I have been a blogger for about seven years, it’s hard to believe that it has been that long, but it has and I’ll admit I started because someone told me I could make a couple hundred a month blogging and get some free stuff.
A lot has changed over 7 years. Blogging is more of a business now and even though I have not become a millionaire from blogging I still really do enjoy writing and of course the free stuff I get.
I have learned so much over the last 7 years that I wanted to share it with you all.
Image credit: Tea in England
Blog about something you love
I found out the hard way that if you try to blog about things you don’t have a passion for you will find you run out of topics and energy to write. I started a blog about blogging about 5 years ago and though I did okay at first I found I was just not passionate about teaching others how to blog, well not enough to dedicate a whole blog to it I found that about 2 years into the blog I just stopped writing and it eventually died. I don’t consider this a failure, but a learning experience. I thought if I jumped on the blogging bandwagon and did what everyone else was doing I would make a lot more money, I was wrong.
Bloggers are always screwed over
Now I have nothing against the “Mommy Blogger” I’m talking about the ones that write about their kids and do reviews just for free stuff. (as I stated this is one thing I love about blogging… Free stuff!) There blog is a hobby and just something to do when the kids are napping. Not every mom blogger is this way, but because there are bloggers out there who think it’s wrong to get paid for your time when your just a mom, or just do not know any better, people who are trying to use there blog as a business tend to have to deal with people who want them to do everything for free. I made this mistake at first and it cost me time and money.
Blogging is work, and lots of it
Blogging takes some time. At first it’s going to take a lot of time because you have not learned how to use your time wisely. Research goes into most post and it can take you an hour or a few days to write a good post. Rarely does a blogger just sit down and write up a post. It does happen, more if your blog is a personal one like mine is. This means that you will be putting time and energy into your blog. If you don’t have time your blog will suffer from it and so will your wallet.
Read: 20 Tips to Build Your Blog Audience From Scratch
Take time off!
When I first started blogging I didn’t have a second source of income, but blog was it and I ran myself dry because of that, now eventually I did make an okay income, but I burned out and was not able to keep up with 3-4 post every day. Now I post a few times a week or send out for guest post. Really having a well read blog is not just about doing all of the work yourself, but getting people to read your blog every day.
Don’t start a ton of blogs at once.
I did this and if your reading this because of my other blogs you know I currently run five blogs. I started most of them early and have struggled to keep them going. When I started I was no working, now that I am I found I have no time, that is actually the reason I started Hollybeetells.com because I found that I needed to condense my blogs down and I needed a new twist on my blogs. Combining my personal and giveaway blogs was the answer and Hollybee Tells was born! I will still be running two other blogs on interior design and weight loss, but again I have a passion for those topics and those are so easy to keep going!
Don’t quite your day job…. yet
As I have said I was not working when I started and because I didn’t have the extra income to put back into my blogs I have had to find other work. Now, if you are working, do not quit your job until you are:
- making more then you do at your current job
- can pay all of your monthly bills
- put money back into your blogs (new themes, advertising)
- have money left over for extras
- have been able to do all of the above for 6 months to a year or so.
Exception: Potential, if you have the potential to make more by leaving your job, such as you have lined up freelance work that will pay you more, then by all means QUIT!
Read: 6 Things I Learned From Quitting My Job
What is your experience with blogging and what have you learned?