Blogging Expectations vs Reality

Do you ever get asked what you do for work and you aren’t quite sure how to answer? Well, I do! People often ask me what I do and when I answer, they aren’t really sure what it means. And it can take a hot second to explain! When I say that I’m an “Influencer” or “blogger” I can tell that I’m not answering that what do you do for work question… And I feel like there are strange and skewed connotations attached to both of those words. Am I right?

The blogging industry (yes, it’s an industry!) is a new industry so it’s totally understandable that there is a sense of unknown. But there are an alarming number of misconceptions when it comes to blogging, so I wanted to highlight the ones that I hear most often.

Blogging isn’t a “real” job. I hear people say things like, “All you have to do is post pretty pictures and you get free stuff”. Well I’m sorry to brake it to you, but that’s not how it is! Blogging actually takes a lot of work and you don’t get the luxury of an 8 hour work day. You don’t get to go home and forget about your job. Social media never sleeps, so neither does your work. Of course you have to take breaks to keep your sanity, but one of the hardest parts about being an influencer is that your job is never really done. You have to wear many hats, and in some cases, all of them. There are a lot of skills that you have to learn (in my case I had to teach myself) to do a good job and have as lean of a business as possible. You have to be a content writer, editor, graphic designer, photographer, marketer, stylist, to name a few. There is also endless amounts of planning, research, and creativity that goes into every piece of content created. Which takes TIME. Hours of work go into every article and Instagram that you see.

It’s easy to make money blogging. Just because you have an audience doesn’t mean they’ll purchase whatever you suggest. Your audience has to trust you and they won’t trust you if they think you’re a fraud. A loyal audience takes time to build and they can tell if you aren’t authentic. PS— It helps to actually care about your audience and their needs! It’s important to build connections with your audience and understand your demographic. Just like you’re a person behind the screen, your audience members are people too! Building relationships face to face is so much easier than building them online which is part of what makes blogging challenging. If you work hard, paid campaigns will come, but you have to be flexible, kind, and punctual if you want to continue to get paid work.

Once you’ve been blogging long enough, it becomes easy. Honestly, I actually think it’s become harder! I’ve been blogging for 3 years and it definitely hasn’t gotten any easier. There’s always more to learn and ways to be better. For me, being vulnerable and putting myself out there is a continual challenge. By letting down your wall, you open the door to criticism and unfortunately people can be brutal. When you’re an influencer, you’re in a unique situation because you are your business. It can be extremely difficult when people respond negatively to your content because it feels like they are attacking YOU and everything that you are. It’s a delicate balance between being vulnerable and not letting negativity, self doubt, or defeat tear you down.

You have to have a lot of money to be a blogger. When I started my blog I was in between jobs and my hubby was making $30k a year (which actually seemed like a lot compared to our income the year prior). I started on WordPress.com (I later switched to WordPress.org) and purchased a $20 theme, learned a few coding tricks and launched my website. I didn’t even know that I could eventually make money blogging. I seriously had no idea how people were making money. Since then my blog has opened so many unexpected doors and I’ve made so many great friendships. So you don’t need 97 designer bags to start. All you need is a sense of purpose, drive, a computer and a camera!

I’ll be the first to say that this job isn’t at all as glamorous as it seems. It takes so much work. A lot more than I had realized when I started. And if you don’t work, you don’t make money. So it all falls on you. BUT I will also say that I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love what I do and I am thankful every day for the opportunities that have come my way. I know that I’m very blessed to be able to do what I love from my home.

Hopefully this post was helpful in explaining what blogging really is! Let me know if you have any questions!

xoxo,

Karlee

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