Friday, March 16, 2018

Blogging || The Reality Of Running A Blog




Without a doubt, starting my blog has been the best thing I've ever done. My blog has given me somewhere to empty my head at times I've felt I had nobody to talk to, it's introduced me to lots of like minded people in a lovely community and most importantly, allowed me to stay at home this past year with my babies and given us lots of opportunities and treats we wouldn't have afforded ordinarily.

As well as the highs of blogging, there are of course lows and at times these lows can have you hovering over the delete button, leave you feeling like a total failure and wondering why on earth you ever thought you could make this work. Luckily, the highs tend to outweigh those times, but they do happen and if you're wanting to take blogging seriously for your income, it is well worth arming yourself with the reality of blog life and the effects it can have on you, your family and your finances.

Working from home as a blogger is an amazing opportunity and I'm totally hooked, but here's a little about the day to day reality of running a blog as well as being a blogger and the way we are often perceived.




Time


I spend a lot of time on my blog, probably a lot more hours than I would in a full time job realistically, with a lot less benefits sometimes. It's all about building it up, putting in those hours and doing something I enjoy. Some nights I'm up until 2am catching up on bits and if I don't do that occasionally I can fall behind and can get stressed. It's all on me, so I can't let that happen too often. I'm often sorting my inbox during the day, I try not to be on my phone too much around the kids, but it's always tempting to slip into a bit of social media sharing or drafting a quick post that happens to come to mind.

You don't necessarily have to put in all the hours, but for me, as I'm trying to build this into my main income, I need to do as much as I can.

Money


It's pretty cheap to run a blog, although of course there are always extra things you can pay for. For starters it's wise to have your own domain name/site address, that is your initial outlay which can be pretty cheap. Otherwise there are all kind of apps, sites and additional things you can subscribe to that will help you along the way, to edit images,  create graphics, boost your views or help your social channel reach. You can start a free blog on Blogger or Wordpress though and get started that way, it's what I did any countless others too.




Earnings wise, it's really different for every blogger and depending on your circumstances, reason for blogging and previous roles, you really just have to set your fees at something you're happy with and learn as you go. It's realistic to earn a full wage from your blog with hard work and I think it really is one of those things that the more you put into it (financially and commitment wise) the more you get out of it. For me, I left a part time job to blog full time and without going into exact details, most months my earnings are the same, though usually average out higher - I'm so happy with that!


Scores and charts


The main player in this is your DA score, mine is currently under some kind of glitch which has really made the last few months tough, but there's also Tots 100, Rise etc that shouldn't rule your blogging head, but are a good gauge of where you are at and so can equally be very depressing when you find yourself falling, especially if you felt like you'd had a good month. This is one of those things that you should probably just not involve yourself in to save stress and worry, but for the months that are good, that feeling of going up the charts makes it seem so worth it.


Reputation/perception


This one I struggle with a lot. People don't like bloggers. Most people don't like bloggers because they seem to think we do nothing but get a lot of free stuff - not true. Basically, in general people just have no clue what the job involves or quite how much we all put into it. I find a lot of other women/Mums in particular can be really funny about it, when really they should be pleased for me that I'm able to work from home? Often called 'blaggers', people see us as freeloaders that lie in reviews and do what we can for freebies, which mostly is untrue, with a few very obvious exceptions higher up in the line. I think blogging is one of those things that you either 'get' or you don't. I find people laugh when you say you're a blogger, it's sad really but I often find myself describing it differently. If I say I run a website then people sound impressed - crazy huh?

If you all remember recently the debacle of the blogger and the hotel, where she was publicly shamed for wanting a 'free' stay. Admittedly, her pitch was weak and should have been backed up with actual fruitful figures of what benefit the hotel would get from the collaboration. The blogger in no way deserved the backlash she got though, the comments on posts were unreal, people sending death threats, saying they hoped she got aids, cancer, etc etc. Vile, vile, vile. It's that kind of shaming and misunderstanding of anything that can be seriously dangerous, but when it comes to blogging there are lots of common misconceptions, this may be the most dramatic but it's a good example to show how we can be perceived by Joe public, as well as being a little scary.

Motivation


As with any job working for yourself, there are times when motivation flails and things can soon nose dive. It's really important to try and keep motivated and I find writing lots of lists, having blog posts ideas ready for quiet times and catching up on boring admin bits more regularly help to keep me going. It's great when you have lots of work on, but for the times when things are a little slow it can be hard to muster up some enthusiasm when it feels you're getting nowhere. Planning and staying organised can really help stay on track.




Future


Thinking about the future of your blog, how you can grow it, what you can expand to and what you'll do with your life as the years go by can be pretty frightening. Unlike most jobs, blogging changes all the time and it's such a saturated pool now, with heaps of people fighting for work, often with more skills, money or time than you. I don't know what the future will bring with my blog, though I have a few ideas about where I'd like to move things. With ever changing technology and the fact that blogging is not new any more, there's no saying how long this will be a career for me or how far it can go, but right now I'm still enjoying every day and feel so much happier than I ever was working 'real' jobs.


I think it's always worth being realistic with your expectations when it comes to setting up your own blog, especially if you're planning to make it a source of income. There are definitely highs and lows and it isn't for everyone, but if you try it and you like it, then blogging can be amazing, open lots of doors and give you lots of opportunities.