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Pros and Cons of Blogging…
There are both pros and cons to blogging.
When I first contemplated blogging I was enamoured by people’s blogging stories.
Many bloggers were travelling full time while getting paid to share their insights with people.
Obviously the biggest pro to blogging is the potential payout. Having a monetized blog means working where and when you want, and not having a boss to answer to.
Who wouldn’t want that if they had a choice?
I didn’t hear much about negative side of blogging, ie. the years spent toiling away without seeing a dime.
At the moment of writing this article I have been blogging for a year and a half and spent at least 20 hours a week writing content.
I have written 52 articles and spent hundreds of hours learning about blogging (with both free and paid courses).
I knew that blogging would be a lot of work but I had no idea how much!
Based on my experience here are the biggest pros and cons of blogging…
1) Blogging takes Time
Blogging is not a get rich plan. It can take years to monetize a blog if you don’t have previous knowledge or financial backing.
Many blogs fail because people are unwilling to put in so much work without seeing any results.
2) There is a lot of Information to Learn
Blogging professionally is not just about writing. You also need to know technical things like how to run a website.
To make money on a blog you have to learn how to market it, while remaining compliant with laws.
3) It takes awhile to get “good” at Blogging
When you first start blogging your articles (and your website) will most likely be a little sloppy and disorganized. This is completely normal.
Blogging is very challenging for perfectionists because there is absolutely no way of getting everything perfect when you first start.
Many people never even start blogging because there is so much to learn, but the only real way to learn how to blog is by doing it.
4) You will always have Work to do
Unlike a regular job that has a distinct ending, there is really no end to blogging.
Unless you are just blogging for fun you will have to berregularly creating new content and learning more things to make any income.
There is no way around this. Of course you can outsource these tasks when you have money, but you will have to learn them yourself first.
I honestly wouldn’t recommend blogging to people who don’t enjoy learning new skills.
5) Blogging can be Lonely
Blogging is very different from a “Regular” job where you are surrounded by co-workers. If you decide to start a blog you will be spending quite a few hours by yourself.
I don’t know anyone in my personal sphere who is interested in blogging. In fact, most people don’t even know what a blog is.
Outside of sharing some articles with my family, it is pretty much just me and my own thoughts.
I am very much an introvert, but even I feel isolated sometimes. If you are an extrovert blogging will be even more of a challenge.
6) Blogging Costs Money
Blogging is obviously a lot cheaper than having a brick and mortar business, but it is not free.
Here is a run down of the basic costs of blogging…
1) Hosting: $150/yr.
To start your blog you need someone to “host” your space on the internet.
I personally use bluehost. It was the most recommended hosting site when I first started researching blogging.
2) Theme:
After you have picked your host and domain you need some kind of theme. A theme is a basic template for your website.
Note: It is not essential to pay money for a theme. There are many free themes out there.
There are many free themes included with word press. If you want something more personalized, you can find low cost themes on etsy.
My favorite is DIVI by elegant themes. It is extremely intuitive to use and I was able to pay one time for a lifetime of use (with as many sites as I want to use)
3) Legal Pages: around $300
Legal pages usually cost around 300 dollars. Many sites claim to offer free legal pages, but they are actually not free.
I realized this after trying out several templates. All of them asked for additional money for basic information.
If you collect information such as email addresses or have ads or affiliate links on your page, you need legal pages.
I personally use these templates for my legal pages. They are pretty straight foward to fill out and was able to add them within minutes.
3) Courses: (prices vary)
There is a ton of information about blogging out there, but if you are new it is hard to assimilate.
IIf you are new to blogging, I highly recommend taking courses because there is so much to learn, and it helps to learn from someone who has already been through the trenches.
These are the courses I’ve invested in so far…
Pinterest course: $97
If you are going to make money blogging you need to market it. Pinterest is the main way to market your blog when you first start out.
This pinterest course made marketing on pinterest a lot easier to understand.
SEO COURSE: $67
SEO is also important when blogging. I spent a lot of time trying to understand but I didn’t really know what I was doing until I took this SEO course.
Affiliatte Marketting Course: $197
Affiliate marketting is one of the main ways to make money with your blog.
When you are ready to add affiliate links to your blog, this course tells you everything you need to know.
To learn the basics of affiliate marketting, you can download a free e-book here.
4) SEO Tools: ($25/Month and up)
There are many free seo tools to start, but I found a lot of them confusing the navigate.
I eventually switched to keysearch which is around 25/month.
5) Email Marketing Services:
You can start with a free plan with most e-mail marketting services, but to upgrade you have to pay a monthly fee.
You will need some kind of emailing marketing service to start an email list. It is a good idea to start your list as soon as you learn the basic of blogging.
I use mailerlite and have found it very intuitive to use.
All these service add up, and if you are not making money it can be extremely frustrating at first.
These are the biggest cons that I’ve faced blogging. But there are also pros. If I didn’t believe the pros outweigh the cons I would not still be blogging today.
Pros of Blogging
1) Blogging is Rewarding
Even before getting monetized, blogging can be very rewarding. When you blog you are sharing your knowledge and insights with others.
It is rewarding for me to see how much my blog has evolved over time.
My earlier articles were sloppy and lacked focus. I knew nothing about website design and it took me a long time to make it remotely pleasing to the eye.
Now that I kind of know what I’m doing I actually enjoy designing pages. It is like a whole new reality that I never knew I could be a part of!
2) Learning new Skills can be Fun
The flip side of having a lot to learn, is the reward of figuring things out. Although blogging is challenging, it can actually be fun once you get the hang of it.
3) Blogging can Create a Feeling of Purpose
Before I started my blog I was actually pretty bored with my life. I didn’t particularly enjoy working as a waitress.
I literally could see no way out of the rat race until I felt divinely inspired to start a business with the blog at the center of it.
Having a blog gives me a feeling of purpose and a sense of hope that I didn’t have before.
4) Blogging offers the Potential of Financial Freedom
Obviously the reason people stick through the cons of blogging is the potential monetary payout.
There is personally no way I would put as much time and money into blogging if there wasn’t the potential of making money that is not tied to hours and location.
There are some bloggers that make more than a hundred thousand dollars a month. Even a fraction that frees you from the drudgery of working for money.
With inflation at an all time high, it is nearly impossible to get by without working two jobs.
Blogging is a means of making money that is not directly tied to the amount of hours you work.
Of course, blogging is just one business in the myriad of opportunities available in the digital age.
It is Important to Weigh out the Pros and Cons of Blogging…
Blogging is not for everyone. It is a lot of work and it can be very frustrating.
The reason I pointed out the cons is because it’s important to have an idea of what you are getting into.
If you don’t enjoy learning and cannot commit to constantly putting out content it might not be the right path.
However, if you are willing to stick through the cons there are many benefits to blogging.
There is a ton information to learn when you first start blogging, but fortunately you don’t have to learn everything at the same time.
I developed a simple method to avoid information overload when starting your blog.
It is a method I wished I had followed when I first started my own blog. You can download it here for free…
Feel fre to email me at aglassofcheri@gmail.com with any questions!!