Why do I blog, what’s the point?

What is ”Blogging”

A blog is a big commitment but blogging is a hobby, not a job. If you go into the world of blogging thinking ”this time next year I will be a millionaire” then you are going to be sorely disappointed.

I have spent over 100 hours on my blog and haven’t earned a penny, and nor would I expect too. I know of many very successful bloggers and they are earning a living out of it . Who knows one day I might as well, but that is not my aim today.
Bloggers publish regular content to their pages and in the most part all for free, nobody is writing you a pay cheque for your efforts.
Blogs can take many different forms; written content, videos, pictures, audio and in many cases a mixture of them all.

If you don’t get paid, why bother?

When I decided to set up my blog I had spent many many hours researching it. The thing that struck me most is how many terrible blogs there are on the web. I have read blogs about all sort of subject matters. You can really tell the people who are passionate and care about their blogs from the ones who think doing a blog is a quick way to earn some money. It really isn’t!

I have seen so many blogs where people do 1 or 2 posts, then nothing for ages. After a while another sporadic post about a pointless topic appears. When you read these you know the author isn’t serious about their blog. Chances are they looked at their analytics and saw only 2 people had read their work and just gave up on it. These in my eyes are the ”attention seeking bloggers”. The online equivalent of Louis Spence.

A serious blogger doesn’t really care how many views they get. I look at it as ”if my blog helps just one person, even in a small way”, then its worthwhile.
People blog about everything and it will only be a success if you are passionate about your subject matter. It is for that reason I have made my blog about diabetes. To me it is an everyday part of my life and I do my best to keep it in control. I am aware that many others really struggle day to day, and that’s what I hope my blog will help with. A one stop shop with loads of info and experiences for people to draw from.

Why I blog

• I enjoy it – the most important factor
• Keeps me focused on my diabetes
• A great way to help newly diagnosed – I aim to give information that is hard to find elsewhere, in a straight forward format
• It’s a resource I wanted when I was diagnosed but couldn’t find
• Gives me a voice online
• When I write a blog the subject matter stays with me – If you read something you remember it for a couple of days, write about it and it stays for life
• Helps me to learn about diabetes
• A great way to raise awareness of diabetes
• Ideal for sharing ideas with others
• Helps to refine my writing skills
• A great way to connect with like minded people
• My blog over time will become a record of what I care about and how I feel

So to summarize, a blogger spends their own money hosting a website, hours and hours writing a post, proof reading and publishing it. At the end of all that they don’t earn a penny back.
Most people would not bother at that point, but for me it’s worth all the effort. I am proud of each post I put on here and that makes it worthwhile to me.

If you are considering a blog I use 1 and 1 for my web hosting and WordPress for my website –  ➡ WordPress           ➡ 1&1

Take care and blog everywhere

Type1Bri

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