Do You Have What It Takes to be a Successful Blogger?

As more and more people realize how lucrative it can be to start a blog, more people are jumping on the bandwagon.  I see tons of bloggers pop up on Pinterest only to see them fizzle out a few weeks or months later.

I attribute this to them not realizing just how hard it is to have a successful blog.

When I tell people I’m a blogger, they immediately ask me how I make money with a blog or just give me this look like “awe how cute…you put your feelings online.”

Most people don’t realize what goes into being a blogger.  Let’s dig into what it takes to be a successful blogger who makes real money with their blog.

First of all, you have to KNOW, I mean truly believe that you’re going to be successful.  My husband and I talk about when this blog replaces our monthly income and he can stay at home with me and the kids.  Everything about the blog’s success is a matter of “when” not “if.”

That might sound kind of juvenile to you, but I promise you that when you’re in the trenches of beginning a blog, you’ll need that kind of belief system to power through.  When I say that, I truly mean it.  I have no doubt that this blog will one day enable my husband and I to take our kids traveling the country full time.

You have to be willing to stick to blogging when things get hard or when you feel like you’re getting no traction at all.  In the beginning, you’re putting in a whole lot of time and effort for something that feels like a hobby that no one understands and that requires money in order to have a prayer of ever making any.

While it’s true that you can start a blog for next to nothing, you quickly realize that without spending a little money on your blog, there are some real limitations.  To give you a little insight, I spent $1000 on my blog before I made any money with it.  It’s finally paid me back, but that’s taken 7 months to happen.

You have to have patience!  Now let me be quick to tell you that I’m not a patient person.  Not at all.  I don’t wait for things to happen.  I make them happen.  It’s that controlling nature that’s gotten me into trouble in the past when I hastily make decisions but it’s also what’s helped this blog to become what it is.

You have to have thick skin.

Mean people are everywhere.  You wouldn’t believe the stupid comments I get from people and the insults I get from people who stop by my blog and have nothing nice to say.  In my everyday life, if I were to run into one of those people, I’d probably have a tough time biting my tongue.

Online – it’s just different.

You start to really feel bad for people.  At least I do.  I can’t help it.  When I get a rude comment from someone, I sit there and think how sad their life must be that they just wasted the last minute or two of their life typing out something negative to someone they’ve never met and who they know next to nothing about.  Those minutes they’ll never get back, they thought were best spent saying something mean.

That’s really sad.  It’s so upsetting to me that some people have to hide behind a computer to have a voice.

I even get negative comments on Pinterest.  PINTEREST!  The happiest place online.  I get mean comments there.  In my opinion, you have to be a pretty miserable person to say something mean on Pinterest.  I mean, don’t you get on Pinterest when you’re having a bad day to just look a recipes and happy quotes and cheer yourself up?  No?  Is it just me?

Time

Now don’t let this one scare you away.  I started my blog when I had a 12 month old and was pregnant with our second baby.

If you’re willing to give up your free time when your kids nap in order to blog, you almost definitely have enough time to start a successful blog.  I use naptime and nighttime after the kids fall asleep to blog.  It’s a hobby for me as well as a job, so I enjoy every second I put into it.

Time Management

When you start a blog, especially if you have kids, you’ll quickly realize how many balls you’re trying to keep in the air at once.  A spouse, kids, house work, chores, friends, and then you add blog tasks to that list and you quickly start dropping things.

(Almost) None of the Above

Okay, follow me here for a second.  If you have none of the above skills, it doesn’t necessarily mean you aren’t meant to be a blogger.  Time?  That’s a joke.  I had none of it to spare when I was pregnant and chasing a toddler.  Time management?  I never had that.  Thick skin.  Nope – not at all.  Someone saying something mean to me would stick with me for days sometimes.

Until I started a blog that is.

This all goes back to having the attitude that your blog is really going to make it.  If you believe in your blog and you’re willing to do whatever it takes to make it successful, you WILL BE successful.  I have no doubt about that.

You develop the skills you need to have a blog.  You quickly learn time management (even though you’ll never feel like you actually have it figured out, what you’re doing will just start to work and you’ll just be looking for ways to improve).  You find the time in your day to do the things you need to – whether it’s to write, make graphics, promote your posts on social media, or respond to comments.

You learn to prioritize.  You get over your first couple of rude comments and you suddenly don’t care anymore.

You learn tech skills you NEVER thought you’d be capable of.  In the end, I’ve learned that the only thing you REALLY need in order to be a successful blogger is the right amount of determination.  If you’re willing to treat your blog like it’s your job and not just a hobby, if you’re really passionate about a topic and you can’t wait to share your knowledge with the online world, if you KNOW you can be a successful blogger, then you absolutely can be.

 

Do you want to start a blog?  What’s stopping you?  Let me know in the comments!