If you’re writing about government corruption or religion, you may get death threats or be caught by the government. So be very careful even if you’re blogging. You probably can’t outsmart some agencies or crazy nerds!

For example, a journalist tracked a police blogger NightJack down because of the specific details he shared about many cases.

Takeaway: If you choose to blog anonymously, take precautions. And don’t do it for the wrong reasons!

How to Start An Anonymous Blog With Bullet-Proof Privacy 

In this step-by-step guide, I’ll help you learn how to make an anonymous blog with bulletproof privacy.

Step 1: Mask Your IP Address to Hide Your Internet Identity

An IP address is just like your home address. It shows your location to the world. To blog anonymously, you must first mask your IP address. It will help hide your internet identity and prevent others from quickly finding out who you are.

There are a few ways to do this:

Go for a VPN service: A VPN (Virtual Private Network) encrypts your internet connection and routes it through a server in another location. You can try these VPN services:

• NordVPN – Premium
• ExpressVPN – Encrypted
• ProtonVPN – Free

Use a proxy server: A proxy server is similar to a VPN but doesn’t encrypt your traffic. That means it’s not as private, but it’s still an excellent way to change your IP address. You can try these proxy servers or IP-hiding services:

• Anonymizer – Premium
• HideMyAss – Free Proxy
• Psiphon – Encrypted & Open Source

Use TOR network: TOR (The Onion Router) is a free, open-source browser that routes your traffic through multiple servers, making it difficult to trace back to you. It’s not as fast as a VPN or proxy, but it’s the most secure option.

And it’s easy to do so. All you need is to go to VPN, proxy service, TOR, and click on something like ‘encrypt,’ and that’s it! Here’s how to hide your IP address.

Quick Takeaway: Hide your IP address whenever you work on your anonymous blog.

Step 2: Create An Anonymous Email Account

Create an anonymous email account after you have concealed your IP address using VPN, proxy server, or TOR. Don’t use your primary email address; otherwise, it’ll be easy for others to find you.

Use a private email address to sign up for your hosting, domain name, or blogging platform. Choose a username that doesn’t give away personal information like your real name!

You can use these services to create a secret email address:

• RiseUp – Aimed at activists.
• ProtonMail – A free encrypted email service.
• PrivacyLock – A disposable email address for quick communication.

For this guide, let me help you create a ProtonMail email account. Before following these steps, ensure to mask your IP address.

• Go to the ProtonMail homepage.

• Select a ‘Free’ plan for now.

• Enter your username and password to create a ProtonMail account.

• Skip and don’t add a recovery email or phone number.

• Select a ‘Free’ plan once again (or choose to go premium)

You’ll be required to enter your email address to confirm you’re a human being. But you don’t want to reveal your identity, of course.

So go for a throwaway email address provided by Privacy Lock.

• Go to PrivacyLock (No registration required)
• Copy your disposable email address.

• And paste it into a ProtonMail box titled ‘are you human?’

• Go back to PrivacyLock and open the inbox to copy the code.

• Paste it into the box, and verify!

Congratulations! You have created an encrypted email account. Set your fake display name and select the theme.

Now is the time to use this email address to register your domain name and host.

Step 3: Register Your Domain Name Anonymously

Use your encrypted email account to register your anonymous blog’s domain name from a registrar offering WHOIS privacy protection for free. These include:

• NameCheap – Free domain privacy protection.
• Dynadot – I use this for all my domains.
• Domains from the Online Privacy Group.

You can use Instant Domain Search to come up with a domain name.

Here are a few anonymous blog name ideas for you:

• Free Soul
• Wanderer
• Broken Brook
• Cheeky-Chic
• Moment of Spirit
• Silent Whistleblower
• Nameless Narratives
• The Chaotic (Life, Style, and more)

Now that you have chosen a domain name for your blog, it’s time to buy one.

Here’s how to do it anonymously with NameCheap:

• Go to NameCheap (or Dynadot).
• Enter the domain name of your secret blog (e.g., YourSecretBlog.Com)

• Click on ‘Add to Cart and ‘Checkout.’

• Confirm your order with domain privacy enabled. You can also enjoy secure, fast, and anonymous browsing with VPN services with a free trial (Renews at $5.88/m)

• Create your NameCheap account (if you haven’t already). And enter the email address that you created earlier.

• Choose ‘Account Funds’ and add funds to your NameCheap account.

• Top-up account balance with BTC or any other cryptocurrency.

• Scan the QR code, copy the payment link, and paste it into your crypto wallet. 

You can pay for your domain name in BTC with BTCPay or Bitpay. Confirm the crypto payment, and you’re done! Cheers to your anonymous domain name.

By the way, I pay for domain names and hosting with my bank card because I don’t blog about delicate topics. However, I still utilize my pseudonyms. 

Step 4: Get An Anonymous Web Hosting (And Connect Your Domain)

Now it’s time to get a web host for your secret blog. My favorite web hosting services are Bluehost and TMD Hosting. But they don’t accept any cryptocurrency for payment. So go for these options:

• Hostinger
• NameCheap Hosting
• Hostwinds

All these hosting providers accept cryptocurrency as payment for hosting services! How cool is that? And you can always enter your fake email address and username.

Here’s how to buy anonymous web hosting with Hostinger:

• Go to Hostinger (or NameCheap).
• Choose your web hosting plan (Get started for as low as $2.99/month)
• Enter your secret email address and select CoinGate payments.

• Click on ‘Submit Secure Payment’ on Hostinger.

• And pay with cryptocurrency via CoinGate.

Hostinger will take you to the CoinGate receipt page. Choose your cryptocurrency and make the payment:

You’re one step closer to starting an anonymous blog. Now you need to connect your domain name with the hosting server.

And here’s how you do it.

• Log in to your web hosting account (Hostinger)
• Go to “Domain Manager” and click on “Addon Domains”.
• Enter the domain name you bought earlier.
• Change A records and MX records on Hostinger.
• And save changes!

You have now connected your domain with the hosting server. I will show you how to install WordPress to manage content seamlessly.

Skip the next step if you don’t want to go for WordPress. Instead, explore other free anonymous blogging platforms given in the next section of this post.

Step 5: Set Up WordPress & Configure an Anonymous User Profile

It’s time to set up WordPress and create your first blog post.

Here’s how you do it:

• Log in to your web hosting account (I use TMD Hosting)
• Jump on the cPanel and search for ‘WordPress.’
• Click on ‘WordPress Manager by Softaculous’ or any other WP manager.

• Enter the domain name of your blog.
• Create a secret username, strong password, and other credentials.

• Click on ‘Install,’ and you’re good to go.

Congratulations! You have now installed WordPress on your blog host. It’s time to configure an anonymous user profile on WordPress.

To keep them honest, I use a simple human name like Ben Coldham or Richard for my pseudo-anonymous blogs. And I use these AI-generated photos for profile pictures 🙂

Step 6: Start Anonymous Blogging

You have set up everything for your ghost blog. Start writing content and publishing it now. But before you do so, I want to give you some blogging tips that will help you stay unknown online.

5 Tips and Ways To Blog Anonymously

These are a few tips and ways to help you start with a solid foundation for secret blogging:

1/ Always use a VPN, proxy or ping server, or TOR browser when accessing your anonymous blog or secret email account.

2/ Create a separate email account that is not linked to your real identity and use it only for fake-name blogging.

3/ Be careful of the images you use on your blog posts. If possible, avoid using real photos or images that can be traced back to you.

4/ Use a pseudonym or pen name for your blog posts to protect your identity.

5/ Be careful of the information you include in your anonymous blog posts. Remember the police blogger NightJack example?

Watch this video where Allison Lindstrom discusses anonymity blogging:

https://youtu.be/udr72QgJFE4

By now, you must have started a blog with bullet-proof privacy. If you have any questions or suggestions, leave them in the comments section below.

Anonymous Blogging Platforms

If you’re not into WordPress, you can use many other platforms for anonymous blogging. You don’t usually need any hosting or domain for these websites:

• Write.as – No registration required.
• Telegra.ph – Indexable by search engines.
• Lyfster – Just like an anonymous diary.

Do you want to explore more options? Great:

Also, you can hide your identity on platforms like Quora when answering sensitive questions.

How to Promote An Anonymous Blog & Drive Traffic (2022)

Many times, you want to be anonymous yet famous. You want to spread your message without revealing your identity. In this section, I’ll quickly cover how to promote your blog and still be kinda unknown.

First and foremost, start by creating informative, practical, and engaging content. Truly excellent content is still king when driving traffic to your blog.

Here are a few ideas to drive traffic to your anonymous blog:

• Use the best SEO practices to enjoy organic traffic to your secret blog.

Google doesn’t care if you’re anonymous; they want to show the best results for their users. So ensure your blog posts are well-optimized and rank high in the search results.

• Use a pseudonym on social media sites like Twitter, Reddit, and Quora to share your content (if you want to)
• Explore advertising networks like A-Ads that allow anonymous ads. Pay for ads to drive traffic or earn for displaying ads on your blog.
• Reach out to famous bloggers in your niche using your disposable or encrypted email account.
• Leverage groups and forums related to your niche.

These are just a few ideas to get you started. The most important thing is creating great content that organically drives organic traffic to your blog.

How to Make Money With An Anonymous Blog in 2022

You have a few options if you’re looking for ways to make money with an incognito blog. Here are a few ideas to get started:

1. Sell advertising space or sponsored posts on your blog.

This is one of the most common ways to make money with a blog. Find other websites and blogs that accept advertising and contact the owners to inquire about rates using your encrypted email account.

2. Use affiliate marketing programs.

These programs help you earn a commission on sales made from links on your anonymous blog. Try using PPC affiliate programs that pay you per click.

3. Sell products or services through your fake-name blog.

You can sell other people’s products if you have none. Creating digital products with a fake name is easy peasy as well. 

4. Display ads.

Earn through anonymous ad networks like DOT or A-Ads crypto ad networks. But you can explore AdSense, Ezoic, or Ad Thrive with a secret email address.

And the list goes on!

FAQs on Anonymous Blogging

Now I’ll answer some of the most frequently asked questions about how to make an anonymous blog.

Further Readings on Anonymous Blogging

Do you want to explore more on this? Check out these readings:

• How Tor Works
• The Bloggers’ Rights Blog
• EFF’s Legal Guide for Bloggers
• A Technical Guide to Anonymous Blogging by Ethan Zuckerman
• How to Hide Emails from Government Snooping by Jack Schofield
• Complete Guide to Internet Privacy, Anonymity & Security (Book)
• Should You Blog Anonymously or Use Your Real Name? By Darren Rowse

That’s all from my side. Do you find it helpful and informative? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Also, don’t forget to share this post with others who might find it helpful.

Happy anonymous blogging 🙂