10 Blogging Myths Debunked

 

Since starting my blog I’ve noticed there are certain situations or assumptions out there as to all the different things associated with blogging. A good bit of them happen to be true, however that’s not always the case. In this blog post I’m going to talk about the many different myths out there regarding blogging and why they are so, so , wrong!

Myth #1: Blogging is easy

This is such a silly assumption but it’s a common one because, surprise, surprise, people who don’t blog or have just started blogging for the first time don’t see how much work, planning and strategizing goes into it.

To have a successful blog (that you want others to read), you have to put in countless hours of creating awesome content along with promoting/marketing it and working on the technical side of it.

Here’s how much time I spend doing things for my blog: 10% – writing , 20% – managing my blog,  20% – managing ads/sponsorships and 40% – promoting on social media.

Myth #2: You can make a passive income

If only! I will admit that when I first started blogging and even when I found out that you could make money with a blog, I was operating under the assumption that all bloggers had to do was place ads on their blog and watch the money roll in.

How naive I was…… anyone out there who makes a profit from their blog does so through sponsorships, affiliate programs, and selling their own products ( I’ll talk more about this in an upcoming edition of Blogging Resources so be on the lookout for that).

Myth #3: You have to post something everyday

While posting everyday is ideal and something we would all like to do, it’s just not practical. No one has a million blog post ideas running through their head all day everyday, so if you do try to post everyday, you’re basically going to be posting a bunch of nonsense.

If you really want to engage your readers try the method called slow blogging where not only your readers but also you benefit from it. I learned this through Mariah Coz at Femtrepreneur, who’x an insanely smart business woman, and it’s premise is quality over quantity (this will also be talked about more in depth in a future edition of Blogging Resources).

Myth #4: Social media isn’t important

Sure it’s not, if you don’t want anyone to ever read your blog then by all means don’t promote your blog on social media. I’ve seen numerous “new” blogs out there who have really awesome, great stuff, but they obviously don’t promote to social media because they don’t have sharing buttons or there aren’t any comments on their post. That doesn’t mean what they have to say isn’t important, it’s just that they’re not utilizing the free marketing resources out there aka social media.

Myth #5: You have to be an experienced writer to blog

That was my initial hesitation with starting a blog. I just didn’t think I would be able to “properly” put my thoughts down in writing. The good thing with blogging though is most people aren’t experienced writers and that doesn’t matter. What matters is writing in such a way that people can understand you and get excited about what your writing about.

Myth #6: Short blog posts are better

Nope, they’re not. Unless you can write an astounding piece of work in 500 words or less, you definitely don’t need to write a short post. Short blog posts seem like minimal effort was put into them, (which lets be honest it probably was) and the reader will write you off before even getting to know what other awesome stuff you have in store for the future!

If you feel like you can’t come up with something in more than 500 words, then step away from your computer until you can come up with something better. That’s why slow blogging is the newest and greatest way to blog!

Myth #7: High traffic volumes are the only way to be successful

As I said in my post Blogging With A New Purpose, I did a total one eighty when I heard the podcast with Jen Carrington and Mariah Coz on other ways of making money with your blog without relying on traffic. It’s more about creating products and useful information your readers want and building a killer email list that will truly make your blog a success.

The future is not guaranteed so if one of your sponsorship or affiliate programs closes down or goes under and they’re your main source of income, then your screwed. That’s why having an email list and awesome blog content will help ensure that your blogs’ income future is in your hands.

Myth #8 – You have to shell out a lot of money to start

I created my blog through WordPress with Godaddy as a host and paid about $40 total for one year. I love it and I would suggest using a self hosted site, but if you can’t afford the extra $40 or so dollars there are free resources for bloggers such as the non hosted wordpress.com or the most popular one, Blogger.

There are also numerous free photo stock websites which I’ll be talking about in an upcoming edition of Blogging Resources so lookout for that!

Myth #9: Blogging is a fad

Every time I’ve ever tried to explain my blog or blogging to an acquaintance, family member, or friend who doesn’t blog, I get this look of bewilderment like, “what’s she been drinking,” like blogging is some mythical creature.

When I finally go into detail of explaining how it works and what I do, I get an “ohhhhhh, ok now I know what you mean,” followed by “It won’t last long, it will be out of fashion a few years from now.” Best not argue with the ignorant, but all of us bloggers know that it’s been around for a very long time and it’s not going any where!

Myth #10: Your email list doesn’t matter

So many awesome bloggers out there aren’t using the great tool that is an email list. I don’t understand that because how do you expect people to come back and read more if they aren’t subscribed to your mailing list? I can promise you one thing, 9 times out of 10 they won’t remember you.

I would even go as far as to say email subscribers are more important than creating new blog posts. That’s how important they are!

 

What I hope you can take away from this is useful information, a little laughter, and at the very least an eye roll. If your interested in what else I have to share with you in regards to blogging or tips on making your blog better, then make sure you subscribe so you won’t miss out on any of my valuable tips that will be free to you, all you have to do is subscribe. Easy right?

What myths would you like to debunk? Leave them in the comments below!