I’m a big fan of blogging. You probably knew that already. But I wasn’t always. A couple years ago I wasn’t sure if I should give blogging a try or not. It seemed like a lot of work and I wondered if anyone would read what I wrote. (By the way, thank you for reading my blog.)
Fast forward to now and not only do I blog frequently but I encourage other small business owners to blog, too and host several blog challenges. I’ve seen in my own business and the businesses of those I work with the results that can come from blogging.
Let me introduce you to Diana Simon…
Today I want to share with you a guest blog post from Diana Simon of Coach to Entrepreneur. Diana works with overwhelmed entrepreneurs to help them find balance and work through transitions. You can find out more about her services at http://www.dianasimon.com/ready-to-partner
I met Diana back in March when she joined the 31 Days Blog Challenge I co-host with Lisbeth Tanz. Diana jumped into blogging with both feet and just a few months later she’s seeing great results!
5 Common Excuses NOT to Start Blogging
Are making any of these 5 excuses not to start blogging? I know there is a lot of internal talk and doubts which come up when you are thinking about starting a blog. If you are still standing at the sidelines because of these excuses, here are some tips that will help you bust them.
I was the #1 skeptic when it came to starting a blog and made a few of these excuses. When I finally jumped in, it wasn’t so bad after all and I encourage you to start blogging if you have been thinking about it for a while.
I hope that this post will help you get past the excuses and get blogging!
1. I am not a techie and it’s all too technical to setup.
This was not one of my excuses but I can understand the fear in dealing with all the technical setup. If you are just blogging for fun, you can always start with blogger or wordpress.com which makes it easy for anyone to get a blog up and running.
However, if you are blogging to gain visibility for your business, I strongly recommend that you buy a domain, get it self-hosted and install WordPress. Also if you are unsure about installing WordPress, some hosts can handle this for you. If you prefer to DIY, Michelle has written a detailed step-by-step guide in her report Rock Your Blog on how to install WordPress.
The reason I have brought this up is because if you are building a business, you want to have reflect a professional image and a free blog doesn’t offer that. The investment is minimal compared to setting up a physical office and the last I checked, it costs $11.99 to purchase your domain name and basic hosting is $4-8 a month. If you want more clarification on domain names and hosting, here are some tutorials from Michelle to help you make sense of it all.
2. No one will read my blog
When I started blogging, I was thinking that only my friends and family would ever read my blog. Who else would know I have a blog?
From my 3-month blogging experience, blogging is not about writing a post and just waiting for people to visit your blog. You need to go out there and promote your post and blog. So how do you do that?
Join a blogging challenge or a community. For example, there is the 31 Days Blog Challenge co-hosted by Michelle Shaeffer and Lisbeth Tanz that’s going on this month. I jumped into this Challenge in March and look where I am today! It got me started and for me, the best part of blogging is that I have had the opportunity to connect and learn from amazing people.
If you have never been part of this Challenge, give it a go and you will meet amazing people. And guess what, you will see that others do read your blog and leave comments!
3. I am not a writer
I am not either but what I have learned is that as long as you can have a conversation, you can write a blog post. Your readers don’t expect you to a best-selling author and really, all you have to do is write the post in a conversational way like you would if you were sharing information with your friends.
One point to keep in mind is to make sure you still proof-read your post for grammar and spelling mistakes. I sometimes make grammar errors myself but I think you can get away with minor ones.
4. Blogging takes too much time
This was my #1 excuse for not starting a blog. You know what, it does take a lot of time! Much more than what I had expected because as I have mentioned earlier, blogging is more than just writing a post. Promoting your post and building relationships do take time.
My tip here is before you start blogging, sit down and decide on a blogging schedule that is realistic and manageable in the long-run. Even if it is just posting once a week, that’s great. It’s about being consistent and more realistic than starting out all excited by posting 5 days a week and after a month, you burn out and stop blogging altogether.
Planning helps reduce the overwhelm. Start out and see how much time it takes you to write posts, reply to comments and read other blogs. It’s all trial and error but if you don’t try you will never know what works for you. I have been blogging 3 months and I am still testing and tweaking!
5. I don’t know what to blog about
This was a biggie for me and the first month, I struggled with ideas. However, when you start using your creative muscles, they become stronger and eventually ideas start flowing. I have experienced this myself where it’s now easier to come up with blog post ideas.
One reason for this is because when you start reading other blogs, they can trigger ideas for your posts. It has happened to me several times.
Another point is that as you start getting comments, they can also help you generate ideas. So get started and if you are unsure, Michelle provides a free simplestorming guide that will make sure you never run out of content ideas!
I hope this post has busted a few of the excuses that you have been making not to start blogging.
Over to You
What excuses do you have for not starting a blog?
If you are already blogging, what excuses did you have to overcome to start your blog?
P.S. Don’t forget to pick up a copy of Diana’s free report “From Blogging Skeptic to Fan in 31 Days” at http://www.dianasimon.com
Thanks Michele,
I struggle with all of the issues you and Diana mentioned. A big one for me is that someone will read my entry, hate it and say so!
But, anyway, it is very encouraging to know that you (and others) are as insecure as I am and yet you have terrific blogs that I return to time and time again.
Hey Cindy, I think a lot of us worry about that, too. It’s a little scary to put our thoughts out there not knowing what kind of responses we’ll get. I’ve not had that happen here but I have had someone write a blog post totally disagreeing with me and link back here. It wasn’t that bad. :) I survived just fine.
But I definitely wouldn’t say I’m “secure” — every blog entry I hit publish on I’m still nervous and I just do my best to try to provide value each time so that it’s worth the time to read. :)
Hi Michelle & Diana!
Thanks for inviting me back to your Blog…from The Blogging
Mastermind Comment Tribe’s page. :)
I think you know this line, ‘You’ve come a long way baby’. Well,
this describes me to a tee. When I heard or read the word
‘WordPress’…it intimidated me.
Enter Katie Freiling. I followed her guidance to the letter & now
I’m pretty confident being a .org Blogger.
An added perk for me is meeting very special people, such as
the both of you.
Have a highly inspired day…your tribal friend Steven Suchar
Hi Steven,
Thanks for those encouraging words and I think we have all come a long way! All of us had own insecurities starting out but we learn and grow on the journey. It’s not about being perfect but just taking action and moving forward.
It’s also wonderful getting to know people like Michelle and yourself. Bloggers I have met are very special to me :)
Many thanks,
Diana
I’ll second this: “It’s not about being perfect but just taking action and moving forward.” So true!
One of the best parts of blogging is the relationships we build. :)
Fun post, Michelle and Diana!
I really didn’t look for “excuses” not to blog when I first started. I love to write and blogging sounded like the perfect platform for me. It was more an issue of stomping out the “fear factor”.
My biggest fear at that time?
“No one will read my blog.”
And guess what happened once I published my initial dozen or so posts?
No one read my blog! :)
But as you’ve pointed out, you can’t just craft a post, pin it up on your blog, and expect a flock of hungry readers to come dashing over to read it. You’ve also got to master the skill of promoting your posts. Once you figure that out, the magic starts to happen!
Good job, ladies!
Melanie
Hi Melanie,
You always say it best “stomping out the fear factor!” If only I could write like you :)
As I have mentioned in the post, I am not a writer but hey, I am still blogging :) Jumping into blogging, I now see the writing posts is just a small part of what blogging is about. Blogging is about building relationships and credibility with the post you have written. And it definitely is magical.
Thanks Melanie for the thumbs up – it means a lot to me :)
All the best,
Diana
Hi Michelle,
I can’t thank you enough for allowing me to stretch my comfort zone by writing this guest post. It’s my first one and it is so relevant that I would write for the mentor who got me started with blogging.
I had so much fun with this one and the ideas for this post came almost immediately after I had agreed to write one for you. It almost felt that the ideas were in escrow and were waiting for me to decide I wanted to write a guest post.
It has been a blessing to know you and be involved in the 31 Days Blog Challenge.
Many thanks,
Diana
Wow, what a great place to write your first (guest post) – your mentor’s blog is so perfect for this.
You know reasons #2 and #4 were my own initial objection to starting a blog. I thought that PPC was an easier way – I could hide behind those ad pages and thought the ads were guaranteed to get people to read them.
It feels good to know that most bloggers also went through those 5 excuses. Thanks Diana for being real and I like the presentation of this post, by offering advice that will help any beginner blogger quickly overcome their fears to jump in to the blogosphere.
Hi Stella,
Yeah I was super excited when Michelle offered me this opportunity! I would never imagine you were hesitant to start blogging because you are such a star :)
Thanks for being so open about this as it shows all bloggers that we all have self-doubts. It’s about getting past them and just jumping in!
I sincerely appreciate your support!
Many thanks,
Diana
Many bloggers use these excuses in the beginning, or even when veterans.
The quickest way to get past these excuses is to release them. Winning bloggers get past the excuses. They don’t make excuses. They simply get through these limiting beliefs and as you aptly put Diana, blow these excuses out of the water.
Thanks for sharing the inspiration!
Ryan
Hi Ryan,
Great tip about just releasing the excuse because honestly, they don’t serve you.
I wish I could take credit for the title – it was Michelle’s but I am working on coming up with creative titles. One step at a time right :)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Diana
Hi Michelle,
The existence of these excuses is undeniable for new (and not-so new) bloggers but it has to be unseated. Other excuses that comes after starting a blog goes with promoting it.
You get something like:
I need to work more on my design before submitting that guest post.
Readers wouldn’t stick around if I only have a few posts.
My about page is not yet good enough… and such.
The problem is, it never gets perfect.
Those excuses are simply overrated.
Thanks for sharing this awesome piece.
Ikenna.
I’m still a newbie – but I signed up for the 31-day challenge and am ready to begin in July. At the same time I have been having a blast starting up a Special Needs Blog Hop (just blogged about it yesterday!) and have so many friends who want to be a part of it.
Blogging isn’t ‘easy’ – but it isn’t hard either. I love the tips you provided above and would add it is essential to visit other blogs as often as possible. Don’t just skim and leave either, be the kind of blog visitor you hope someone would be for you. Offer comments and suggestions and be engaged – after all, it’s what we’re all here to do, right?
I also have to mention that I have found some of the most amazing, supportive folks by checking out posts like the ones here, at blogs in my own niche, as well as general blogs about writing and blogging. Blogging wasn’t something I started because I already had a business (I did, but I wasn’t looking to advertise!)–I got into blogging to reach out to other special needs parent and help strengthen the community.
Finding your real passions in life, and the ultimate reasons why you are blogging, will help keep you on track and help you find blogs that help and inspire you along the way. Great post!
Hi Katrina,
You brought up a key point – blogging isn’t “easy” but it isn’t hard either. I think you make it out to how you want it to be :)
One of the best things about blogging for me is the bloggers I have met. They have supported me so much and I have learned a lot from them.
Have fun with the 31 days Blog Challenge – that’s what it comes down to after all – enjoying the experience!
Aloha Michelle and Diana, awesome post and great views to look for while blogging. I must say it is not simple to come up with valuable ideas to share with others, but I suppose making a good effort and finding out what makes us tick is a start.
I know when I first started it was a challenge, because for one I really didn’t care for reading, writing or creative writing.. Lol To me blogging is much like creative writing, capturing the audience and putting myself out there to let others know what is coming from me. But I soon learned to drop my resistance and go out of my comfort zone. What an astonishment to see how I am developed over time and a blessing. Glad I made the step forward and looking forward to my joyous venture. I advice any of you who are hesitant, don’t be and just go for it. Most of us, been there and know how it feels, to be in your shoes. Glad I came by and thanks for sharing! Mahalo, Lanikee.com ;)
Hi Lani,
Wow you got started even with all that resistance. Impressive :) I am not usually one to jump in but for blogging, there was so much resistance that I couldn’t even stretch my comfort zone to the point I would do it. I really had to jump in.
This was my personal experience and for everyone it will be different. Love your advice to beginner bloggers to just go for it.
Much aloha,
Diana
And don’t forget, Diana …
You promised me a guest post, too, and I’m holding you to your promise! :)
The biggest obstacle that I had to overcome was one that I had in my own mind. I believed that I didn’t need a blog to see results in my business. I watched other people blog and then I watched their fan-bases grow at a faster rate than my own and I realized that a blog is a GREAT way to get more exposure. Now that I am on a roll, there is NO stopping me! :) :) I’m a blogger who is here to stay!
I must say I was told to blog so I did. The scariest part was video. Still hold back with what to write about and have stressed through some of the techy stuff. I do believe it takes time, but that is me trying to figure out what to write, mostly. When I have done blog challenges, i find that I have had no time for anything! I am a work in progress. The only thing that is an obstacle would be me!! Great post!
We are often what’s stopping ourselves… it’s crazy, isn’t it? :) Video still scares me, too, but I’m trying to push through that.
These are the same excuses folks make about not writing a book. And yet, many folks nowadays are going from blog to book. Hm-m-m.