Most Bloggers Give up Within 6 Months - Here's Why I am Sticking With It

When I started blogging in April of 2021 on Millenial Mom, I had the goal to make it to the 6-month mark, since that is when a lot of bloggers give up. If you are starting a blog yourself, you could do the same, and make it your goal to get to 7 months - or even longer! If you are going to succeed, it is important to think long term and not to burn yourself out.

If you love writing, perhaps you have fantisized about becoming a professional writer one day. Up to 80% of people say that they would like to write a book one day. But far fewer actually do it. From the outside, becoming a writer can seem like a glamorous career that can lead to financial freedom, and location independence.

True, blogging can be a great side-hustle, but it isn't a get rich quick scheme.

Becoming successful as a blogger is about showing up consistently, providing value for your audience, and learning how to market yourself and your work. You have to write about something you are passionate about, and something readers will connect with. It can take a while to find the right balance between your own passion and helping others through your writing.

Starting your blog can take some trial and error, even if you read all of the blogging tips you can find. In addition to reading about how to set up your site, use SEO, and to promote online, you have to find your voice.

Finding your own unique voice and writing style can take the most time, and it is something you have to grow into with time. They say, you have to write about 100 blog posts to find your voice, and that can take a while.

According to Writing Beginner,

It often takes 2-4 years to turn blogging into a full-time career.

After taking two professional blogging courses, and building multiple websites, I can validate this timeframe.

If you build a website from scratch, you will encounter a steep learning curve for your first site. Mastering the skill of website creation, keyword research, and writing quality content takes time.

Even if you do everything right with your first site, it still often takes Google 8-12 months to fully rank your articles. People often call this the dreaded Google “sandbox.”

As a new blogger, most people won't be aware of your site. That means, for the first year or so, it can sometimes feel like you are screaming into the void. You publish that first post, and expect to see immediate results, but instead you just hear crickets. Don't lose hope though, that is perfectly normal.

The more you write, and the more often you use the same keywords in your writing, the more information Google and other search engines will have about your site. Eventually, you will start to rank, especially if you are using unique keywords.

Eventually, your blog will start to build its Domain Authority, and you will get more clicks from Google. Once this starts to happen, you will see your site getting more traffic than in the past. It really is a good feeling to know that what you are writing is helping people!

If you want to set your blog up for success from the beginning, Blogger's Passion recommends:

• Do invest in blogging. Be it in website design, hosting or getting a premium domain name. It is all worth it if you’re aiming for long term results.

• Learn SEO and other essential blogging related skills.

• Learn how to write that sells.

• Learn to be great at networking with other bloggers. After all, successful blogging is all about helping others. Tweet others stuff, mention them, link back to their posts and so on

• Do optimize your blog posts for search engines, but give first priority to your target audience.

• Post frequently and stick to a consistent blog posting schedule if you want to increase your traffic and get some rewarding results

• Use proper headlines that catch your audience attention

• Build your blog for your audience, not for you

You can get to know other bloggers through FaceBook groups, on Twitter or Instagram, or on dedicated blogging sites like Medium, NewsBreak, Vocal Media and Tealfeed. When you use a blogging site like this in addition to your own blog, it also helps you increase your online visibility, and you can make some extra cash for posting there.

As you get to know others in the writing world, you can learn the ins and outs of being a good writer, as well as getting feedback on your writing. Reading other's work can also help you learn what works well and what doesn't.

Writing a blog is different than writing a book, and different than writing a college essay. Your headline is key, and you can get help writing a good one using a headline analyzer, to see what works and what doesn't. Personally, I use CoSchedule, because it has an easy browser add-on that you can install and click into the headline analyzer directly from your blog post.

Some writers recommend that you brainstorm 10 different headline ideas per day, so that you will have a bank of ideas stocked up to write about on days that you are feeling stuck for a topic. This can help you learn to think quickly on your feet, and plan out your blog posts ahead of time.

Here are some tips to become a better writer from Elna Cain, one of the top Mommy Bloggers out there:

1. Write Every Day

2. Don’t Worry About Being Perfect

3. Work on Your Storytelling

4. Work the Hardest on Your Openings

The biggest thing about writing is learning to make it a habit. Make writing a second nature by making it part of your day, every day. Personally, I love to write first thing in the morning, so that I don't get distracted by anything else. But whatever time you write, make your routine sacred. Schedule it in your calendar. And stick to your schedule.

Just because you write every day, it doesn't mean you have to click the publish button every day! You can schedule your content to publish once a week, or a few times a week. This way, you get used to a writing habit that you can stick to.

You may take a couple of days to finish a blog post at first, but it will get quicker with practice! Also, you may want to write and edit a post in a couple of different sessions. You could plan to write one day, then to edit the next. This way, you break up your work load into manageable chunks.

As you are first starting, you can make the goal just to write for half an hour or an hour every day. Then once you get used to it, you can write more. If you start your habit and your goals small, this gives you the ability to grow with time. Just like any other goal, if you start with too much right off the bat, you are likely to get burned out.

I'm not giving up with blogging, it has been far to enjoyable so far. While I may not be making a living off of it yet, I have hope for the future. I am going to hang in there until the 4 or 5 year mark and see how it goes.

Let me know in the comments what other questions you have about getting started as a blogger, and I will be happy to cover them in a future article!