What I Learned About Blogging, the Hard Way…

So, it was recently brought to my attention that I’ve been blogging for 5 years! Woot, Woot! Where on Earth does the time go? Becoming a blogger was never a dream of mine. In fact, when I started my journey as a blogger, I didn’t even know that people were able to make successful livings from it. All I knew was that I wanted to write and since no one was banging down my door to hire me, I was still going to find a way to not only write, but share what I had to say with the world. In honor of my “blog-iversary,” I wanted to share some things that no one actually told me about blogging, but that I happened to find out the hard way.

1. Sometimes there will be crickets…

Have you ever poured your heart and soul into a post only to receive minimal views or maybe even zero likes? Or have you ever posted something in the spur of a moment and received more likes than you’ve ever gotten? Yeah, I’ve been there and honestly, I still am. There can be a number of reasons for this. Maybe you didn’t use the right key words, maybe you didn’t share it on your social pages or maybe the timing was just off. Who the heck even knows. No matter how great you think you are, sometimes there is just no telling what will make people attracted to your post. But in times like that, just remember your ‘why.’ Though it’s nice to have likes, that’s not why I choose to blog, as crazy as it sounds!

2. These ho*s ain’t loyal…

We all want the support of our family and friends, but don’t be surprised if they don’t support your blog! There are other bloggers who won’t even support your blog! No matter how many times you’ve liked, commented or shared their stuff! Please, please, do not let this get you down! I once attended a bestsellers writing class and was given a piece of advice that I apply to blogging. It goes a little something like this: Why are you getting so upset that your twelve family members and handful of friends are not supporting you when there are HUNDREDS of people out there that will??!! Go out there and get you some supporters!

3. You don’t have to accept every offer that comes your way…

This is a new one for me. I was recently contacted by a pretty popular women’s brand who wanted to collaborate on a project. Cool, why not? Every blogger would love the opportunity to work with a brand in some way, shape or form. Though the offer was not paid, it would be great for exposure as the brand would be sharing my post across their social channels. I worked hard on this post, stayed up late writing and even placed some of my own writings on the back burner for it. Later on down the line, I had begun to have some second thoughts. Since they wanted me to talk about their brand, you would’ve thought they’d offer to send me some items, you know, so I’d actually have something of substance to talk about. But no! On top of that, I checked every social media channel associated with the brand and my post was nowhere to be found. Lesson learned.

I understand that everything does not have to be about money. I’m fine with grinding and doing work for free to get my name out there, however, both parties have to hold up their end of the bargain. At the time, I didn’t feel as if I had the luxury of turning down an offer. After all, who am I? But the work that I put in that post was worthy of a check. I  brought it up in one of my classes in grad school and even my professor thought it was something that I should have been paid for. I would definitely advise anyone reading this to value your work as a blogger. Don’t feel obligated to take anything just because a name is associated with it. Use discernment. I recently came across this saying, Exposure is NOT a check. Remember that.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post because I have a lot more to share with you! How long have you been blogging? What’s something that you had to learn about the hard way? I’m eager to know!

-A Black Girl About Town

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