Blogging is Mostly Caffeine and Self-Doubt

Do you want to know something I didn’t realize before I started a blog? Only about 2 percent of blogging is actually writing your blog.

The other 98 percent? Promoting it. On Instagram, Pinterest, and everywhere else you’re supposed to be visible. Which, for me, is a gigantic pain in the ass because it means blowing through a couple thousand brain cells on Canva trying to design cute, scroll-stopping graphics and then writing a clever caption to convince people to STOP! READ! LOVE WHAT THEY’RE READING! …and then actually click through to the blog. Out of 10,000 people who see the post, maybe 20 click. And that, I’m told, is a good ratio.

Then there’s the part no one tells you about: supporting other bloggers. The blogging world is not an easy one. Until you find your faithful audience, you lean on each other. You read each other’s posts, cheer each other on, give constructive feedback, and share what’s worth sharing. I spend 2–3 hours a night doing this, hopping around at least 500 sites a week - probably more - posting, commenting, and connecting. It’s a grind, but it’s part of the deal.

It’s exhausting. But it’s also the good kind of exhausting. I’ve always wanted to be a writer, and blogging provides me with that outlet. It’s a place where I can have a voice, even if not everyone chooses to listen. That’s fine by me. Blogging challenges me, makes me smarter, occasionally makes me want to throw my laptop across the room, and yet it’s something I know I’ll grow with as I age.

For all the hustle, blogging is worth it. It’s not just about page views, it’s about the joy of creating something that’s mine, connecting with people I never would have met otherwise, and having a little corner of the internet where I can be real. So, yes, only 2 percent of it is writing…but that 2 percent lights me up enough to keep me going through the other 98.

So thanks for reading my blog!