The end of November 2019 marks 4 years of blogging on RTC. Yay, I didn’t quit! Perhaps I possess the quality that 50% of marriages lack—I actually keep my commitments. Can I say that? lol
Anyways, I wrote a post last year to celebrate 3 years of blogging. But this year my perseverance is more meaningful because a few of my blogging friends quit. 🙁
I mean, I get it—life changes, blogging is challenging, it takes time, it’s competitive, and many bloggers never receive any monetary reward for their efforts at all. That’s why earning income from blogging is not a good enough reason to begin blogging in the first place. You must have a passion for blogging or you will surely quit.
Fortunately, income is not the only benefit of blogging. Based on my experience, there are many benefits to be realized.
Here is what I’ve learned from blogging over the past 4 years:
1. Blogging is Therapeutic
In hindsight, the main reason I started RTC was for personal therapy. I alluded to it in my post about how taking a year off work was a mistake.
I’m not gonna go into the details about why I needed blogging as a therapeutic exercise, but I am certain that writing and organizing your thoughts is therapeutic.
Furthermore, blogging provides a sense of purpose and something to commit to during a dark time. At least that’s what it did for me.
There is no doubt in my mind that blogging is therapeutic.
2. People Will Offer Money
If you blog for long enough people will send you money. It came as a surprise to me too.
Around the 1 year mark of blogging, I started to receive e-mail inquiries regarding sponsored posts. A lot of the inquiries I received were absolute bullshit, but every now and then there’s a mutually beneficial offer.
Related Post: A Blog Post about Sponsored Content that’s not full of S–t
Since then I’ve become more selective with the clients I work with. I actually prefer to earn income from advertising and affiliates because there are some shady offers out there.
Nevertheless, blogging offers the potential to earn income if you blog for long enough.
3. Professional Blogging Is A Real Job
Blogging as a side hustle is one thing—Professional blogging is a totally different game.
In my experience, it is just as challenging as any career is, and it requires just as much effort.
To be a professional blogger, you must understand Blog Search Engine Optimization techniques (SEO), social media, writing, networking, and you must become a subject matter expert on your blog’s topic(s). So don’t become a blogger because you think it’s an easy way to make money. It’s not.
That’s why I’m at somewhat of a crossroads in my blogging career. You see, for the most part I’ve been blogging as a hobby for the last 4 years.
But when I decided to accept a part-time job, the idea was that I would have more time to blog and that it would eventually begin to supplement my income. And well, it does seem to be working to an extent. I’m earning some income from blogging, but it’s not enough yet.
Related Post: How I made $106.62 from blogging | Reinvestments in October 2019
So I’m giving myself the next 6 months to figure this out. If I can’t find a way to take RTC to the next level in that time, I may consider going back to full-time work even though I’m enjoying the shit out of my precarious part-time schedule.
It would be a difficult decision, to tell you the truth. Because I’m earning nearly as much as I was before while working less than half the hours. But if I can’t find a way to force myself to treat blogging as a real job, or if my schedule does not provide enough extra income to invest, you may see another chapter of RTC, yet again.
4. Each Blogger’s Journey is different—Don’t Compare Your Blog to Other Blogs
I’ve seen many different waves of bloggers over the past 4 years. New bloggers come in waves by the way.
I’ve seen bloggers begin after me and become way more successful. But I’ve also seen bloggers fail miserably in less than 6 months. I’ve seen bloggers disappear without any goodbyes, and I’ve seen bloggers quit after being around longer than RTC.
The point is—you can’t compare your blog to anyone else’s blog. Actually, you shouldn’t compare yourself to anyone else in general. That would be ridiculous. All that matters is that your blog improves compared to its own beginning. Fortunately, RTC has improved because the early blog posts were fucking atrocious.
Early on I tried to copy other blogs, which led to an unauthentic blog. But ever since I aimed to create the blog I wish existed, my blog’s traffic has doubled.
“Blogging is to writing what extreme sports are to athletics: more free-form, more accident-prone, less formal, more alive. It is, in many ways, writing out loud.” – Andrew Sullivan via The Atlantic
5. New Content Matters Most
As a Gary Vaynerchuk fan, I have probably utilized social media more than some bloggers.
Based on what I’ve learned from blogging, social media is a great way to attract a few hundred page views per day, and it’s great for engaging with others in your blog’s community.
However, I’ve noticed that new content matters most. I get the most page views when I consistently publish new blog posts.
I’ve also noticed that most successful bloggers are very consistent with their posting schedules. Bloggers such as Four Pillar Freedom and Early Retirement Extreme blog daily or every other day.
As someone that tends to value creativity over a rigid schedule, I have struggled with creating a consistent blog post schedule. But I should be posting at least 3 new blog posts on the same days each week.
6. SEO is Extremely Important
In addition to a rigid blog post schedule, I’ve learned that search engine optimization (SEO) is extremely important.
All it takes is one post ranking high in Google search to begin generating real money.
Although I’ve been using the Yoast plugin to optimize blog posts for SEO, I have not experienced much success with SEO. I mean, I have a few posts that rank high in Google search, but the topics do not receive a high volume of searches per day.
At this point, I am even considering a course to learn more about SEO.
7. Networking is Equally Important
As an introvert, I dislike that networking is one of the most important parts of a career. I personally believe the quality of the work should be prioritized over social skills.
But that’s just not that case in the real world, nor is it the case when it comes to blogging.
It seems as though networking is equally important to a career in blogging. Most of the best personal finance bloggers seem to be skilled in the art of networking. They attend events, organize meet ups, and generally enjoy engaging with their communities.
I can admit that networking is something I struggle with, as my natural inclination is to avoid engaging. Frankly, my preference is to create content and have fun while writing it without worrying about the engagement side. But thanks to a previous job, I was able to realize how valuable networking is. I am trying to bring that perspective over to blogging.
7 Things I’ve Learned from Blogging – Concluding Thoughts
Last year’s post focussed on the accomplishments at the 3 year mark. Meanwhile this year’s blogiversary focused on what I’ve learned from blogging.
In case you’re wondering about what I’ve accomplished this year so far:
- This is the 203rd blog post published. 141 posts are in draft.
- Blog traffic has more than doubled in comparison to last year.
- In fact, I have received nearly as much traffic this year as I have from 2015 to 2018.
- This blog now earns money. It’s not consistent but a few hundred dollars has been made over the last few months.
- Most of this year’s blogging goals have been achieved.
In addition to the list above, I learned there will be different stages of blogging. For example, I mentioned how blogging was therapeutic at first, then it became about creativity, and now it is becoming more of a legit side hustle/career path (hopefully). But I also know that change is ok—sometimes life happens.
In conclusion, I hope you enjoyed this summary about what I’ve learned from blogging over the past 4 years, and I hope it helps with your blogging journey as much as blogging has helped me in general. If there’s any other advice about blogging I can give you, I would recommend that you create the blog you wish existed. At least that way you will enjoy the journey.
I am not a licensed investment or tax adviser. All opinions are my own. This post contains advertisements by Google Adsense. This post also contains internal links, affiliate links, links to RTC social media accounts, and several outbound links to trusted sites.
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Email: graham@reversethecrush.com
FI-RE is NOT a Sacrifice—It’s Buying Time.
