Starting a blog can be difficult. The constant fear of what if’s can deter you from taking a chance.
What if I’m not good enough at blogging? What if nobody reads my blog? What if people read my blog, but don’t like what I have to say? That wondering can go on forever if you let it.
It’s easy to tell a person to just go for what they want, but actually doing it yourself is much more difficult.
It’s important to know that when it comes to blogging, there is no single formula that everyone can follow in order to be successful.
When it comes to your fears about blogging, there might not just be one that’s holding you back. Here are some of the most common fears people have about starting a blog and what you can do to overcome them:
1. Finding Your Niche
You could read a lot of blogs and still not know what you want to write about. Maybe you want to be informative? Personal? Business-related? Sponsored?
The list goes on for quite a bit. As if that’s not bad enough, there’s also the thought of what to write about.
Want to learn how to start a blog? Check out my step-by-step tutorial.
Do you want to write about food? Photography? Photosynthesis?
There’s no doubt that you have multiple passions, so finding one to focus your writing on can be tricky.
Recommended Reading: 101 Blog Post Ideas to Kick-Start Your Content Calendar
With a plethora of options to choose from, beginning to write a blog can seem like a lot of work. Then again, there’s a great possibility that you are using this fear as an excuse to put off starting your blog.
What To Do:
Start small! Figure out what your objectives are for starting this blog.
Write down everything you’re aiming to achieve and make sure to keep this list around you for future reference. Then, write down each area of interest you are considering writing about.
Look at both lists and figure out which niche best fits your goals. From there, you just need to take things one step at a time to make sure you can commit to your chosen topic.
It’s best to know a great deal on the subject matter you’re choosing to write about. That way, you’ll have a lot of knowledge on the subjects you’re writing about.
2. Not Being Successful
Whether your objective is to generate a source of income or reach a large audience, there can be a lot of pressure associated with starting a blog.
From allotting a certain amount of time to write and perfect each post, to getting the perfect image and font down, there is a lot to consider.
How will it compare to other people’s blogs?
You can be left wondering what people will think about your writing, or whether you’ll be good enough.
This fear of failure can be crippling in all aspects of life and can easily keep you from trying out something new to see how you like it.
What To Do:
Think of the worst scenario, and ask yourself “so what?”.
Someone might leave a hateful comment. So what? It won’t change who you are, and it won’t change the fact that a lot of other people might actually like your blog.
As cliched as it sounds, you’ll never know how good you can be unless you try.
The fear of being unsuccessful can only hold merit if you let it.
Until you can fully accept this fear, start by only thinking about whether or not you are happy with your work. If you are, post it. If not, you can edit it.
Whatever you do, don’t lose out on doing something you love because of something you can change.
3. Social Anxiety
A large part of blogging is reaching out to people in order to advertise yourself. It’s quite common for someone to be fearful about networking or talking to others.
When it comes to becoming a successful blogger, communicating with other people both on and offline is important.
Networking builds your brand and success. If you’re serious about starting a blog, you need to step out of your comfort zone and speaking up, no matter how difficult it might be for you.
What To Do:
In order to build your confidence in communicating with people offline you can start by increasing your online interactions.
You should begin with something simple like sharing another blogger’s post on your social media channels.
Or maybe even comment on another person’s blog to start the relationship building process. From there, slowly open more lines of communications.
Recommended Reading: Beginning Blogger Mistakes that Sabotage Your Efforts
Join in on some Twitter chats, attend some webinars, or anything else that will allow you to be a part of something.
Once you’re comfortable in these aspects, talking to someone without a screen will be so much easier!
Try It Out
No matter what your biggest fear about starting a blog might be there is a way to overcome it and find success as a blogger. It’s important to remember that your fear shouldn’t be holding you back.
The most regrettable what if is never going to be from taking a chance at doing what you love; it will always be a result from not going for what you want.
Stop worrying about what other people might do, say, or think, and start believing in yourself.
Make sure that you are not preventing yourself from succeeding. Drown out your fears with positivity, and good things will come to you.
If you are thinking about starting your own blog but are still unsure, feel free to contact me for help.
I also offer a WordPress Academy where I teach you how to use WordPress to build your website with easy to follow video tutorials.
Hi Mike,
How very true. There are so many issues that potential Blogger’s internalize, then – Stay away – from Blogging. A real pity that.
Quote:
What if I’m not good enough at blogging? What if nobody reads my blog? What if people read my blog, but don’t like what I have to say?
UnQuote:
I’ve had the same type of fears shared with me during the Blogging meetups I speak at or when potential Bloggers (and many Bloggers themselves) speak with me, one on one.
It does help a whole lot when a writer is crystal clear about what they want to write about. I’ve loved tech. Have been an Opensource evangelist for more than 35+ years, hence my Tech Blog came naturally to me.
For the last 18+ years approximately, I’ve been into digital marketing as well. Hence my digital marketing Blog came equally naturally to me.
I see so many other potential Bloggers, clear headed about their passions, but get cross eyed with worry when it comes to writing a Blog post, regularly.
I remember videotaping a home chef, who wanted to Blog. She used to teach cooking at home and had a real flare.
It’s only when I showed her the video and explained that all she had to do was write the same way she spoke, did she morph into a Blogger that today has quite a fan following here in Mumbai/India in the Indian cooking space.
My guess, every Blogger must believe they have it in themselves.
I loved the way you laid out issues that all newbie Bloggers face and then added a – What To Do – section. This is the section that make this post special.
Thanks for this Blog post Mike. I enjoyed reading and learning from it.
Warmly,
Ivan Bayross
Hello Ivan,
Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m happy to hear you enjoyed reading the article and could relate.
To Your Success,
Mike