Many people have a somewhat naive idea of a blog, a funny thing, that is fashionable, cool and such and such.These people are not at all aware of the work that entails a serious blog, that is, a blog that publishes with certain discipline periodically, at least, one or two new posts a week, that strives in the quality of its contents, etc.
As a general rule, I would tell you that in order for a blog to work, you have to invest at least a minimum of 10 hours per week. I will not say that it is impossible, but very difficult if you stay below that. And this includes the creation of content, its layout, doing a dissemination work, answering comments, etc.
As you grow, that work increases tremendously. I can tell you that in my case, for example, just between answering comments on the blog and answering the email, I’m leaving between half an hour and an entire hour every day. Now, it is also true that we are talking about a blog that currently has an average of about 5,000 visits per day.Are you passionate about the subject really enough to spend that time? Are you willing to give up, at least something, other things (TV hours, sports, drinks,…)?
Think about it well because if the answer is no, it is probably an absolute waste of time that you get into the world of blogging unless you are satisfied with having a blog without major aspirations, which, of course, is very commendable too. But be clear that in that case, that will be your roof and do not get frustrated by it.6. Find one or more milestones that motivate you greatly and try to get them soonAmong all the dangers for your blog project, I would say that the biggest is losing motivation. If you search on Google, you’ll see many references to the famous phrase that 95% of bloggers leave their blog after the first year and that’s why.As in everything, at the beginning you start with a lot of motivation and enjoy the project without further ado. But there is a time when that is no longer enough, many hours of work are accumulated and the body is asking you to get something in return.It is difficult to specify the exact point at which that moment arrives, it varies a lot depending on the person and the project. In some cases it will be a few months, in other years, but I assure you that sooner or later it will reach everyone.
On the other hand, at first you settle for little, see the first times how people share your content or the first comment will give you a rush. But normally there also comes a time when you get used to it, and that will not be enough to pay for the 10 or more weekly hours that you post to your blog, even if you do it with passion. And it is that no matter how much passion you have, you also need to be fed. For this reason I strongly recommend that in this vision of your project you also include the task of finding sustainable motivational factors that generate a clear and permanent benefit.The simplest example of this is money. If you manage to fit a model of sustainable monetization with your blog that gives you, for example, a small bonus of € 200 or € 300 a month doing something you like, I assure you that you will have motivation for the remains…In my case there were two moments like this: a few months after starting the blog, even with very little traffic, I experimented with curiosity with AdSense advertising. I still remember that the first month I earned less than one euro.But although the income was symbolic the fact itself that the blog was able to generate money with an activity that I like and, in addition, in a pseudo-automatic way (what is also known as passive income). That fascinated me, made me see that the blog could generate a small extra income, which always come in handy for the tight family economy, and that gave me a kick of motivation at the right time.
The second moment was much later, back in 2013 when I began to see it realistic that one day this project would allow me to live on it 100% and become the key to develop my activities and projects independently, at my sole discretion, without relying on bosses and companies. That was a second shot of motivation that in many moments has allowed me to draw strength from where there were none.Now that moment has arrived. Today it would be perfectly possible to dedicate myself to the blog 100%, although for my current circumstances, which do not come to mind now, I prefer not to take the step yet.In any case, soon I will return to this topic in a special post because the surprise I announced before the summer has a lot to do with it?
But not everything is money, they can be another type of satisfaction, for example, that your blog connects you with people at a professional level or with whom you simply share an activity that you are passionate about.I think, for example, a blog aimed at musicians that connects you with other musicians, that in the thread of this you end up setting up initiatives and projects with these people, that give an additional boost to your personal brand within the world or just have fun, etc. This could be an example scenario in which there may not be a clear direct or indirect economic benefit, but where there is another type of reward that makes your motivation sustainable over time.Therefore, look for sooner than later that factor of sustainable motivation that you know will work for you.
Always work with order, logic and organization or we could say: do not stop using your head.Understand me well, I’m not calling anyone foolish, it’s not that at all. I mean we all have little time and we have already seen that a blog is time consuming.These two circumstances together wreak havoc: many bloggers, even some well-known bloggers, go like headless chicken all the time, the result of being carried away by the burden created by a lack of chronic time. And that’s how difficult it is to get your decisions right.
Therefore, my advice is simply: make sure that you do not enter into this dynamic and try to ensure that what you do always has order and coherence. And if you catch yourself going like headless chicken, immediately, sacrifice things, leave them aside for later, decide which are the important ones that you can cover and focus exclusively on them. Nothing happens.I assure you that in the medium term you will be more muuucho more productive as well although at the beginning you can have the sensation of going more slowly.
