5 brutal truths you WILL face as a blogger and how to keep moving forward

I've been a blogger for going on two years now and I absolutely LOVE it.  I have to admit that when I began blogging I had this beautiful idea in my mind of how it would go and boy was I waaaay off! If you aren't careful you can get your feelings hurt and give up just as quickly as you started.  That wasn't the case for me although in the beginning I have to admit I was in my feelings with the disappointment of things not going quite the way I'd imagined them.  I learned five hard truths during my journey so far.  They not only changed my entire approach towards blogging but also gave me a sense of more respect for other bloggers.  


Truth #1 Your friends and family are NOT going to share your posts as frequent as you think!
Yep, let's just jump right on in and be brutally honest. So in my mind I saw all of my friends and family sharing my posts on social media, commenting on every post I put up (or at least every other) and calling and telling me how wonderful my posts were....NOPE. LOL While my posts do get shared and commented on it's not usually by those closest to me.  Yep, kinda stings but you know what?  It is what it is.  It isn't enough to make me stop.  It isn't enough to make me question my posts.  I mean I have been on radio and TV twice and gotten wonderful feedback.  In the beginning this really bothered me a whole lot.  How can your friends who you thought supported you NOT just click share? I am huge on supporting others.  That was then now I could care less. I saw this quote that says

"Always take note of who supports you genuinely.  Those are the people you should always keep around." 

And that is exactly what I do.  When I get where I know I'm going those that supported me in the beginning will be top of my invite list!  The key here is to keep pushing forward.  Don't let that make you rethink yourself and your work.  Try not to think too much about it those that don't support you and please don't waste your time asking them "why".  Focus more on those that do support you and thank them every chance you get! 

Truth #2 Post topics are not just going to flood your brain!  

This is so true.  I have moments where I get idea after idea to blog about.  I jot them down and go to work and before I know it I've blogged enough for the month. Since my blog is a lifestyle blog there are endless topics to write about. While this is true there are times where I truly have to think hard about what to blog about next.  I thought that I'd be able to sit down and finish a post in an hour.  It's not as easy as one would think. I found that to truly post good stuff I needed to come up with a schedule.  Which brings us to number the next "truth".

Truth #3 I don't need to schedule posts!

"You only get out what you put in. Don't expect more until you do more"

It is that simple.  You can't expect to get a positive response if you are posting thrown together work. It's kind of like working out right?  If you want to lose the pounds you have to put in the work you have to physically get up and go to the gym get on a machine or go outside and jog.  Well the same is true for a Blog.  If you want to get positive feedback you have produce good posts.  In order to produce good posts you have to do your research.  What's going on in the area?  What's going on this month?  Is Valentine's Day? What season is it? 

Scheduling also consists of the best time to work on your posts.  If you have a 9 to 5 and you know that at the end of your work day you get tired quickly and you're not going to put your best foot forward when it comes to blogging then maybe you should consider getting up in the morning before work.  I'm a morning person so this works perfect for me I get up about 5 or 6 a.m. I'm fresh and my first thoughts after prayer and meditation are on my blog.  

"I've found that I work better when I schedule out my posts and that in turn makes for good, meaty material!"

Truth #4 My blog is going to bring me so much money that I'll be able to quit my job my first year

 If only that were true I would not be sitting in Panera Bread during my hour lunch everyday blogging.  It's not that easy.  The blog world is saturated. You may have very good material may not ever be seen by lot of people just because you're so many blogs out there.  So you have to be creative you have to actually invest in your blog.  Look up webinars, take classes, upgrade your website now on then.  I've updated my website twice just trying to make it that much better than before.  I've actually put on an event that I was hoping to bring in money while I brought in a little bit of buddy at certainly wasn't enough to quit my job.  I've now explored other avenues that started with the seed of my blog that I hope to make some type of money this year in the end of you focus just on the money than that's the wrong thing you have to actually enjoyed as well.

Truth #5 Anyone can blog! It's not that hard. 
I can't stress how false this statement is. Well I guess if it's just a hobby and you are blogging for the sole purpose of just journaling and getting your thoughts out than I can see that being the case however if you, like me, want your blog to grow into something greater than it takes more than just jotting down a few thoughts.  When you blog you take on a number of roles.  From photographer, to editor, to author to  

This blogging thing is real and to become successful at it there will be obstacles.  The key is to acknowledge them, stay focused and blog on!!