Last updated on December 28th, 2022 at 10:16 am
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As a semi-experienced blogger of almost two years, there are uncomfortable truths about blogging I have learned to accept.
Uncomfortable Truths About Blogging
1) You Won’t Love Every Blog Post
Any content creator will know this, you won’t love every single piece of your work.
You will not feel the same way about every blog post. There are going to be ones you love, some that you think are okay and some you think you did a pretty bad job.
Because of my New Year’s goal in 2021, I made a promise to consistently publish one blog post per week for the entire year. Writing some of them were brutal.
As I’m working on my post, I’ll realize it’s terrible midway. I felt so strongly about some blog posts that I considered breaking my 2021 promise. I was tempted to throw out the whole thing because I wasn’t satisfied.
These are the few posts I can think of on top of my head that I didn’t love:
I dreaded finishing writing them because I knew it wasn’t my best work. I was also on a time crunch so I didn’t have the luxury of not writing.
Because I promised myself, I pushed myself to keep going. Edited it like crazy so it went from I hate this post to it’s not bad.
Accept that you’re not going to love each work equally and that’s okay.
You can always go back and revise your blog posts. I have plans later on to edit old blog posts so it’s something else to add to my to-do list.
2) It’s A Lot Of Work
There seems to be a misconception that blogging is easy but it takes a lot of work. It might not seem like it but behind the scenes, I’m putting in HOURS per week on my blog.
My weekly blog post alone takes hours to write, not to mention I have to make it SEO-friendly by setting up internal and external links, fixing headings, finding pictures, etc.
Blogging isn’t only about writing. It’s also about figuring out the technical aspects, networking, promoting on social media, writing newsletters (I’m not there yet but should be soon), etc.
I’ve been writing longer and more detailed blog posts too, which means spending additional time on my blog.
Or else I would totally write one more blog post a week if I could but I simply do not have the time.
People tend to underestimate how long it takes for something to get done.
When I first started, I didn’t know it was going to take me this long to write one blog post. Bloggers make it seem so easy! Now, I know the truth.
All serious bloggers will tell you blogging is a lot of work. As I continue to work on my blog, I know I will have to devote even more time to it. It’s one of the uncomfortable truths about blogging that I accept.
If it’s something you like, you won’t think the work is too bad. After all, I enjoy the process tremendously – the good and the bad.
If you have trouble writing blog posts, I have created a blog post checklist you can use. Just enter your email address and it’s yours!
3) You’re Not Likely to Blow Up
You see and hear about other bloggers blowing up overnight getting millions of likes, reads, and follows.
It’s what everyone wants to happen to them but the truth is, this is extremely rare. Not impossible, but the chances are one in a million.
One can dream though.
Most bloggers steadily gain more traffic. Another one of the uncomfortable truths about blogging I had to accept was that I wouldn’t probably gain a lot of my audience immediately.
Gaining traffic, in my opinion, is one of the toughest things you need to do because you have to actively work on it.
Your blog can be absolutely amazing but if no one sees it, it’s not getting anywhere. Unless you treat your blog like an online journal or use it to help you in job interviews.
You will have to find platforms to promote your blog so you can attract more eyeballs. There’s a bunch you can choose from.
Most bloggers will talk about Pinterest and Facebook but there are other platforms such as Instagram, Reddit and Medium.
Remember to set aside time to actively promote your blog on platforms of your choosing.
4) It Can Be Lonely
Blogging is very much a solo activity unless you’ve partnered up with someone.
I assume most of us are in an office job or plan to be in one eventually.
In an office job, you’re surrounded by people. There’s probably collaboration with others on some projects or miscellaneous things to get some work done.
You’re on your own when it comes to blogging especially if you’ve decided to keep this a secret from the people around you.
When you think of someone blogging, the first image that comes to my mind is someone sitting on the couch with their computer typing away.
Maybe even their headphones in. Listen to some music so they can concentrate better.
Okay, maybe that’s the image that comes into my head but that’s very much me when I’m working on my blog. Except I sit at my desk instead of on a sofa or bed.
Blogging can be lonely. You do everything on your own and there are good things and bad things about that.
Pro: you don’t have to discuss anything with anyone. Everything can go the way you like. There’s no need to worry about differing opinions.
Con: you don’t have someone to split up responsibilities with. These moments can be especially hard when you are struggling with some blogging aspects.
5) You Won’t Ever Be Fully Satisfied With Everything
This last point is the hardest thing on the list for me to accept and it’s something I still struggle with.
There won’t be a moment when you are fully satisfied with every aspect of your blog.
I have a long list of things I can nit-pick on. I keep saying I’ll get around to fixing these issues but like I said in reason #2, there’s just so much to do.
Your blog is a work in progress. If you’re waiting for the moment where you are 100% satisfied, all I can say is have fun waiting.
There might be moments where you feel like one aspect is perfect but that feeling usually fades fast.
If you’re happy with the number of blog posts you have up, you might have a problem with your pictures. You might complain that your pictures can be prettier and more professional-looking.
You might even change your mind in the future.
For example, when I first started my blog, I really liked the minimalistic theme with a hint of girliness (I like pink more as I get older). However, in 2022, I no longer love the look and am thinking to change up my website look/format.
Waiting for yourself to be 100% satisfied with everything is going to take forever if it ever comes. It’s a fact that you will have to accept that sometimes there is no perfect.
6) You’re Going to Need Help
I don’t like to admit this but I’m not the best at technology. I can usually end up figuring some things out on my own but there are other times when I need help.
If you’re having problems with Canva or a certain plugin on your website, it’s best to ask the company directly (they usually have a customer chat or forum) but what if it’s general help? Who do you turn to?
I’m going to keep this short because I’ve talked about this multiple times already but I highly recommend this blogging community.
Not only can you use Facebook to promote your blog, but you can also get help from the blogging community.
You might not be at a time where you need help YET but the time will come eventually. You’re not going to know everything. Having a community that can help you answer your questions helps tremendously.
Final Thoughts – Uncomfortable Truths about Blogging
You often hear about how rewarding blogging is and while it is, there are often truths bloggers might not talk about as often.
As someone who has been learning a lot of these facts herself as she’s going through her blogging journey, I wanted to let my readers know the truth.
Now to You – Uncomfortable Truths about Blogging
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Xoxo,
Nicole
10 Comments
The Facebook Groups are so informative and I am so glad that I joined. They provide valuable information and community!! Thank you for sharing the blog!
Thanks for reading!
Lots of good points as I’m a new blogger. As tough as it is, I really do love being part of different facebook groups and seeing the support! It’s easy to feel defeated but we just gotta keep working at it 🙂
Facebook groups are amazing! They’ve helped me so much.
I’m new to this and your words make me feel better. Sometimes I put too much pressure on myself to do everything for my blog and I have a hard time asking for help, which makes it more difficult. Your post gave me some great ideas that I hadn’t thought of before and I appreciate it. Great post!
I totally get you. I put a lot of pressure on myself too when it comes to my blog but it’s important to remember that you can usually go back and change things later.
Couldn’t agree more. Especially the third point. Besides Pinterest and Facebook groups, I also started republishing my posts on Medium and linking my website at the end. Thank you for this amazing post.
I’ve never thought about republishing posts on Medium. How’s the result? Would you recommend it?
Thank you for easing my thoughts. I am still new at this. When I started I had no idea how much work it is to write a blog. Once I started and began interacting with other bloggers, I started to get very down on the fact that it was likely my blog would not blow up. However, after regrouping and thinking about why I started this in first place, I have accepted this. I do continue to work on my traffic through social media. The Facebook groups have gotten me through.
I completely know what you mean. Blogging takes time and hard work but you’ll likely see results if you keep going at it. That’s the hardest part and if you can go through that, you’ll feel really good!