First thing is first, blogging is a BITCH! There I said it! Between the copywriting, editing, blog promotion, graphics and social media, it can get pretty hectic and next thing you know, you missed your own blog deadline.

I guess part of the blogging journey is learning those pesky blogging lessons you thought you were prepared for. However, here I am to tell ya’ll, no matter how much you research, read other people’s blogging experiences and how much you think you know before starting a blog, there’s always something.

Everyone seems to have a different experience in their first couple of months of blogging. Some find their groove right away and for others, it takes a few tries to see what works best for them.

With that being said, I felt the need to share a few things I wish I knew before starting my blogging journey in hopes that you guys might learn a thing or two as well or at the very least, have another helpful piece of info.

1. Maintaining  a Blog Schedule Can Get Tricky

Here’s the sitch, in order to be a successful blogger you have to post constantly.

Most bloggers have an editorial calendar they follow but a lot of us (like me) don’t. When I started this blog I was just posting when I felt like it. Fast forward to this past February when I decided to take the blog more seriously and I told myself I’d strictly post once a week. I didn’t commit to any specific day or time, just once a week. Simple right?

While that worked for a while, I’ve been lagging in posting my weekly blogs lately and not only is it bad for my blog, I feel like I let you, the readers down.

You see, there’s so much more that goes into blogging than just posting an article. Aside from the obvious writing bloggers do, no one really talks about the other components that go into running a successful blog.

To be honest, it can get tricky trying to work full time, come up with concepts, write, promote, engage, schedule photo shoots, check stats, troubleshoot etc. but we all know that blogging is a passion profession.

Blogging Lesson: Don’t be so harsh on yourself when you’re just starting out or miss a post. Shit happens and instead of beating yourself up, you can take the opportunity to try new productivity and blog management tips.

2. No Way to Mentally Prepare for Writer’s Block

When you first start a blog your mind goes crazy with ideas. You literally want to write about EVERYTHING! From helpful/educational posts, beauty reviews, Amazon finds, down to what kind of toilet paper you use, the ideas seem to be never-ending and then *BAM* writer’s block strikes.

I’ve read a lot of posts about writer’s block and the suggestions other bloggers have but in reality, nothing prepares you for that dreadful day.

While writer’s block doesn’t quite strike everyone, one thing is for sure, not being able to write can get discouraging and frustrating when you’re a new blogger.

Whether it’s just for a day or even weeks, writer’s block sucks and the only way to prepare is to write bulk posts in advance that you can use on those days when you aren’t inspired or when your mind is just not right.

Blogging Lesson:  Writer’s block happens to the best of us and there is no predicting when it will strike. When you’re feeling extra creative, write an extra 2-3 evergreen posts that can be used in the future.

3. Blog Maintenance is a Thing

Something no one really talks about, which I find weird because it’s so important and can take a huge chunk of time, is blog maintenance.

No one likes to visit a site that takes too long to load, has broken links, or messed up images and since I can’t afford to pay someone to do it, I’ve taught myself how to basically tackle website issues that may arise.

I honestly wish I knew before starting my blog the amount of maintenance that goes into it keeping a website healthy. Then, I would have at least been mentally prepared to deal with some of the back-end non-sense that can drive you crazy. I would have also opted for some computer science classes in college instead of mythology, but I digress.

If you’re planning to start a blog soon, make sure you make time for maintenance. Especially in the beginning when you’ll have to upload images, add/ remove plug-ins, resize images, add or remove code, etc.

As scary as all that sounds, don’t let that deter you from your blogging dream. I’ve managed to get this blog up and running by myself with the help of good ol YouTube and Google.

Blogging Lesson: Make time for blog maintenance in the beginning. If you start with a solid blog, not only are you decreasing your future maintenance work, but it also minimizes the chances that something will go wrong with your blog in the future.

4. Monetizing a New Blog Isn’t as Easy as Pinterest Says

When I first started this blog, I was under the impression that I could monetize right away, thank you Pinterest. (Smell the sarcasm there?)

While monetizing a new blog is definitely possible, it’s not as easy as some of those articles make it sound. Just ask the $1 I’ve made in ad revenue in 3 months 😐. I’m literally making $0.01 a day.

Let’s just say, unless you already have a huge following and some pretty dedicated fans that constantly visit your blog, ad revenue is not going to be your primary money maker when it comes to your new blog.

What sucks, even more, is that ad networks that DO pay well all have some form of requirements in order to join and usually new bloggers don’t meet them. I was denied for a few networks myself and as sucky as it feels, it’s only made me work harder to meet the requirements.

So how can you make money as a new blogger? Affiliate links and sponsored brand posts. Still not a rags-to-riches story, but if you choose the right affiliate programs and partner with the right brands, you can make a pretty penny.

Keep in mind that you do need an audience to make the most of affiliate programs and sponsored content. It helps if you already have an Instagram account with a following, but even if you don’t, affiliate programs are a better option when it comes to monetizing a new blog.  If anything, you will definitely make more than a penny a day that can at the very least help fund your coffee addiction.

Blogging Lesson: Don’t rely solely on ad revenue to make money. Affiliate links and sponsored posts are the way to go as a new blogger. Depending on traffic and rank  (check your Google Analytics, Alexa Rank, etc) you can reach out to brands and offer blog reviews for say $25 – $50 while you build an audience.

5. Gaining Blog Traffic Isn’t as Easy as You’d Think

We’ve all seen the posts that say “How I grew my blog by 197234% in my second-month blogging and you can too.”  Listen here Susan, of course, you did! cuz you didn’t have anyone viewing the FIRST month! Ok maybe that’s a bit extreme but, c’mon!

To put things in perspective here is an actual screenshot from my blog. Remember how I said I started taking the blog seriously in February – check out the spike from January to February when I started to promote. January I had 71 views with 65 visitors.

Real talk, gaining an audience can be hard.

I don’t know why I thought that once I wrote and published a post people will flock to read it and I’d gain overnight popularity (lol at myself).

Truth is, if you’re like me and don’t already have an established following or an Instagram account with thousands of followers and pretty pictures, then it’s even harder to gain an audience and to be honest, it can be a bit discouraging.

While my monthly readership isn’t where I’d ideally want it to be, I don’t let that ruin my outlook on blogging. Even though getting traffic may be harder now than it was a few years ago, it’s still possible to run a successful blog. I’ve managed to pick up some traction from using Tailwind, Pinterest and Facebook to help promote my posts and I’m pretty happy with the results so far.  

Before I started the blog, I wish I knew that an audience was just as important as the content on the blog. Maybe then I would have worked on building a following across social media before I officially launched but I tend to do things out of order.

Even so, I prefer blogging over the superficiality of social media.

Blogging Lesson: Gaining traction is hard. Don’t take Pinterest articles for face value without evaluating the situation. You’ll get a spike at the beginning because everyone is excited for you and then you’ll see a slow down in views maybe a few spikes here and there but in the end remember it’s about content not numbers.  

6. The Real Work Starts After the Post Is Written

Weird right? You would think writing the post itself would be the hardest but it definitely isn’t…unless you have writer’s block.  

I didn’t expect post-publishing to be where all the work began. Before I publish a post typically write it and then make 3 pinnable images and one blog image.

Once I hit publish, promotion mode kicks in. I immediately post to Facebook and Facebook groups, Pinterest, Tailwind Tribes, Mix, Scoop.it, Medium, Bloglovin, Twitter and put the new post link on my Instagram bio.

After I share on all sites, I then start reading other similar blogs where I leave comments with my blog name in case anyone wants to check out my content.

Typically I promote one post for a week or so on different channels until my next post is live. If we’re being honest here, the promotion part is where most of the work is for me because of my very small social media following so it’s my least favorite lol

Blogging Lesson: Patience is key when first starting a blog. Nothing happens overnight and there’s a lot of work to do once you hit that publish button.

In a Nutshell

Overall, blogging really is a labor of love. Too many bloggers give up within the first few months because they don’t see overnight success and that’s not how it should be.

What are some things you wish you knew before you started your blog? Let me know in the comments!