No two bloggers will ever blog the exact same way, nor will their successes or failures be the same. While there is no true right way to blog, there is information looming out there that you should exercise caution towards. How many times have you clicked on an article, only to be more confused after reading it? Or how many times have you spent hours cruising through Pinterest, only to have read several contradicting posts in that time span? In this post we’re going to expose 7 major blogging myths and what you should do instead!
Related Post: 5 Mistakes New Bloggers Make
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How to Avoid Clickbait
When you first start out and you’re doing your blogging research, you may find there’s not only a TON of information to sift through, but you may see some common themes among posts. It’s important to be able to differentiate between persuasive language (vocabulary designed to grab your attention and get you to click on a post) and clickbait (designed to attract you to click on the post, however the content may be deceptive or misleading). Before we dive into the 7 major blogging myths, we’re going to differentiate between persuasive language and clickbait.
Persuasive Language
These are often going to be terms such as ‘the secret to’, ‘how to [blank] like a pro’, ‘master resource list for [blank]’, ‘the truth about’, ‘how to double/triple/etc. [blank]’ and many more. This type of language is a common theme among bloggers and can be used to grab your attention and click on their post. This type of attention grabbing pulls you in and then delivers information you were looking for.
Clickbait
The titles of these articles are often phrased as ‘the shocking truth behind’, ‘you won’t believe this about [blank]’ etc. and then when you click, the story is not all that shocking nor impressive.
Note: I wouldn’t go as far as to call blogging income reports, ‘how to get to 50k followers in a month’, ‘the secret to getting 1 million blog views in a month’ type posts as clickbait, however they are very close. Be vary wary of posts that promise huge, overnight gains. These likely aren’t true/use shady methods to boost you to the top.
7 Major Blogging Myths Exposed
Below we’re going to dive into 7 major blogging myths and expose them for what they are – myths. Try not to let these false blogging representations discourage you from pursuing your blogging dreams.
1. You Need to Start a Blog in a Niche That’ll Make You Money
This is the number one major blogging myth and frankly it’s getting old. I’m sorry but the number of times I hear this makes me want to just scream! Ignore all of the articles listing the top money-making niches because there is no such thing as a money-making niche! YOU need to choose something you’re passionate about and go from there!
Making money in the blogging world comes from having an audience that loves and trusts what you have to say. You can make money through sponsored posts, ads, affiliate marketing (and much more), but at the root of you being able to make money is your content. If you aren’t passionate about your content, it will clearly show through, and your audience will be able to see that.
Your best bet is to find something you’re passionate about from the get-go and go from there. Of course as a blogger you’re allowed to evolve and expand, but try starting with a niche that interests you and makes you feel excited to create content for!
2. Your Blog is Going to Blow Up Overnight
This is not meant to discourage you, but you have to be realistic. Good things take time and this is a marathon, not a sprint. Your blog is going to take time to build a solid foundation which can take off from there, but overnight successes are unlikely. Blogging is a labour of love and you have to be willing to put in the work for it to grow (which it will!). Scrap the idea of overnight successes and settle in for a longer-term success.
How much time? This varies for every blogger. This will depend on your niche, how much time you put into your blog and how much time you spend promoting your posts. Ultimately, expect at least six months before you see any major leaps in traffic (by implementing strategies consistently and being patient. You can find more about blog traffic here!)
3. Post and They Will Come
I’m actually laughing as I type this out because I was that new blogger. I remember hitting publish on my first post (back when I was cynspo.wordpress.com) and I remember waiting for the droves of people to come check out my blog post. It got one view. I was so confused, I remember sitting there wondering what I did wrong!
While it is super important to be posting solid content (that you’re proud of), producing content isn’t enough. Producing content is about 25% of the battle. the Other 75% is getting your content out there and seen. As a blogger, it’s up to you to promote and circulate your content. This can be done through Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pinterest, social media platforms, email lists etc. While different tactics work for different bloggers in different niches, it’s part of your job as a blogger to get your content circulating!
4. Blogging is Easy
No my friends, it is not. But is it worth it? Absolutely! You’re creating this whole thing from scratch. It’s so rewarding to see something you’ve created from the bottom up come to life and flourish! You’re completely in control of the direction your blog takes! You are your own boss! It’s both magical and absolute hard work at the same time. While it’s absolutely not easy, it is absolutely worth it in the long run.
5. You Have to Be a Fantastic Writer to Blog
False! You don’t have to be an excellent writer to be a blogger. Oftentimes, you’re telling a personal story from the heart! Other times, there is a place for you to use video, creative design, photography and much more to accentuate your blog.
Of course it’s always ideal to have grammar and spelling checks in place to ensure your posts are mistake free, but you don’t have to be a perfect writer to blog!
6. I’m Doing Something Wrong if I haven’t Made Money Right Away
If you’ve made money in the first month, fantastic. If you’re on your sixth month and still haven’t made money, don’t fear! Everyone likes to think blogging is a linear process – start blog, post, and profit. They could not be more wrong! Sometimes it takes a while to get your foot in the blogging world and that is okay.
Once you start blogging there are so many things to figure out, and naturally, your direction and focus will shift and change! There’s nothing wrong with not being able to monetize immediately, it’s actually a reality of most bloggers. While it can be hard to ignore the tantalizing post headlines that seem like the world is monetizing one minute into blogging, I promise there is a majority that don’t immediately monetize.
Stick to your tasks, continue to create and distribute your content and stay focused. Your time will come! Remember, the day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit!
7. I Can’t Share My Blog Until It’s Perfect
Not true (and actually not recommended!) As a new blogger, you should be focusing on progress over perfection, meaning it’s okay to share your blog before it’s pristine. Like I mentioned above, grammar and spelling are always key when it comes to blogging, but that doesn’t mean spending hours and hours pouring over things and then not posting!
As a blogger, you and your blog will grow, evolve and change over time. In the mean time, you should focus on getting exposure and sharing your content as soon as possible! Waiting until everything is perfect can get you stuck in a vicious cycle, which can ultimately hold you back from reaching your goals sooner! Get used to posting and sharing your blog even though it isn’t perfect, and continue to work at it until it’s closer to what you envisioned!
Remember…
You CAN do this! If you’re even dreaming of starting a blog, you need to give it a try and ride that dream out. Get your goals set in place, do your research and just freaking do it! Keep in mind, there is valuable information, and then there’s not so valuable information (clickbait, income reports, blogging MYTHS!). Use your judgement, ask around in the blogging community and research, research, RESEARCH! Remember, if it sounds too good to be true (grow your IG to 50K followers in one year!), then it probably is!
Good luck to all the new bloggers. Let me know if debunking these major blogging myths was helpful, and if you feel more confident starting your blog!
Ah I absolutely love this post! I was nodding my head in agreement the whole time whilst I was reading it. I’ve been a blogger for almost 8 years now, and it took me a while to realise all of those things were myths. This post could help so many new and old bloggers. Thank you for sharing it.
Han, xo | http://www.chroniclesofacreativemess.co.uk
Awh that makes me so happy to hear! It’s so hard to unlearn these myths as a blogger (and not knowing they’re myths can really drag you down!)
xo
cyn
I love this post, completely agree with everything you said, especially about growing overnight. So many new bloggers now assume they will grow super fast but that’s not the case no more especially with all the algorithms on social media sites making it hard to grow them.
Heather
https://heathersworld.co.uk/
The growing overnight is such a hard reality to face. I’ve felt it time and time again and even now, I notice that I still have some of those feelings. Giving it time is the best thing you can do!
xo
c