Don’t Let Fear Stop You From Starting Your Blog!
I used to hate blogging. I used to think that it was just something that bored housewives did to mommy-shame each other.
Fast forward 10 months and here I am singing a very different tune!
Blogging has blessed me in so many ways, from being able to communicate with other adults even though I’m surrounded by screaming children, to being able to contribute more than I ever have to my family’s income.
Blogging IS for everyone. Even if you’re just writing about your daily life, you should get started writing your blog.
Why?
1. It’s therapeutic.
2. You’ll find a whole community of people who you’d never have met it you hadn’t started your blog.
3. Your story might just be what someone needs to hear at that point in their life. You never know!
4. It’s a very real way to earn an income once you have your niche!
Whether you write about holistic health, DIY decor, calligraphy, homesteading, mom life, fashion, beauty, cooking, frugal living, or anything else, you should absolutely start a blog.
Take the free class to start a blog in 7 days!
But I’m scared!
True story: I was too! Hitting “post” on my first post was probably the scariest thing I’ve done… and I’ve had 2 homebirths! I’m here to disprove all of your blogging fears so that you can get started on your blog!
Fear #1: No one will read it
That’s most likely true… in the beginning! But once you learn how to promote your posts on Pinterest, you’ll get more and more traffic! Plus, some amazing classes help a lot!
In the beginning, I was trying so hard to get 100 pageviews a day and visiting so, SO many blog hops in hopes of getting more traffic or a viral post. The reality of it is that Pinterest is the best resource for promoting pins, especially for a new blogger.
Over time, as my blog grew, my writing got better, my Pinterest images got better, and I started to figure out what I was doing, I got more and more traction in my pageviews and now here I am at less than 10 months blogging with 150,000+ monthly pageviews!
Related post: Best Blogging Podcasts to Follow
Fear #2: I don’t have the time.
If you have 2 hours a day that you watch Netflix, you have time for an amazing blog.
I talk-to-text my posts while I’m folding laundry. I do my daily pinning on the treadmill at the gym (I’m still waiting to faceplant doing that). I schedule my Facebook posts when I’m at the doctor’s office. All of these things are completely doable! No matter how little time you have, if you want to start a blog, you can do it!
Related post: Surefire Ways to Promote Your Blog and Grow Your Audience
Fear #3: I’ll never be as successful as…[Insert big blogger here]
Probably not. But don’t let that be a deterrent! If every new coffee shop compared themselves to Starbucks and would only consider themselves “successful” once they had the same numbers as Starbucks, we’d have no more local coffee shops! You just can’t compare yourself to blogging superstars and say “I’m just doing terribly. I didn’t get 900,000 pageviews this month like they did, so I must be a failure.”
The big blogger I always compared myself to was Crystal from MoneySavingMom.com. I love her site, and I just think she’s a great person. But I’ll likely never be as popular or successful as she is, and that’s ok! If I go around comparing my numbers to hers, I’d be depressed and probably crawl under a rock!
That’s something else that I love about blogging: there’s room for every single one of us to be successful without needing to compete with the other! You can be great, I can be great, we all can be great!
Related post: The Blogging Class that Made Me a Full Time Blogger
Fear #4:
People will be mean on the internet.
Oh yes, yes they will! You could write the most eloquent, beautiful post that is an ode to kittens and someone will come in and say “you’re wrong, this is dumb.” But there’s a beautiful button called “delete” that lets you get rid of the negative comments before anyone else can even see them on your site.
But don’t forget that for every negative comment that you get, you’ll get at least 2 nice comments! There will always be haters, but there are also genuine fans who love your stuff and want to talk to you about it!
Related post: How I Made a Full-Time Income From My Blog in 2016
Fear #5: I don’t want to spend a lot of money on it
Neither do I! I started this blog when I had no spending money, a brand new baby, and a family who could eat an elephant and still be hungry. I didn’t have cash to be throwing around (still don’t!). But this was the best investment I ever made! My startup cost was covered within the first 3 months!
You need to get Bluehost for hosting, install WordPress (which is free), and that’s really it to start out! The Basic plan on Bluehost is $3.95 a month, which is more than doable. I made a step-by-step guide to the best way to start a profitable blog from the beginning so you don’t have to figure it out on your own.
Once you really get going as a blogger, you will likely need to fork out some more cash. I really couldn’t have gotten where I am from my amazing blog designer, Blogelina. And the courses and eBooks I take are worth every penny, but they aren’t all free. But the hope is that every penny that you spend is an investment into your blog!
Related post: Best Tips for a New Blogger From a Blogging Pro
Fear #6: The world doesn’t need another [insert your niche here] blogger
No one in the world has your ideas, your experiences, your life, and your story! Someone out there is looking for an answer that only you can give them. If you don’t write for them to see, they’ll be missing out!
Related post: 5 Signs Blogging Isn’t for You (& 1 Sign You Should Start Today!)
Fear #7: I’ll run out of ideas
This is one thing I’ve never had a problem with. I could talk your ear off about ways to be frugal or to be your own boss. But that’s why I started this blog! I’m always coming up with new ideas for posts because I never get tired of talking about things that I’m passionate about. If you find something that you feel the same way about, you’ll never run out of things to talk about!
Pinterest is a wealth of knowledge. I get ideas just by reading titles of posts. Something will hit me and I’ll think “ooooo! I have an idea!” A lot of times, I don’t even click on the post. But I get the idea and run with it! It could be something as simple as “I like the color blue,” which makes me think of my dad, which makes me think of how he taught me that I could be anything I wanted to be, which inspires me to write about being a work-at-home-stay-at-home mom! A little round about, sure. But it works!
There you have it: every reason you have not to start your blog debunked. There’s nothing to fear about starting your own blog. So what are you waiting for?! Go for it!
What’s been holding you back from starting a blog?
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I’m totally feeling the fear right now – mostly #1. I’ll hear crickets. Cause crickets to me means my message isn’t resonating and/or I’m doing something wrong.
But I will face my fear and start promoting!! I’ve got 6 posts published. Time to share! I gotta learn Pinterest cause that seems to be the way.
Thanks!
Oh my gosh, Ali, I know all about those pesky crickets! But don’t see the crickets as no one reading your message (even if it’s hard to do!). Try to see it as a time to hone your writing, make a lot of great posts, make great Pinterest images, and make your site all that you want it to be! The more posts you have, the more chances you get to have your content seen on Pinterest. It’s a long process to build up your library of posts, but it’s worth the time and effort to have great posts on your site! And I really can’t say enough about Pinterest and how amazing it is for growing a blog (and monetizing it)! The best thing to do is to go for it!
Thank you for this post! My plan was to start my blog in May…then I froze in June in that pesky “F” word (ahem, fear). SMH. I woke up and yes, on Pinterest, saw this pinned post waiting on me to read, relax, and breathe to truly decide and recommit myself to get back on track. I love Crystal from moneysavingmom.com as well!
And you are so right: these’s room for all of us to succeed because someone needs to hear our story. Thank you 10x over! I’ll get to it!
Great post! I enjoy reading your blog. ?I have been researching for the past month and a half about starting up a blog of my own and I am still a little fearful. If I ever got stuck or needed help I have no one to turn to. No mentor or someone to be of assistance. I typically don’t let fear stand in my way for too long, I just like to make sure I cover all my bases before jumping into something major. Thanks again for the great advice!?
I have a lot of fear when it comes to doing new things. I never thought in a million years that I would even be considering starting a blog. But then I found YOUR blog and I think that it’s doable! I know it’ll be a lot of hard work but if somewhere down the road it’ll help my family be better off financially then I’ll do it!
I’m still a little scared because I have no idea what I would write about. Would anyone be interested in hearing my story when my husband and I with our two little girls (soon to be 3 girls) live with my parents because we can’t support ourselves financially at the moment and receive government assistance to buy food?
There are a few things I’m passionate about but I’m no expert and wouldn’t be able to provide advice or anything like that. I need to find some sort of direction but not sure how to go about it.