Blogging is lovely, blogging is fun... oh, who are we kidding?! It's hard work! 😛
And it certainly comes with it's downfalls.
Nobody ever talks about the negatives bloggers struggle with though, do they?
They're all jumping up and down saying, "you should blog! you should blog!" all hippy skippy like it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. (Who even came up with that saying, anyway??)
Given my eight years experience at blogging - yes, I'm celebrating my "Blogiversary" this month 😀 - I thought a little reality check would be fun. So here goes...
8 Things I Hate About Blogging
In alphabetical order even, because I'm feeling OCD like that today!
1. Blogger's Block
Yup. In fact, this post almost got edited into "7 things I hate about blogging" because I sat here and couldn't come up with an 8th point to save my life! But given it's my 8-Year Blogiversary this month, I just had to make it eight... lol.
Ahh, the pressure we put on ourselves!
Fortunately there are all sorts of tips and tricks and mind warps and tools and resources we can put to use. There are even guest bloggers that will write for us for free! But, um, see #3...
2. Comment Control
Once your blog gets a solid readership, and starts bringing in some nice search engine traffic (yay joy!), your new job title becomes: Chief Comment Moderator. You have to moderate new commenters, fish legit commenters out of the spam filter, and answer comments on your posts. Like all day every day.
Thank goodness for outsourcing. 🙄 Well, except for replying to comments on your blog, which you really (really) should do. Eek. I have some catching up to do!
3. Guest Requests
Guest bloggers are awesome. Like I said in #1, they want to do your blogging for you, for free! It's not the guest blogging requests that I dislike, it's the sheer number of them. Then they want ME to pick the topic (Hello, I'm the one with Blogger's Block!) and of course reply with my requirements. Which they apparently DID NOT read on the page where they clearly filled out my contact form.
Then there's the crap posts, or those that STILL can't follow the simple requirements. So you spend all this time reading crap posts or trying to reformat crap posts, and then you have to send yet another email (have I mentioned Email gives me hives??) declining or asking for revisions. Good grief!
4. Posts that go Poof!
Ever spent hours writing the most awesome blog post on the planet, only to have it completely disappear into thin air on you? Yeah. Enough said, right? 😐
There's a little thing called CTRL-C, or Command C for you Mac Snobs* out there, that copies text to your clipboard - it's wise to do this before hitting save or publish. Of course, the ONE time that you don't...
* Don't be offended. I just typed this on a Macbook.
5. Stupid Spammers
Following up on #2, do people really not have anything better to do than to spam your blog with Viagra links? Hmm. I bet if they used their own product, they'd be too busy to spam-blast my blog all the time. 😯 yes, she said that!
6. Tribal Warfare
I haven't ever had this happen to me personally, but I've been having nightmares about it since the term Tribe
hit the scene. I'm serious. I have crazy night terrors about my readers taking up spears and coming after me, lol.
7. Trolls & Trouble-Starters
My tribe *shudder* may not have come after me (yet), but I've been on the bad end of a few trouble-makers over the years. I'm not going to name any names (ooh, but I should!!) though I can assure you it was no fun at all.
Some folks get mighty brave on the other side of their screen.
Really. Leave me alone. Go play with the spammers, K? They got good stuff. 😉
8. Updates (Again? Seriously? *sigh*)
Update WordPress, update this plugin, update that software, update those other plugins, Ack! - update WordPress again. I swear it never ends. I get this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach every time I see an update notice or warning. Because you just know it's going to break your whole blog. Whether it does or not is not the issue, it's the anxiety attack as you hover over that dreaded Update Me Now! button...
Of course, if it was up to me we'd all still be on Windows 3.1, running a Packard Bell DX-50 with a 9600 baud modem. So I guess you can count Updates a good thing. Heh. Just not the panic attack over what's really going to happen when you click it.
There. That wasn't so bad, was it? Sure, blogging is awesome, and there are tons of perks, but sometimes you just gotta GET REAL and discuss the things that drive you nutso! Leave a comment below - I can't wait to hear one of your top frustrations! 😀
My 8 Year Blogiversary (I so love that word, lol)
Here are the blogging & content writing resources I promised in the video:
- How to Start a WordPress Blog (Step-by-Step Checklist)
- How to Write a Blog
- Fast Content Ideas for Easy Blogging
- 31 Days to Build A Better Blog Highly Recommended!
- Do You Ignore Email Marketing for Your Blog?
- How to Make Money Online
- How to Increase Blog Traffic
- 5 Easy Topic Ideas For Your Next Blog Post!
- 5 Types of Web Content That Readers Love
- PLR Guide & PLR Content Manager
- The Secret To Writing Really Great Content
As I mentioned in the video, drop by my forum if I can help you in any way.
Best,
About Lynn Terry
Happy Blogiversary, Lynn ! Wonder what I'll be doing in 8 years ... Hopefully still blogging away too 😉 Best wishes
Thank you, Sarah! 😀
My biggest thing with blogging isn't so much ideas as time. I could probably knock out a dozen posts a day if were just a matter of dispensing thoughts. My blogging efforts always seem to require way too much research and graphics work, which can eat a day away just like that.
The subject of blogging summons the old "two kinds of people" cliche: There are two kinds of people, those who can blog consistently and those who can't. Those of us in the latter category are constantly in awe of you in the former. There do seem to be a lot of successful people working online who can't seem to keep up a blog, so there's hope for all of us. I think it's like the difference in book authors and newspaper columnists. Some of us are more project oriented and some are more adept at repetitive processes.
Interesting, Wade! Why not just "dispense your thoughts" on your topic, and save the research & graphics work for Pillar Posts - or even your info products?
The "5 easy content ideas" and "5 types of web content" links above would prove helpful in this area. 🙂
There are tons of ways around the writing issue. From templates to PLR to ghostwriters to outsourcing - whether to a personal assistant, or a hired writer.
Good ideas, Lynn. I tend to come up with a great sounding title first and later realizing the considerable effort needed to fulfill it's promise. I suppose another way would be to write content first and then just title it-- thus working from the inside out.
Definitely! Give it a go. 😉
My pet peeve is #3, not reading instructions is bad enough there are those that literally stalk you every couple of hours asking when they'll be published. Makes me want to say... "You know what? I think you will NOT be published on my blog" 🙂
Anyhow, for saving posts, I have a love/hate relationship with WP's autosave. Keep too many the database is huge. Turn it off and well... no autosave. Eventually I used a plugin to keep only a small set and not every thing.
I also installed a plugin on Chrome and Firefox. It saves what I type into form (like here in the comments) so I can recover them. Don't think it'll work for WYSIWYG editor but great for commenting/forums.
Great ideas, Lynette! I would love to know which plugins you use...
Right now #5 is being a pain the toches for me. Do the comment spammers actually think their comment is going to see the light of day? (I know most of it is done by comment spam bots but that doesn't make it less of a pain in the toches.)
I hear you. It's a total waste of time on both ends. 🙄 They must be getting results or getting approved *somewhere* or they'd stop doing it I imagine... *sigh*
It's funny that you should mention today about posts disappearing into thin air. That just happened to me last night. Just finished the post and went back up to tweak the title and the whole post disappeared. ack!!! Still don't know exactly what I did to cause it. And of course, you can never get the wording exactly the same when you try to rewrite it. LOL
I've been there - and it can be really hard to recreate that awesome post. My heart goes out to you! I've learned the hard way to copy everything as I go, just in case! Nothing more frustrating...
After many such mishaps, I no longer ever compose text in any online text box. They're just too unreliable. I just write my test out in a local text editor like Windows Notepad (if nothing else), then copy-paste. It's an extra step and often requires some format tidying, but it eliminates the aggravation of loosing something.
I'm using Evernote more and more, and can see where it would be ideal for this - as it autosaves and syncs constantly. It would also allow me to edit or add to a draft from any device, anytime... #lightbulbmoment 🙂
LOL! Love the humor!
WP themes drive me crazy. First of all, it takes forever to find the right one. Then, it takes hours to set it up the way you want. Finally, when you have it up and running well, the creators will have an update that messes up the whole thing. Makes me wanna cry. 🙁
The technical end of it drives me nuts too. Something is always breaking, needing an update, etc. Blah. 😛
omg, you read my mind when creating this blog post. I agree and can relate to all 8. lol
One of my best blog posts ever I wrote that sound like a real expert... poof it went gone. I won't mention the curse words I was yelling at my laptop and how I walked out of the house to chill out. 800 words and I had pictures in the blog post.... Cool pictures.
Few hours later I was fine and loved blogging again or till I got some comment spam and email spam from my contact page. lol
LOL I think we've all been there. For the most part, blogging is AWESOME. Some days, yeah - you just have to get up slowly and walk away... heh.
About #4 - has happened to me more times than I should publicly disclose, but I have since learned NOT to type my articles in the WordPress dashboard. I write ALL my articles now in Google Docs and then when 100% complete - I transfer it over to the blog. I was really hard headed and stubborn about it at first and would continue to write in the WP dashboard, when one time a long piece I had been writing - did not save.
That was it. I had a major fit practically threw my laptop out the window and vowed never ever ever ever again to write an article through the WP dashboard and instead use an external source - I've been happy ever since.
Cheers!
Great tip! I hadn't thought of using Google Docs. I usually use notepad or text edit (depending on which computer I'm on)...
You're right - no one ever talks about the negatives. It can be pretty misleading. Glad you're open and honest about how much work it takes. Oh, and I think writer's block is the worst!
The writer's block I can at least deal with - between templates, easy content (videos, discussions, etc), ghostwriters & guest bloggers. And thank goodness for outsourcing on most of the rest! 😛
posts that go 'poof' - that's why my blog hasn't seen a new update recently, LOL! It just can't happen more than once, can it? OMG, where'd it go? The words were not meant for human ears today. So, now, I more readily hit save or copy, having the post already handwritten out. My new motto, like the Boy Scouts, "Be Prepared."
Oh yes, it can happen over and over and over - lol. So you hand write your posts, as in on paper? Interesting. I've been known to use Evernote just so that the outline or ideas will be on my other computer (synced) when I sit down to finish it up. But I can't say I've ever handwritten one! 🙂
Happy Blogiversary! Blogging is indeed awesome. The hardest part to me is sticking with it regularly. Just when I really get going, I seem to fall off the rails again and forget to update the blog along with the ezine. I even have a checklist to keep me on track, and I forget to follow the checklist! C'est la vie..
LOL! That's a tough one, Andy. 😉 How do you know what to do every day, or what DO you do, if you don't follow a checklist or a task list? 😀
I promise I DO usually follow my to-do list... just some things still manage to escape me. Oh well, let's hear it for continuous improvement :).
LOL I hear ya. I am constantly trying to improve in those areas, particularly organization. I recently consolidated and organized ALL of my task lists (which were offline, online, on more than one computer, in multiple programs, etc lol). Now I'm finishing up on prioritizing those lists. Gosh, it's job enough on it's own, hey? 😛
I completely agree with your post, you have highlighted the points that can irritate a blogger the most. I remain almost frustrated when the comments I leave on the post and they go through moderation for long long days and finally it feels happy if they accepted but too bad if rejected.
Blog comment moderation is a lot to keep up with. Any blogger that is handling it themselves (and blogging, and replying to comments, and marketing their blog) is going to be a bit slow sometimes about going through all the spam. Or even catching a legit comment that gets caught up in there. Especially when there are *thousands* to wade through...
This is a reality. Blogging is not a fun, at-least not anymore. Because of the millions of blog that have emerged in recent 4-5 years. Since the competition is tough, only those with a proper goal and extra ordinary content will prevail.
Oh, now this is one I don't agree with at all. 🙂 I just started a brand new blog in a competitive niche last year... with no trouble at all! Competition, by the way, is a GOOD thing. 😀
Happy Blogiversary... 🙂
Yes, #1 is the hardest thing for me. Blogger's block!
I keep telling to my self to write a post right away when there's an ideas that come up to my head. However, I couldn't taking action as soon as possible, until that idea is gone.
I keep an idea journal and jot them down immediately, so I don't lose them! I've been using Evernote as it syncs across all my devices - so no matter where I am or what device I'm using (my cell phone even) I can jot the idea down there... and it's on my computer when I sit down to blog. 🙂
Happy Blogiversary Lynn!
Great, if "cheeky" comments sprinkled through honest to goodness... I hate this stuff!
BTW I would NEVER go back to my 2400 baud dial-up modem! EEK! Give me FAST! The FASTER the better! I swear I still spend 1/2 my day waiting for things to load whether on or off the Internet! This is the last Gateway PC I'll ever buy!
Again, Happy Blogiversary!
Thank you 😀 You know, the first time I heard the term "cheeky" was in Australia. And it got used on me a lot. LOL.
Piip! I thought it was Blogaversary, not blogiversary..
What I most hate about blogging is that it never ends. You just have to keep churning content no matter what. And I've just spent hours formatting a difficult post with lots of pictures. My butt is aching!
I haven't seen trolls and basement folks on my blog, which I take to mean it's not that popular (yet). Should I celebrate when I get my first hate mail? 🙂
Oh let me add #9: the grammar police, on words that don't even exist
Just kidding! 😀 haha
Ugh, hate mail and trouble-makers. Yes, do celebrate. It's much better than the typical response, which is to become totally deflated and unproductive - or go into a mad rage with a baseball bat.
True about the content hamster wheel. Good one. Thank goodness for templates and all the cool resources/ideas for the quickies. If every post had to be a "pillar post", I would probably only blog once a week at the most. LOL.
Maybe it's the contrarian in me but I actually liked my first hate mail. It made me feel like I was starting to make it that somebody would take the time out of their day to criticize me.
Cool 🙂
But after awhile they get REAL old. 😛
Happy Blogiversary, Lynn! This is a great post! Thank you for the inspiration--AND for making Jeff's webinar available. I'm learning a lot now!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I always love his stuff! 😀
For anyone that missed it, the workshop replay is here:
http://ContentCreationSpecial.com/lynn
Enjoy!
Biggest thing for my blogs is your #1 point. I feel like before I start the new blog i have limitless fresh content flowing out of my brain but as soon as I hit "create new blog", it's like I don't know where to begin. At least I'm not the only one. Oh, and I hate spammers too. No thank you Viagra. No thank you 8 inch growth in 2 weeks.
It will help if you jot down all those ideas while they are fresh on your mind. Every time you get a new idea, add it to the idea file! Then flesh each idea out into a full post. 🙂 *cheers*
That exact thing happens to me all the time! I sit down in front of my PC, my mind is flowing with great ideas, words and phrases all lined up to be materialized as written text, I've got my coffee cup and I'm excited to go. Then as soon as I create a new post and that empty square is looking at me WHAM! the words are all gone. Can there be anything more harmful to inspiration than an empty text box? 😉
Seriously though, great article. Always great to see others struggling with the same problems as I do, makes me feel just a little less hopeless. And of course humor is the best weapon.
Hi Fred 🙂
I think we can ALL relate to that one! Have you tried templates or article starters?? They make a HUGE difference for me as they serve as an outline, which I find much easier to start with...
Yes I can understand, handling guest blogger requests can be really difficult sometimes with the number of convincing messages and requests sent by them for a blogger to accept their post to be posted on their blogs. The guest posts being extremely well written and attractive sometimes, it takes a lot of effort to overcome all the expectations and choose best posts.
It does take a lot of time to review them all. But it would help A LOT if they could follow simple submission instructions. 😛 lol...
I agree about the spam. It drives be nuts! It's good to vent sometimes!
It beats the alternative of throwing your computer out the window. 🙂
I have no idea what a tribe is either. Of course I've only had a blog for a few months, not eight years..... but now that I think about it does kind of conjure up an image of a bunch of angry men in grass skirts chasing me down the street with spears raised, incensed about my two-day delay in updating plugin number 126.
Exactly, lol... like I said, causes me entirely too many nightmares 😛
Yup, there be lots of folks who think they're real badasses when leaving anonymous comments on the Internet. I can't decide who I hate more - trolls or spammers. I guess spammers, because there's absolutely nothing to love about them. I hate trolls too, except when they're flaming on about Charlie Sheen. Then I want to give them a great BIG hug!
LOL Greg!
Here's one for blogger's block.
Type your niche/blog subject into google, and look up what's going on in the news lately and comment on it. Has worked for me many times, and as the news is so unpredictable, often times it leads to some really good articles!
A great tip, Matt! Another good source for topics is holidays & observances. See my latest post as an example. 😉
Hey Lynn,
Another excellent post! I absolutely love your videos too, awesome. 2 of my biggest things about blogging is of course updates, and comment control. However, thank goodness for the WP plugin for the spammers! 😉
HAGD! =) Thanks Lynn.
I have never had the problem of having too many guest request. I guess that's because most people aren't extreme enough to write about car insurance. lol.
Blogging is fun, WP is easy, and you can't get pregnant the firs time. No. 8 is my pet peeve. I thought I was the only one who thought of every WordPress update as a potential blog meltdown.
Hi Lynn, do you have a system set up for ping addresses for your WordPress blog, something you do manually when you add a blog entry?
I heard that it's not a good idea to use the built in auto-update pinging, because you could get blacklisted from ping services, from excessive pinging.
I was looking at maxblogpress, but just not sure.
Steve