The Struggles of Blogging

I know I said that I would do a blogspot design post, but it just wasn't working and so while I'm strongly feeling the feel of blogging struggles, I might as well write a post on it. Logic.

So. Blogging.

Blogging is awesome in so many ways. I could go on for quite awhile about it's awesomeness, but I'll just leave it at awesome and write a post on that later.

But blogging is also hard. (Oh, hey, I also wrote a post about why we call writing hard if you want to read that.)

So here's a list of very relateable (at least I hope) blogging struggles.

Struggle #1: HAVING TO CONSTANTLY THINK OF NEW IDEAS

At least for me, thinking of ideas for blogging is hard. I mean, I'm posting around  60+ times a year, and that's a lot of original posts. (I don't get bloggers who post like 10 times a month. o.o) Especially for me, since my mind loves to torture me with dry spells where I have no ideas. My brain starts thinking, "I could talk about the possibility of making pizza flavored tacos. That could become a thing, right?" And then I mark it down for a Saturday, and when that Friday night comes, I'm very confused at what I meant. THE STRUGGLE IS VERY REAL.

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Struggle #2: BLOGGING IS VERY TIME CONSUMING

In my 'how I write a blog post' post, I calculated that it takes around 3-4 hours to write a blog post. Sometimes more or less depending on the topic, but it's a good middle average.

And that's a lot of time. I don't regret the time I take to write up my posts, but sometimes I do wish I could have an automatic post writer or proofreader or format-er. Or I could just smash my head against the keyboard and words would come out. *dies* xD (I think every writer thinks this, actually...)

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Struggle #3: IT'S HARD TO MAKE YOURSELF KNOWN

I know we're supposed to not "blog for followers," but I think it's true that we as bloggers write posts for readers, yes? We write posts so they can be enjoyed by others. But it's a difficult task making yourself known. You can't just go out into the street and yell "HEY EVERYONE GO READ MY BLOG. THANKS." (I wish it was that easy. xD)

No, you have to put yourself out there. Make friends with bloggers. Actually take interest in other blogs. It's surprising how much of a 'social' activity blogging actually is. (I know that sounds weird -- talking about socializing on the internet. BUT IT'S A REAL THING I PROMISE.)

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Struggle #4: POST EXPECTATIONS

This might be just me, but sometimes I'll write a post I'm very proud of. It gets good feedback, I'm a happy person, and everything is just peachy. Then comes the next week. I write my post, and after I'm finished (or even while I'm writing it), I start to doubt.

"Should I have done something different? This is a horrible idea. Ughh I don't knowwwww. *sighing*" 

I get worried that people read my blog expecting a certain type of post, and I don't want to fail by doing only mediocre. *shrugs* Every artist has their share of insecurities. :P

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Struggle #5: FINDING THE RIGHT PICTURE

I try to use a picture in every one of my blog posts, and it is QUITE DIFFICULT to find the right one. And not only find the right picture, but where to put the text. How big to put the text. Make it look amazing.

Also, having all the pictures match on your blog. Mine don't match in the slightest, but I'm doing better with using the same text, now. :P

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Struggle #6: BLOG DESIGN

*dies* BLOG DESIGN IS THE WORST. I mean, it's so much fun to make your blog look all pretty and fancy, but its such a pain. Tutorials with coding can either work, do nothing, or completely mess everything up. 

And there's the problem of trying to make it unique. It's never cool to completely copy another blogger's design, so despite wanting to copy some bloggers on their pretty, clean white designs, looks like the orange fall theme is going to stick with me. ;)

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Struggle #7: STICKING TO THE SCHEDULE

Ew schedules. Ew deadlines. 

Schedules are hard because no matter what (within reason), you have to post. If it's late, you're tired, and don't have much motivation... you promised that Saturday post. (totally not me right now. TOTALLY NOT. Heh.) 

But, if I didn't have a schedule... (like I used to) ...I would run into the problem of posting only two times a month. It's happened. I mean, that's still good, but I like setting goals and deadlines for myself. :P

thanks to hannah for thinking of this blogging struggle. ;)

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// katie grace

What are some blogging struggles you deal with?