3 Common Myths About Blogging

It's time to talk about some of the most common myths that are behind blogging sometimes. I've experienced every one of these points myself, and I know others who do on a daily basis. So whether you're a blogger who'll be nodding along to this post, or a non blogger who might realise something new about blogging; enjoy! And let's get to the bottom of these myths eh?

1. 'We Always Get Free Stuff';
To the people outside of blogging, it can sometimes seem as if bloggers get free stuff all the time. I've been asked multiple times from friends and family, 'What stuff can I get them for free?' and I have to say it can get so annoying. First of all, that's not how it works. If I ever get something gifted to me, it's because that brand/company/person has contacted me and chose to gift me with it. And its a rarity at best anyway. I know bloggers who have a much bigger audience than me and who still pay out for all their own things they choose to review or include on their blog. And my blog is much smaller, which means I obviously get offered less 'free stuff'. And let's break down this 'free' product anyway shall we? Whether it's something we like or don't like, if we do a post about it - that's serious time and effort put into that item. Planning a feature, taking photographs, editing, publishing, promoting; it all takes so much time and effort that a lot of non bloggers don't see. I can easily spend two days preparing a post. Now if this was a job I'd be getting paid a lot more than one freebie for two days work within my schedule. So yeah the odd freebie is nice, I won't lie. But you have to put it into context. I'm working on my blog 24/7 and it's a rare thing to be gifted from a brand. Which leads me to my next point..

2. 'It doesn't take much time/effort';
Anyone can write up a post and press publish, and that's all it takes.. right? Wrong. Sure if you want to try that; that's fine, but I can almost guarantee your blog won't get anywhere and you won't reach much of an audience. I'm almost scared to think about how much time I put into blogging on a weekly basis, but if nothing else it shows how much I love doing it. I've mentioned the time it takes to prepare and write up a post, which you'll wanna put some thought into. Then you have to take your photographs, and believe me there is a high expectation when it comes to bloggers. We need good lighting (damn you Winter..), high quality images and great editing skills to keep up with the crowd. I'm certainly no expert, but even just trying and always improving where I can takes so much time. Then there's promoting your blog. This is hard. You have to try do this very often, without becoming 'spammy' or annoying. And you have to cater to your audience; consider what they want to see, across various platforms. I regularly use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Stumbleupon to promote new posts, or engage with my audience. If I schedule tweets throughout the day when I know I'm going to be too busy, (which is often - I work full time!) that easily takes an hour the evening before.

3. 'We're all doing it to be the next Zoella';
To be honest, this assumption is one I've seen inside the blogging community from other bloggers - as well as non bloggers. There's a certain belief to some that if we spend this much time blogging then we must be trying to get famous or trying to become so popular online we're the next big thing. And Zoella is a great example. Yeah she's great and she's done so well, but we're not all the same. For me personally, I do this because I simply love it. Since I discovered blogging I have felt more inspired, involved in a community, creative and happy than I have in years. I will do it for as long as that continues, even if I never have much of an audience. If it managed to get me into a career I love, or it somehow became possible to do this for a living then WOW. That would be amazing, but it's not the goal. It's not the reason I do it. I'm sure I'd be very disappointed if it were. And I know there's so many other bloggers who feel the same. Also, we all have our own unique blogs. I love to use mine to write about lifestyle posts, be creative, share my artwork, talk about important issues and include my love of beauty products. I'm never gonna change that to be more like someone else.

And so there you have it! The top 3 myths about blogging, in my experience. I have asked multiple bloggers across various platforms, and almost all mentioned these three things. I hope this clears a few things up for newbie bloggers or non bloggers alike :] I've loved sharing my thoughts on this - but tell me what you think! Leave a comment letting me know if you agree with any of these assumptions or you have any others on your mind.
Take care! x



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