It’s kind of shocking to me when I realize that I’ve been blogging for six years. WOW! It has been a labor of love, quite often very humbling, and has changed my life in ways that I never expected. When I began blogging I thought it would be a pretty simple thing to do: write blog posts about “all the things.” Specifically, writing blog posts about personal finance and sharing my story. Yes, it was that at its core. But, as time went on, other things began to crop up. So, I thought I would share the 12 hardest things about blogging and what you can do to fix those things.
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Writer’s Block
Blogging, at is core, is typically made up of written content. And, creating fresh written content that you share with some semblance of regularity can sometimes be hard to do. And, if you also read other people’s blogs, you may feel like everyone is writing the same post. Well, they probably are writing similar posts seasonally, but there are a number of ways to avoid being trite in your writing. Then, there is the dreaded writer’s block. The moment when no fresh and interesting story ideas will come to you.
How to Fight Writer’s Block?
Constantly look for stories that are relevant to your niche. Every single day there are stories that touch on lifestyle topics, travel, money, food, etc. Just figure out your “spin” on that story. Create content verticals. For those of you who read this blog regularly, you may notice that I have different types of content that I share. Those are within the 5 content verticals that I share on this particular website. I don’t mention what they are-I just produce blog posts and backlink to other posts within that vertical. And, of course, I brainstorm on blog post ideas for each content vertical. By having 5 topics that I cover regularly within the blog, I’m able to combat writer’s block. Because, let’s be honest, sometimes you just don’t to write about certain topics all the time.
Tech Issues
Are the bane of every blogger’s existence. And, they always seem to crop up at the worst times. I now have a “Right-Hand Man” who helps me with my blogging tech related issues. Grayson Bell from iMark Interactive is who I go to. He is a great guy, also blogs, professional, and seems to keep all of the personal finance bloggers blogs running. I highly recommend having a go to person for tech issues. It’s worth the money.
Finding Your Voice
Typically, most new bloggers suck at writing. And, typically they haven’t figured out how to write how they speak in their blog posts. The most authentic blogs for me are the ones where I feel like the person is speaking to me and I can actually imagine their voice.
Great bloggers learn how to not only help their readers with their problems, but know how to write in their voice consistently in every piece that they share. It’s not easy and takes a lot of writing practice but is key to creating great blog content.
Consistency
This is so freaking hard. Consistency is like the Holy Grail of blogging. Once you are able to create consistent content you’re able to help more people, grow income (if you’re monetizing), and grow your website. The thing is…consistency is one of the hardest habits to build as a blogger.
Here are some ideas to help new (and long-term) bloggers crack the consistency code.
- Create an editorial calendar-The content verticals that I have exist within an editorial calendar. I share specific posts on specific days. And, I do not change this system.
- Lower your expectations-At least in the beginning. New bloggers have told me that they want to release a post a day in the beginning and I’m like-that’s crazy. In the beginning of your blogging career (even if you’ve prepped several posts before launching) share one, maybe two, posts a week and call it a day. You will get distracted, life happens, and blogging will be last on your list as a newer blogger. As you get used to things, then slowly increase your output.
- Batch your work-Write a ton of content at one time so that you’re always ahead. This is a productivity habit that I’m really focusing on in 2018.
- Take Breaks-I’m coming off a 1 week or so where I slowed down my blogging. To be honest, I was just tired and needed a break. And, now I’m excited to write again.
Social Media
Most bloggers want people to actually read what they’re writing. But, social media can be a “BEAST!” It’s really easy to get confused by all of the different platforms that you can share your work on. The best approach: figure out where your readers enjoy being. Or, figure out where you enjoy being and build up your following that way.
For my Colorado website, I focus primarily on sharing on Instagram. For this website I’m focused on a couple of different areas (Pinterest, Instagram, and my Facebook group). Instagram is my favorite social media platform because it feels like a happy place to be.
Use scheduling tools such as HootSuite or MeetEdgar to schedule out your content and make your life easier.
SEO
Search Engine Optimization is both a very complicated and very straightforward concept to master. Basically, SEO is the strategy of discovering the keywords that people use to search for content. It can take awhile to master SEO but it’s key to growing a blog. Beginners should use the YOAST plugin and spend time learning about SEO. This post is too short to cover the topic.
Building Traffic
Can be a pain in the a@@. There are a number of ways to do it. It’s really easy to get frustrated and overwhelmed by the process. Don’t. Focus on helping your readers and keep creating content. Grow your network and help them as well. It will work out. And, here are some additional tips:
- Pinterest-Is a huge search engine…with awesome pictures! I love Pinterest and many bloggers have grown their blogging businesses via Pinterest. Spend time learning about it.
- Guest Posts-These can be a great way to build up your writing portfolio. Be selective about the guest posts you decide to do. Create incredible content and keep trucking.
- Podcast Interviews-I LOVE podcasts! All you have to do is talk LOL!
- Give Away Your Best-Create helpful opt-ins that help people solve problems.
Comparing Yourself to Others
Real talk. Sometimes it’s really hard to watch your friends kill it blogging. I have a number of friends making consistent Six-Figures every.single.month. Not just one friend, I mean several. And, there was a time when I felt really frustrated by being a failure at blogging. What I didn’t realize was that I wasn’t a failure and that I was helping people with the content that I was sharing. How did I figure this out? My readers told me! Keep helping people it will work itself out.
Not Making Money
It took me 5 years before I felt comfortable monetizing my blog. It was a very emotional process because I was nervous about how my long-term readers would feel about me monetizing my site. Then, I started tweaking the content that I was writing in order to help people better. And, I’ve been making more money. I use a number of the strategies that Michelle Schroeder creator of the Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course used to make $1.5 million last year with her blog.
How I monetize my website:
- Share win-win affiliates-like iBotta. Love this savings app! And, when new users sign up using my affiliate link and redeem their first savings, they receive $10 towards their first payout.
- Solve problems-The win-win affiliates should solve reader’s problems. ALWAYS.
- Only share what you actually use. Or, a large number of your friends use and can vouch for and that you will eventually use.
What I’ve noticed is when you stick to the above strategy-you begin to make money.
Trolls
Haters gonna hate. Some people apparently have time to sh$t on people. Get your umbrella and keep on moving forward. Remember, trolls hate people who are doing what they are too afraid to do. Like: change their lives, take risks, or grow professionally or personally.
Loneliness
Blogging can be a very solitary endeavor, especially in the beginning. I remember working through a lot of doubts about blogging during the beginning. Fortunately, I was a part of the FinCon community and had a number of people who understood what I was doing. They were so supportive and are great friends now. Find a community locally or online. They will help you work through the hard days.
No Comments
Sometimes your blog posts won’t have comments. It sucks. Fortunately, it’s easy to change that around. Begin writing content that your readers actually are looking for. Ask them questions often and encourage them to answer them.
Soon, you will begin to get feedback and it’s a wonderful thing! Make sure you respond to the comments-don’t leave them hanging.
12 Hardest Things about Blogging
Do you have other items that would be on your list? Did I pretty much cover it? Even though blogging can be really challenging sometimes, I still really love it.
Want to Start a Blog?
I love blogging! It has been an incredible experience, transformed my life, and connected me with a ton of amazing people. Blogging is a pretty cheap activity and I recommend hosting your blog with Siteground. Many bloggers have begun leaving HostGator and BlueHost and moving to Siteground. Myself included! Read why I’m leaving HostGator and BlueHost (I have 2 blogs one on each hosting platform) and moving to Siteground.
If you’re a new blogger Siteground will cost around $3.95 a month (depending on the size of your audience). They have great customer service and tutorials on how to host your new WordPress blog on Siteground.
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Great list Michelle!
Not comparing myself to other bloggers is something I still struggle with, it’s hard not to read income/traffic numbers and not do that. I have to remember that blogging is only a part-time gig for me and that makes a big difference in the numbers. Thanks for the reminder 🙂
It’s so hard to avoid comparing yourself to other bloggers. There are a number of bloggers that I know personally, who started when I did that are making BANK. Or, have huge numbers, or…the list goes on. We are all on a separate journey. It’s important to be aware of that and be kind to ourselves.
This list was spot on. I can relate to most of these items. I’ve been blogging since 2011 and just decided to start monetizing until recently. And like you I know many other bloggers who make much much more money. However, I actually like being the “poor” blogger of them all. It only motivates to me do better and inspiring to see that it is possible. I know i won’t be the poor blogger forever. And I actually have hard time with social media. Self promotion is hard for me because I hate talking about myself. Recently, I’ve been challenging myself to do it this and I have been seeing results. I just hope I won’t always feel uncomfortable doing it.
Terri, you totally get it! I would argue that you’re not the “poor” blogger. You just haven’t earned the same amount of cash. That’s coming! Why is it hard to talk about yourself? There are some ways to do it without being bragadocious. Share your wisdom with people (it takes practice though!)
I definitely agree that blogging can be very hard at times. Anyone who is saying that it’s easy peasy is lying or knows very little about the real blogging world. I remember when I first started blogging and knew hardly anything about it, I was overwhelmed with everything and the number of things I needed to know in order to keep my blog alive and growing. Technical things and problems are the worst!!! I don’t know how or why but like you said, they always pop up at the worst times… But with all these hard parts, I still love blogging and I can say that it’s very rewarding. Like seriously.
-Leta | The Nerdy Me
There are still some aspects of blogging that drive me crazy. But, I’m glad that I continue to be engaged and interested in the process. When that stops happening, I’ll have to quit! Finding good resources like Grayson Bell, and collaborative communities has really made the difference for me.
SEO & Building traffic is two of the things that I’m working on the most this year. So far so good. I’ve almost reached a goal that I wanted to reach. I just can’t lazy because once I reach that goal, it will be time to double up.
Traffic is literally my biggest issue. Everything else is going really well. All of my metrics have gone up steadily: income, followers, podcast downloads. But, blog traffic continues to suck. I have great SEO and have had viral posts. I also get comments, etc. I’m probably going to work with someone on traffic because I’m done with f#cking around with it.