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Blogging ain’t easy. That’s definitely one of the things you should know before starting a blog.
It is POSSIBLE to create a blog of your dreams with money that follows, but by no means is it a walk in the park.
During your blogging journey, you are destined to encounter hurdles that you will need to overcome.
Those who push through the challenges and who learn from their mistakes, are the ones that come out on TOP.
Although I am constantly learning and improving my blogs, I have already gained so much knowledge from launching and building my other blog.
In hopes that it will help YOU get a smoother start on your blogging journey, below are some of the important things I wish I knew as a NEW blogger.
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IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU
If you intend to make money from your blog, you can’t just be talking/writing about yourself ALL the time.
Yes it’s good to be putting your own little touch to your posts and adding your own bit of relatable story, but at the end of the day, people will most likely click through to a post if it will benefit THEM somehow.
Whether it be helping them solve a problem or providing them with entertainment, you need to trigger an emotional reaction that makes them curious enough to want to read your article.
No one is going to be too interested in what you did over the weekend unless, you know, they REALLY dig you or… they are your mom!
You need to write about things that your readers want to read.
BE CONSISTENT
Being consistent is SUPER important for your blog.
You don’t want to be post dumping every day for 2 weeks and then disappear for months without a peep. It doesn’t work like that – well, not in the beginning anyway.
In saying that, you don’t have to be posting every day or even every second day.
You need to work out what works for YOU and stick with it!
Now that I am focusing on driving traffic to this blog, I am aiming to post once a week.
However, to increase the chances of getting your posts seen by others, you need to be putting more content out there.
Posting 2-3 times a week would be ideal – but only if it works for YOU.
If you are using Pinterest to drive traffic to your blog, being consistent on that platform is ALSO crucial.
To be consistent on Pinterest, you could use a scheduling tool such as Tailwind to ensure you are posting regularly without actually being on Pinterest ALL the time.
If you are interested in Tailwind, you can actually go on a FREE trial (no credit card details needed) and schedule up to 100 pins for FREE before deciding if a paid plan is right for you.
I gave it a go and saw an increase in traffic so I opted to pay extra for all the features. I do believe it is a valuable investment as part of my Pinterest strategy.
IT IS NORMAL FOR TRAFFIC TO FLUCTUATE
In the very beginning, I was CONSTANTLY checking my Google real-time traffic and every little dip in traffic I experienced, would affect my mood SO MUCH. I was obsessed.
However, even for successful bloggers, traffic going to their blog is never 100% consistent.
I have read countless income reports of big bloggers who experience a bad month for traffic but still earn MORE than a month of high traffic!
It just shows that the amount of traffic is not as vital as quality content, so don’t call it quits if you are going through a period of low traffic to your blog.
It still gets to me sometimes, but I am now trying to focus on creating more quality content and responding to what my readers want (because that’s what’s going to keep them coming)!
TRIAL AND ERROR
You are not expected to have it all figured out from the get-go.
There is SO SO MUCH to learn with blogging.
You don’t have to have your branding spot on, your website looking super perfect, your email opt-in sorted – heck you don’t even need to know exactly what you want to write about!
I have made so many changes since I have started but the beauty of blogging is that you CAN always make changes and improvements!
So just get started!
PATIENCE IS KEY
Do not even think for a second that blogging is an easy way out.
Yes, it is passive in a sense but you still need to be constantly putting in the work and effort during the early days to get to that point.
They really aren’t lying when they say that blogging is not a sprint, because it certainly is one sweaty marathon.
It does get overwhelming and frustrating at times with doubts that never seem to want to leave, but just remember, EVERY single blogger started in the SAME position as you did.
They just pushed through.
INVEST IN SELF-EDUCATION AND QUALITY COURSES
In the blogging world, you always need to be learning and adapting to changes.
I truly believe that self-education is SO important and investing in quality courses is invaluable for your blogging journey.
There are countless courses and e-books out there about blogging (and everything else). Some are good, some are not so good, and some are great!
You NEED to do your research into the course/e-book/product that you are thinking of purchasing and making sure it’s worth your money.
I have personally purchased quite a few courses.
The three courses I always recommend to beginner bloggers struggling to gain traction on Pinterest are:
- The She Approach – Making Pinterest Possible: a very affordable value-packed course focusing on driving traffic via Pinterest & Tailwind
- Blogpreneur Blueprint: Great overall blog creation course with a strong focus on generating kick-ass Pinterest traffic
- Pinteresting Strategies – Blogging Like You Mean It: Another affordable course on manual Pinterest strategies that gets results
These three courses are GAME-CHANGERS for me and has helped me get approved my Mediavine after 5 months of blogging (with my other blog)!
I had read up on a lot of free information regarding Pinterest and generating traffic but in the end, it just got me all confused and overwhelmed. Some were saying this, while others were saying that. I really think that if you invest in quality courses, it will save you a lot of time, confusion and money.
YOU NEED TO SET BOUNDARIES
When you are a blogger, there is always something to do.
There’s always a post to publish, a pin to make, comments to reply to or even technical difficulties to attend to.
Blogging can be consuming and intense… and hours could fly by without you even realizing it!
Luckily for me, I have a husband I want to spend time with, so I have to step away from the computer (otherwise I honestly would work on the blog 24/7 because I enjoy it so much)!
You need to make sure you are setting boundaries and taking care of yourself.
Allocate certain times where you step away from blogging and do other things that make you happy.
Don’t neglect social interaction – you still need to make time for friends and family! It’s not healthy otherwise, and you could get burnt out.
SET YOURSELF SOME GOALS
Because you are treating your blog as your business, you need to set yourself some goals.
Goals are important because it pushes you to work towards something and achieve success.
Blogging takes a lot of self-discipline and determination to be successful. Even if you are your own boss, you need to be strict with your goals and deadlines or else you will NOT see the best results.
Related:
HOW TO SET GOALS YOU WILL ACTUALLY ACHIEVE
DO NOT COMPARE YOUR JOURNEY WITH SOMEONE ELSE’S
This is REALLY important.
I totally understand that it is difficult NOT to compare, but no one’s journey is the same.
You can’t believe everything you read anyway. You can’t be certain what type of help they got, how much experience they really have, or how much they exaggerated.
So don’t be discouraged if you get to a certain point as someone else but not achieve the same success as they claim to have achieved.
Just think – if they can do it, SO CAN YOU.
So, stay in your lane and keep your eyes on the finish line.
IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD
There are many people who are skeptical about making money through blogging or who believe that the blogging scene is saturated in 2020.
DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED BY OTHERS.
There are always going to be nay-sayers, but don’t let them get to you.
Everyone is unique and everyone has something different to add to the table.
No one has heard what you have got to say because no one has lived your life.
You do you and pursue what you want to pursue.
There you have it! Those are the things you should know before starting a blog.
Just remember, the only time you will fail is when you quit.
Learn your lessons and seize opportunities that you are given! You got this!
Have you learned any other valuable lesson so far?
If you found this post helpful, don’t forget to pin it for later or share it around!
Related:
HOW TO START A BLOG FOR BEGINNERS IN 2020
10 BLOGGING GOALS TO ACHIEVE THIS YEAR
Photo by Liana Mikah on Unsplash
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