Are you your own worst enemy?
If you aren’t sure what it means, read along.
You’ll find many resonating statements about why you’re holding yourself from blogging.
Blurting out:
Yep, that’s me.
Or have you already started your blogging journey?
But you feel you still don’t know what you’re doing? And you’re moving at a snail’s pace?
You may still be harbouring deep-seated fear.
Keeping you from progressing with your blogging journey.
Check out the following questions.
See if they sound familiar.
Questions and Questions Before Starting Blogging
- What if nobody reads my blog?
- What if I say the wrong thing?
- I’m too shy.
- What if nobody likes what I write?
- I’m scared of opening myself up on my blog.
- What if I fail and embarrass myself to everyone.
- What if someone laughs at me and what I write.
- I’m so scared that I’m going to fail.
- Everyone is going to judge me.
- My friends and family will laugh at me if I fail.
Phew, they seem endless, don’t they?
But it all boils down to the number 1 on the list…
1. I’m So Scared
This particular voice is lashing out all kinds of ‘right’ questions that hold us back.
‘Right’ because so many of us have them.
We’re so afraid of the unknown. Playing out the worse scenario in our head and reinforcing our fears.
As too simple as it may sound, there is only one action that’ll cure our (unfound) fears.
That is, bite the bullet and just do it.
Some of us are as much nervous as to leave a comment on others’ blogs or forums.
We’re scared we may be judged and ridiculed.
Why don’t we start with a baby step?
Start with one comment to ease in.
With a blog, how about starting with publishing one post at a time and see how it feels?
Publishing the first post is a big step. It’s nerve-racking.
But once you put yourself out there, it gets easier.
Or you may have deeper reasons for these unfound fears.
See if you can identify them first if that’s the case.
2. I Don’t Know What to Write
It’s the biggest reason why people don’t start a blog.
- My life isn’t interesting!
- I have nothing to write about.
- I’m no expert.
It’s a normal thought for a lot of starters.
If you’re writing as a hobby, anything goes – no problem.
But if you aim to make money blogging, choose topics with some consideration.
Jot down things you like and things that interest you.
Choose topics a lot of people are interested in and you’ll have a lot to say about.
You don’t want to start with 3 posts and run out what to say already.
You don’t need to have an in-depth knowledge of your potential topics.
But it should be something you’ll never get bored of talking about.
And be eager to learn more (and blog about).
It’s important to make a fine balance between what you want to talk about and what others want to read about.
For example, a few people may find it interesting to see what you’ve been up to with your pets on weekends.
But not many people will find them useful/informative to make their life better in some way.
What sort of websites/bloggers do you visit most?
What do you gain from them?
Study what they offer to their readers. See the most comments made.
What do people ask about?
These websites give you the best idea to find topics that align your interest with others’ interest.
When you come up with an idea, don’t overthink.
Just go for it.
Check out this super easy Step-By-Step guide if you’re completely new to blogging.
3. I Don’t Have a New Idea
This is along the line of choosing what to write.
But it’s worth a separate mention.
If you think about it, there is nothing in the world that is entirely new.
What is new is, though, your unique voice. And how you use it to express yourself.
Your blog is an extension of your individual life experiences and who you are.
You may feel scared that no one wants to hear your voice.
I totally get it.
But you can never find out unless you try.
Let’s be prepared to fail, learn and do better with our next attempt.
Fail again, learn more and tweak here and there till we find our mojo.
That’s how it goes with a lot of successful people with their many failures and success in life, after all.
Not doing at all guarantees a failure.
So don’t let it fail you before you even start.
4. I’m Stuck in Research Mode
…. forever.
Stop researching right now.
I know you’re planning, making lists, trying to learn technical stuff, SEO and affiliate marketing and so on.
But you cannot theoretically master everything.
Learning is an ongoing process.
Let’s get it off the ground.
You will, then, start working on your incomplete blog and learn hands-on.
You don’t even need a bunch of posts ready to publish because nobody is going to read yet.
The sooner you publish the faster you start working on the website theme, design, content and so on.
It takes time for Google to index your baby.
So you need to get it up ASAP.
All that research does is delaying you from moving forward.
Quit researching it to death and take the plunge.
5. It’s Not Perfect to Publish
I’ve got news for you – it is NOT going to be perfect after you’ve published it either.
Striving for perfection is good.
It means you care about your work. You have the high-quality standard and high expectations from yourself.
But, if you’re stuck in this phase, and keep tinkering is all you do, there is a high chance you’ll give up.
You don’t want that, do You?
So jump in already.
6. I Just Don’t Have the Time
Some part-time turned full-time bloggers have a remarkable story to tell.
They made me think ‘no wonder they’re so successful, becoming a full-timer within a short period of time after blogging.’
Early in the morning, late in the evening, weekends or a combination of all three, they spent all extra time working on their blog.
Pumped up by what other bloggers achieved, they obsessively put in work to achieve the same.
I know it’s hard when you’re time-pressured.
But we do make time when we really want something, don’t we?
How about coming up with a realistic goal e.g write one blog post 8-11 pm on Tue and Fri.
Stick to it. Make it a routine.
Keep reminding yourself why you wanted it in the first place.
But………..
No, stop right there.
Ask yourself how badly you want it before you complete the sentence.
You have the answer.
Now see what your daily routine is telling you to make this happen.
7. I’m Not Exactly a Spring Chicken
Everyone around you seems as though they were born with an iPhone in hand.
Ready to upload themselves on YouTube.
You feel inadequate and incapable.
I get it. I had no prior knowledge or skills, either.
But it really doesn’t matter as long as you’re prepared to learn and enjoy the learning process.
Sure, it might take you 2 weeks to learn something when someone can do it in a couple of days.
The important thing is making progress.
Blogging is not a race with others but with yourself: compete with yourself but nobody else.
You have your life experience to share.
You have your own perspective and interpretation of all things around you.
Don’t let others intimidate you.
Focus on your unique story to tell and your journey.
8. Feels Like Exposing My Private Life to The World
But it doesn’t have to be.
You can keep your blog as anonymous as you can.
Or use a made-up name you fancy.
You can reveal about yourself as much or as little as you want.
No one can know about your age, skin colour, gender and so on.
Not even your friends or family can know about your blog if you don’t want them to.
Your blog is your baby. You can do whatever you want.
I was very self-conscious too.
But it was unnecessary anxiety, after all.
So is yours.
9. Does Anyone Really Need to Read What I Have to Say?
There is someone somewhere who is interested in what you have to say.
Do they need to read it?
They might simply enjoy reading your story without “needing” to read, which is wonderful itself, isn’t it?
You then earn trust with your honest storytelling, getting to know more about your readers by interacting with them.
Learn to create content that is geared towards helping them in the process.
They would definitely feel the need to read them then.
Bottom line, you can only find out when you try.
10. I Can’t Afford the Money
A blog business is not like a traditional business.
It’s impossible to start a traditional business without heavy up-front investment.
To open a retail shop, you need a ton of cash up-front to buy stocks.
A blog business, however, requires little cash to get off the ground.
Bluehost web hosting costs $3.95 per month.
It’s just too cheap to be a major factor even if you’re on a tight budget like I am.
See this one is definitely crossed off now.
Please just do it 🙂
Click the image to sign up for Bluehost, get a FREE domain for a year (worth $15!) and start your exciting blogging journey.
11. English is Not My First Language
It seems such an obstacle, isn’t it?
But let me challenge you and see if you can’t find a successful blog written by a blogger whose English is not his/her first language.
English doesn’t need to be your first language to be successful in blogging.
I saw this question asked in a forum.
But the member’s written English was good.
A native speaker doesn’t mean a great writer.
The more you practise with writing the better you become.
There are tools you can use to help with your writing such as Grammarly.
Check out this post and see the examples of how Grammarly can help you perfect your English writing.
Or you can find an editor or proofreader on Fivver at a small cost.
If you’re brimming with exciting ideas but the English language is holding you back, you’re wasting what most people struggle to find, ideas.
Don’t waste them.
Give it a go!
Final Thoughts
There you go.
We got it all out.
We’ve acknowledged everything, which is always the first step in moving forward.
What? — ‘nothing on the list speaks to me,’ you say?
BOO… 🙂
The key point for a mere mortal like the rest of us is that it’s okay to feel any (or all) of it.
We’re still afraid.
But in a true Carrie Fisher fashion,
We are going to do it anyway
– Carrie Fisher
Right?
Just to hammer it home (and drown out the internal evil voices), remember the only person who’s stopping you is you.
If the voices are still too loud after reading through this post, it may be worthwhile to focus on replacing these voices as your first step.
And start afresh with confidence.
My Favourite Writing Tools
Grammarly (Free) – a great writing tool. Help you with spelling and grammar errors. It’s SO worth it even if all you do is writing an email or on social media.
BlueHost – get a super easy and reliable hosting plan from BlueHost. They also give you a free domain name for one year. Sign up here and start your blog in a few minutes.
Namecheap – get a dirt-cheap domain name if you change your mind and fancy a new domain name later (like I did).
Tailwind – an absolute must-have for Pinterest to schedule hundreds and thousands of pins and save tons of time. Sign up here and get one month free!
Mailerlite – another must-have to create email marketing campaigns: sign up forms, landing pages, surveys and so on; free up to 1,000 subscribers.
You Might Also Enjoy…
- Writing Every Day and the 80/20 Rule
- Read This When Writing Gets Tough
- Must-Read Books to Become a Better Writer
Share this post ❤ 😊 🙏