Is it worthwhile to me?
In 2020 during the pandemic, I began and completed a resolution to give blogging a try for at least six months. Four years later, I thought I would share my thoughts and experience with personal blogging 'organically.'
Please note that my thoughts and experiences are subjective and may not be shared by other new or professional bloggers.
This is going to be a long blog post, so grab a snack and drink before starting!
In case it's helpful, below are the topics covered in this post:
Starting the Blog
My blog website launched with My 1st Blog Post on March 5th, 2020. I shared my positive thoughts and experiences with personal blogging after three and twelve months into it.
In short, I began and completed a resolution to give blogging a try for a short amount of time. I did not have a niche and wrote about a variety of topics that piqued my interest at the time.
Blogging "Organically"
I am horrible about promoting myself and my website. Apart from YouTube and seldomly Instagram, I typically avoid social media platforms altogether. Because there is no marketing in place, my blog is growing "organically."
Organic traffic growth is not something many professionals recommend. Bloggers are encouraged to promote themselves and their products (blog website) through multiple outlets to drive traffic to their site. Collaboration with others in the industry is also recommended.
I chose to let my website grow "organically" because it started as a hobby and New Year's resolution. I never thought I would stick with blogging for as long as I have. I figured I would grow tired of it after a year or two.
Since I did not expect or plan to turn my blog into an income source, I avoided writing a niche topic, another suggestion by the pros, and wrote about whatever I fancied at the time.
Reminder: My thoughts and experiences are subjective and may not be shared by other new or professional bloggers. With that said...
Challenges I Encountered
Despite having built and written web pages and blog posts as a higher education professional, blogging on my own about anything other than instructional design and educational technology topics felt... different.
I have more freedom and less limitations for doing whatever I want. For example, I do not have to write my posts to match the Microsoft Manual of Style or other professional writing style guidelines.
However, I have attempted to come up with my own writing style and template to create a consistent structure for my weekly posts.
Finding my own writing style and my poor grammar were the least of my challenges. Below are challenges that have at some point contributed to my thoughts about quitting my blog.
Self-Doubt
I have low self-esteem and doubt myself regularly. This is not easy for me to admit, but it is the truth. Because of this, I struggle to convince myself to write a first draft about a topic or interest or click the "publish" button once something I wrote is ready to go public.
A part of me hates being judged by others, although verbal abuse and criticism is something I should be used dealing thanks to some toxic people from my past. I worry that nobody would be interested in what I - an unknown introvert using an alias opposed to my real name - has to say about anything. I have thick skin and will take negativity when faced with it, but I would prefer not to deal with it when I do not have to.
I can handle negativity from others because it is nothing compared to how severely I judge myself. I am my own worst critic. I am a perfectionist "wannabe." Regarding blogging, I want to write about something that others find interesting or entertaining to read, but I do not feel like I am good enough to do so well.
For example, I started drafting this blog post weeks ago with the intent of having it posted on the four-year anniversary of my website. Yet, the thought of strangers judging my unorthodox blogging experience lingered in my mind. Who in their right mind would pursue a hobby without the intent of making money off it? (This is an actual critique someone made to me when they realized my site does not have ads as of yet.)
It is not that I do not want to make money off my hobby. I currently doubt that I am good or smart enough to make a decent passive income off my site. The same goes for making and selling my arts and crafts. I am a pessimist at heart and find it difficult to convince myself that I can achieve something that I imagine.
My low self-esteem does not prevent me from pursuing something that interests me. My self-doubt is not enough of a reason for me to quit blogging.
Scammers
I received legit emails from freelance writers and outreach reps from businesses regarding guest posts and SEO enhancement respectively, but most emails were from scammers.
I quickly learned that scammers use the same unoriginal message template that included a generic statement about admiring my website or blog posts about marketing and managing in the "business industry." (I do not write about any marketing or managing the "business industry.")
Sometimes scammers wanted to promote their apparent MLM scheme. Sometimes, they had the audacity to ask me to pay them before they wanted me to "review" their guest article proposal.
If I replied with a polite, "Thanks, but I pass/reject your request," I would receive an unprofessional and demanding reply. They never took "no" for an answer, and I would end up blocking them.
I mistakenly replied to such emails a few times before creating an FAQ page on my website. There was a reduction in the number of emails I received. Now it is easier to identify the scam emails so that I did not bother with reading them.
If an email is legit, the sender typically does a great job of writing their subject line, identifying a blog post or direct statement I made that caught their interest, and describing how their guest post or professional tech services would benefit both parties. I commend those that provided links to the blog post mentioned and their business website to prove their legitimacy.
While scammers are a nuisance, they are not enough of a reason for me to quit blogging.
Annual Costs
I initially purchased my domain name and web hosting with a discount thanks to another website I owned and managed for years prior. After the first year, paying the renewal costs did not bother me.
As the years went on, I started questioning whether paying for a service I did not make money off was worthwhile. I started questioning if this was a wasted endeavor considering that I do not expect to earn passive income from it.
At the start of the year, I received an email that my annual payments for both websites would see a significant increase. I do not intend to get rid of my other website (resume/CV focused), but simplyjellyjam.com was expendable to me.
I planned to quit blogging this year because of the monetary increase, but I forgot about cancelling my services after my Mom was admitted into the ICU after New Year's. I was disappointed when I looked at my bank account and saw money automatically withdrawn for another year's worth of services.
Because I missed out on cancelling this year's renewal costs, it would not be cost effective for me to quit blogging yet.
Low Post Views and Site Visits
Within the first year of blogging, I had several subscribers, but they hardly revisited the website. I wrote about a small variety of topics, but seldom had any post views. I could not rely on analytics to see what topics people liked reading most because the results varied monthly due to a lack of sufficient numbers.
Despite low post views and site visits, I continued blogging because I enjoyed it. I felt more comfortable writing about topics that interested me because I knew there were fewer people to judge me and my content.
I focused on developing my writing style and improving my writing skills. I intended to finally decide on a niche. I put more time and effort in writing about my creative projects and tech purchases with hopes of transitioning my blog to reviews and tutorials.
By the end of 2021 and 2022, my depression kicked in at full force. My self-esteem dwindled. My energy was low. I lacked motivation to write bi-weekly since very few people read my posts, so I reduced writing to once weekly.
I was ready to quit in early 2022 when my old dog (my soul dog) started showing signs of mobility and bladder issues. Although he made it closer to the end of that year, it was clear at the beginning that his last days were near.
When he died, I hit an all-time low in my life. I gave up on my niche idea. I wanted to give up on a lot more things in my life, including this website. I had no care in the world for anything I once enjoyed. I also quit caring if anyone enjoyed my content.
I quit checking my analytic reports. Once the 'numbers' no longer mattered to me, it was no longer a potential reason for me to quit blogging.
Benefit of Personal Blogging
The biggest benefit for personal blogging was to maintain my own mental health. I enjoy writing. For the past two years, writing felt essential for navigating through my emotions or temporarily ignoring my emotional pain.
I am able to de-stress when I write about something that interests me (5 Fun Facts About Garfield the Cat), an experience that depressed me at the time (Losing My First Dog), a lesson I learned (Failed Epoxy Resin Eggs), a weird memory I wanted to share (My Small Dog's Heroic Actions), or a personal something-or-other I struggled to wrap my head around (The Worst Thing I Heard Following My Mom's Hospital Stay).
Personal blogging keeps me sane, especially since it is cheaper than seeing a therapist.
I have grown and learned a lot through this website.
My grammar has improved, but there is still room for improvement. I have a greater knowledge of random things after conducting short research about strange holidays I wanted to write about.
I have a great support system thanks to my Dad, friends, and kind strangers who have reached out to me.
I have received sweet comments from strangers on my blog posts or privately via email. Some have thanked me for sharing my thoughts about something of interest to them. Some consoled me following my first dog's death or shared words of encouragement when I wrote about a bad memory. A few have politely pointed out issues they identified on my website for me to correct.
My low self-esteem disappears when I reply to comments or see that someone 'hearted' a blog post. I feel better about sharing my thoughts and experiences with hopes that someone somewhere will like it or find it relatable. I welcome the opportunity to share my stories with anyone who may enjoy them!
Today, I learned that my post views and site visits have increased significantly since I last checked two years ago. Back then, the site had an average of two views per post and fifteen site visits per day. Now, it has an average of twenty views per post and eighty site visits per day. Sure, these numbers are low, but they are good considering that I do not promote my blog in any way.
Surprisingly, my personal stories and posts about dogs’ views have spiked over the past two years. Fun facts and top fives/tens take the lead!
Is personal blogging "organically" worthwhile to me? Yes. I do not see myself quitting this year.
What's Next?
Will I quit blogging? I do not know. As of now, I am content with how things are going with my personal blogging journey.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam