Although It’s been two years now since I’ve started my blogging journey, I really learned more about blogging within the last month from a mentor than when I first started. When I first started, I signed up for every blog subscription that claims to get me to blog fame if I follow their 10 simple steps. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get some good information from all those blog programs but I wanted more. Every blogger starting out turns to one solid source to get them started: Pinterest.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Pinterest. I absolutely ADORE Pinterest. In fact, partial credit goes to Pinterest for helping me grow as a blogger! But, there are some information blog posts will leave out or downplay. Here are some of my blogging challenges!
You will need to invest
This may be clear to a lot but for me, I really had no idea how much I would have been investing in this hobby. Some have spent over $100 while some have spent more, either way, I really don’t mind spending on this hobby because well… I love it! Your blog is a business and with that being said, you will be investing in your business. Especially when it comes to monetizing.
If you are mainly here for only a financial purpose and only that, I suggest you should really think about if blogging is what you really want to do because monetization takes time and patience.
Have time for your Blog…I’m serious, you need time.
When I first started blogging, I thought that this would be so easy! All bloggers do is type up something here and there, take pictures of anything, post and voila! Easy! This may work for bloggers that are already successful but if you’re just starting out, thinking about what to post takes a lot of brainstorming. In the blogging world, you have a lot of competition. With that comes repetitive articles. You can still write about the same popular article but you need to take the time and think about how you can stand out.
It takes me about 5 hours minimum to put a single blog post together. Having a family makes it even harder for me to find time so unfortunately, at night is when I can give my creativity my undivided attention. For bloggers who don’t have kids…I envy you for your free time.
Building a community on Social Media can be hard work
If you’re like me and have no audience or following yet, you will need to have an Instagram for your blog. Instagram is one of the useful tools you can use when starting out. This is another tool to drive traffic to your blog and build a genuine connection with your audience. Unfortunately, having an online presence takes a lot of work when it comes to gaining followers. You have to be strategic in what you post, when you post, and why you post. Having a purpose to every post is showing your followers what kind of community you are trying to build.
To gain followers, you really need to interact with others. It’s not always about liking and following. Talk to your community & make connections!
You will feel flustered most of the time
Making a blog can be kind of hard. After all, you are making a whole website! There is a lot to do every day when being a blogger. You have to make an email list, brainstorm ideas on what to write about, and stay active on social media accounts. Making your site alone will take a lot of time because you want to make sure the design in up to your standards! What I do is I dedicate a whole day to a single task. For example, Mondays are my social media days, while Wednesdays are my blog days. I also use an app that helps me organize and stays up to date with posts. Tailwind will post and pin on Pinterest for me just by simply using its schedule to post!
Photos are everything
Every picture or blog post needs to have a purpose. Your viewer or audience needs to get a clear reason of why you posted what you posted. When you post with a purpose, you gain more audience and a sense of “Oh! This blogger’s intentions and purpose resonates with me I’m going to subscribe.” It’s very important when you want to gain more traffic and drive people to your site. When to post is important if you are using Instagram as a tool to drive more recognition as a blogger. Instagram is very tricky nowadays because of algorithm
Your purpose is important!
It is so easy and normal to feel like giving up. Blogging is a lot of work and some days you’ll feel like your work is going unnoticed and you’re not making money. Realize that you will struggle and start from the bottom. Patience is a virtue. My advice is to remind yourself why you started in the first place and let that continue to be your motivation. Lastly, have fun with it! When you truly enjoy blogging, your blogging goals will reach you sooner than you know it.
