Some Truths About Blogging

I started blogging in 2022 after nearly a decade of working in digital marketing, specifically in SEO. Over these years, I’ve heard countless opinions about blogging—what it is, what it isn’t, and everything in between. Recently, I had an interesting conversation with a friend that inspired this post, and I hope these insights can help you on your own blogging journey.

Truth #1: Blogging is a LOT of work

I hate to burst the bubble for anyone hoping to casually jot down their thoughts and eventually turn it into a side hustle—it doesn’t just happen by accident. If you want your blog to bring you money, you need to treat it like a business, not a hobby.

The online landscape is competitive, and developing a blog that attracts notable organic traffic requires strategy, planning, and an unwavering commitment to showing up—even when the results seem slow to come.

We live in an age where we’re constantly bombarded with ads promising fast results. Instant website builders might make it easy to get started, but they don’t teach you how to sustain a blog or market it. That’s where many people lose interest. If you’re serious about building a successful blog, I highly recommend investing time in learning the basics of branding and content marketing to position yourself for success.

Truth #2: Blogging requires investment

Starting a blog for free is absolutely possible, BUT as your blog grows, you’ll quickly realize that free resources might not be sufficient. Financial investment is inevitable.

At the very least, you’ll need to budget for essentials like a domain name, reliable hosting, website security, and a good template.

Beyond the basics, there are other tools that can make your blogging life easier and help you grow faster. SEO tools, design software, social media scheduling apps, etc. Depending on your goals, you might also want to outsource tasks like logo design, web development, content writing, or even professional photography.

Truth #3: Prepare to be constantly thinking about your blog

Blogging will consume a lot of your mental energy—not just the time spent planning and writing posts or tweaking your site. You’ll find yourself thinking about topics during your morning coffee, reading post-worthy news late at night, or mentally composing sentences while running errands.

This constant engagement can be both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it means you’re fully invested in your blog’s growth. On the other hand, it can feel overwhelming, especially if you don’t set boundaries.

Truth #4: You and your blog will change as you grow, and it’s OKAY

Your blog doesn’t need to have a perfectly defined niche on day one, nor does it need to stay exactly the same forever. As you grow and learn, your interests may shift, and so might the focus of your blog. That’s okay!

Don’t be afraid to experiment with new formats, topics, or ideas. Some of the most successful bloggers are those who allowed themselves to evolve and adapt over time. Just be mindful of keeping your audience and finding ways to connect your new content to their interests.

Everything you said is true. I can’t believe how many shifts I’ve taken as a blogger since 2019. The redesigns, concept changes, overall purpose, etc. It’s a lot of work.

This is totally right. The hard work part…my god sometimes it takes me whole weekends and all my free time. Totally true.

Myles said:
This is totally right. The hard work part…my god sometimes it takes me whole weekends and all my free time. Totally true.

Yeah, nobody prepares you for it.

All true. I’ll add that worrying about logos and themes in the beginning can be a huge hurdle—just start. Start with a lightweight, free theme and publish a post to just get that mental block out of the way. I wasted tons of time on inconsequential nonsense in the beginning when I should have been focused on improving my photography, SEO, user experience, and posting as much high quality content as possible.

@SarahLays
Yes, that is excellent advice. It’s so easy to get caught up in perfecting all the little details in order to have that ‘perfect start,’ that you end up focusing on too many things that prevent you from doing anything.

Thanks for the insight! As your blog’s focus shifted, did you delete older posts? Just edit them? Or leave them altogether?

Cleo said:
Thanks for the insight! As your blog’s focus shifted, did you delete older posts? Just edit them? Or leave them altogether?

I trimmed some and kept some but updated them because they had potential.

Cleo said:
Thanks for the insight! As your blog’s focus shifted, did you delete older posts? Just edit them? Or leave them altogether?

My blog is my own website, with some sections that are archives of old work and then the active new stuff. As topics and focuses changed or expanded, I made new categories. I have one category that’s the big pull, and many offshoots.

Blogging in some form or capacity (not my current sites) since 2006, and it has been a WILD ride. Every time you turn around, something is changing. That said, with blogging and SEO now being my full-time work, it’s never boring haha.

@Layla
u/TheKasPack, do you have an independent blog site? Or do you use Substack or Medium?

Brandy said:
@Layla
u/TheKasPack, do you have an independent blog site? Or do you use Substack or Medium?

Independent sites, I have a portfolio of them at this point.

Layla said:

Brandy said:
@Layla
u/TheKasPack, do you have an independent blog site? Or do you use Substack or Medium?

Independent sites, I have a portfolio of them at this point.

u/TheKasPack, that’s awesome. If you’re up for it, I would love to get your thoughts on the broader blogger landscape and future. I’m a tech entrepreneur and building tools to support content creators… (won’t be a sales call)

I lucked into my blog because it did start as me jotting down notes. But that was 15 years ago. Over time, I just dedicated more and more time and got professional. I turned a profit of about $30k last year, which isn’t bad for a side gig but took 10,000 hours to get there.

@BookwormBard
u/grapegeek, that’s awesome. I’m assuming AdSense is your monetization, or are you getting subscribers? Are you using Substack or Medium by chance?

Brandy said:
@BookwormBard
u/grapegeek, that’s awesome. I’m assuming AdSense is your monetization, or are you getting subscribers? Are you using Substack or Medium by chance?

WordPress self-hosted on BigScoots. Raptive is feeding my ads. 12k email subscribers.

@BookwormBard
u/grapegeek, that’s flipping awesome. Have you experimented with affiliate marketing? Are you satisfied with ads as monetization? Is all your content gated, or do you have like a free version to get new subscribers?

@Brandy
Yes, it doesn’t work with my niche. 100% of my revenue is ads, which isn’t uncommon in the food space.

BookwormBard said:
@Brandy
Yes, it doesn’t work with my niche. 100% of my revenue is ads, which isn’t uncommon in the food space.

Thanks for sharing. I’ll take a look more closely at food blogs. To be honest, I’m surprised it doesn’t work for you. Took a look at Wirecutter in the food space, you must have an interesting niche, but I presume tech and products are more prevalent.

I already run two YouTube Channels, so hard work is not a big deal for me.