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When it comes to the harsh truths about blogging, these are all the things to know about blogging that I wish someone had told me!
When you’re just starting out, you don’t know what you don’t know! That’s certainly how I felt at least and I had to learn a lot about blogging FAST.
Some were harder truths than others… which is why I’m sharing my top blogging tips today to help YOU hit the ground running.
Seriously, I get asked about these things over and over again. But they’re just some things we have to live with!
This post is all about things to know about blogging.
Things To Know About Blogging
I’m all about telling it like it is – you know that! – and people always assume that blogging is so easy, cheap, etc.
Well that’s certainly not the case! So I’m busting all those preconceived notions with 10 harsh truths about blogging…
But don’t be discouraged just yet! Blogs are still INCREDIBLY WORTH IT. So let’s dive in —
1. Blogging is SO much work.
First off, if you want to make money from your blog then you need to treat it like a JOB.
I get so many people making excuses and saying they don’t have time to blog, but then they turn around and ask “why am I not seeing high traffic yet” or “why am I not making any money yet”?
Don’t let your blog fall to the wayside and become a once-a-month thing. Or let it, but don’t expect to see results then.
So many people start a blog with high hopes but they don’t realize what it takes to get the blog going.
And honestly, it surprised me in the beginning to! But I didn’t let it discourage me and I stayed committed. Just because it’s a lot of work doesn’t mean you have to quit.
Honesty is my policy, so I’m just making sure you know what you’re getting into — blogging is A LOT of work.
2. You have to spend money to make money.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to spend a ton of money… but you do have to pay for a couple of things right away.
The first thing is hosting, and when I started, I used BlueHost (which was the most affordable WordPress host I could find).
Secondly, you’ll need a theme. You need your blog to look professional which is why I recommend buying a theme however, you don’t need anything custom-designed or with all the bells and whistles.
Lastly, if you can take blogging courses — do it! Seriously, I would take odd jobs to save up for blogging courses because it saves so much time.
I took so many courses in the beginning that were invaluable to me on my journey. Which inspired me to create my own courses to share everything I’ve learned and implemented.
Learn My Exact Blogging Strategies That I Used to Start My 7-Figure Blog
3. It *can* take a long time to make money.
This is a little misleading… it doesn’t actually take a really long time. Sometimes just six months to a year, but when you’re working on it every day for hours without any positive reinforcement… it feels long.
So if you’re wondering where your money is and it’s only been six weeks, you’re going to need to be more patient.
I recommend giving yourself a FULL YEAR to see where you’re at before expecting money.
4. It can feel embarrassing to start a blog.
Maybe this was just me but I was embarrassed in the beginning stages of my blog.
Just be confident and proud of what you’re creating. Own it and grow that thick skin because everyone will have an opinion — more on that soon.
5. You are constantly having to change your strategy due to different algorithm changes.
I feel this HARDCORE with the courses because I always want them updated for our audiences. Which means we’re (the BSL team) tweaking and updating often.
Hi Pinterest, can you just chill out for a second? Thanks.
Luckily, SEO hardly changes so when it comes to crafting blog posts we’re usually good to go. This is more for the social media and whatnot.
6. You have to be mindful of the legal side of blogging.
There’s certain things you need to protect yourself and your blog. What I recommend doing to make sure you’re covered on a basic level is getting legal pages.
I found this lawyer who creates specific legal pages to protect your blog and sells them as a bundle. Literally, they saved my butt.
These are the exact legal pages I used for the first couple of years that I had my blog.
7. People will not hold back their opinions.
You need to develop that thick skin, and the earlier on the better. Just remember that people aren’t filtering themselves or really thinking about what they are saying.
So annoying and discouraging that people want to tear you down but just remember that they’re dealing with their own thing.
Hurt people hurt people, am I right?
8. You have to be self-motivated.
If you’re starting a blog, it is fully on YOU to motivate yourself and be consistent with your blog.
Luckily for me, I’ve always been somewhat of a self-motivated person which really helped me grow my blog. I know what the end goal of this would be and I never lost sight of that.
Honestly, it was hard sometimes for sure and saying no to the immediately gratifying things (like college parties) sucked.
But I knew what I wanted and I knew what I had to do to get there. You have to find that same reason and drive for yourself if you want to be successful at blogging.
Learn My Exact Blogging Strategies That I Used to Start My 7-Figure Blog
9. Everyone wants to blog so they can quit their 9-5 but honestly, blogging can be a 24/7 gig.
Ugh this is literally the harshest truth I think. You could blog anywhere and at anytime but usually, that doesn’t translate to the freedom you imagined.
I hate to say that because you really do get so much freedom from blogging — it’s just not what people expect.
When people think of bloggers, I think they’re imagining some laidback beach vacation where you can “blog” for an hour, make a million dollars, and don’t have to lift a pinky.
There’s so much work that goes into blogging and promoting your blog… it’s honestly more work sometimes than the regular 9-5 might be.
But so worth it. Your blog is YOUR business that you completely own and no one tells you what to do. And you can really grow that business if you’re willing to put the time in now.
It’s all on your own schedule… so just know that you should make boundaries if you don’t want to be working 24/7.
10. If you don’t stay consistent then you won’t be successful.
If you aren’t consistently posting to your blog and promoting your blog then you aren’t going to get those results.
Simple as that.
For example, if you can only write one blog posts a week then make sure that you’re posting every. SINGLE. WEEK.
SEO doesn’t like if you’re not consistent and rewards you for content on a consistent schedule. Posting 10 posts in a week then going radio silent for a month isn’t going to cut it.
Those are my 10 harsh truths about blogging. I hope you learned something from these things to know about blogging and I wish you luck in your blogging journey!
- How to Create a Blog Content Calendar
- The Ultimate Guide To Blog Branding: From Logo To Voice
- Is Blogging Dead: What is the future of blogging?
- The 9 Best Tips for Your First Month of Blogging
© Perfecting Blogging 2024
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I just started my blog saobelas.com thanks to your guidance. I watched so many of your youtube videos which gave me the confidence to give it a try and I just wanted to thank you!