Monday, May 18, 2015

Blogging: 6 Things I Didn't Know & What Non-Bloggers Should Know



I've blogged for a few years now. I started out like most bloggers start out; just for fun. A nice little way to articulate my thoughts before they implode in my mind. Sometimes a way to simply document life. Sometimes to help people and make a difference. Sometimes to just have a network of like-minded people.

When you're blogging as a hobby, it's easy. You get to write whenever you want to, even if it's only once every couple months. When I decided to monetize just this year, I realized it's a whole different ball game. You can't get away with writing only 6 times a year if you want to receive any benefits from it.

Here's a list of 6 things that I learned about blogging and what non-bloggers ought to know:

1. Pageviews are key
"Liking" a blog post update on facebook is nice and all but we also really want you to actually go view the post. Why? Because that is where the money comes from; pageviews. That's how we get paid opportunities with brands. The more pageviews you have, the more they will pay you.

2. "Liking" posts do help though!
Facebook kind of sucks when it comes to people seeing your posts. Ever notice how you don't see a lot of updates from pages that you've liked? That's not an accident. Facebook wants pages to "boost" our posts in order for everyone to see them, so they limit the audience until you do that. And by boost I mean pay them money. I will not do it. Not as a blogger anyway. Boosting only benefits people who have a product to sell. So when people "like" our posts they are naturally seen by more people.

3. Sharing and taking time to actually read it is huge
To someone it might not be a big deal to throw our links around, but to us it's huge! It takes two seconds to click that "share" button, but it is immensely helpful to us! And taking time to read the posts benefits us too, just like the pageviews. We get reports back about bounce rates which ultimately affect our business.

4. People who do not have original content are frustrating. 
Sometimes bloggers are "curators" and sometimes they plainly just steal others' work. Both, in my opinion, are riding on the backs of others trying to make a quick buck. Isn't the whole point of this business (or hobby) to share your own creativity and ideas with people?

5. There's constant marketing and promoting. 
The first month after I monetized my blog I had 10,000 views. So naturally I figured every month was going to be at least a 10k month. I was thrilled and thought "wow this is easy". But the following month after that I went down to 5k. It was a bummer to say the least. I didn't realize that I couldn't just write one good post every once in a while and dump it somewhere. That first month, honestly, I got lucky. I wrote about a hot topic and shared it in the right place. Now I have to make sure to write once or twice a week and share, share, share in all places I can think of. Pinterest, facebook, twitter, instagram... On top of using SEO: the right hashtags, title, description, etc.

6. Now I realize that blogging is actually hard work. 
You have to HUSTLE. Between coming up with ideas, researching, writing the posts, taking photos, editing the photos, publishing, sharing the link to the right places, and keeping up with your social media, it takes a lot of time, not to mention site and design maintenance, networking with other bloggers, and pitching or signing up for paid opportunities. At the end of the day, though, I am proud that I do it all myself. I don't have the money to hire people to do that stuff for me, and it's extremely rewarding to do it all! :)


Bloggers:

What are some things that you were surprised to learn about the blogging world? 

18 comments:

  1. In regards to #5: How did you get that many. I monetized about a month ago, and have no where near that. Good for you!!!

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    1. I wrote on an off-beat topic and shared it to a couple subreddit threads. Most of the pageviews that month were from that. Thanks!

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  2. All so very true! I still blog mostly as a hobby because realistically speaking, that's all I'll ever have time for, but I did throw in some things to monetize it

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    1. I suppose it's still considered my hobby too! Just with some benefits :)

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  3. So true--and blogging really is a lot of work if you want to be succesful!

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  4. So informative, and true! It is such a big job to be a blogger! Great post!

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  5. Right now I don't blog for money (and thank goodness, because I'm not making any LOL), but your post is very true for any blogger - monetized or not. When we write an article, please actually read the article! A quick Facebook like is great, but I could have written just the post share text and gotten that! I devote quite a bit of time to writing, editing, and publishing so it is nice when someone not only reads but comments on or shares my blog post. Thanks for putthing this out there.

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  6. These are so true! It's always heartbreaking to have a few posts do really well so your page views skyrocket, but then drop the next month.

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    1. Yes, that was one of the most profound things I learned; that you have to WORK to make your blog produce consistent results!

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  7. These are all so true! I notice that when I don't hustle, hustle for a day or so then my views go down. It is hard work but so worth it. :)

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    1. I noticed that too. I take weekends off entirely and pageviews are so low then!

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  8. All great tips. I've been blogging for just over a year and I love it, but I have not monetized my blog yet. I'm still just blogging for fun at my pace, and I don't much like the product review posts I see on peoples' blogs :-( I don't think I would enjoy doing that.

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    1. Yeah the sponsored posts are something most people try to keep to a minimum. It's fun and exciting when you get to write about a brand that you LOVE though :)

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  9. This is an amazing post! I just started blogging in January and you literally hit ALL the points. Especially when it comes to blogging being hard work. It takes A TON of patience and willingness to learn.

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    1. Thank you! I had my blog private for friends and family for the longest time until January too! There's still soooo much I need and want to learn!

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  10. I totally agree! Like yourself, this year I started to take blogging seriously...I have decent page views and recently had a post featured on Apartment therapy...but I have not been able to monetize anything because google adsense is not working on my blog...although already approved for it. I believe in #6 the most....Hustle, hustle, hustle...this is something my non blogging friends realize...I do not think they get it.

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    1. That's AWESOME that you were featured on Apartment Therapy! I'll have to check out your blog. Hmm, I wonder why your adsense isn't working, though.

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  11. Really great tips! Blogging is definitely hard work but luckily that work is often rewarded with amazing results.

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