Although there are more than 152 million blogs across the globe — and a jaw‑dropping 1,896 new posts erupting into the internet every single minute — the brutal truth is this: blogging is not for everyone. In a world drowning in content, starting a blog isn’t just about writing. It’s about standing out, surviving, and staying consistent when millions of others quietly give up. So before you take the leap, here are 9 powerful reasons to help you decide whether blogging is truly your path… or a battlefield you’re better off avoiding.
Let’s be real. Although anyone can own a blog, blogging isn’t for everyone. Ouch!
I’m sorry if that offends you 🙁
This is a lesson I learnt quite early in my blogging career. That’s right! You can have a richly rewarding career as a pro blogger.
There may be an estimated 152 million blogs worldwide with 1,896 blog posts published every minute or about 3.39 million blog posts published daily. There are so many blogs because people just start blogging without learning how to blog, how to create a blog, how to start a blog or even the best way to start a blog!
And this is such a big shame because there is so much blogging resource out there. I mean, there are blogging sites for beginners with tips for good blogging, blogging tips for beginners and a wealth of information on how to start a successful blog.
Still, blogging isn’t for everybody! And I will tell you why in a moment.
But first, what’s a blog. And who’s a blogger?
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Blogging Definition
While this isn’t a beginner’s guide to blogging, it is important to know what a blog is. A blog is an online journal (think diary or journal), which is housed on a web page on the internet. A blog is usually arranged in chronological order from the most recent blog post at the top of the main page to the older entries towards the bottom. Here is an example on our blog page.
The term “weblog” was coined by Jorn Barger on 17 December 1997. The short form, “blog”, was coined by Peter Merholz, who jokingly broke the word weblog into the phrase we blog in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in April or May 1999. Shortly thereafter, Evan Williams at Pyra Labs used “blog” as both a noun and verb (“to blog”, meaning “to edit one’s weblog or to post to one’s weblog”) and devised the term “blogger” in connection with Pyra Labs’ Blogger product, leading to the popularization of the terms.
Most Popular Blogging Terminology
Here are the main blogging terms to be familiar with:
- Blog (noun) – an online diary or journal.
- Blog (verb) – to write, edit or post a blog post.
- Blog post (noun) – the content of a blog (noun)
- Blogger (noun) – a person who blogs (verb), keeps or owns a blog (noun).
- Blogging (verb) – the act of writing a blog post.
A blog is a way of sharing information, which people can read, webmasters can link into, and search engines can access. It serves to bridge the gap between the demand for information and the supply of information. There is probably a blog for every subject or topic under the sun in blogosphere. Therefore, blogs help to fill the huge gap between the demand and supply of information. There is a sense in which a blog encourages social networking.
The First Blog Ever
The very first blog post was published on October 7th 1994, by Dave Winer, a software developer in California, credited by the Guardian as having invented the blog.
A new blog is created somewhere in the world every half a second. Since there 86,400 seconds in a day, it means 172,800 blogs are created every day. 172,800 new blogs every single day!
But blogging isn’t necessarily for everyone who blogs.
IMHO, blogging is only for those who are either passionate or disciplined enough about blogging, that they are willing and able to invest time, money and everything else that’s required to improve themselves, and make themselves better at blogging.
Here’s another way to look at it.
Blogging for Money
If blogging is an expensive hobby that drains your resources, then blogging isn’t for you. However, if blogging brings you an income (no matter how small), then you’re probably on the right path to becoming a blogger!
Want to know how to blog for money, or put differently, how to make money blogging, then check out this awesome article 12 Pro Bloggers Reveal How They Make A Living Blogging
So are you cut out to be a blogger? There’s only one way to find out!
9 Reasons Blogging May Not Be For You
#1. You’re not prepared to work hard to see your blog succeed.
Blogging isn’t for you because you’re not prepared to work hard (night and day) to see your blog succeed.
Think about it this way.
There’s an estimated 152 million blogs worldwide jostling for the same readers as you. Why do you think yours will stand out, if you don’t work at it?
In the world of blogging, success is earned. It’s not given on a platter.
Jon Morrow of Smart Blogger puts it this way:
If you want to succeed, you can’t wait for the world to give you attention the way a cripple waits for food stamps to arrive in the mail. You have to be a warrior. You have to attack with the madness of a mother whose child is surrounded by an army of predators.
You can’t just write them down and expect them to succeed. Writing isn’t about putting words on the page, any more than being a parent is about the act of conception. It’s about breathing life into something and then working to make sure that life becomes something beautiful.
That means spending ten hours on a post, instead of 30 minutes.
That means writing a guest post every week, instead of one every few months.
You have to realize that your blog is more than just a collection of ones and zeros floating through cyberspace. It’s more than the words on the page. Your blog is a launchpad for your ideas, and you are the rocket fuel that lifts them off the ground.
#2. You think blogging success will come instantly.
You can’t succeed as a blogger because you think you can have instant coffee, sorry, instant success with blogging. And you don’t have the stamina to stay for the long term.
In every field of endeavor, success comes through innovation, and hard work. And it doesn’t happen overnight.
Blogging is no different. In fact, somebody once said that the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.
[callout]If you don’t build your dream, someone else will hire you to help them build theirs. -Tony Gaskins.[/callout]
There may be many stories out there of successful bloggers. But most of the time these stories do not talk much about the time it takes to get to the point of success. The result is that often bloggers expect too much in too short a time – and give up long before they can realistically expect success.
#3. You’re not disciplined enough to post consistently
You’re not cut out for blogging because you’re not ready to post consistently. You’re too sporadic for your own good!
Consistency is key – if you want to build your audience.
You must be consistent and post when you feel like it.
You must also be disciplined enough to post when writing a blog post is the last thing on your mind.
By writing a blog post regularly, your audience knows to expect you. They will come to accept the flow of your work.
Statistics show that bloggers who post consistently throughout the month, see around 4 times as many leads as those who blog sporadically.
You don’t have to post everyday. You don’t even have to post every week. But I think you need to post between 2 – 4 times a month, every month. Be consistent. Just be there!
#4. You’re neither willing nor able to deliver value
Your blog needs valuable content. Blog content that’s unique and compelling. Unfortunately, you’re not willing to provide valuable blog content to your readers.
We all have off or barely functional days, every now and again. Because we are human. However, you’re different because for you everyday is barely functional. That’s why you can’t hack it as a blogger.
To keep your audience coming back for more, you’ve got to do your best to provide value, more often than not.
Google’s John Mueller confirms that quality is key. He writes, “There’s no minimum length, and there’s no minimum number of articles a day that you have to post, nor even a minimum number of pages on a website. In most cases, quality is better than quantity. Our algorithms explicitly try to find and recommend websites that provide content that’s of high quality, unique, and compelling to users. Don’t fill your site with low-quality content, instead work on making sure that your site is the absolute best of its kind.”
A constant stream of new blog content that is both compelling and insanely valuable is the foundation for growing an audience. Each piece does not have to be perfect; it just needs to be interesting and valuable to your target audience.
#5. You’re not ready to build an email list
You’re wasting your time calli