You’ve done the research. You’ve setup your blog. You’re ready to make it happen!
But there are some things tugging on your mind. Can you make money at this? How long will it take? Do you need a lot of blog posts to get started?
Does this sound like you? There are so many things to think about when starting a blog. Including these common 7 myths about blogging. Are you curious about which ones are true and which ones can you forget about? Read on to find out!
Myth #1: You Can’t Start a Blog for Money
Not true! In fact I think one of the best things you can do for your sanity is to decide right away: “Am I blogging for free or am I blogging for profit?” You need to know right from the beginning whether this is a blog that you want to make money from or if you are doing it as a hobby.
Why? Because how you blog will be different if you are doing it for money or for a hobby. If you are blogging to turn a profit, then you are a business and you must act as a business. This is not bad, it’s just a different way to approach your blog. You will need to have strategies to grow and reach your readers. You will need ideas on how to serve your readers. You will have to create plans on how you will be profitable. All good stuff!
But I think the reason people say you can’t start a blog for money is this: it can’t be all about the money.
Blogging is hard work. Let me tell you, when you first start blogging you do it for zero dollars. Or maybe pennies compared to how much time you actually spend working on your blog. It is definitely not a get rich quick scheme.
Yes, you can blog for money. No, it can’t be your main reason why. You must write about what you are passionate about. You must blog to serve your readers.
I have written two other blogs besides this one. One about couponing and the other about real estate marketing. I became very successful with the real estate marketing blog. I also became very miserable. Why? Because I hated the topic and the industry I was writing about. Sure I made money, but it wasn’t worth my happiness.
Truth: You can start a blog to make money but make sure it’s about a subject you are passionate about. Come at it with a servant’s heart and the money will come.
Myth #2: It takes years to make money blogging
Not true! In both this blog and my last blog I was making money by month seven. Not year seven, month seven.
Yes it will take years to make money blogging if you don’t have a plan in place to actually make money blogging. You can’t just start a blog and think the money will come in. You have to have a plan to make that money. Are you going to make money through affiliate sales or coaching? Your own courses or a membership site?
The sooner you create a plan of how you will make money, the sooner you will actually make money from your blog. But the key here is having a plan. Not throwing ads all over your site and waiting for the clicks to happen. I did that on my couponing blog and at first was excited when I would make $0.01 a day, but it got discouraging quickly!
You are amazing and what you are doing is helping people! You deserve to make money for all your hard work. The key is putting a plan in place to make that happen. You can do it!
Truth: It doesn’t take years to make money blogging. With a plan of action you can start making money your very first year!
Myth #3 You need a ton of traffic to make money blogging.
Not true! Guess what?! I still have very low pageviews, very low. Yet I make a full time income blogging.
How?
I have built an awesome, loyal tribe of women. I have focused my efforts on chasing people, not pageviews.
It doesn’t take 50,000 pageviews and an email list of 25,000 people to make money blogging. You need to know your readers, what they need, and then serve them. Go help them for free. Make yourself available to them. Be their expert, their trusted advisor. Do this because you care about them, not to make money off of them. This will build amazing trust from your tribe.
Then when you put your action plans to make money from your blog, it will happen a lot quicker than you think. Your readers trust you. They know you wouldn’t offer something for sale that wouldn’t help them. And you wouldn’t because you are a good friend to your readers. You are showing them tools, resources, and products that will help make their lives better.
Truth: You don’t need a huge audience to make money blogging. Help your readers for free, be a friend, and the money will come. It always does– I promise!
Myth #4: You can write whatever you want
Not true! Now I know that doesn’t sound great. Isn’t the whole point of blogging being able to express yourself?
Well yes….and no.
If you want people to come to your blog, you have to write what they want to read, not what you always want to write. For better or worse we live in a “what’s in it for me society.” People will read the headlines to your blog posts and immediately decide if your post is for them or not. We are busy and we don’t have time to read everything. We want to know if what you have written will help us or entertain us.
This is why it’s important to do some serious niche research when you start your blog. Find out what your readers are struggling with or what they want to learn more about. Then write blog posts about it to draw them into your blog. When you do this you will find that you love to help your readers. It’s in this helping that blogging is really fun!
Now does that mean you can’t EVER just write what you want to write about? No it doesn’t. As long as what you are writing about falls within your blogging categories, write away! Just know that those posts might not get as much traffic as those hot topics that people are searching for. No big deal– sometimes you have to write just for you too!
Truth: You can write whatever you want, but those posts might not get as much traffic. Write posts that help people solve problems to really drive traffic to your blog.
Myth #5 You have to have a ton of blog posts to get started.
Not true! When I started this blog and my last blog, I only had one blog post. From there I worked to build up my catalog of blog posts.
In an ideal world it would be great if you can start out with 5-10 blog posts. But that’s not always possible. It can take a lot of time to write those posts. Then it is easy to get yourself off track from even starting your blog in the first place. You are always waiting for those blog posts to be done before you even launch. Before you know it a year has gone by and you still haven’t started that blog.
I know that’s how I would be! That’s why I setup my blog, wrote a post, and hit publish. I figured it was better to dive in head first than not dive in at all!
Plus there’s something to be said for just jumping in. What if you right 5 posts that no one wants to read? That would feel so discouraging! I think it’s better to jump in, learn about your readers, and then write the posts they need to read. The only thing you need to know is that your pagieviews won’t be very high because there’s only 1-2 pages to look at. But that’s okay because you are chasing people, not pageviews!
Truth: Progress not perfection is the name of the game here. You don’t have to have perfect blog posts or a ton of them written to start a blog. Start with 1-2 posts and then figure it out as you go!
Myth #6 If you start a blog, the people will come
Not true! Now this Iowa lady loves The Field of Dreams. But the beautiful movie line “If you build it, they will come” does not work for blogging. At all.
There are millions of blogs out there. I would venture to guess thousands of blogs are started a day. Finding your blog is like finding a needle in a haystack. I know I have started my blogs thinking “Okay I hit publish. I am ready for allll that traffic. I am ready for people to see how I can help them and how great my posts are.”
BUT do not get discouraged by this! Hard to do right?! I feel ya sister, I really do.
All this means is that you need to go out there and find your people. Go into Facebook groups and find your readers. Help them with their questions in these groups. Go out there and build a tribe that’s fiercely loyal to you. They will flock to your blog.
Truth: People will not visit your blog just for the heck of it. You have to go out there, serve your people, and bring them back to your blog. Be your amazing self and I promise they will be thrilled to check out your posts!
Myth #7: Blogging is easy
Not true! Oh my dear sweet friend, blogging is not easy. It is a full on contact sport.
Besides, if it were easy, wouldn’t everyone be doing it?
There is a myth out there right now that blogging is easy. When you search Pinterest for blogging tips you see all these fabulous income reports that make it look so dang easy. Or you see those posts that have blogging as a way to make money working from home. It seems like everyone else has it figured out but you.
Yes you can make money blogging, but no it isn’t easy. Blogging requires early mornings and late nights. It is a lot of opt-in offers that bomb and finally getting one that takes off. It is hearing crickets for months and months when you publish a post.
No, it isn’t easy. But when your hard work pays off? There’s nothing like that feeling. There’s nothing like getting those wins!
That first post that goes viral. That first comment when someone tells you that what you wrote made them feel better. That Facebook post that made so many people laugh. The emails you receive from people thanking you for putting yourself out there because it made them feel less alone. The giving, the serving, the loving on people. No blogging isn’t easy, but wow is it so rewarding!
Truth: Blogging is hard work, it is not easy. But nothing worth anything is ever easy is it?! All the hard work you put into it will feel that much better when you truly reach your readers and help them.
Conclusion
Starting a new blog is filled with so much excitement and anticipation! But there are a lot of myths about blogging too that need to be uncovered. Seven common myths include:
- You Can’t Start a Blog for Money
- It takes years to make money blogging
- You need a ton of traffic to make money blogging.
- You can write whatever you want
- You have to have a ton of blog posts to get started.
- If you start a blog, the people will come
- Blogging is easy
Which blogging myth sticks out for you? Please share it with us in the comments below!
Did you like this post? I would so appreciate it if you pinned it to read later and to share it with others!
10 comments
A friend and I were talking about myth #7 recently. How misleading it is to read “start a blog in three easy steps”, “ten minutes to build a blog”. Yes, SETTING UP your blog is fairly straightforward, but that is literally one teeny tiny part of starting a blog. It’s not EASY to research, create posts, make Pinterest images that take off, deal with the rollercoaster of tech stuff, etc. And i absolutely hate the “learn how this blogger made $500 in her second month!” Because they get me to click, but never actually tell me the HOW. So frustrating! I love this post and I’ll definitely share it
It can be super frustrating to hear these “promises” without giving the information on HOW to do it! As noted, there are a ton of things that go into blogging other than simply setting up a blog. I’m glad this post resonated with you. Thank you for your kind words and for sharing it, Brooks!
Great post Jen! Thank you 🙂
Thank you for your kind words, Robyn!
I totally get frustrated seeing those start a blog in 15 minute posts because creating a successful blog takes a really long time. I will say though if you are in it for the right reasons, then you will persevere through the tough times. I fully agree with the statement that things that are worth it don’t come easy. I appreciate that your blog post reflects your actions, by how you genuinely care about the women you serve, Jen. Of all Facebook groups I’m in, yours is my one of favorites. Thanks for putting the truth about blogging out there
You’re too sweet, Sylvia! Thank you for your kind words! It’s so important to instruct truthfully. Blogging is a lot of hard work and you can be successful if you’re willing to put in the work. The posts that promise a bright, shiny object (a successful blog) in only 15 minutes gives a sense of false hope. Helping women grow a successful blog has many more components and helping one another, like in the Women Winning Online Facebook group, helps to give them the tools and support to do just that. Thank you for commenting!
Trust me, this is by far the most comprehensive guide and easy to follow resource post to take your blogging journey to the next level. Thanks for providing value to us here.
You just made my day, Alena! Thank you so much for your kind words! Let me know how it has helped you to grow your blog. I would love to hear and thank you for commenting!
Hi Jen,
I have found your blog very interesting and now have food for thought. I make jewellery which started out as a hobby over a year ago. Now I have my own website and online store. I have put a few pieces out there so to speak just to let people get to know me. I have a lot of follows and likes but no buys and am wondering about using my blogspot, So far I have a social page with Instagram, and pinterest and am thinking of a business account with Pinterest.seperate from my social page. Is social media really worth it? I have found what you post only is there for one day.
It is a great post you have given us and I will be sharing it too.
Thank you,
Shayna.
Hi Shayna! I’m glad you found my blog post to be something to consider in moving forward with your blog. To help you navigate social media, I would refer you to my freebie, How To Get Tons of Blog Traffic From Social Media. It will help you to get traffic on social media without getting sucked into it all day. Hope that helps! Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions. I would be more than happy to help!