Comments on: 4 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Start A Blog

By: How to be a blogger people pay attention to

How to be a blogger people pay attention to — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 12:01:38 +0000

[…] In this post, Catherine Holt shares her experience when she first started blogging. She describes a major point early in her blogging career where she experienced a failure and shares that with her audience. […]

By: Catherine Holt

Catherine Holt — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 01:24:21 +0000

One thing we often forget as bloggers is that we all started somewhere. To be successful you have to put in the hard yards; it is not just going to happen. Nobody woke up one morning and found “hey, I made it”!! If practicing on a blog first is what you need to do, then that’s what you need to do. There is no shame in starting one, and then moving on to something bigger and better when you have more experience. In fact, probably most successful bloggers have done this.

Thanks for providing your feedback here Kevin

By: Kevin Duncan

Kevin Duncan — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 18:32:43 +0000

Hey Catherine,

My first blog was my “practice blog,” too! Granted, it was a “Xanga weblog,” so it wasn’t so much a blog as it was a… I’m not exactly sure what Xanga was. An even uncooler version of MySpace? Is such a thing possible? Haha.

Glad you learned so much from those early days. You’re putting your knowledge and know-how to great use here on BloggingTips101!

By: Catherine Holt

Catherine Holt — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 03:33:11 +0000

Ha ha Carol, the “n’t” certainly does draw intrigue. Well I’m glad you stopped by!

Yes, I can be a perfectionist which can also be a downfall. At the end of the day, what is perfect?! There will always be something to change, so when do you reach that point of saying “I’ve done all I can do”. If I hadn’t actually started when I did, there was a danger that I wouldn’t have started at all, and that is something my mentors picked up on.

There is only so much learning that can be achieved from reading, and the rest comes down to the practical side of things. Getting stuck in will teach you far more than reading 100 posts. Besides, you need to implement what you learn to truly understand it.

I’m glad you enjoyed this article Carol. Hope to see you back here again soon

By: Carol Amato

Carol Amato — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 00:57:34 +0000

Hi Catherine,

When I saw the “n’t” in your Should, I knew I had to see what this post was all about….

You sound a lot like me– perfectionist tendencies… I definitely agree with you that blogging is a roller coaster ride for sure.

I wanted to have all of my ducks in a row too before getting started, but you learn as you do, and mistakes help us grow as you so beautifully illustrated with your story.

You’re right!:-) Nobody has experience when they start. I also struggled with knowing what to say in the beginning but learned to share what I was learning on my journey.

It took me a long time to figure out that I just need to get going and at that everything did not need to be perfect.

I enjoyed your article, Catherine, make you so much for sharing it.

Have a great evening.:-)

– Carol

By: Catherine Holt

Catherine Holt — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 08:16:07 +0000

Oh absolutely Kelli, it is so easy to get attached to blogs. It’s hardly surprising when you put so much time and energy into them….blogs are a part of you! It is completely understandable that many bloggers can’t let it go, even when they know their blog will never be what they want it to be. Unfortunately sometimes you have to make hard decisions in order to be able to move forward for the better.

And yes, everyone has to start somewhere, and the pro bloggers have got to where they are from trial and error and lots of hard work. If anyone says they know a formula for overnight success in blogging then they are simply lying! Put in the hard yards and the results will come.

Thanks for popping over and sharing your thoughts with us

By: kelli

kelli — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 06:16:01 +0000

Hi Catherine
This was a great post and you gave some great tips. The part about scrapping the blog and starting fresh was particularly poignant because I think people can get very attached to their blog–and understandably so–and the idea of scrapping it completely seems really painful. They just keep trying to make that blog work, and sometimes that just isn’t the most effective way. The first point was excellent and one of the biggest barriers. It is easy to look at successful bloggers or any one that is successful in any field, and forget at some point, they were where you are now. They didn’t spring from the ethers fully formed successes. Great stuff!

By: Catherine Holt

Catherine Holt — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 23:52:44 +0000

Thanks Shjahan, I’m glad you enjoyed it. Was there anything in particular that stood out for you??

By: Shajahan

Shajahan — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 17:01:59 +0000

Hi Catherine,

Awesome post! everyone should read about this post. I am a regular reader for your posts and you are doing good.

Thx

By: Catherine Holt

Catherine Holt — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 14:48:38 +0000

Thanks Mi. Who would have thought that so many bloggers would be keen to comment on a post titled why you shouldn’t start a blog! LOL.

You are right….blogging should be treated as a business. It doesn’t cost the earth to start a blog, but an initial investment and investment over time is worth it’s weight in gold. If you are serious about your blog, then you need to treat it seriously.

It definitely pays to have some idea about blogging before you start, unless you want to be another statistic of those that stop! Knowing what you are getting yourself into can help you along the road rather than going in blindly. Of course this can change over time, but having a strategy and a goal are going to be beneficial.

Hope your week is going well, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts with us today