Last Updated on April 7, 2019 by Carissa
Anyone can be a blogger right? All you need is a computer, set up a blog and be able to write. It’s simple. That is of course, if you’re going to do it as a hobby. The hard part is gaining an audience, keeping them engaged and maintaining your blog. That takes a lot of effort and determination, and it’s not as easy as it seems. I’m still trying to figure it out but here are some of the challenges I face as a part-time blogger:
Juggling a Full-Time Job with Blogging
If you’re in full-time employment like me, it can be difficult to juggle your day job and blogging on the side. You need to be really organised and try to plan ahead with your blog and social media posts so as not to fall behind.
Working Every Day, even on Weekends
Yep, you read that right – even on weekends. If you’re working 9-5 Mon-Fri, then you would have to put in the hours after work or on the weekends to blog. It does take up a lot of time and commitment, but as they say, you have to make time. If you’re going to do this for a living, it is a 24/7 all-around-the-clock job.
Having Creative Blocks
Every blogger will have come across this, where you literally have no clue what to write about or what kind of images you want. It can be frustrating when you’re on a tight schedule, but taking regular breaks, going outside to seek inspiration can help you come up with some creative ideas. Try not to force it, the ideas will come flowing in on their own.
The Uncertainty
You don’t always know when you’ll get paid collaborations, and brands don’t always come to you so you have to keep hustling (especially as a micro-influencer). But when a brand you love does reach out to you for a collaboration, it is truly satisfying and gives you extra motivation to keep doing what you’re doing.
Standing Out from the Crowd
As bloggers and influencers, we haven’t always been very popular, but recently this sector has been growing enormously (especially when Instagram took off) and we’re now in a really saturated market. To succeed, you have to be able to stand out and show your unique qualities. Finding your niche is important, but what’s more important is just being yourself, as that’s as unique as you’re going to get.
Showing Your Worth to Brands
One of the biggest problems that bloggers and influencers face is being undervalued by brands. More often than not, brands will reach out to bloggers and ask them to promote a product or service in exchange for free products. Although receiving products is flattering, they’re not going to pay our bills. Many brands will say that they don’t have the budget to pay influencers. This is why it is so important that we as bloggers and influencers know our worth and set appropriate rate cards/media kits to show what we are capable of. We spend a lot of time and effort in creating value for brands and advertising for them, so what’s important is that brands need to know that blogging is no longer a hobby, but an industry.
However, money isn’t everything. If you’re blogging for the sole reason of getting paid to post, then you’re doing it wrong. Sometimes it’s okay to accept collaborations for free because it can build awareness around your brand, and can lead to bigger opportunities in the future. What we don’t earn in cash, we earn in recognition, credibility and knowledge.
Being Super Broke
It’s shocking how much we spend as bloggers, from things like train tickets to buying props for photoshoots. Also, brands don’t always pay on time, so the advice here is to save save save!
Keeping Up with Social Media and Industry Changes
Just like any other job, we need to keep updated with changes in the industry. What is trending at the moment? What are people talking about on social media? Are there any changes or updates to the platforms we use, like Instagram? This ensures that we stay relevant to the market and continue to grow as a brand by adapting to changes.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post, I hope you found it interesting!
Carissa xx
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