5 crap things about blogging nobody talks about

In 2019 it seems that everyone wants to be an influencer. I mean, everyone can be an influencer – we just all have different levels of influence.

I think there’s something a tad romantic about the thought of being a blogger. Days spent in coffee shops, brunches all over Instagram and getting sent free clothes and makeup!

Sadly, things aren’t like that. I’m writing this sat in a dressing gown, my hair is wet from the shower I had earlier and I have zero makeup on. I look like trash. It’s Sunday and I’m trying to cram as much work as possible into my day before I have to go back to work tomorrow.

Blogging can be amazing and bring so many opportunities. It’s very rewarding, it’s great for meeting new people, making friends and I think it’s a very productive hobby. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t sacrifices!

So let’s look at some of the ugly parts of blogging!

You don’t get a day off

… or a holiday.

Most of us work full time in a job not related to our blog, this means our free time is spent at the computer. It isn’t a 20-minute job, writing a blog post, there’s much more to it than that. Which means you can find yourself spending your evenings and weekends working on your content.

Then we have social media, which is a whole different ball game. If you don’t engage on social media, you can find yourself losing followers and not making the most of social media!

Yes, this is a choice for most us, but there’s no getting away from the fact that if you work with brands and sponsors, you need to stick to deadlines! This means writing posts even when you don’t feel like it.

Follower numbers aren’t a true reflection of views/engagement.

I remember when I first started blogging and everyone was using GFG (Google Friend Connect) to follow each other’s blogs. Some people had 1000 followers on there or more! I thought that was so many people.

I also thought that it meant that 1000 people read every single blog post.

Boy, was I surprised when I hit 1000 GFG followers and wasn’t seeing anywhere near those numbers! I’ve got 11k on Twitter, 4k on Bloglovin and I don’t get all those people viewing each tweet and seeing each post.

It takes years to work with brands.

My first collaboration came maybe 8 months into blogging. I was sent an A4 envelope with some leaflets in, some stickers and a bracelet in return to blog about a new website that was launching.

The next year or so, things were pretty similar. Getting sent small items not worth much in exchange for a post. Or getting contacted by crap companies in China for $10 sponsored posts. Yuck.

It wasn’t until 2 or 3 years I really started working with brands that were compensating me enough for my time. At first, it was product exchanges. Eventually, it turned into money.

It takes even longer to make money.

3 years after I started blogging, I started making some money. But it wasn’t a lot. It’s only in the past two years that I’ve started to make a decent amount! So if you are wanting to blog for the money, you either need to be prepared to work hard for nothing for a few years or think of another way to earn some cash.

You’ll feel pointless a lot.

Like I’ve said, so much effort goes into blogging. When you’re working full time and spend your whole weekend working on your blog instead of playing video games or going out and enjoying life, you can find yourself feeling like it’s all a bit pointless.

I always remind myself of the sense of pride I get from daily blogging though. And how much I love the feeling of having created something on my own that I’ll have forever.

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If you blog, what do you think is the worst thing about it? And the best – let’s keep things positive 🙂