Like many bright-eyed beginners looking forward to sharing aspects of their lives, I went into blogging. However, the reality began to settle real quick that it is not as easy as I thought it would be. Sometimes I wake up with so much energy and positivity. I can churn out fantastic content that reminds me of why I started blogging in the first place. On other days, I can barely get enough energy to put on my computer. I find that I’m wasting so much time on social media and other platforms instead of writing. I know, the title of this article can be depressing to whoever wants to try their hand at blogging. The truth is, I waver between loving and I hate blogging.
The amount of competition can sometimes be intimidating. Trying to come up with content can be exhausting. Sometimes the words just go away, and I find myself staring at white space. Writing this article on reasons why I hate blogging may just clarify a few issues for me. It may, in the same breadth, answer some questions you may have about trying your hand at blogging.
Reasons Why I Hate Blogging
1. My Ego Sometimes Takes a Bruising
One of the first things I learned when I started blogging was that I do not have to be perfect at writing. I did not even need to be that student who scored straight A’s in English. As long as I have excellent content, I am good to go. Sounds really good if you want to believe it. The reality is that sometimes our ego will take a little bashing.
Some audiences will read the articles and point out ways you could have written the article better. They have no qualms about pointing out spelling mistakes or other grammatical errors. I know I should probably stop overthinking the whole thing and just continue to write. However, I love hearing the feedback because it may hurt for some time, but it allows me to churn out better content. Most importantly, I will continue to try and polish up my English. I am not competing with Charles Dickens, Stephen King, or Jane Austen, but I understand that I must continue to develop my craft.
2. I Just Don’t Have time
Trying to juggle a full-time job and blogging is very difficult. I understand that I have to produce quality content. Not doing so can result in me losing valuable traffic to my website. I have invested in having a proper website and have installed the best plugins to help with the different functionalities. That is time and money I would not want to watch going down the drain.
Some people have the budget to hire freelancers to help them with the development of their content. I have tried it over the years but find that I still have to go over the articles to ensure it is exactly what I want.
I have also called upon my friends and family members to proofread for my articles. It has been a big help and frees up some of my time. However, when crunch time comes, it still falls on me to ensure that my content is ready. Without a doubt, anyone who is just starting out May not quite realizes how time-consuming it can be. But every time I think about quitting, I remember the positive feedback I get for my audiences. Before I know it, I am right back in front of my computer writing another article.
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3. Writer’s Block Is Real
Writer’s block is not a new thing, and I would be lying if I said I was the only writer who has experienced it. Sometimes the ideas simply evaporate from my head. I can sit in front of my computer for even an hour and find myself writing and deleting like a crazy person. It helps to jot down ideas on a piece of paper because you never quite know where the inspiration will come from. I also ask my audiences to give me feedback and ideas on what kind of things they like me to write about.
Moreover, I will also brainstorm with family and friends and throw around some ideas. I have also taken the time to join networking groups where we share ideas. My advice to anyone who wants to start blogging is to learn when to take a break. When ideas are not falling into place, take your mind off it by doing something else. I find that walking or going for a jog helps me overcome it. The advantage of the writer’s block is that it tends to wear off after some time.
4. I Have To Commit to the Process
The one thing I’m honest about when beginners ask about time allocation is that you need to commit to the process of blogging. You cannot produce content today and then tomorrow decide you don’t feel like it. If you schedule your posts for once a week, make sure that on the allotted day, your post goes up. There is so much content on the online platform that audiences don’t need you. If you disappear on them, you will have to start afresh the day you decide to come back. You will have to fight to get back the awareness you had created and fought so hard for.
Remember, there are people just like you who are churning out excellent content. These same people want the attention of the very few audiences available. Use a spreadsheet to think up topics you’d want to write well in advance. Your best bet is to use the tools available online to schedule your posts. Here is another excellent piece of advice I have learned, I do not always have to come with fresh articles.
From the feedback I get, I can recover some of the ones I had previously. The trick is to incorporate the feedback and responses from previous articles. In some instances, I may have very long articles that I then cut down into smaller ones. In this way, I get more articles that I can then schedule over a longer period.
5. I Find That I Do Not Know When to Take a Break
There is a lot of competition in the online platform. There are so many other people churning out content, that it is easy to get lost in the clutter. Most writers I network with say that this is a big problem for them. They put pressure on themselves to keep up with content creation because they are afraid to stop. I would like to say that I’m different but the truth is I am not. I have not given myself time to take a break for a very long time. However, some of the forum discussions are very clear that you cannot keep up for long before you suffer from a breakdown.
I have become more realistic with my scheduling and I’m using online tools to help me organize myself better. While before I was trying my level best to post content on a weekly basis, I have readjusted it to fortnightly. With less pressure on myself, I find that I am able to come up with better posts. So, I can dedicate more time to research and use the extra time to respond to feedback. I am also able to spend a little more time on other aspects of having a website such as marketing. I also take the time to learn about different themes, templates, plugins, and other functionalities that I have available on my WordPress platform.
6. There Is So Much to Do
Another reason why I hate blogging is the amount of work that goes into churning out great articles. Many people think that it is as easy as sitting down and just getting content from the top of your head, this could not be further from the truth. One of the worst things you can ever do to your reputation is to give information that is not factual. You must invest in research, and I mean thorough research. Something as simple as coming up with topics or keywords can take so much time. I find tools such as Ubersugggest very useful for coming up with relevant keywords.
Now comes the writing part, it is not uncommon to write a whole paragraph and then delete everything, sometimes what sounds so great in your head, sounds funny when you put it down to paper. A 500-word article can end up taking even 2 hours before I start to feel that it is okay. Then comes the editing, tools such as Grammarly really help with the grammar and punctuation. Hemingway’s Editor is also fantastic for editing purposes. Copyscape, Grammarly, and small SEO tools help with checking plagiarism. The latter is free, which is great for when I have not renewed my Grammarly or Copyscape subscription packages.
Depending on the article, I may ask a friend, colleague, or family member to read through it. I prefer to work with someone who is very honest and is not afraid of bruising my ego. I would be lying if I said that I have never had to rewrite an article because the feedback I got was “this is crap.” Fortunately, the more I have taken the time to improve upon my craft, the more positive feedback I get.
Once I have the final article, I like to include photos and videos. I have realized that it helps create more interest and better engagement with my blog articles. I have invested in a few of my own images, but I will sometimes get some from free sites such as unsplash.com and pixabay.com. It is important that I do the editing so that I optimize my images for SEO.
Next comes the publishing, promotions, and monitoring of how the article is doing. On this, there is no shortcut and it is something I have learned to accept to do without griping. The satisfaction and payback for all the time spent come when I see the positive feedback from the audiences; truly, a labor of Love.
7. There Is Nothing Like Quick Results
If you are someone who likes to see quick results for everything they do, blogging may not be for you. I have had to develop the patience of a monk, which I guess is a good thing. My main piece of advice is to come into this with a realistic mindset. Your initial post may not even have a simple comment or like for a very long time. Be consistent and continue to put out relevant and engaging content. Invest in marketing your blog so that you create awareness amongst your target audiences. Set realistic goals and milestones and tick off the list as you achieve them. Do not obsess over the lack of feedback, otherwise, you will give up very quickly.
8. The Amount of Competition Is Annoying
I already touched on this above, but I feel the need to drive the point further. You are coming into a space that already has so many other people. Every time you Google a particular topic, you find that someone else has already covered it. One thing I can promise you is that sometimes I feel like screaming out loud. However, what I like is that it gives me the opportunity to be very creative in the type of content I generate. I am also aware that not everyone will necessarily like my posts. That is why I have invested in understanding my target audience and what their point of need is. In this way, I can create more relevant content and target them directly.
9. No One Gets It
Another reason why I hate blogging is that no one seems to get it. I remember I had to answer a lot of questions for my friends and family. They would see me sitting for hours in front of my computer during my free hours. They would ask me why I was doing it and what I hoped to achieve. It was hard in the initial stages to explain it to them. However, a light bulb moment showed me that I could monetize my website and make some excellent passive income. I started selling ad space and put a few affiliate links on my website. I was also able to sell eBooks and some digital products. Now, they understand how blogging has changed my life. I can take care of my bills and most importantly get to share articles that have meaning to me and my audiences.
10. Sometimes I Don’t Get It
I pride myself on my ability to learn and to implement the lessons in the things I do. Therefore, I have, spent a lot of time researching and reading up on topics around blogging. I would like to say that everything has been rosy and I always get excellent results. However, I would be lying because despite my best efforts, sometimes, the results are underwhelming. I have to go back to the drawing board and find out what I am doing wrong.
Then, I need to tweak my marketing strategy because of some aspects or not giving me the desired results. I have had to relook my audience and develop a new persona because I realized that the people I was trying to communicate with had no interest in my content. Carrying out an audit of some of my content was especially trying. It was very difficult to admit to myself and that I needed to ship my thinking totally. I ended up removing a lot of it and almost starting afresh. I also set aside some money for promoting my content on some of the social media platforms and online. At the time, I did not feel that I needed to spend that money, but now I see that it was worth it.
11. I Hate It When People Don’t Interact With My Content
I have been guilty of thinking that my content deserves interacting with at all times. After all, I do spend a significant amount of time coming up with them. What I really needed to learn in a very short time was that I needed to change my mindset. Sometimes what I think is good content may not necessarily resonate with audiences.
I have also been lazy about asking people to engage with me. I have had to learn how to encourage that level of participation and interaction by being more present. Initially, I must admit, it was because I was afraid of negative feedback. But now I look at it as more as learning, than an attack on my posts.
12. Sometimes My Area Gets Boring
I sometimes compare writing in my niche area to eating the same food over and over again. It gets boring and I find it challenging to come up with exciting content. But I am glad I realized that I had inadvertently boxed myself in. I was not giving myself the freedom to think outside of the box, and I had stopped thinking about my audiences. Having been in this situation many times, I looked for inspiration from other writers.
One piece of fantastic advice I got was to stop being too rigid in my thinking. I had lost the ability to be humorous because I was overthinking the articles. I made a complete about-turn and started to use humor and stories instead. The feedback was amazing. Suddenly I was getting more requests than I could handle for more stories. Your audiences are real people and they do not want you to talk down at them. Give your solutions in a humorous way and you will see a big change.
13. The Research Can Get Tedious
Research is a critical component when writing articles. However, sometimes it can get really tedious especially if you’re writing on a very hard topic. You have to base everything on facts and sometimes your opinions and feelings do not matter. For this there is no shortcut. I stick to it and ensure that everything I post is factual. It has helped me build my reputation as an authority in my field, which is a big plus. It is also great to see that the audiences appreciate the time I take.
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14. There is So Much to Learn
Like many beginners, I went into it thinking that writing a Blog is a simple as putting down my ideas and having people interact with it. But, with a changing environment, I realize there is so much to learn, I have had to up my game in areas such as search engine optimization, SERPs, keyword research, among others. I know I need to do it if I hope to be successful in my blog posts.
15. It Can Get Scary
We work so hard to build a reputation on the online platform. If you do it well, people start looking to you for inspiration and advice. It can get very scary when you know they depend on you for information. You know that if you give them the wrong advice, the backlash could be terrible. Your competitors are also looking for opportunities to point out any misinformation you may have given out. It can be difficult when you know that so many people look to you for guidance.
Final Thoughts
I have looked at various reasons why I hate blogging. Will I stop? The answer is a big no. There is something addictive about pushing out great content and getting positive feedback from the audiences. Every day I take the opportunity to make myself better at what I do. I continue to learn, network with the right people and use the resources available to me wherever and whenever I can get them. Some of the things I have mentioned above may resonate with some of you. For beginners, it could seem like a daunting thing, but there is always a solution, as I have shown. Stick to it, and you will enjoy the benefits of blogging.