Blogging can be a daunting task and it also seems deceptively simple upon first glance. It’s something anyone can do, but not something everyone will be successful with. So, when it comes to blogging, what are the advantages and disadvantages?
The main advantages of blogging are long-term benefits. These include a consistent income, working from home, traffic for a business, and great exposure. The main disadvantage of blogging is how time-consuming. It could take a long time to see any payoff from a blog.
Below, we’ll take a look at some of the most common advantages and disadvantages of blogging. Additionally, we will be going over why people blog and some ways to improve your blog and help it stand out if you have already started one.
Why Do People Blog?
It might be the case that you might be wanting to start a blog. So, before we address the advantages and disadvantages of blogging, it is important to learn the reason(s) why you would start a blog in the first place.
The truth is, deciding to start a blog depends on many factors, but here are a few reasons why people would consider starting a blog.
Blogging is a way to share information, thoughts, opinions, ideas, and beliefs. In many ways, it is the opposite of a social media site like Instagram. While many forms of social media rely more on pictures and videos, blogs are mostly text-based with more words and fewer pictures.
Some people will start a blog because it is a way to talk about their emotions and experiences online and have the opportunity to connect with like-minded people. Other people may create a blog as a way to expand what they post on social media. Other people start a blog for the sole purpose of making a profit from their blogs.
Businesses often create a blog to talk about their products or services in detail. Overall, people create blogs to expand on their niche and make their presence known.
I have found that writing about what you are passionate about and profiting from it is the best of both worlds… although not a requirement to be successful.
Advantages of Blogging
More Exposure
For a social media influencer, YouTuber, streamer, or business, a blog is a great way to create traffic. Let’s take a small Etsy shop for example. They already have an Instagram, which has pictures of their shop and products. On Etsy, their products can be found through the search engine.
If they add a blog, they can go into depth about their products. Some details could include the product uses, ways to clean them, FAQs, etc. Then, when someone searches for how to clean said product, their blog could pop up. It’s a free advertisem*nt and a way to connect to more people.
Making Money from Home
One of the best advantages of blogging for me has been being able to make money from home. As a mom of two, I love the flexibility that bogging provides as the time I spend working and the income it brings, all from home.
It is no secret that you can make money blogging. Some bloggers use their blogs as a side-hustle, while others make a full-time income from their blogs.
Although not an easy task, and certainly not a fast one either, you can make a nice income from blogging. Over time as your blog gains more traffic, you make more money. It is really exciting to think that blogging doesn’t have an income cap. The more work and effort you put into your blog, the more money you can earn. Crazy, huh?
If you are a beginner blogger or are thinking about starting a blog, there are many great blogging resources that can help you achieve faster success.
Creative Outlet
A blog is a way to open doors for yourself. When you start a blog, you must write often, which improves your ability to write and communicate. You will also be learning more about your niche or specialization, which helps you become an expert in that topic. Together this can lead you to new job opportunities in writing, sponsorship opportunities, starting your own business, etc.
In today’s day and age, there has been a huge increase in small, family-run businesses because social media and blogs have helped people connect to a bigger community.
Flexibility
When you are a blogger, you choose your own hours. You don’t have to worry about working 9-5 every day on a blog, but you should still post consistently. You also get to choose what to write about and what to include in your posts.
There is great flexibility in the content you create and the hours you work… and that my friend, is a beautiful thing!
I remember when my husband and I had to work a million hours in our professions and when something as essential as taking the day off to stay home with our son because he had a fever, was a mission in itself. Now, blogging allows me to arrange my schedule around my children’s schedule and not the other way around.
Small Investment
Can you think of any instance where investing as little as $2.95 a month can yield hundreds, even thousands of dollars in return on investment over time? I can’t either.
There is very little to invest in blogging besides securing an initial domain ($15/year) and hosting provider (as low as $2.95/mo).
Eventually, as your blog grows you will want to invest in other blogging tools, services, and resources that will help your blog grow and evolve. For instance a new laptop for blogging or blogging courses. But the initial investment is very minimal.
Note: If you don’t have a blog yet and would like to start one but don’t know how to go about it, I put together a 7-Day FREE Email Course that will help you get started. Sign up for FREE below.
Disadvantages of Blogging
Although it might sound easy and attractive, blogging also comes with its disadvantages. Here are a few disadvantages of blogging that might have you second-guessing starting your own blog.
Exposure
Although exposure might be a great thing for some, it might not be as much of a great thing for others. If you are an introvert, for instance, you might be a bit hesitant to share information on a large scale online.
However, unlike Vlogging (e.g. YouTubers) who are the face of their channels, bloggers can get away with a bit more privacy. Some bloggers even choose to start their blogs anonymously. In other words, the amount of personal information you share is totally up to you.
Additionally, when you are a content creator, you are creating content that is out there for the world to see. If you mess up the spelling of something or your information is incorrect, someone probably saw it. Your content could also receive bad comments as well. You will have to be prepared to see some mean comments because unfortunately, there will always be someone who won’t like what you have to say. There are a lot of gatekeepers for different niches and people could try to discredit you.
Time-Consuming
Blogging could be very time-consuming. Yes, you can pick your own hours, but you still have to put in a lot of time and effort to be successful. These hours may be spent writing, sitting with writer’s block, researching, editing, finding pictures or videos, editing again, and making your blog look good. If you want to make it interesting, you’ll have to spend time creating extra content or coming up with new ideas. Before you can start posting, you’ll have to create a lot of starter content and spend time setting up your blog.
Seeing the payoff of your hard work is going to take a while. You may have to post a lot of content before you start making a couple of dollars for your blog. It may be a while before more people other than just family and friends are viewing your blog as well.
Considering all the content that’s already out there, it will take a while before anything you post shows up on the first page of google. But, is definitely doable by learning and implementing good old SEO from the start!
Alone Time
To some people working alone might not be a disadvantage, but to some others, spending time alone in front of a computer screen is not their idea of a good time.
When I first started blogging my blogging hours consisted of entertaining a toddler and nursing a 3-month-old, so I can honestly tell you that now that they are both in school I quite enjoy the quiet time.
A Lot of Writting
Another blogging disadvantage (which isn’t really much of a bad thing for those who enjoy it), is that there is a lot of writing/typing involved. Some people don’t mind it, while some find it quite exhausting, even overwhelming.
To help with the writing overload, I heavily depend on a blogging schedule to help space blogging tasks through the week. That way, I don’t find myself writing blog posts continuously.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Blogging Summary
Here is a side-by-side comparison table of the advantages and disadvantages of blogging to help you put things into perspective.
| Advantages of Blogging | Disadvantages of Blogging |
|---|---|
| More Exposure | Exposure |
| Creative Outlet | Time-Consuming |
| Flexibility | Alone-Time |
| Making Money from Home | A Lot of Writing |
| Small Investment |
Ways to Improve your Blog
If you already have a blog and are looking to improve it, here are a few suggestions that could make a significant difference.
Creating a blog will be a rough journey when you first start. If you are passionate and excited about blogging, don’t get discouraged over a bad comment or limited page views. Give it time to grow and hopefully before you know it, it could be your full-time job! Here are some tips to help get your blog on the right track from the get-go.
- Learn and Implement SEO: If I could only give you only one piece of advice that would make the the biggest difference as you start you blog is to learn all you can about SEO!
- Clear and Correct Content: Do your research and back it up with sources. This is going to help make your blog more reliable and people are going to be more willing to read your content.
- Edited Content: Always edit multiple times. Get other people to edit your work because you’ll probably miss something. A lot of people will turn away blogs and websites immediately if they find a spelling error. Grammarly is a fantatsic tool for grammar checking and other great uses uses. Currently over 30 million people use it and once you start using it you will see why.
- Post Consistently: Posting consistently is going to help you create more content for your blog. Creating a schedule will help you stay on track. It is also going to give readers a reason to keep visiting your blog if there is always new content.
- Make it Different and Interesting: There is probably already a blog post out there for everything. Figure out what to add to yours that makes it more interesting than the others. This can be videos, something to buy, a new perspective, music, etc.
★ Related Articles:
- How to Start a Blog in Minutes Using Siteground
- 9 Best Blogging Courses for Beginners
- How to Make Money Blogging?
Final Thoughts
Reading through the list of advantages and disadvantages of blogging listed here today, it is easy to see that the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. With that said, starting a blog is a very personal choice, and a decision not to be taken lightly if you are hoping to earn an income from your site.
What blogging advantages and disadvantages have you found are true to your blogging journey?
