· 4 min read
I've Built a Free Blogging Platform That Works by Email
I've built a free blog you write by email. Your subject line becomes the title, your email becomes the post, and it runs on your own Cloudflare account.
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I love how simple my own journal is to keep: I just email it in. So I’ve built the same thing for everyone, and today I’m really excited to say it’s ready. It’s called Blog by Email, and it’s free.
Short answer: Blog by Email is a free, simple blog you write from your inbox. Your subject line becomes the title, your email becomes the post, and it’s published the moment you press send. It runs on your own Cloudflare account, on its free plan, and takes about 2 minutes to set up.
Setting up a blog is still far too much work. Themes, plugins, updates, hosting bills and a dashboard you have to learn. Sending an email is easy. You do it every day. So why not email your blog?
See it in action
The best way to see it is on a real blog. I’ve set up a demo at demo.blogby.email, and every post on it was sent from my inbox.
Up and running in about 2 minutes
Link your Cloudflare account
A free Cloudflare account is all you need. Haven’t got one? It takes two minutes and doesn’t ask for a card.
Add your name and email address
Give your blog a name and tell it which email address you’ll post from.
Send your first post
You’ll get your blog’s link and your private posting address. Save it in your contacts as “My blog”, send an email to it and you’re live.
Start at blogby.email/install.
Why Cloudflare?
Your blog runs on your own Cloudflare account, on its free plan. That’s around 3 million page views a month, fast all over the world, and you don’t need a card. Only a very busy blog would ever need Cloudflare’s paid plan.
It also means your blog and posts live in your account, not on my servers. Your posts are yours, not mine. If I stopped working on Blog by Email tomorrow, your blog would carry on running.
What the installer does: it creates a small database for your posts and settings, a storage space for your pictures, installs your blog as a Worker, switches on your blog’s address and sets up your posting address. That’s it. The link to your Cloudflare account lasts 60 minutes and isn’t kept, and it doesn’t touch your other websites, email or settings.
Everything a blog needs. Nothing it doesn’t.
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Only you can post | Only email from your own address that passes the same security checks mail providers use is published. Nobody can post as you. |
| Pictures | Attach or paste up to 6 pictures and they appear just where you put them. |
| Tags | Hashtags on the last line become tags, each with its own page. |
| Drafts | Start your subject with Draft and the post stays hidden until you’re ready. |
| Edit by reply | Every post sends you its link. Reply with Publish, Hide or Delete, or send the corrected post. |
| A bin | Deleted posts wait for 30 days, so nothing is lost by mistake. |
| Reply by email | Readers can reply to you privately. No comments to keep an eye on. |
| Share links | Bluesky, X, LinkedIn, Mastodon and email. Turn them off if you’d rather not. |
| Your own domain | Your domain, a subdomain or a folder of your website. Or use the free address Cloudflare gives you. |
| RSS and sitemap | Feeds, a sitemap and tidy previews when a post is shared. |
| Make it yours | Accent colour, light or dark, your photo, links to your socials and a pinned post. |
| Privacy first | No cookies, no trackers and no adverts, for you or your readers. |
A free alternative to HEY World
I loved blogging on HEY World, and Blog by Email works the same simple way. The difference is that it’s free, you post from the email address you already have, and it lives in your own Cloudflare account rather than on HEY’s servers.
| Blog by Email | HEY World | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Needs a paid HEY account |
| Post from | The email address you already have | A @hey.com address |
| Where it lives | Your own Cloudflare account | HEY’s servers |
HEY and HEY World belong to 37signals. Blog by Email has no link to them.
Why is it free?
I’m not charging for it. I wanted everyone to have the same simple blog I have. Because it runs on your own Cloudflare account, it costs me next to nothing. There are no adverts and nothing is sold.
Coming next: a hosted version where we look after everything for you, with no Cloudflare account needed. Sign up for updates on blogby.email and you’ll be first to know.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to be technical?
No. If you can send an email, you can run this blog. You’ll need a free Cloudflare account to install it, and the installer does the rest for you in about 2 minutes.
Can I use my own domain?
Yes, if your domain is on the same Cloudflare account. Use your main domain, a subdomain such as blog.yourname.co.uk, or a folder of your existing website. You can move to it later and keep every post.
How do I change or delete a post?
Every post sends you a reply with its link. Reply with Publish, Hide or Delete, or send the corrected post back to replace it.
How do I update my blog?
Your blog’s settings page tells you when there’s a new version. Link your Cloudflare account again and press Update my blog. Every post and setting stays as it is.
How do I get help?
Email hello@blogby.email and I’ll help you. Tell me your blog’s web address and what happened, and send a screenshot if you can.
Give it a go
Have a look at the demo blog, read more at blogby.email, then start your free blog. Your next post is one email away, and I’d love to see what you write.
Note: I made Blog by Email, and it’s free. This post has no affiliate links.
Paul O'Brien
I've spent over 25 years working hands-on with email, DNS and cloud infrastructure. I test email providers and privacy tools for real, then tell you what they're good at and where they fall short.
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