8 Things Blogging Taught Me

I am by no means a professional blogger, but in the next few years I’m planning to step up my game. Today I’m going to share with you eight things I’ve learned from blogging.

1. It’s a gateway drug

There are many, many great bloggers. Too many to count. I am but one of the endless, countless, masses. But even in my minsiscule corner, I have a voice. After writing several books I now realize the limitations of the blog. No blog post will ever be as deeply moving as a well developed, full length book. Blogs are a gateway drug to the creation of literature.

2. Blogging creates opportunity

Because of my blog I’ve travelled all over North America meeting clients, fans and peers. A good blog brings popularity, which carries privilege. The Internet is a gargantuan platform and if you want to be heard you must be loud. As with charm, being heard and seen generates attention, status and wealth. The introvert loses. So stand up, speak up, and reap the rewards of your effort.

3. Haters will hate

No matter how many people like your blog, or how good your writing and ideas are, there are people who think you suck. These people will troll your comments, down vote your Reddit posts, and snark their way into your psyche. They are also the ones who you once you meet in real life, they want shake your hand, buy you drinks, fuck you, compliment your productivity and ingenuity. Basically, people are phonies. Oh well.

4. Blogging will probably not make you rich

Even though there are thousands of bloggers telling you how easy it is to make a living off of your writing… it isn’t. Blogging is work. Outside of coaching I am only making about $300 a month off my book sales. Every bloggers dream is to live off their art, travel the world and shake hands with adoring fans, peers and groupies. Instead, most of us stare at our Google analytics and wonder why the 800 visitors a day are not commenting or purchasing our products. My goal is to make $2000 a month by 2015, not including coaching. That’s a realistic goal.

5. Blogs break, a lot

The more functionality you offer, products, pages, etc, the more things break. Plugins, widgets, pic sizes, You Tube malfunctions, glitches. Every time WordPress (the software my blog is created from) updates itself, something breaks. One overlooked mistake can mean I don’t receive emails for a month. A broken link means I don’t sell any books. Sometimes the pictures aren’t sized right and I can’t figure out how to fix it, or my mailing list send out bounces back from spam filters. Blogs are like old cars that rust in the yard if neglected. A blog is a machine. My current website is out of date and quite broken. So instead of practicing my writing craft, I will need to study html5 and web design. Boooooring. But necessary.

6. It’s fun

I don’t subscribe to this notion that  writing is a hard, arduous, annoying task that must be attacked like a foe on the battlefield. Writing is how I figure things out. I write, and then I reflect and ask “Is that true? Can I say this better? I better check that fact.” Hitting that publish button is like birthing a little idea into the Universe. What I give out will return in some form. Cool stuff.

7. Blogging is rewarding

I love receiving fan mail from my readers. I love hearing success stories about how my articles have helped people. It’s one of the many reasons I keep blogging. If it wasn’t for you guys, I wouldn’t blog at all. What would be the point if nobody gave a crap? Of course for the first two years it seemed like nobody gave a crap, and most people still don’t. But enough of you do to keep me motivated. It also provides a daily purpose and goal. Get up, eat and write. Also, girls think it’s cool.

8. It’s humbling and educational

There are many old posts that I look at with embarrassment. The average reader might read those posts and gain tremendous value, or I could be damaging a young mind beyond repair. I am able to look back into the past journals and reflect on how far I’ve come, and how far I have to go. Your ideas will change depending on what media you are digesting. Just like you will read my blog and then go out, loaded with epiphanies, until you find a new writer that changes your perception. Be open to change.

You could try

If you are interested in starting a blog or online business, you could start with a free site at WordPress, Blogger, Tumbler or dozens of other free hosting services. Then if you find the craft enjoyable, you could buy your own domain name and pay for hosting, which is about $100 a year.

If you want to learn more about blogging, I recommend reading a guy like Blogtyrant. He knows his stuff.

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