The Truth About Blogging – What Every New Blogger Should Know

This post talks about the truth about blogging and what every blogger should know. You’ll learn what it really take to make six figures blogging. This post is based upon my personal experience as a blogger. My opinions are my own.

Imagine this: you’re sitting at your desk at your job and you’re wondering about your life. “Is this really it? I want more from life. I feel I am meant to do more.” You struggle between your creative self and the realist within you, telling you not to take a risk. You ignore that conformist inside you and decide you do have what it takes to make it. You decide to start a blog.

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure for more information.

The Truth About Blogging – What Every New Blogger Should Know: What It Really Takes To Make Six Figures Blogging

Blogging is great, don’t get me wrong. It’s changed my life for the better and has made me a more diligent, persistent and responsible person.  The truth is, blogging takes work and what you put in, you get out. Blogging is totally fun and I love it but blogging is also a job.  It’s my full-time job. There is a lot of misconception that you can start a blog today and immediately make money from your blog; today. Wrong. Blogging takes work and persistence and consistency. Unless you’ve had prior experience or have a system in place, it will take time to grow your blog and monetize it.

When I started Bonne Chic 2 years ago, I wanted to start a blog because I love to write. Writing is truly a passion of mine. I started this blog because I’ve tried so many other ways of earning money online and writing is the only passion I’ve had and stuck with for as long as I can remember.

Before blogging, I produced my own TV show, I was a Fashion Designer and I had my own clothing line and then I went into Corporate America to pursue a career I’ve always wanted to have, followed by starting this blog. Crazy, right? Yeah. I tend to always pursue passions of mine 🙂

The Truth About Blogging

Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do. But what I’m about to tell you is the truth about blogging; at least from my own personal experience. If you’re thinking of starting a blog or have mixed feelings about your blogging journey, this post is for you.

Blogging takes work. Yes, you read that right. Blogging is not some magical pill that you can take and…

Viola! Money rolls in!

It doesn’t work like that. Blogging isn’t all the cutesy Pinterest images you see. It’s much more than that.  It takes work.  It’s countless hours of research and writing and editing blog posts. It’s countless interruptions in between with cooking dinner and taking care of family and home. It’s also juggling a job sometimes. It’s wearing many hats and being Superwoman and Wonder Woman at the same damn time.

It’s also lonely.

Related content: Is Making Money From A Blog Actually Possible?

Yes, there are Facebook groups to join and Pinterest groups and emailing other bloggers to collaborate with, but after the burning question you had has been answered, or the blogger you reached out to agrees to have you guest post for them, it’s back to your lonely life as a blogger.

I remember when I was working in my last job and I had co-workers who turned into my friends. I also remember putting in my two week notice at my job and never hearing from them again. It’s like I crossed over to the other side. A lot of people don’t understand what it’s like to actually be your own boss blogging. A lot of people can’t fathom it or understand how you can leave a comfortable job behind, with a 401K and stock options, to figuring it out on your own.

Blogging is a risk and a lot of people will not understand your journey.  The bright side is that that’s ok. As long as you believe in what you’re doing and you have a plan to bring your blog to success, that’s all that matters.

Blogging Is Not A Salaried Position

In case this wasn’t obvious, blogging does not bring in a guaranteed salary every month. Blogging is your very own business, which means, you determine the amount of money you bring in.  Sometimes that amount can vary.  Some months are better than others and some months you may make $0. It all depends on you.  The effort you put out is what you receive in return. It takes work to make blogging a success.

In the beginning, you may feel like doing everything and anything to make it work.  This may overwhelm you.  You may feel like giving up and that blogging doesn’t work.  My advice to you is to hang in there and stick it out. I made my first affiliate commission from my blog when I was doing absolutely nothing.  In fact, I was thinking to myself, “what am I doing wrong? why haven’t I made any money yet from my blog?” I also happened to check my email shortly after and viola, I got a notification I had made a sale!  A few days later, I received notification after notification of affiliate sales I had made. It’s funny looking back because at this point in my life I was feeling doubtful about my blogging career and questioning myself if it was really going to work.  It did. It seems when our breaking point is near, a breakthrough emerges.

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Once I made my first few sales from my blog, this was enough fuel to get my fired up to keep going. I put in more work, I took some courses to further understand how to make money blogging and I took it to the next level. My advice to you is to hang it there.  Take it day by day.  If you are persistent and you continue to take action to grow your blog, it will become a success.

Related content: How To Make Your First $1,000 As A Brand New Blogger

Most People Won’t Understand How You Can Make Money Blogging

It’s true. Most people will not understand how money can be made blogging. Making money blogging is very much real, but to most people, this idea is unfathomable. Because the idea of truly living out your life’s passion is very much unreal to a lot of people, they won’t understand how you make it a reality.

And that’s ok.  You just have to be ok with that.

Your blogging journey, is your journey alone.  Not everyone will comprehend why you do what you do or who you do it for.  They are mostly curious to see if you’ll fail so you can get a normal job like mostly everyone else.  Staying in the comfort of conformity.  For a lot of people, that is how they were raised and brought up. You go to school to get a job to pay for the degree that has absolutely nothing to do with the job. 95% of my friends from school are in that same situation. They have mountainous debt and have made a decision to accept that as part of their life; and they are ok with it. That is something I could agree less with. In fact, I was able to pay off all my debt in less than 11 months.

At a young age, I had always desired to work for myself. Working a normal job or being a doctor or lawyer didn’t appeal to me.  I did not want to exchange 8-10 years of my life of stress in order to come out with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt and an equally stressful career. Some people thrive in stressful situations. I am not one of those people. I prefer creating my own path, the way I thrive best at being productive.

Again, that’s ok.  Everyone’s path is different and not everyone will understand.  You just have to be brazen enough to ride your blogging journey out or to keep your business to yourself. Some people thrive on other people’s failures, unfortunately. Some people thrive on other’s success.  Just know that you will have haters and people who will think you’re crazy for even considering something outside a 9-5.  If you have cheerleaders on your team, more power to you.

You Make Your Own Schedule

When I first started blogging, I thought that it was super cool that I got to wake up whenever I wanted and I’d be able to work whenever I wanted it.  I quickly began to realize that I needed to make a schedule. The truth about blogging is that, you are your own boss. No one is going to breathe down your neck and check on you to see if your work is getting completed. If you decide to take a nap or to read a book or watch TV when you know you should be finishing that blog post, no one is going to say anything.

You have to be diligent with following a schedule or at least be productive enough to get things done. Blogging is fun but it is work. Just because you no longer work a 9-5 does not mean you can work 2 hours per day and earn millions of dollars.  It doesn’t work like that.  Potentially after some years of work and automation but as a beginner, that won’t cut it.

Related content:How To Start A WordPress Blog

You need to master your time and your schedule. If you’re looking for a way to schedule your time, Google Calendar is a great place to start. It’s free and simple to use. In the beginning, I struggled with managing my time. I juggled a job, my blog, my life and other factors that went into play.  I strongly suggest being organized from day 1 as this will help you grow and set your blog up for success.

Pinterest Is Your New Best Friend

If you decide to do anything with social media, which you should, I highly recommend Pinterest. Pinterest is really the only social media account you will need in the beginning while building your blog and online presence. Second to Pinterest, I’d recommend Instagram.

Pinterest and Instagram bring my website more organic traffic than any other source. I highly recommend setting up a business account with Pinterest and Instagram.

I use Tailwind to schedule my posts for both Pinterest and Instagram and I can’t imagine life without it. It saves me a ton of time and I can plan out my content calendar for months in advance. Tailwind allows you to manage and effectively schedule your pins and posts, which is a must-have for any blogger. You can even join Tribes, which are group boards of other pinners who can help your pins go viral.

If you sign up through my link, you’ll receive a free month of Tailwind Plus. You can sign up to Tailwind here.

Blogging Can Change Your Life

Looking back when I started my blog, this was the best decision I have made. It has allowed me to truly understand and know what it feels like to be self-employed and run my own show.  The truth about blogging is, it has made me more consistent with my blog and has allowed me to evolve as a person as well.

Since I’ve started Bonne Chic, I’ve helped other people start their blogs as well. I’ve helped newbie bloggers with advice and I have gave direction to help others make better decisions.  I love helping people.  Blogging has allowed me to help countless people from all over the world.  To me, the best thing about blogging is about helping someone else realize they have the power to change their life as well.

I love helping other bloggers grow and evolve and I love being able to reap the benefits of the fruits of my labor. I love what I do.  I love the community of like-minded people I have built and I love being able to wake up every morning and smile because I love what I do.  It has forever changed my life and there is no going back.

So, if you’r considering starting a blog, weigh out the cons and pros. In my opinion, I think it is amazing to have a money making blog and I get super geeked whenever someone tells me they’re starting a blog!  if you’re looking for a place to start, I recommend my free course on blogging, especially for beginners. You can check it out here.

It’s amazing what starting a blog can do!