I have been a blogger for 7 years and throughout this time, I have leant more than what college taught me.Almost daily, individuals contact me with the intention of becoming bloggers. In all cases I have encouraged them to go on but I always give them facts in regards to what is ahead of them. For the sake of the general public, here are incidences and experiences you’ll get once you become a blogger.
Money will take time to come
In 2013 I met a friend at Nairobi CBD.We had schooled together in college and he ws running a successful blog. Since he has nothing to hide from me,he told me he makes Ksh750,000 per month. To add salt into injury, he informed me that he had bought a house in Westlands after saving for 4 years. I felt like bursting. Here is a guy I went to the same school with, he is driving a Toyota Prado ,making Ksh750,000 per month and living in Westlands yet I don’t have a car,I live in Eastlands and my salary is Ksh20,000.Out of that meeting, I resolved to start a blog,but I didn’t know making money was this difficult.
Three months later, I had a blog and was posting daily. But I was almost departing because I wasn’t making money despite joining AdSense.One thing my friend didn’t tell me is that blogging is not a gold mine; unless you persevere,you will eventually quit.
Normally, it takes quite some time-more than 1 year- to start realizing decent income.
The more traffic your blog receives, the more you pay for hosting
Almost every blogger pays peanuts in hosting services but when serious traffic starts coming by, the costs skyrocket. Almost every hosting company would beg you to join them, claiming that they are cheap but once you are there, they keep on pushing the costs up until you realize almost a quarter of your income goes to hosting.
The same happened to me when I was hosting with a local company until I moved to Kinsta.Today I am a happy client of the company.
You will miss your social life
Before you become a blogger, you’ll have time to club, meet friends and do all that pleases you but once you join this community, life changes completely. As a blogger, you’ll be chasing traffic, which means you have to work extra hard to beat competitors. What you will sacrifice most is your social life—friends will miss you a lot.
There is stiff competition here
Don’t be cheated that you will write two or three posts and get massive traffic. One disappointment you’ll get the first few months is, no one will read your articles, if there is any then it’s your friends who will be confirming whether you’re holding on. The reason for this is that there are other popular sites with similar content as yours who readers prefer. It’s really frustrating when you write and no one reads. But if your content is good, you don’t even have to share it.
There is law
As you post your articles, remember you are communicating to millions of people. If your articles are controversial and try to defame individuals, you will be sued. The best thing to do is, have a stand-by lawyer.
Blogging is not easy
One thing aspiring bloggers try to imagine is that blogging is an easy profession. My friend, there are several discouraging things you’ll meet that would completely disorient your aspirations. Blogging it tough!
You can’t do everything
As a blogger, if you try to write everything, you’ll lose focus.Successful bloggers are those who identify areas they are passionate about and run with it.