To all the bloggers wondering if it's worth it. It is

This is a message for all my fellow bloggers that I wanted to share with you.

I started creating content in early 2023 but not with blogging. At first, I tried YouTube and TikTok, thinking that was the best way to share my contents. But I quickly realized video content wasn’t for me. So I switched to blogging. I liked writing. It wasn’t easy, but I liked the research around a topic and then working on it until there’s a final article. I realized it was very rewarding.

The issue is I wasn’t consistent. I had a job, and I was only covering a small part of my niche. Then in the beginning of 2024, my contract ended which gave me more time to focus on my blog. I published here and there, but I also remember thinking, should I really continue? Then time passed, still no job, so this summer, I made a decision: I was going all in. I expanded my content, covering news, trends, and events. My goal was to become one of the main sources of information in my niche. By August, I started writing daily and mainly news.

I also made another big change: I switched from Wix to WordPress. Wix was great as a beginner. But over time, I realized it wasn’t professional enough for what I wanted to build. I knew I needed something more polished if I wanted to be taken seriously and be seen as a true source in my niche. So I switched to a WordPress template, and it made a huge difference. People are subscribing to my newsletter much more, and I received a lot of compliments about it. Having a website that looks professional matters. If you want to grow and be perceived as an authority, your site should reflect that.

One of the biggest reasons I decided to expand my content was because I saw an opportunity. When I looked at my niche, I realized there were only about five French websites in my industry targeting a B2B audience. There was content out there, but very little that actually provided insights and deep analysis for professionals. I think this is something bloggers should think about. If you want to stand out and grow, select your niche carefully. Topics like finance, health, or cooking are great, but they’re also highly saturated. In my case, I found a space where there’s demand, but not enough specialized content.

At first, it was rough. My first article was in October 2023, and until December, I barely got 10 or 20 clicks per month. But now I have 2,000 monthly visits. I wish I had more traffic sometimes, but when you’re mainly covering news, it’s different. I focus on writing more evergreen content because they are bringing long-term traffic. Nevertheless, sometimes a trendy news article well referenced on Google can bring very high traffic; it happened twice. Overall, for me today, what matters most is being seen as a trusted source in my niche and not monthly views.

When I started, I had zero knowledge about blogging. I didn’t know if it was even worth it. I knew nothing about SEO, refreshing articles, or building traffic. But I learned so, so much here, so I genuinely want to thank you all.

Now things are moving forward. I was interviewed on a podcast, I was a moderator at an event, I had a partnership with an event in my sector, and one of my competitors and leaders in my niche has subscribed to my newsletter (I’m still wondering whether it’s a good or bad thing haha).

That said, I don’t see blogging as my main job yet. Making real money from blogging takes time, and I’m still looking for a job. It’s tough, but while I search, I’m putting my energy into growing this blog (that I no longer call a blog but an online media, it sounds better).

As bloggers, we have to be patient. Unlike social media, blogging isn’t about instant results. It’s a long game. I’ve had articles sit there with no traffic, then suddenly, out of nowhere, they start trending. You never know what can happen.

Blogging is tough, but when the results start coming in, it’s so, so, so worth it.

If you’re struggling, if you’re doubting yourself, don’t quit. Keep writing. Keep learning. Keep going. You never know where it’ll take you.

This was a similar journey for me minus the TikTok thing.

14 years later, still blogging and it’s been life-changing.

zachdin said:
This was a similar journey for me minus the TikTok thing.

14 years later, still blogging and it’s been life-changing.

Would you like to share your progress in these 14 years?

zachdin said:
This was a similar journey for me minus the TikTok thing.

14 years later, still blogging and it’s been life-changing.

Congrats, 14 years of blogging is very impressive!

zachdin said:
This was a similar journey for me minus the TikTok thing.

14 years later, still blogging and it’s been life-changing.

What’s your blog?

Trevor said:

zachdin said:
This was a similar journey for me minus the TikTok thing.

14 years later, still blogging and it’s been life-changing.

What’s your blog?

zachdin said:
This was a similar journey for me minus the TikTok thing.

14 years later, still blogging and it’s been life-changing.

Life-changing how? Money-wise? Because all I care about is putting food on the table for my children.

Nice, good for you man! I’m in the same boat… I don’t make much money, but it’s a project I’m passionate about, and I’m very proud of it!

Nathan said:
Nice, good for you man! I’m in the same boat… I don’t make much money, but it’s a project I’m passionate about, and I’m very proud of it!

I’m rooting for us!

Happy to know you are getting success. Blogging takes time to show results, it is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Many people start blogging and give up after 3 months when they don’t see traffic.

In my experience, at least 6-9 months of consistent work is needed to grow a blog.

Best of luck :crossed_fingers:

A good idea to have eggs in different baskets could be to write dozens of articles slowly, then programming them to go one after the other while you still maintain a job. That way you can experiment and see a growth simulation while still having your main source of income in case you flop. Just a little trick; nothing bad about being cautious!

@howdyrobert
Indeed that’s a very good tip. There are many subjects I can cover and keep to publish later when I’m busy. Thanks!

Different niche but uncanny how similar our stories are. I also made the Wix to WordPress transition, frustrated that Google wouldn’t index anything and my page speed shouldn’t go above 40. Turns out Wix can’t build a website and can’t host. As soon as I swapped, indexed and ranked.

Went Kadence (free) on Cloudways, recently turned on Cloudflare Enterprise and made use of Debloat. 100 page speed on everything.

I also started YouTube Jan 1st 2023 and that’s what I’m known for in my industry (and won awards and appeared on podcasts) but am having a lot of success from Google Search. I don’t drive my own traffic from social (if anything, it’s the other way around). In January, one of my articles blew up on discover, so I almost hit 50k sessions. Generally around the 2K mark from search alone with 16 articles and steadily climbing.

Agree blogging is worth it. I’ve started doing the calculations for how many I need to hit a premium ad network because the light at the end of the tunnel is very clear. My problem is content (I spend too much time on videos and am a slow writer) but it’s definitely not Google.

Will echo the sentiments about dominating the niche. But if it’s competitive, you need to outperform everyone. Go above and beyond and do what everyone else hasn’t got time for or is too lazy to do. That could be running multi-month experiments; that could be taking writing courses; it could be making custom software/tools.

Blogging isn’t the free lunch it used to be before I started, but I agree it’s totally worth it (even for the non-monetary rewards), and blogging is still fine and healthy IMO.

Thanks for sharing your story. It gives me hope. lol. I also write about news as well in a pretty small niche and I’m very new. I’m not making any money yet, and I’m not concerned about that just yet anyway. I know it takes a lot of time. It’s a passion of mine and I really enjoy writing the content. So I can be patient.

TL;DR - It’s worth starting a blog, only if you know what you’re doing. For a newbie, it can also work, but will take longer.

Thanks for writing this, man. This is a refreshing change from all the ‘is it still worth it?’ questions.

Magdalina said:
Thanks for writing this, man. This is a refreshing change from all the ‘is it still worth it?’ questions.

I’m glad you appreciate it :blush:

Did anyone else see like a 50% drop in traffic this month from Google? I use zero AI and handwrite everything, so it’s not that.

Congrats, and thank you for sharing a bit about your journey. Very motivating, wishing you success with your blog. :slight_smile:

Congrats on your blogging journey. I blog about ball cards. I struggle with creating content that hasn’t already been blogged about and consistency. I guess creativity is my challenge. Would you like to share your site? Would love to follow and support.