I am a blogger and I have fears about blogging. It’s hard to admit that in writing for anyone to see but it’s true. I am a blogger and have fears about blogging…
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When the Fears about Blogging Started
When I was in my early twenties, blogs were a new concept. People had heard of them but they were not a thing. Honestly, they were mostly people’s online journals they used to share their thoughts and activities with family and friends.
A well-known Celebrity Chef on Food Network, Ree Drummond A.K.A. The Pioneer Woman got her start by blogging. When she first got married and moved from California to Oklahoma she wanted to stay connected with her family and friends. It took off and now she is one of the most well know Chefs on Food Network.
I have always been drawn to blogging. I just feel deep down inside this is my calling. It is what I’m meant to do with my life. The problem, like many other people (especially women) I have so many doubts and fears, they hold me back.
Those same fears have been holding me back since I was in my twenties… too many years ago for me to admit. If you read my “about me” page, you know I started a blog back then but was too afraid to tell anyone. Social media existed but print and TV media was still king. If you didn’t tell your family and friends about your blog, no one would find it.
Fast Forward to Now
When I decided to finally start living my dream and created this blog, I was determined it would be successful from day 1. I was so proud of myself and excited to start this new adventure in my life.
I quickly found those fears about blogging that prevented me from continuing with the first blog started to rear their ugly heads. One year later I’m still struggling with my fears and doubts about creating a successful blog and living the life I know I’m supposed to be living.
As I enter a new year, I’m determined to not let my fears and self-doubt drive my life. I know this is what I need to do so I need to make it work. I will make it work!!
Big Fear #1 – Not Enough Content
Everyone knows a blog is nothing without content. You after all are not going to stare at an empty page while I reap the rewards. NO, that would be dumb. You will however spend your time reading words on a page. Content is a required element of a successful blog.
It is a huge fear about blogging for me that I will run out of ideas for content. Sure, I travel both close to home and far away; sure, I love to try new breweries, restaurants, and events; sure, I love to fix things around my house; sure, I LOVE to cook but can that really turn into the content? Can I really find enough to write about every week to keep my audience coming back? Does anyone really care about what I’m doing? Is my life really interesting enough???
Plan to Overcome this Fear about Blogging
If I’m being honest with you and myself, I have a list a mile long of content I have not even started to write yet, and I have about 10 blogs outlined already just waiting to be drafted. I have enough content ideas to get me through a full year. This year I will dust off that list and get started. I know I will have plenty of adventures this year which will fill in many weeks of content.
I’m also a believer in manifestation. At first, I was skeptical but then I had a few real-life experiences that turned me into a believer. I will spend this year doing some manifestation meditations and daily affirmations to remind myself I have what it takes.
I will also trust that if an activity interests me, it will interest others as well and I know my content will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but no one else’s interests everyone either. My daily affirmation is; “If it interests me, it will interest others.”
Big Fear About Blogging #2 – Too Many Bloggers Already
This one is huge; there are millions of blogs already out there in cyberspace. For every “you can be a successful blogger” article on Pinterest there are just as many “blogging is dead” articles. The truth is bad news sells! That is why the news broadcast always starts with bad news and then, maybe, ends with a feel-good story in the last 30 seconds.
People are writing about blogging being dead because it’s a story that catches attention. Unfortunately, it also brings people like me down and chips away at my self-confidence leaving self-doubt behind.
Plan to Overcome this Fear about Blogging
I will stop clicking on these Pinterest articles and not follow people who write them! I know, easier said than done but it’s true. The more I read about how blogs are dead the more I doubt my blog will stick out. I will also remind myself; these blog posts are exactly that; blog posts. If they truly believed blogs were dead, why do they still write blogs themselves? They are either trying to dissuade competition or they know bad news sells and are getting paid for every click.
People like me click on those posts, then I end up doubting myself and they make money by doing exactly what they are saying is dead.
Big Fear #3 – I’m Too Old
This is one of my biggest fears about blogging. I’m no longer in my twenties. The voices in my head keep telling me “If you had just kept going when you were in your twenties, you would already have a successful blog.” All that voice is saying is “you are now too old.”
It seems everywhere I look the authors of blogs are young and beautiful. It makes me feel like I’m too old and not attractive enough for people to want to follow my social accounts or read what I have to say.
This fear is legit, I actually just read a social media post from a fellow blogger that said the same thing…they didn’t think they were attractive enough to be on social media.
This fear of blogging could easily be my house is not nice enough, my kitchen is too dated (hint I have a vintage 1983 stove/oven), or even my dishes are not the right color… all of these have come into my head over the last year and have held me back. I spend most of my time trying to take videos of me cooking while trying to hide the fact my stove is older than most of you reading this.
Plan to Overcome this Fear about Blogging
I ran a google search on how old is too old to blog. Yes, I actually googled it. At the time of this writing, there were about 1,830,000,000 results. While I did not have time or desire to read all of them, the reality is almost 2 billion people have written blog posts and articles on this topic. Just that alone makes me feel better about getting over these fears about blogging.
I also know many blogs and social media accounts are based on the life they want the reader to believe is theirs and not the real life they live. Maybe the pictures they post are from 10 years ago, or maybe their posts and pictures are stock photography…either way, you really don’t know how old a blogger is unless you know them personally. I will stop believing that every blogger is in their 20s. Not every blogger started in their 20s and there is no age limit to being a successful blogger.
One of my favorite sayings is an ancient Chinese proverb: “the best time to plan a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is today.”
I can’t go back in time to get my blog going when I was in my 20s but I know my second shot at living my dream is today.
Big Fear about Blogging #4 – Not Enough Time
I still work full-time at my regular 9 to 5 job. That makes finding time to work on my blog a bit more challenging. This same job is what held me back from starting the blog a year ago. How would I have time to write content, draft social media posts, and do the adventures I wanted to write about? Now a year later I still fear I will not be successful because I don’t have time to do this.
I let it hold me back on a daily basis. I find a million things to do but the reality is, it’s a way to procrastinate. It is my fear holding me back making me believe I don’t have time.
Plan to Overcome this Fear about Blogging
I have spent most of my life (maybe all of my life) doing things to make other people’s lives easier. I don’t stick up for myself if it means hurting someone else, I care about. This is usually done to the detriment of myself and my desires. I will start defending my time and making the blog a priority. And if I’m going to be honest, if I can find time to watch football every Saturday and Sunday all fall and winter, scroll Instagram for a couple of hours a day, or watch the same re-runs of Friends or Big Bang Theory over and over, I can find time to work on my blog.
Biggest Fear about Blogging #5 – Too Many Outside Voices
The outside voices are the biggest contributor to my fears of blogging. Before I purchased this domain, I read hundreds of articles and blog posts. I purchased online training about how to start a blog. I researched, researched, and researched some more. One of my biggest skills is research. I am my family, friends and co-workers go to for information. I had a former manager joke once she was going to put a sign over my desk that said, “information” her reasoning, everyone came to me for information even if it was not my job.
Everyone in my life knows this and uses me for information. They know if I don’t know the answer already, I am curious enough to research it. My curiosity and desire to learn have benefited me greatly over my life but have also held me back when it comes to blogging.
Looking back at the years before I started the blog, the research I did helped me learn a lot but also fed into my biggest fear of blogging. Things like: you MUST have a narrow niche; you MUST post on social 5-7 times a day; You MUST SEO optimize everything; You MUST post 4-5 days a week to be successful; you MUST write lists or how-to lists…; you MUST…; you MUST…; you MUST…
Plan to Overcome this Fear about Blogging
The only voice that should matter is my own. I’ve spent too much time last year worrying about all of the checkboxes others have said are needed to be successful. It put so much pressure on me I took two weeks to write one post.
I know the advice I read is important but not at the cost of living my dream. From now on I will stop:
- Reading articles with blogging advice from others.
- Following accounts that make me feel inadequate.
- Looking at my word count to make sure it fits the guidance.
- Worrying about “perfect” SEO Optimization. There is a point where it’s good enough.
- Worrying about what my house looks like and what followers will think about my 1983 stove.
- Wondering what others will think.
I will:
- Write about what I want to write about.
- Post when I want to post.
- Post about anything including lists and how-to lists but also what I’m working on or feel is important.
- Overcome my fears about blogging and achieve my dreams.
- Find my voice and use it even if it’s not SEO optimized or grammatically correct.
I realized over the last year I am the only one holding myself back. My fears about blogging are nothing more than gremlins in my head trying to hold me back.
I will overcome my fears about blogging and I will achieve my goals and dreams! This is the year Adventures at Home and Away will take off!!!
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