Welcome to Part II of my Intro To Blogging Series! Be sure to check out Part I if you missed it where I give a little introduction and history lesson on blogging. Now that you know a bit about blogging, this post will go over everything you need to know before you start. OK, maybe not EVERYTHING, but at least everything that I think is important to know before you start blogging.
Wait a minute, I’m ready now! What more is there to know? Can’t I just start blogging already? For all you eager beavers who really, really just want to get started feel free to jump to Part III where I’ll help you figure out how to start creating your first blog. For everyone else with a little more patience and don’t like throwing caution to the wind, do read on.
1. BLOGGING WILL TAKE A LOT OF YOUR TIME
Depending on what type of blog you want to have of course. If you want a really simple blog that’s mainly personal and for your own amusement, that won’t take much time at all. Personal blogs are a little bit easier to maintain as the main goal is not to get viewership or income. You can post whenever you want, and don’t have to worry about promoting your blog. The amount of time you want to spend on it is up to you.
However if you’re creating a larger scale blog that you want to perhaps turn into a side business, it will take a good chunk of your time. For these type of blogs, it will require a little bit more of your blood and sweat to maintain. First of all there is a learning curve. Depending on how computer, web and design savvy your are, learning how to simply create a blog can take time. Don’t worry if computers and web design aren’t really your thing as you can always hire someone to create a blog for you. After your blog is up and running you’ll have to consistently write blog posts, promote your blog on other social media platforms, engage with other bloggers etc. All this on top of your current job plus all other duties you have in your life.
The point i’m trying to make is that, like anything else, blogging takes up time. You need to be prepared to put in the time to make your blog successful. If it’s something you enjoy however, the juice will be well worth the squeeze! This leads me to my next point…
2. ITS NOT A GET RICH QUICK GIG
Yes you can make money through blogging but no it won’t happen overnight. Some ways you can generate income through blogging are through affiliate marketing, advertisements and selling your own products on your blog. All these methods can work, but they all require the same things, high blog readership.
In order to make money, the more people you have reading and following your blog the better. Your readers are basically your potential customers, so the more readers you have, the more people will potentially buy your products and use your recommendations. Higher readership also means more traffic and in turn, more people will want to work with you either through affiliate marketing or sponsorship. Sounds easy enough right? As I mentioned at the start, don’t get into blogging if you want to get rich quick. Developing a solid readership can take a very, very long time, which brings me to my next point..
3. GETTING CONSISTENT TRAFFIC TAKES TIME
You’ve made a great looking blog, have put up some good content, but are still only getting a handful of page views a day. This can be a little discouraging for most.
It’s important to understand that if you want to be successful in blogging, you need to be committed to it for the long haul. It can take six months to a year of working on your blog before you start to get even the least bit of traffic. Those months will involve lots of time spent creating quality content and promoting your blog through multiple social media platforms.
You know this going into blogging now, so you know what to expect. Maybe you’ll get lucky and have a few posts go viral right away. If so that’s great! If not don’t be so hard on yourself. As long as you have a solid long term game plan, with a little elbow grease and determination you’ll get the blog traffic you want in time.
3. IT CAN BE A LONELY HOBBY
Since blogging does take a lot of time as you now know, a lot of your days and nights will be spent in front of your laptop or computer. For a lot of people, we already spend a large amount of time in front of a computer at work anyways so what’s the big deal? The difference is that this will be done usually after work, on your spare time.
Most of us already have very little spare time as it is, so sacrifices will need to be made in order to get some blogging done. You may need to give up some of your social time to get your blogging work done. For some people who require little face to face interaction this works well, for others this can be a bit of an adjustment.
There is a lot of interaction in blogging, don’t get me wrong, it’s just mostly done online. There are tons of blogging communities out there where you can meet and interact with like minded people. You’ll have all your readers whom you can build great relationships with as well. Just know that you will have to manage your time well so that you can make time for work, family, friends, hobbies and blogging.
4. NO ONE WILL UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU DO
You’re a blogger? So you like write like an online diary and stuff? To a lot of people, blogging still isn’t fully understood or taken seriously. Most people’s perception of blogging is still that of a online journal where people rant about things no one really cares about.
There’s also a lot of hate out there for bloggers and other social media figures. The more you put yourself out there for people to see, the more likely people will hate on you for whatever reason. My best advice for this is to try and not take things too personally and make sure that your doing blogging for reasons that are meaningful to you. If you want to be a blogger, or anything else for that matter and your heart is set on it, don’t let the naysayers stop you from pursuing your goals.
5. YOU DON’T NEED TO BE AN EXPERT TO START
One of the main reasons people are hesitant to start blogging is that they feel they aren’t an expert any subject. I too thought about this before I started blogging. Truth is, no one know’s absolutely everything on anything. If they tell you they do they are lying. There are a lot of people who know a lot about a certain subject, and they are considered the experts in their fields. So what do you do if your not an expert? Will anyone care about what you have to say?
Yes! You might not be an expert, but I’ll guarantee that there’s someone out there who knows less than you. Don’t focus on what you don’t know but rather focus on sharing what you do know. You’ll continue to learn more as you go, and the more you learn, the more you’ll know. Sharing and helping others is also a great way to learn in it’s own right.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I hope that these things don’t put you off from starting a blog. They are just some things that I think some people might not think about when starting out. A lot of people only see the bloggers out there who have quit their full time jobs to do blogging full time while travelling the world. While there are a lot of successful bloggers out there, there are also a lot of failed blogs, and blogs that almost no one reads.
Knowing all this I hope you’re by no means put off by blogging. It’s better to know beforehand then after, that way you won’t waste time doing something that you might not really enjoy. Blogging is a long game, but it’s also a fun one. Building your blog and growing it from nothing is a rewarding process in itself. Whether you want to do it as a side gig, full time job, or just for fun, the amount of work you put into it will determine your success. Don’t be afraid, put in the work, and good things will happen.
Don’t worry either, there’s lot’s of help for you out there! This guide should help get you started and make starting on your first blog a piece of cake.
Now that you know about blogging and what you can expect, it’s time to get started. Up next in Part III – How to Decide What Your Blog Should Be About. Stay tuned!
If you like what you’ve read and want to stay in touch be sure to subscribe to the blog so you’ll never miss a post. Always love hearing from people so don’t be shy to leave a comment or get in touch, happy pursuits!
Paolo
