While this is a personal finance blog, there are many bloggers – and people who would like to become bloggers – who make up our readership.
Today I decided to reflect on my 5+ years of blogging and share 5 things every blogger struggles with.
In the past I’ve said that blogging is the ultimate side hustle.
While I stand by that statement, I also recognize there are many negatives to blogging.
Here are 5 things every blogger struggles with. I think anyone who has taken the plunge into blogging – however short-lived it may have been – can identify with these.
1) How often to post
Deciding how often to post is a big issue for many bloggers. Lots of bloggers – myself included – get into a pattern and stick with it for a long time.
After 2-plus years of blogging I finally decided this month to move to drop the 5 posts a week schedule and only publish on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. I did this because I have a new side hustle I want to invest time in as well as a new job at work that is a bit more demanding than my previous job.
With that being said, it was painful to make the switch because it felt weird to change my routine. I think other bloggers who have switched their blogging schedule would agree.
2) What your design should look like
Ah the infamous blog design. Impossible to get just how you want it.
For this blog I spent a significant amount of time tweaking a free theme before it was “good enough.” Since then I haven’t changed a thing about the design, though I did try to hire a designer to redesign the blog.
I spent months trying to find designers and narrowed it down to four. I couldn’t make a choice, so I randomly picked one of them (seriously they all were good on paper). I had him start the design but when I see the mock-ups I wasn’t blown away. And my theme still hasn’t changed.
3) How many blogs to comment on each day
Blog commenting is the single best thing you can do to get traffic and comments on your blog. Many bloggers are willing to reciprocate your comments on their blog. This gives you traffic and connections.
For about two years I spent anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half commenting on blogs. This was done in the morning, during lunch, and after work.
When I got a new job and started a second side hustle I decided it was time to make a change. I no longer comment on blogs in the morning. Instead I simply reciprocate those who comment on my blog. I do this during lunch (when I get the chance) and in the evening. It’s worked out well, but not a strategy I would recommend unless you are an established blog.
4) Balancing blogging with the rest of your life
Balancing blogging with the rest of your life is a challenge I think every single blogger faces. It’s a little easier when you first start out because you run on the excitement about the “newness” of it all. Most new bloggers have dollar signs in their eyes, too, so they are motivated to build up their site.
Fast forward to that newness fading away. Are you willing to say no to a social event to make sure your post is ready for tomorrow? After a long day of work are you willing to sit down and grind out a couple hours of blog work? These are questions that are inevitable for bloggers.
People who run a blog as a side hustle aren’t the only ones who struggle with finding balance. Full-time bloggers arguably have even more pressure to constantly be working on their blog. After all, their income depends on it. It doesn’t help that there is always (ALWAYS) something more you can do to improve your blog.
5) Finding your voice
Let’s face it: there are hundreds of thousands of bloggers out there, and hundreds – or thousands – in every single niche. It’s tough to stand out.
The major issue bloggers run into with finding their voice is finding a unique perspective on a topic that has been written about countless times. In reality some of those quirky posts can become the highest-traffic posts on your site. I wrote a post called why living in Hawaii sucks and it gets a ton of traffic.
Finding your voice doesn’t have to mean you have amazing stories or live some out-of-the-ordinary life. It can be as simple as your writing style or a even slightly unique view on topics that are seemingly cut and dry.
I’ve found a lot of success in my weekly giveaway roundups and my growing list of spreadsheet tools.
Bloggers – can you relate to any of these? Future bloggers – have you thought about some of these issues before? Have they stopped you from taking the plunge into blogging?
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Loved knowing I’m not alone in some of my struggles. I’m also usually posting 5 times a week, but now that I’ve added freelancing – I might have to drop down. But it’s hard to pull the trigger. I feel like I can’t comment on nearly as many blogs as I’d like, but that’s partly how I find balance. It needs to be done, but I skip dull sounding articles about investing and such (not there yet) and go for blogs that I always find interesting (like this one!) or titles that grab my attention.
And I feel ya on the theme. I like my new one. But I’m totally getting it redone within the next year.
I think 5 posts a week would be a great idea. I love doing blog commenting every morning, for me it’s easier for me to comment because my mind is still fresh.
indebtedmom Thanks for the kind words about my blog! And yes you are definitely not alone in these struggles. I feel like some bloggers have it all together but in reality they probably run into these same issues from time-to-time.
Clarisse @ Make Money Your Way This site has always had 5+ posts a week, though I recently cut out a regular Thursday post. I’ve been getting posts up on Sunday more consistently plus the standard two posts on Friday. I don’t have as much time to comment in the mornings anymore but it worked well for me the first couple years of blogging.
I can definitely relate to these! Most notably, number 4. I get in a blogging zone and forget about everything else. Sometimes, I just want to do it all day. I have to remember that there’s always tomorrow to finish up what I’m working on.
theFinancegirl #4 is a big one. It would be very easy to stay up all night working on a blog because there truly is a never-ending list of things you could do to improve your site. I definitely get in the zone and have to cut myself off after a certain period of time.
I’ve definitely struggled with these, especially with how often to comment on other blogs. I love reading everyone’s posts, but work commitments have really limited my time. I’ve also had a hard time sticking to a posting schedule even though I know it’s important.
I’ve definitely struggled with all of these at one time or another. I finally decided to cut posting down to 3-4 times per week instead of 5 and that definitely helped me stay sane.
As a new blogger, I struggle with all of these. Thanks for posting these as it makes me more aware that I’m not alone!
#2 is the worst for me. I feel like no matter what I do, something sucks on my design theme, so I just deal with it. So are you still using a free theme? I think that’s awesome! (For some reason it makes me feel better.) :)
When I started out I was commenting all day every day. It was crazy and totally unsustainable. Now I just try to keep it to one or two hours in the AM.
I have dealt with all of these definitely. The biggest for me is how much time to spend blog commenting and balancing blogging with my life. When I really got into my blog in January, my business was slow, so I spent a great deal of time commenting on lots of blogs and it helped grow mine; however, my business has taken off plus other work and now I just don’t have the same time I used to. And I hate it because I would love to help more bloggers, I just can’t. And figuring out how to work on my blog and not neglect my family is a constant challenge, but thankfully I have a supportive family.
CashvilleSky You could literally spend hours and hours a day commenting on blogs, but you have to decide when the returns are diminished. I also have had limited time due to work commitments.
Holly at ClubThrifty I’ve cut the number of posts I write as well. It’s hard to post every single weekday and in many cases is unsustainable.
bustedbudget You definitely are not alone! Unfortunately it doesn’t necessarily get easier the longer you blog. Some things – like limited time – will always be an issue.
Thrifty Peach The theme I use is a free one, but one that I tweaked quite a bit before my blog went live. I haven’t really changed it at all in 2+ years.
brokeandbeau There are so many blogs out there that I think you HAVE to somehow limit the number that you comment on. There’s probably 50+ blogs out there that at one point or another I regularly commented on that I no longer do. It’s all about priorities.
blonde_finance Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Shannon! I can definitely relate to you. I don’t have my own business, but I do have a couple of other side hustles/ventures that I am trying to spend time on. It’s REALLY tough to figure out how much time to allocate to everything.
It makes me feel good to hear you reiterate thing that I’m doing. 5 years? I had no idea, but that’s awesome!
I do think too many people focus on things like design instead of building their blog and their content.
As far as post frequency, I post about twice per week. Starting the first Monday of October, I will be posting one finance article every Monday and one productivity article every Thursday. Of course I’ll have random articles here and there and infographics, but I do 2 posts per week to make sure the content is packed full of information and as good as it can be. If I could create great content more than 2 posts per week, I would, but with time for now, that’s all I got. lol
I struggle with #4 and #3 too. I want to be so involved with the blogging world that I forget I’ve got a family here that needs me, and then it’s vice versa. :-) Blogging is awesome, but it is a lot of work.
Life/Blog balance is a huge one….it’s one of those things that will suck up as much time as you let it. I give myself a specific amount to work on “blogging” each evening and morning. I do what I can do in that time, and that’s it.
Balancing blogging with the rest of your life can be tough. This is still something I often struggle with. I am getting better, but there are days/weeks where it seems like work/life balance is just not possible no matter how hard you try.
I went down to 3 posts a week on RFI and my traffic was not affected. That leaves you more time to promote the posts and to network, so it gives each post more views and exposure. I wouldn’t sweat the one less post per week.
After 3 years of blogging I still find myself struggling with some of these. The main challenge that’s in front of me now – how to get readership up = specifically over 100,000 pageviews per month. That’s not easy!
I definitely went through/continue to go through each of these to varying degrees. I started blogging only once a week, then went to two and now three. And honestly, it may be too much. Some days I think about going back to two! I am always in awe of those who can do more than 3 times a week. #4 is the one that I still regularly struggle with. Between my practice, family, volunteering and The Heavy Purse, it can be really hard to have any balance. Everyone always makes blogging seem so easy peasy but the truth is as much as fun as it is – it also takes a lot of time and effort to create a successful blog.
I’m very new to blogging, but can definitely relate to some of these. I decided on posting twice a week until traffic amps up a bit, and definitely realized from the blogs that I follow that weekdays are best (I post on Mondays and Thursdays). The BIGGEST challenge though is finding your voice – what do I want to discuss, cover, what interests me that will interest others, etc… It is very difficult!
I had written a post recently in the same vein of thought. I am a at a point where I can’t spend as much time commenting/visiting other blogs because my self-employment business is growing and that’s my bread and butter. Also I’ve taken on new clients for freelance writing so that also plays a role. I try to visit the site of each person that comments on my posts at least weekly in order to reciprocate. I feel that’s important – to maintain connections and to respect the fact that people take time to visit my site and leave comments. I also try to stick with posting twice a week and Thursday and the odd Sunday link love/what’s going on in my world.
I’ve just started my blog and I’m going through all of these at the moment… every single one! Finding your voice is an interesting one, and I hadn’t really considered it like that till I read this, but I’ve written a few dozen posts in the past week or so (none published so far) and they’re all so different I was beginning to wonder if there was a history of schizophrenia in my family!
Balancing my blog/life is something that I have dealt with for a while. I’m finally getting close to having a little balance. I just wonder how long that will last.
Yeah I can definitely relate! With comments I do find it takes way too much of my day sometimes. I know some people scoff at the idea but for the most part I only comment on people who regularly comment on mine. It doesn’t have to be every single one, but it really is the only thing that makes sense to me with my limited time. I mutually support people who support me.
Good points there DC, I’ve found I enjoy posting 3 times a week.. The one thing I find I struggle with is keeping motivated after looking at the stats..
I’m taking the perspective though that provided I am helping at least one person then it is worth it :)
I’ve struggled with all those at various times. It is hard to come home from work and know you have another few hours to put it. I also sometimes have a hard time on days off making myself sit down to write, but I still think it’s all been worth it. I can certainly understand why lots of bloggers throw in the towel.
MoneyMiniBlog Longer than 5 years, really, haha. I have to give you kudos for realizing that 2 posts a week is your ideal amount. While I definitely do not regret posting 5+ articles a week the past 2+ years, it has taken a toll on me and probably had diminishing returns.
Laurie TheFrugalFarmer So true! I’m *lucky* enough not to have children right now, but if I did I don’t think I could run a blog. I just wouldn’t have enough time. Either that or I’d have to give up all my other side pursuits and interests.
DebtChronicles You’re a disciplined guy so I’m sure that works great for you. I sometimes let time get away from me. I feel like I need to finish everything on my list or I failed.
SenseofCents It’s probably even more difficult in your situation since it’s your full-time income. If blogging was all I did I’m sure 12-14 hour days would be the norm and I’d have a heck of a time finding balance.
RFIndependence Thanks for your feedback, Pauline! I will likely get rid of my Tuesday posts starting in October as well and go to a M/W/F schedule. It just makes the most sense with my time. I need to free up some of that time for other opportunities that have come my way.
MyMoneyDesign My readership has been pretty flat this year, and I’m okay with that. I think it has more to do with my limited time than anything else. I just don’t have the time to market, promote, and improve my site to consistently grow traffic.
ShannonRyan It’s easy to put on an illusion when you have a blog, so I think it’s pretty normal for things to appear “easy” to others. You and I know that’s not the case! I used to do 5+ posts a week but my blog was pretty much the only thing I spent time on haha. Now I’m finding more balance and placing bets in some of my other small business ideas.
Where the Peaches Grow Finding your voice is one of the hardest challenges a blogger faces. You want your articles to have a unique voice but not so much so that it turns off others. It’s a tough balance. I think you’re smart for starting with just two posts. It will delay inevitable burnout ;)
Kassandra @ More Than Just Money I think you are taking a smart approach. I try to reciprocate every single commenter, but it does take a lot of time. I used to pro-actively comment on blogs but now reciprocating takes more than enough time. I also want to place bets on two small business/income ideas so I need to scale back a bit. Freelance writing takes more time/energy than people think.
Myles Money A few dozen in the past week? That’s pretty incredible output! If I could write a few dozen in one week I’d fill up my editorial calendar QUICK!
Jason @ The Butler Journal Balance is pretty much impossible, but I still think it can be a good thing to strive for. I’ve been doing a lot better recently, but it comes and goes.
Beachbudget I pretty much only comment on people who comment on my site haha. I’m on the same page with you there, and I appreciate each and every one of your comments!
mycareercrusade Here’s a way to not think about the stats: don’t check them! I don’t check my stats mainly because checking them has little upside. I’m going to keep blogging no matter what, so why check them? It just gives me mood swings haha.
Eyesonthedollar Yep, I can see why they quit too. There is money to be made in the blogosphere, but it’s not “easy” money by any stretch of the imagination.
One area I’d like to focus on more is commenting on other blogs and forming relationships with other bloggers. I find it difficult to leave meaningful comments all the time – it’s time consuming – and I don’t like leaving a “Hey, great post! ” comment.
As an aside, just reading the comments left here by established bloggers is helpful. It’s great to hear what works for others.
Yeah you make a good point there DC, for me it’s all about measuring though.. I get a little bit of perspective on maybe what people like and don’t like reading :)
I wouldn’t say the mood swings for me but it can be a little disheartening..
I found it hard to have a set schedule for blogging. I did that once with a blog before my current blog and I ended up rambling about something that didn’t give any value to the readers. With my current blog I blog when I actually have something to say. I also had a problem with the design! I’m not an artsy person per se but I like something that is clean and minimalist. I tweaked my design a bit and I’m quite content with what I have now.
This is something that I’ve needed for a while. I struggle with all of these things – and it’s a constant, long battle! I only post 2x a week, 3 at the end of the month when I have net worth, Yakezie, and Budget updates along with regular content, but I find that helps me to balance blogging and family. It is so easy to become all-consumed by blogging because there is always something more to be done, always a new opportunity. And, I comment on 5 blogs, 5 days per week. It keeps me sane! Thanks for this!
Oh commenting… the challenge!! I definitely struggle with finding the time to fit it in.
I’ve found that posting three times a week has worked for me fine and gives me time to enjoy other things.
I also keep changing the look of my free theme. I’m debating whether to get a premium theme, but I decided to keep the free one for now.
I’m mostly concerned with finding my voice, I love writing and sharing my story, sometimes I only post 1x because I want my stuff to be the best or at least the best that I have to offer!
Commenting is what gets me all the time. I’ve had to cut back otherwise hours will have passed before I realize it! I reciprocate comments and then look through my Feedly list at other topics to see if any are of interest. I think going to M/W/F for you will be fine. I like to take the quality over quantity approach with posts.
Green Money Stream Commenting is tough. There is something to be said about “quantity” of comments, as you are likely to get more reciprocated comments. On the other hand there is something to be said about building deeper relationships with other bloggers who will go to bat for you when you need help with something or need some promotion/marketing help.
PoorStudent I would say I’m “okay” with my theme, but I really would like to upgrade it. To avoid having “filler” posts I try to schedule my posts out at least a couple weeks in advance. The last thing I want is to be sitting at my computer at midnight with nothing to say the night before a post is going live.
RetiredBy40 I agree 100% that blogging can quickly become all-consuming. I comment on a ridiculous number of blogs each week, mainly because I reciprocate everyone that comments on mine.
moneypropeller Haha yes commenting is a constant challenge. I think it’s nearly impossible to know what the optimal time is to spend on commenting.
Aldo @ MDN My theme is a free theme as well. I tweaked it quite a bit before my blog went live, but haven’t done much tweaking at all since then.
EvenStevenMoney That’s a tough one. Sometimes I think you have to weigh finding your voice versus consistency and deciding what has the higher value. I think they can go hand-in-hand.
JourneytoSaving You really have to weigh how much value you get from commenting. I think having a small core of blogs that you comment on is important, but the number can quickly reach levels that are unsustainable. I also have gone the reciprocating route and it’s worked out well for me the past few months.
Ha! I could relate to this post DC! Last week I was burned out and ready to quit. Now this week I’ve been so behind from taking the weekend off only because we were away with no internet access. I still have more than 400 unread posts on my blog reader. Happy to see your commenting strategy because I asked this question to another blogger recently and got kind of a vague answer. Still learning! I appreciate your insight as I see you as a seasoned and experienced blogger.
debt debs Wow, I’m humbled by your comments! I definitely think my blog commenting strategy is ideal. It wouldn’t work for an unknown blogger, but once you’re established it should work quite well imo.
I used to comment quite frequently as well but scaled it back as it can take hours. I do end up reading more posts than I actually comment just because sometimes it’s just good to read on my iPad.
Phroogal If I had a tablet I think I would read a lot more posts as well as articles and whatnot on various websites. With my laptop I typically am “working” when I’m on it, so much less leisure reading.
DC @ Young Adult Money Phroogal I usually have Netflix playing on the iPad as I work on my mac. Pocket has been really useful for me to save things I want to read later. I used to keep an RSS feed of posts to read but they end up turning into hundreds of read later stuff. So now I’ll quickly skim through articles and make notes of anything I find on Evernote to refer back to.
The posting schedule is still something I’m working on. At the moment I’m posting 4 times a week, but I think I’m going to drop back on that so I can focus on some more guest posting.
Oh and I’m constantly tweaking my blog design – it’s almost at a point that I’m happy with it. But then I think of something else I’d like to change…
Nell Casey I used to write 4-6 times a week, but in a couple weeks from now I will be going to a M-W-F posting schedule. I’ll really only have a M/W blog post because the Friday posts are roundups, both personal and giveaways. But I think it is a move that I need for this blog to make sure it’s sustainable long-term.