truth about blogging for beginners

Before you delve into this article, I want you to keep this one very amazing thing in mind: there is so much money in blogging and there is NO barrier to entry that blogging is a ludicrous opportunity for anyone to earn an income they desire and even build it to heights they imagined unreachable.

There is no doubt that you can earn an awesome income with blogging but people new to it sometimes think that once they start their blog, the income will be following within weeks.  This blog post takes some harsh realities into consideration because these are truths that exist as well. 

1. Having Unrealistic Expectations

A lot of new bloggers start off with unrealistic expectations in mind because they are starting from a place of “I want to make money right now”.  Of course, in an age where YouTube shorts and other bloggers paint an unrealistic picture of how “easy” it is to make money through your blog, no wonder a lot of new bloggers end up with these unrealistic expectations.

Nothing is impossible. However, accomplishing such a goal requires a lot of experience in blogging and that particular niche.

Rather, set goals such as:

  • In 2 months, I want to have published 20 awesome pieces of content that are search engine optimized
  • Research, decide, and implement one monetization method
  • Share my blog content on social media twice a day
  • Aim for my fist 25 subscribers to my email list

When you do measurable items like this, you know you’re accomplishing legitimate business goals. 

Also, because of how Google’s search engine works, your blog can’t be an overnight success… UNLESS… you have a huge social media following already and you can utilize that to share your content.

What most bloggers don’t tell you is that it can take 2-5 years on average to make a good income.  With consistency and experience, you can make it happen within the 1-2 year range.

To build an online business that generates $5,000-$10,000 per month – let’s be clear. We are talking about financial freedom.  A blog that generates $5,000 per month in profit can be solid for over $300,000.

What is 1-2 years of learning and putting in consistent effort for that kind of freedom in life? 

2. Blogging is Easy But Also… Very Hard!

There is no barrier to entry when it comes to starting a blog. In that regard, it’s easy.  Plus, the costs of starting a blog are super cheap!

However, creating a blog that makes money is an online business asset and making it that successful can feel  hard when it comes to growing your skillset. Other people around you might say things like, “Blogging is easy! I could do that!”

Sure, Bud. You can.  However, it’ll take you a lot of learning to do it successfully.

Let me list a few things you need to learn, understand, and implement to make your blog successful to the point where it generates an income:

  • the art of writing content that people WANT to consume
  • search engine optimization
  • keyword research
  • learn new tools to accomplish the above two
  • produce content regularly
  • implement a monetization method (if it’s an eBook or course, you have to learn to create that too unless you outsource it)
  • keep improving and tweaking
  • implement email marketing and/or social media
  • create graphics for social media and blog posts

To learn and implement all of these thing and for Google to reward you for creating a blog that their search engine users love, it just takes time.

And it definitely isn’t “easy” unless you have been doing this for years and have systems or a team in place. 

3. Creating a Successful Blog Can Take a Minimum of 1 Year 

 

blogging isnt easy

Timelines for predicting an income generating blog are sort of unpredictable.  The best thing you can do is take an educated guess.  Here are some variables to take into consideration:

  • how competitive is your niche?
  • do you have any blogging experience?
  • will you be the sole writer or will you hire other writers as well?
  • do you have experience with social media and content creation?
  • will you have to learn search engine optimization from scratch?

… and a few other factors like if you’ll be working on the blog part-time or full-time, etc.

Can you create an income generating blog in 6-12 months?  Yes, absolutely, it can happen.  Been there, done that. But it requires time, effort, and sweat equity 😉

I want you to understand that you are building an online business, not just a dusty, ol’ blog that will sit in the darkest, deadiest corner of the internets 😀 

4. You Need Great, Unique Content

Depending on the type of content you are writing, you will need to produce great content.  Of course, great content is subjective so it is always a good idea to ask yourself:

  • what do people want to learn when they type in this keyphrase?
  • did I answer them well and fully?
  • can I make it more helpful? If yes, then how so?

Content isn’t just words on a site; it needs to cater to what the person was seeking when they landed on your blog.

Also, if you are not a good writer, take your time and learn how to craft good blogs posts.

Otherwise, people have plenty of other blogs and sites to go to. 

5. You Will Need to Work On Your Blog a LOT!

not an overnight success

7If you are aiming to generate an income from your blog, you will need to work on it almost daily.  Think of your blog as a startup.  You’ll be investing a fair amount of work hours into it before it takes off.

Most of the blogs I see take off is because the blogger was fully invest in its success.  They learned the skills needed and kept pushing their level of knowledge.

Think about it this way: if Google is rewarding other blogs, why not yours?  No seriously, bridge the gap and then do things better.

But you can’t get to the top without putting in work into your blog. 

Because of how Google’s search engine works, your blog can’t be an overnight success… UNLESS… you have a huge social media following already and you can utilize that to share your content.

What most bloggers don’t tell you is that it can take 2-5 years on average to make an income.  With consistency and experience, you can make it happen within the 1-2 year range.

To build an online business that generates $5,000-$10,000 per month – let’s be clear. We are talking about financial freedom.  A blog that generates $5,000 per month in profit can be solid for over $300,000.

What is 1-2 years of learning and putting in consistent effort for that kind of freedom in life? 

6. A Lot of Bloggers Don’t Make a Full Time Income

… not even a part-time in come.  Hell, there are plenty of bloggers that make a big, fat Phoenix egg. A zero.

A lot of bloggers think that making an income through blog is “easy” but give up when they don’t see results a few months in.

And some bloggers outright lie.

For every income generating bloggers, there are hundreds that gave up.

Don’t give up! Keep learning, keep growing. 

7. Other Bloggers and Writers Will Steal Your Work

I have had my work stolen a few times.  Quite a few times.  Other bloggers get infuriated when it happens to them.

And it sucks.

There are plenty of shady people online who steal hard working content, whether it’s in the form of posts, graphics, or more.

There are a few things you can do, but please understand that these steps may not actually resolve the issue.  Having your content stolen is unjust and unfair and I’m there with you.

Take these steps to resolve stolen content from your blog. 

8. You’ll Face Burnout

As much as I want you to work on your blog, you need to consider what works for you best. If you have a full-time job, can you set aside one hour a day of complete focus and do productive work on your blog?

If you do put an hour in a day and feel like you will make more progress if you hire another writer or hire someone to accomplish another task for you blog, consider it highly.

Burnout is real and if you get hit with it, your blog will suffer from work being done on it. 

9. You Will Need to Hire People For Certain Tasks

I am well-versed in quite a few things: SEO, keyword research, setting up blogs but I also know where my efforts are better spent!

For instance, while I know what kind of logo or theme I want, I don’t want to sit there and go down the rabbithole. I’d rather hire someone who does those things for a living and pay them to make my blog look good.

Same for any technical blog issues: I hire a web developer who can help me fix any issues.  I’d rather build my business, write blog posts, and do search engine optimization.

No need to split yourself 15 different ways. Doing that will hurt your progress overall. 

10. You Will Need to Learn SEO

I want your blogging content to yield you long lasting results.  You can do that by search engine optimizing your content so Google can serve it to its users when they type in a relevant search query.

For that to happen, learning on-page SEO is a must.  Applying it to each piece of content, over time, yields a compounding effect in Google’s search engines.  At first, you won’t see much happening but with some consistency, over 6 months time, you should start seeing activity with rankings and traffic. 

11. You Will Need to Learn and Master Social Media

Social media is awesome and if you already have social media accounts, then great!  Promoting your content on social media is a skill that is something every blogger needs to master and there is an art form to it.

If you don’t have any social media accounts, there are plenty of platforms for you to choose from.  Get started today. 

12. You Can’t Treat Your Blog Like a Hobby

Too many bloggers treat their blog like a hobby and guess what, Sister?  You can’t do that if you want it to produce an income for you.

You can’t write 2 articles one week and then take a month long break.  Well, you can, but it won’t bring you the results you are looking for.  Consistency is key here.

You need to treat it an online business asset.  This is an egg that will hatch if you give it love and care.

That’s how every blog grows! 

In Conclusion

These are the truths about blogging that a lot of bloggers don’t talk about.  It doesn’t mean that blogging doesn’t work but rather, don’t fall into traps and know the possibilities so you can dedicate yourself to your blog properly.