There are so many “how to start a blog” posts out there. Do you know why that is? Why they are always promoting Bluehost? Here’s a secret: if you start a blog and go through that person’s link, they get $60 for a referral. Of course they are going to try to get you to start a blog! They are making money!
Even I think starting a blog is a good deal because you get to voice your opinion on the matter at hand. You also have to think critically about a certain topic. You’ll have to do research and learn about topics you aren’t a complete expert in.
I’ll gladly support anyone who wants to start a blog and encourage it. There are a lot of positive effects that comes from starting a blog. You’ll learn different skill sets such as communication, how to be a better writer, coding, marketing, social media, branding, and the list goes on.
This is where I start to think others should NOT start a blog.
Do you really have the time to create content? And then promote it so others can read it? Our average time to write a post is two to four hours. Then we have to edit, add Pinterest images, featured images, SEO, promote the post so readers can actually consume it, do behind the scenes maintainence on the blog, etc. On average we’re spending 20 hours a week on the blog. Do you have 20 extra hours a week to do all the said tasks of upkeep on a blog?
Your time could be used elsewhere in your life. Twenty hours a week could be used going to the gym, meditating, having a part-time job, hanging out with friends and family, among many other tasks.
Using the time to write content takes away time from learning about a topic.
Sometimes you just want to consume the information and use it to your benefit. The time you spend researching a new topic takes away time from doing other things.
Granted, you become better at one specific topic, but you might not have enough time in the day to read, watch, or listen to the other content out there that got you to start a blog in the first place.
It’s a business and you won’t treat it like one.
You won’t want to spend money to grow the business and will get discouraged with little to no views on your page. Having a blog is also like having a business. You’ll have to spend money to make money.
You’ll want to do everything yourself and not hire out any of the projects. This will limit the growth of your blog. Treating the blog like a business is key. Your time as the leader of the blog should be spent on big idea concepts and not worrying about the little details.
The income can vary from zero to a lot.
Income from blogs varies widely. You’ve probably heard all the stories about bloggers making tons of money. While this is true for some of the big time bloggers, not all bloggers actually make money. If you’re doing it full-time off the bat, you’ll be discouraged by your results and wonder why you aren’t getting more revenue.
Are your 20 hours a week better spent at a part-time job? Would you make more money doing that versus blogging?
Things are always changing and you’ll have to learn consistently.
Blogging is like anything else in that it changes. There are new tactics to implement to get more viewers or revenue. That means devoting even more time to learning the latest tactics or spending more money to have someone teach you.
It’s kind of like a New Year’s Resolution. You have all these grand ideas and are ready to hit the gates, but you’ll start to notice you need to expand your knowledge about a certain topic like coding or marketing. Then you’ll start to slack on learning and staying up-to-date on information.
You may become Obsessed with Success.
You won’t have a break from your blog. Your blog will control you. You’ll want to consistently post more and more to chase your stats and grow them. You’ll want more comments, likes, email subscribers, etc. This will force you to be run by your blog. In return, your time with family and friends will start to suffer. Sound familiar? It’s a cycle of time and money.
This is a big point for a lot of bloggers. With 20 hours a week spent on the blog, your family life starts to suffer. You’ll want to continue to produce content and promote it, but your family time takes a back seat for this. Or you won’t be able to go out with friends to socialize.
As a result, your creative outlet will suffer. You’ll want to start writing to itch your creative bug, but down the road, you’ll be consumed with responding to emails, comments, and promotion. This takes time away from actually writing on your blog.
Writing a blog can hurt your career.
Most reputable companies do background checks on social media sites before hiring. This is risk management to the employer.
They don’t want to hire an individual who represents their company if their potential employee is spouting out negative material online. Or let’s say you are blogging about financial independence. This could hurt you in the interview process because you are letting your potential employer know that you aren’t going to be there long term.
On the bright side, starting a blog means joining a community!
As you can see, getting a blog going – and maintaining one – is a lot of work. But it comes with a community of other bloggers who want you to succeed and want to welcome you into their community.
There are many reasons why the Financial Independence community matters, which you will learn quickly if you make the effort to connect with other bloggers.
Why not write for us?
If you want to write about tiny houses, financial independence, minimalism, or any other topic about living a better life, we’d love to invite you to tell your story here on Life for the Better. If you have something to say, let us know!
You can write as much or as little as you want – without the behind the scenes hassle of managing and maintaining a blog. Are you in forums or Facebook groups talking and interacting with other members and want a platform to speak on? Join us in helping expand the community. We’d love to have you!
If you think you want to still start a blog after reading some of this information, be my guest. I’d love to have you in the community!
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Great points to think about in the pros/cons of blogging. I have pursued a hybrid in that I have my own blogs but also write for another site. While I agree on the downsides you listed on your own blog, the key upside is the control factor and benefiting in the long-term from what you build. I have many posts that took off for other sites that I don’t own, and while I keep a byline that links back to my personal websites, the traffic is predominately to that post and therefore the other sites. So you need to think… Read more »
That’s a really good point on writing for others. I do really like what you said about controlling your long term future from what you created. That has a significant weight to it itself.
Wow, this one hit home for me. My blog isn’t even two months out yet and I’m already feeling the heat. Especially in the last few weeks when I’ve had to work extra at my job for a big project with a tight timeline.
I did notice how once I started blogging, I didn’t spend as much time reading financial content as I did before. I’m just constantly trying to tweak my website to get things working the way I want, plus trying to produce good content. I’m hoping things will settle down as I get through my todo list.
I use Feedly to help with what material I want to read. I subscribe to the blogs that I like to read and then I can put them in read later folders. This allows me to read them at anytime either now or a month later. I don’t feel as trapped to a timeline this way. Hope that helps!
Good points about reasons to avoid starting a blog.. I think the time/energy toll is the biggest reason not to. It’s a labor of love — and frankly it’s unlikely that you’ll see much money from it. That’s going to discourage a lot of people who get started.
I agree with you that there is a lot of time and energy that goes into a blog. “Labor of love”, that’s such a unique phrase and fits this perfectly.
Wow! I just restarted my blog after I got burned out doing it the first time. But, what I realized was that I enjoy creating content. So really, I just write for me, I don’t do a lot of promotion. I have the site for my happiness. Heck I don’t even get any visits some months but I enjoy writing for myself! It helps me think through topics!