10 Blogging Myths—Busted!

I've been blogging for a long time. I've had this book blog for nearly 10 years. Before that, I had a blog about the history and ethics of capital punishment. Before that, I had a lifestyle blog. I've been a blogger since 2005, and I've come across a lot of misconceptions about blogging during that time. Today, we're going to bust some myths.

Here are 10 "facts" I've been told about blogging. Let's see how they match up to my actual experiences.

🖰  Blogging Myths—Busted!  🖳

Nobody Reads Blogs

This myth feels true, but it's not. My blog usually gets between 400 and 600 pageviews a day. Obviously, all those people read blogs. Blogs might not get the same amount of attention as YouTube and TikTok, but there are blog readers in the world. You just have to find creative ways to reach them. Pinterest has worked well for me.

Bloggers Earn Tons Of Money / Bloggers Earn No Money

Some bloggers probably earn a lot of money, but not me. I couldn't live on the income I make from ads and affiliate links. This blog is definitely a side hustle.

Blogging Is A Way To Earn Passive Income

The first time I encountered the phrase "passive income," I had to Google it. Nothing about blogging feels passive to me! These posts aren't quick or easy to write. There's nothing passive about self-promotion. You have to shove your stuff in people's digital faces, which is super uncomfortable.

According to Google, passive income is money you earn with minimal labor. I guess I understand why people put blogging in that category. Since readers can access a blog at any time, I can earn ad revenue while I'm sleeping. However, I had to do a ton of work to attract those readers while I was awake.

To me, blogging feels more like slow income. I do the work and then get paid for it very, very slowly.

If You Don't Make Money In The First Few Months, Quit

I saw this advice all the time when I first started blogging. People would say, "If you're not earning money within 3 months, your topic isn't interesting." I started this blog in 2013. It didn't make money until 2018 (or 2019?). I didn't start the blog for money. I did it to make friends, which is exactly what happened. I'm glad I didn't quit after a few months.

Bloggers Get Free Stuff

In my experience, this one is actually true! It's not really free, though. You get the stuff in exchange for writing reviews. You have to do some labor.

I turn down 99% of the free stuff I'm offered. I've been offered clothes, jewelry, glasses, notebooks, regular books, dog stuff, kids' stuff, electronic stuff, and tons of other stuff. I don't have the time or the desire to review all that stuff, so I don't want it.

You Have To Write Long Posts! / You Have To Write Short Posts!

Search engines like posts with over 500 words. Readers like posts under 500 words. I honestly have no idea how true either of those things are.

Here's what I've observed from my blog's analytics: People rarely read entire blog posts. They scroll until an image or heading catches their attention. They read that section. They keep scrolling. The post length doesn't matter. I don't worry about how long my posts are. I just type until I run out of things to say.

You Need To Be A Good Writer

Haha, nope!

I have a humiliating story for you!

I wrote a book about cults. It took 11 years to write because the amount of research I had to do was intense. Then the book spent an additional 3 years on submission to publishers. It came close to being published 29 times. Twenty-nine different publishing professionals gave me extensive notes on how to improve this book. I attempted to do everything they asked. All roads led to "No."

I spent 14 years (and a lot of money) on this project, and I screwed up every opportunity I was given. The book won't be published.

That's pretty conclusive evidence I'm not a good writer.

However, several hundred people read this blog every day. I don't think creative writing skills are necessary for blogging. I think these things are more important:

• Know what information interests your audience.
• Use headings and graphics to organize that information in a way that's easy to understand.
• Have a strong voice that shows off your personality or your passion for the subject.
• Use social media to make friends and promote your posts.
• Interact with content that's similar to your blog.

You Need To Post Every Day

Maybe, but probably not.

For a few years, I posted on this blog almost every day. It helped me make friends. Search engines probably liked it.

Currently, I post twice a week. I get roughly the same number of pageviews whether I post or not. I don't have enough ideas to post every day. I've been talking about books for nearly 10 years! There's nothing left to talk about!

If You Post It, They Will Come

I had this misconception when I first started blogging! I thought I'd write something, and Google would send people to my brilliant creation.

Yeah . . . that didn't happen.

I barely got any traffic until I started interacting with other bloggers and using social media. Almost all of my traffic comes from Pinterest because that's my favorite place on the internet. I post a lot of content on there and interact with other book lovers.

(Here's some shameless self-promotion: Follow me on Pinterest!)

You Can Blog About Anything & Everything

You can. I haven't had any luck with that strategy.

I once had a "lifestyle" blog. I talked about everything. Fad diets, exercise, reality TV shows, books, cults, true crime, college life, dogs, art, ice hockey, politics, philosophy, nature, stuff I collected, funny stuff that happened to me. Everything. Nobody read my lifestyle blog because nobody cares about all that.

It was easier to make friends and gain followers with a book blog. When people come here, they know they're going to get "books" and "blog." They don't have to wade through a bunch of posts that don't interest them. It just makes life simpler.

Do you have a blog? Are your experiences similar to mine?