So you wanna make a blog? You planned it all out. You know you can make it big. You know that you can make unique content. You have read through every possible tip you can find online and you think it's very easy. You are a few weeks or days into launching your blog. You have already looked through the tools and have already chosen between WordPress and blogger or any other tool. You have looked through different hosts and have already chosen one that fits you. Before you get the idea that I'm trying to discourage you, please don't. These are the things I believe that every would-be blogger out there should know before they start.
1. Why Are You Blogging?
Blogging is very easy when you don't intend to make money out of it. Just write and post whatever and that's it. No biggie. Now if you're blogging with profits in mind, then that is a totally different story. IT IS NOT AS EASY AS YOU THINK. Content will always be the center of the blog and it will depend on your answer to this question. If your answer is to share ideas, then you won't feel bad about writing long and possibly boring articles just to explain your point. If you're blogging for money on the other hand, then I guess it's easy. Just think of something that would catch other people's attention and you'll just have to write stuff that would touch human curiosity. My answer was both. I wanted to share and make money so I'm struggling to find a way to balance myself and my readers. I have to share my ideas in as detailed a manner as I want, but I don't wanna get my readers bored so writing is always a struggle for me and sadly I'm more on the boring details.
2. Getting Steady Viewership is Not a Simple Matter
So you know you can write interesting stuff and you think getting readers is easy right? Okay, I basically have read and tried to follow two articles and kept them at heart. One was from SEOMOZ and the other from Steve Pavlina. But seriously though, don't expect it to be easy. Making content can be the easiest thing in the world, but getting viewers is the hard part. Sure, I tried to change my titles to fit search engines. I tried to comment on other blogs and posted links. I get a huge rise in readership every time I spread the word on social networks. But, once I stop, my readership goes back down. As of today, I'm one month into blogging and the best I can make is an average of 20 views a day and that's without doing anything. I thought my articles would be easily searchable but I failed to realize that I'm not the only blogger who has thought of writing about the same thing. Sure there are billions of people out there but there are also millions of blogs to choose from. I thought I had my statistics right but I was wrong in even considering statistics. Blogging is hard work, as you will realize once you launch.
3. You Will Eventually Get To The Point of Asking Whether It's Worth It or Not
Yes, just one month into blogging and I'm already asking myself why I should push on. I'm not getting as much viewers as I thought I would. I'm not making as much money as I thought I would. I'm sure I'm making good quality content. I might be writing long and boring stuff, but I know that I'm giving anyone who reads my stuff something useful. Content is king right? Why am I not getting enough readers and making enough money? Plus, I'm giving up so much of my time and effort here. Well I have already found my answer through and internal conversation so I know I'm pushing through. Once you spend money on hosting and other things and you feel like you're failing, it could really hurt.
4. There Are Technical Stuff You Have To Know or Will be Forced to Learn
I have blogged before on a few free blogging sites and so I thought the process of getting my own host and stuff will be easy but no, it's complicated. I though that once I get a host, then I'll just install WordPress and it's done but it wasn't! Installing it was easy IF I KNEW HOW. The good news is, you can find the answers from tech support and of course from other blogs and sites. You will learn and be forced to learn things. If you're the type who doesn't wanna learn then you can either find someone who will do it for you, or just don't blog because seriously, blogging is not just about writing and posting. It's also about a lot of technical stuff.
5. You Will Become Public Property
Just like the stuff you post on your social network wall, the stuff you post on your blog is for everyone to see so don't get upset if people start coming up to you and telling you stuff that you don't want to hear. Public property is always subject to opinion so don't post anything that you don't wanna be criticized for. Be ready to be yelled at by people who will get offended. Be ready to be told anything. But of course, it's not always going to be bad. There are people out there who will appreciate what you're writing about and will let you know. That for me is the best feeling in the world. You can't please everyone right?
6. Blogging is Hard Work
You think blogging is simple? Maybe it is, if you just wanna make a diary of some sort. It makes sense because that is what blogging was originally. But, if you're blogging and you want to get a lot of readers and make income out of it, then it won't be so simple. Before launching my blog I of course did some research on other bloggers. Most of them say that blogging is a lot of work and I of course didn't wanna believe them. Like every "civilian", I thought that blogging didn't require too much effort and it was just for people who have nothing else to do but now that I'm into blogging, I have realized that it's also as difficult as any other regular job. Of course you don't exert too much physical effort by typing and clicking, but writing posts and finding ways to improve your blog and get readership can be nerve-racking. If you're serious about blogging, then you better consider giving up time to do things that you love to do. I gave up going to the gym, watching TV, and a couple of hours from my normal sleep time. Not really because I wanted to, but because I'm serious about blogging and I wanna make this work.
7. So Little Time, So Much to Do
Like I said above, you might have to give up a few things because serious blogging means serious time. I have a day job so all I have is my time at night. I used to spend an hour in the gym every day to keep in shape and now I'm a fat slob, not that I've been buff or ripped but I'm getting fatter. I used to watch a lot of TV but now I don't really watch as much anymore. I love sleeping and I require eight hours of sleep a day but now I get about four to six. I spend a lot of time blogging that I had to sacrifice a lot of things I used to enjoy. Was it worth it? Well I've been asking myself that but now I can say yes and I will keep doing this for a very long time because it is something I know I'm good at. I'm doing this because my thoughts and ideas are influencing others. I know that I am helping others and I know that in time, I can make money out of this. I just have to be patient and keep giving my best.
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