Why Blogging Isn't For Everyone
Ok, ok, so everybody blogs these days, because, well, why not? It is quite easy to set up your own platform, come up with a witty social media handle, and if you can type, the deal is pretty much done. You don’t need to be an amazing writer to express your thoughts. It helps, but the reason blogging emerged as a phenomenon in general is so that everyone can express what they think online. Besides, being a blogger means being your own editor which translates into total freedom. Then you also look at blogger’s Instagrams and it seems that everyone is living the dream life - travel, shopping, brand campaigns, perfect makeup and hair, cute puppies, cupcakes and ambience filled with candles and perfectly positioned items.
But here is the thing: I believe that bloggers are a different kind. They are definitely not like normal people. If you are a blogger, you know exactly what I’m talking about. There is a huge amount of work that is put into this hobby without any guarantee, that it will eventually become a successful career. Blogging is attractive for all the perks you get, but it is definitely not for everyone. And here is why:
Comparing yourself to others can be discouraging.
No matter how hard you try there will always be someone who has been blogging more than you, who has a better eye, a better writing style, way more followers, who might be more hardworking, attractive and put together. It was easy to follow the main trend setters in the blogging world when it was just emerging, but now new accounts pop here and there daily that are just simply amazing. I can be on Instagram for hours and hours just scrolling through perfect pictures and admiring how many talented people there are in this world! But also when you see how great others are you can get easily discouraged, because you might think you would never get to that level. Here is the thing: behind every account there is a story. You never know how much time and effort it took someone to get to that point. So as soon as you start comparing your own work with the best bloggers out there, you might just want to give up. What you need to remember is that someone’s today and your today might actually be 2-3 years and many many hours of work apart. Also, the accounts I actually follow daily are not the ones with the most followers, but the ones with a lot of character. Don’t compare yourself, stay true to what you like and explore. Your uniqueness will shine, and as long as you are moving forward, progress is inevitable. Your audience will find you, and follow you for your authenticity.
Blogging is a long term project and you might not get instant reaction.
Building your audience isn’t easy, and when you blog there isn’t usually an instant reaction/feedback that you get from people. It’s like sending signals into space in hopes that some extraterrestrial life might eventually pick it up (maybe years later). My friend, who has just recently came to Chicago for a few days mentioned one of my blog posts, and I was actually surprised that he had read my stuff. And this is a friend, not even a stranger on the Internet. You really never know who reads you, and how your voice affects others. The people I read, most likely don’t know that I exist as their reader, and, to be honest, I never really comment on their work. I’m a silent observer, but I still follow them, and there were plenty of times, when their work inspired me, made me think about things, and even changed something in me. You may have more silent online friends that you are aware of, and you are impacting most of them in one way or another.
It might take a while for you to see any results.
Most bloggers that have stuck around doing their craft have been doing what they do for a few years at least. I’ve definitely have fallen in and out of it, never really stopped, although consistency has never been my thing. Sometimes I do wonder where I would be now if I spent more time blogging and actually had a schedule and had been persistent in my writing. There are plenty of people, who post like clockwork and stick to their schedule. For years! Everyone started with zero followers and zero blog posts. Now we all have dozens, hundreds, thousands posts behind, and if you look at the responses aka likes/comments in the very beginning, it is almost hard to believe that people kept going. I remember celebrating my first thousand followers, and feeling like a queen of Instagram, when I got over a hundred likes on one of my posts. It took awhile to get my first money from blogging, and quite some time to even realize why exactly I am doing what I am doing. So if you are impatient and want quick results, maybe blogging isn’t really your thing.
{To Be Continued...}
