The Pros and Cons of Blogging You Need to Know Before Starting a Blog

Starting and maintaining a blog can be a big undertaking, and there are a lot of pros and cons of blogging.  Whether it’s to creatively make money online or simply to establish the know/like/trust factor for potential clients, there can be a ton of value that comes out of blogging.

But before starting a blog, people often have misconceptions about what it’s like:

• “Blogging’s not hard; you just write some posts and publish them.”  (It’s actually a big commitment to do a regular blog that’s making money online.)
• “No one will read what I write, so why bother?”  (But people will read it if you write good content for your niche!)
• “Blogging sounds like too much work to get started.” (It’s a lot of work but it can be worth it!)
• “I don’t have any money, so I can’t start a blog.” (Luckily, it doesn’t cost much at all to get started.)

I thought it would be helpful to break down some of these misconceptions – specifically by taking a look at the pros and cons of blogging.  These are all helpful to be aware of before or while starting your own blog!

Pros of blogging

1. It’s a low-cost investment.

Unlike other businesses or aspects of starting a larger business, starting a blog requires little up-front cash.  If you already own a website for your business, it’s really as simple as creating a blog page on your site – no extra resources required.

If you’re starting a blog from scratch with the idea of building that as your business, you’ll need to set up your site.  Though you can do it for free, I do recommend putting a small amount of money into it from the start – just enough to pay for a domain name and hosting.  With domain names generally running between $10-20, and hosting typically only costing around $30-50 for the first year, you’re looking at less than a hundred bucks of start-up costs.

All the “extras” – the logo, paid themes, social scheduling software, etc for a blog – can wait.  It’s really just those few small website expenses that are necessary from the beginning.

(PS – Starting a site from scratch?  Check out this post on how to start a blog.)

2. You establish yourself as an expert.

Regardless of whether your end goal is to make money online or offline, writing good blog posts helps to establish yourself as an expert in a niche.

For example, let’s say you’re a runner looking to hire a sports nutritionist.  Nutritionist “A”’s website includes a brief bio, some pages about their services, and a contact us page.  Nutritionist “B”’s website has those same aspects, but also includes a blog where she shares helpful tips specific to running nutrition.

Which would you lean towards hiring?  Most people are far more likely to feel connected to Nutritionist B, as you can tell that this lady is truly an expert in her niche.

3. Flexibility! You can work on a blog anytime.

Flexibility is a primary reason many bloggers jump into this field.  Creating a blog that makes money via passive income means that you can work any time of day, and bring in revenue any time of day.

Also, there’s generally no pressing deadlines – aside from sponsored content or those deadlines which you impose upon yourself (which can definitely be a good thing).

4. You can make money in a lot of different ways!

This field is kind of amazing in that there are so many ways to make money blogging.  They’re not all necessarily easy, and many take time to first build traffic – but there are lots of options:

• Ad revenue (making money via ads placed on your sidebar, in content, etc.)
• Affiliate marketing (special links that earn you a commission when someone buys a product)
• Sponsored content (when a company pays you to feature their product or service in a post or social share)
• Selling your own products (digital and physical – think e-books, courses, t-shirts and other merchandise, etc.)
• Selling your own services (online personal training, nutrition coaching, freelance writing, social media services, etc.)

Your revenue strategy will certainly be influenced by your business model.  If you’re using a blog as part of a small business – like for a personal training studio that you run – your focus will probably be on getting clients to connect with you and come in to visit.  Your money will be made from those in-person clients.

On the flip side, if your plan is to monetize online, your revenue will likely involve some of the other types of income streams – like ads or affiliate marketing.

5. You can develop great connections with your audience.

If you’re already blogging – don’t you love when someone you don’t know actually leaves a comment on your blog or social channels?!  It’s such an amazing feeling to know that someone out there is reading your content and feels connected to it enough that they take the time to comment.

As a personal example, one of my favorite things in the world is when I get a random tag on Instagram from someone that’s posted a photo of themselves running, using my training plan to get ready for a race.  No better feeling!

Be sure to respond to these comments regularly, so you develop a rapport with readers or potential customers.

6. You drive traffic to your website.

If you are creating a blog as part of a larger small business model, that blog will help drive traffic to your site.  Google likes fresh content, and every blog post you write helps a) tell Google you’re an active site, and b) gives you the opportunity to potentially rank for a new set of keywords.  If you’re writing relevant content for a specific audience, those website visits can turn into potential clients or customers.

And of course, if you’re developing a blog as your business, your whole goal is to get good traffic to your site!

Cons of blogging

1. It’s time consuming.

Let’s be real – writing (good) content takes a considerable amount of time.  Gone are the days when a short 300-word post would be “enough” to put online.  These days, longer comprehensive content is king.  Not only does it satisfy the reader more, but it also is more likely to rank for SEO purposes.

There are a few strategies you can put into place to help manage your time as a blogger:

• Create a good blogging schedule.  Do you generally work while the kids are in school?  Are you side-hustling right now a few hours before work?  Figure out what time you have to work, and then plan your most important blogging priorities within them.
• Keep an ongoing list of blogging ideas.  One thing some people struggle with is finally having time to sit down to work – only to be greeted by writers block.  Instead, keep an ongoing list of post ideas in a document on your computer or in a notebook.  Then, when you have time to write, you can just choose an idea and let the words flow.  (Pro Tip:   I recommend working “backwards” for posts, doing keyword research for SEO first, and using those ideas to guide your posts – rather than writing a post and coming up with keywords afterwards.)
• Batch your work.  Many people find they can be more productive when they batch similar activities.  For example, if you’re a food blogger, you can try testing and photographing several recipes in one day.  Then you can write the posts for all those on another day.  Then edit the photos on a different day.  By keeping the type of activity the same that day (photographing, writing, editing, etc) you are able to maximize your productivity.

2. Flexibility is a double-edged sword.

Yes, flexibility is a pro – but if you struggle to self-motivate, it can also be a con.  If you’re blogging from home, it’s easy to wander off into the kitchen for a snack; throw some laundry in; decide to take a break – etc etc etc.

You need to have the willpower to work when needed if you want your blog to grow successfully.

3. It can be hard if writing doesn’t come naturally.

Blogging does not always come easily to many people – especially for those who are perhaps involved in technical fields or just out of school.  It can be tough communicating information in an engaging, consumer friendly way.

If that’s the case for you, know this:  the more you write, the better you get!  It will become easier with time.

But, you can also assess if there may be other avenues of communication that could work better.  For example, if you’re a holistic healer but you hate writing, could your time be better spent developing a podcast or youtube channel?  If you’re a fitness trainer trying to connect with new millennial clients, establishing a strong Instagram brand could be useful instead.

Blogging is just one potential avenue of communication, so think through your entire business and monetization model to decide whether it’s right for you.

4. Technical issues can be frustrating.

Technical snafus will pretty much always be a part of blogging.  Expired SSL certificates, plugin conflicts, coding problems, malware – most bloggers will experience at least some of these types of issues each year.

Of course, Murphy’s law would have it, I always run into technical issues when I’m crunched for time or have a big sponsored project due. 😉

I used to try to address all my technical issues myself when I was starting out.  Though it saved me money, I also spent about 16 hours trying to fix a problem that could probably be addressed in 1 hour by a professional.

Now anytime I think it might take me more than 30 minutes to figure something out, I instead reach out to my tech guy.  (I personally use Grayson Bell over at iMark Interactive.  He’s always quick to respond to emails/issues, and his rates are very reasonable.)

5. Haters, haters everywhere!

You will never please everyone, and some people will be illogically rude.  If you can accept that from the beginning, it will make the blogging journey so much easier.

I don’t know about you, but I’m someone that’s very sensitive to feedback from others.  On one of my first freelance writing pieces almost 10 years ago, I got quite a few crazy comments and emails – people telling me I was dumb, I was a typical brain-washed dietitian, my writing is as poor as my nutrition knowledge…. I mean, it felt awful.  I remember being super upset about it for weeks.

These days, I still get those comments, but they don’t bother me as much.  It’s far easier to just let it roll of my shoulders.  A few years ago, my husband reminded me of this quote and I have it hanging in my office:

“Wolves don’t lose sleep to the opinion of sheep.”

Remind yourself of that if you deal with any trolls or rude people.  When you get those crazy hateful comments, just keep on keepin’ on – you know you’re worth it and are creating amazing content!

6. It takes time to make money.

If you’re trying to make your blog your business, just know that it takes time to make money.  Yes, there are exceptions to this rule – bloggers who have some viral content and manage to start making a ton of money very quickly.  But in reality, blogging is generally a long term game as far as online monetization.

For example, a study from ProBlogger looked at 1500 bloggers, and found that about 63% made less than $100/month from their site.  Granted, that was back in 2012, but I’d venture to say those numbers are probably fairly similar today.

But if you do the hard work up front – learning about SEO and Pinterest, writing good quality content, and creating a plan for making money blogging – it will happen.  It just takes time.

As an aside, keep in mind that if you’re doing this as part of a larger product/service business, you may see the results much quicker (new clients, more sales, etc.).

I hope these pros and cons are getting you thinking about why blogging is awesome, and how to handle some of the challenges that come along with it!

Share with me:  Did I miss any pros and cons of blogging in the list above?!  What ‘con’ do you struggle with most?  What’s your favorite part of blogging?

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