Introduction
So you think you want to be a blogger?
What could be better than being your own boss, setting your own work hours, working from anywhere; a beach in Bali or a café in Paris. Paying your bills by doing something you love. Sounds pretty great right?
Well yes, it is , it is why the blogging lifestyle is still so aspirational, even 10 years after its heyday it’s why for so many of us bit by the blogging it’s more than a career, it’s who we are.
Blogging is fun, it’s flexible, and yes, it can bring in an income you can live off.
But…
It’s not easy.
A quick search of blogging on Pinterest and you’ll be inundated with ‘influencers’ telling you how you can make 6 figures in 4 weeks. The ‘foolproof ‘method to get your blog post to do viral, all for a price, of course.
As someone who’s been blogging for over eight years, let me tell you this is not reflective of reality.
If you’re seriously thinking of making a living from blogging, let me shatter a few common blogging myths.
7 blogging myths…
1. Blogging is easy
Perhaps this was the case when blogging began to take off and there weren’t many people doing it. To have a successful blog in 2022 you need to put the work in. A reasonable length for a blog post is about 1000 words. In her guide Elsie Larson from one of my all-time favorite blogs ‘ A Beautiful Mess suggests you need to be posting twice a week and it could take up to 2 years to see a profit from your blog.
Would you be willing to write upwards of 200 posts before seeing a return on your investment? Before you even start writing you’ll need to do research and decide what your blog is about and who your target audience is. Defining your target audience is crucial. If you write without a reader in mind you’re essentially shouting into the wind.
2. Blogging is just about writing
First you’ll need to choose a hosting platform, then you’ll need to set up your website, a lot of hosts have easy-to-use templates, so you don’t need a degree in web design. But you will have to make the design decisions write a short bio and optimize your site for google SEO. It’s no good having an amazing blog if your readers can’t find it. If you’re planning on making money through paid subscriptions or courses, you’ll need to know how to price your products.
Once you start selling anything, eventually there will come a time when need to use some customer service skills. E.g if you get an email asking for more information about a course, you need to reply. If someone DM’s you asking if you’ll like to collaborate it’s good manners to give them a yes or a no thanks.
One day, a customer will be unhappy, and they’ll ask for a refund. Accept the hit and know it isn’t personal then move on. Social Media can make or break a business. I’ve you don’t give customers what they want, the first thing they’ll do is post negative things about your business all over social media. Even if you fix the issue, those comments are there forever. Never moan about customers online, even on your private accounts it will come back on your business and make you look completely unprofessional.
3. Blogging doesn’t require any business outlay
Unlike other creative careers where you’ll need to buy materials upfront, you might think that blogging is an attractive career because if has no start-up costs. I’m afraid this isn’t the case.
Yes, you can absolutely publish a blog without having to pay, but if you want to monetize your blog, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid subscription, generally around £10 a month, though some hosts will require you to pay yearly. Then you’ll need to buy a domain, this costs as little as £1 a year, (nobody is going to take your blog seriously if can’t be bothered to spend £1 to not have @wix, or @squarespace in your URL. Images can make or break a blog so I’d also recommend a graphic’s package.
I personally swear by Canva, because it has templates for literally every media. It will also bring your brand identity together. Creating a brand identity is essential if you want your blog to stand out. You want your readers to be able to recognize your posts when their scrolling. If you are serious about becoming a full-time blogger you might want to consider taking business insurance out too.
In short, you will need to put some money down if you want your blog to be taken seriously.
4. Blogging is glamorous
We’ve all see those Instagram influencers, back to the camera in a tiny bikini, ideally. in a pool in Santorini. It all looks very lovely but I’m sorry, nobody makes a living floating around a swimming pool. Bloggers are mums writing at the kitchen table, students trying to make a bit of extra money, retirees just wanting to talk about their hobbies. Most bloggers are living very ordinary lives, often working ‘day jobs’ that pay the bills. Even if ‘full-time’ blogging is your dream,
In reality. It’s writing pitch emails, it’s your wifi will dropping and you losing 500 words you’ve spent all morning getting just right. It’s spending an hour trying to reconnect your insta feed to your website.
In other words, it’s work.
5. Blogging is all about you
My first blogging love was Carrie Bradshaw, sitting on her bed in her underwear in her Manhattan apartment, writing about her lovelife. I would have been around 17 and I didn’t even own a laptop yet, but I knew that’s what I wanted to do. As fun, as Sex and The City was, it was hardly reflective of reality.
Aside from the fact that she could make a living in New York by writing one 500-word blog post a week, every one she wrote was about her. Even if you’re a beautiful 30-something woman living a fabulous life in Manhattan, if you treat your blog like a diary, eventually you’re going to bore your reader. You need to give your readers something. Every post you write needs to have a purpose, either to Advise, entertain or inform, the best post does all three.
Always remember you’re writing for someone. What are they interested in?, what can you tell them they don’t already know? Your reading needs to be front and center of everything you write.
6. Bloggers are clique
This is one myth I’m happy to bust In fact, when you’re first starting out it’s mostly going to be other bloggers who notice you first. . Blogging really is a community, most of us who blog got into it because we were inspired by the blogs we were reading and most bloggers will be happy to ‘Pay to forward’ .
reach out to bloggers you admire. Now don’t just in cold asking for a shout-out or advice. Start by dropping them a short message either through Instagram or their own website saying how much you love their work, and reference something specific so they know you haven’t just copied and pasted the same message to hundreds of other bloggers. If they message back then, great, then start of conversation then eventually if they have any advice. Hopefully, one day you’ll be asked to pass on your blogging expertise.
7. Blogging is over in 2023
Blogging has been ‘over’ pretty much since it began. Yes, it would have been better to have started earlier. It is harder to make it as a blogger in 2023 but It is still totally possible.
I’m not too worried, I believe there will always be an audience for good quality writing that entertains and/or informs. In my opinion, a good blog post has more ‘value’ than a picture of some influencer’s breakfast. If will stay relevant and keep getting engagements, for a lot longer.
I hope this has given you a realistic picture of what blogging looks like in 2023. There is no ‘secret formula’ to get your first 5k followers, you’re unlikely to make six figures in your first month.
What is true though is blogging is a fun, flexible, and profitable career, so long as you’re. willing to put the work in.
like this…why not read https://www.oliveandalma.com/2023/07/07/have-you-got-what-it-takes-to-make-it-as-a-writer/
