What I Don’t Enjoy About Blogging

Jul 17, 2017

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Blogging is amazing. You meet a ton of neat people, share lots of interesting thoughts/images/ideas, and learn a ton about coding, writing, and promoting yourself. I love all that stuff! But there are a few things that I don’t enjoy about blogging.

I have learned a ton about how to share my stuff on social media platforms to help get some pageviews. Just last week I tried a FB Live post which was great! I didn’t say much, but the experience was fun. Next time I’ll have a topic in mind before I just start chatting to my phone. Check it out:

(If you can’t see it, or it didn’t play, visit my FB page and let me know please!)

Before I started blogging myself I had never read a blog. I had to go through a huge learning curve (which I am still on, and likely will be forever) to understand how to blog, as well as all the backend stuff that goes into creating and maintaining a blog. Now I feel pretty confident that I know what I’m doing, but there are things I still struggle with.

I’m going to share a few secrets with you…

I don’t like reading other blogs.

There, I’ve said it. Most of the other aspects of blogging are fun for me, but making time to read other blogs really feels like a chore.

When I’m on social media I will happily click through a link to read something to that looks interesting, or potentially relevant to my own readers. But I don’t make any time in my life to just go read blogs. I do join linkys – in the name of getting my words out to the world – and I read the required number of posts there, and sometimes a few more, but I never just go online to read blogs.

I never participate in “follow all” FB group posts.

I’ve joined a handful of FB groups for bloggers. They are a great place to ask questions and get support on your blogging journey.

Facebook groups often offer daily or weekly threads for sharing/retweeting/gaining followers for your blog. Most of the ones I see are “follow all”, though there are a few that say “Find 3 that resound with you and your readers and share.” Those threads I am WAY more likely to participate in.

I don’t like the idea of retweeting/following/sharing content that I don’t care about – that my readers won’t care about. I would love to have 65 people share my content, but not if it means I have to share 65 pieces of content that are irrelevant to me. So I just skip over those posts – and maybe I lose out on some new readers or social media followers – but it’s just not worth it for me.

Pinterest is still a mystery to me.

I didn’t have a Pinterest account before I started my blog here on WordPress. I had no interest in “pinning” things (and honestly I didn’t know what that even meant.) Now I know what to do on Pinterest, but I don’t enjoy doing it.

I keep hearing that Pinterest is the best place to get pageviews from. It’s not for me. Maybe because I don’t write “how to” posts or share recipes. Or maybe it’s because I still have no idea what I’m doing there.

My rich pins are enabled, I’ve joined group boards, I try to pin every few days, and I pin both my stuff and other people’s stuff. Because I don’t really enjoy Pinterest I find it a total chore to scroll around and click pins and decide if they are relevant to me or my followers. Sometimes I even click through to read the posts they’re linked to because it’s not clear what the pin is actually about.

Pinterest is definitely my least favourite social media channel of all the ones I belong to.

My blog is no longer a hobby.

I started blogging for fun and to share my life with others. Now I have a purpose – to share tips and tricks to help working parents survive today’s busy modern life. And because I feel like I have a purpose now, I want my blog to be successful. I want to reach as many people as possible. I want my social media channels to resonate with others. And (selfishly) I want to make a little money in this endeavour.

Being a working mom means that when I work on my blog it’s time I’m not spending with my family and friends. I’ve recently found a few new (to me) automation tools that have helped me schedule social sharing long term so I don’t have to spend time every day scheduling posts. I’d like to thank Julie at Fab Working Mom Life for sharing what she uses with me!

Are there things you don’t enjoy about blogging?

Share your struggles with me! I’d love to commiserate with you in the comments. Or is there something I should be doing that I’m not? I am always looking for helpful tips and tricks to streamline my blog life!

~Jess

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Comments

18 responses to “What I Don’t Enjoy About Blogging”

Carol

July 17, 2017

Reading other blogs depends entirely on my mood. I read them before I blogged but depends on topic discussed and how tired I am. If I spend too much time online, my brain fries. I like first thing in the morning when I’m fresh and eager to see the “world”. #MMBC

Reply
1. Jessica Foley
  
  July 25, 2017
  
  I hear the “brain fry” from too much time online. I will say I have begun enjoying blog reading a little bit more – but I like finding posts sporadically rather than the “required” reading of link-ups and such. Thanks for the comment Carol!
  ~Jess
  
  Reply
Julie S.

July 17, 2017

I’m with you some of these. I used to read blogs for fun, but now there is just too much. I subscribe to a lot, and click through the email to read some that interest me, but not nearly as much as I used to. As for Pinterest, it isn’t really social media. People will rarely see everything you pin, so it is easier to share all there than on places like Facebook, where it is more obvious when you see your feed. Pinterest is a search engine, so good keywords and bright visuals are what work. The do all threads are definitely a chore and much of the content isn’t relevant, but there are smaller niche groups that help for more targetted content.

Reply
1. Jessica Foley
  
  July 25, 2017
  
  Julie, that is exactly how I read other blogs – browse through the emails I get and then read an article or two that looks good. And I know Pinterest isn’t really a social media network – I totally struggle with fun “clickable” wording for my pins. I’m getting there, but when there aren’t enough hours in a day I just stick to the networks I like and rest really fall away. Who knew blogging would literally suck up all my free time?? 😉
  ~Jess
  
  Reply
Kim Carberry

July 18, 2017

Ahh! Pinterest is a mystery to me too….I pin things and get ideas from it but that’s about it. lol I really don’t understand how to use it to get views.

Reply
1. Jessica Foley
  
  July 25, 2017
  
  I’m right there with you Kim! As Julie said in the last comment – it’s a search engine. Doesn’t mean I know how to make people find my pins on it! If you find any secret (free) strategy, share with me, would ya?
  ~Jess
  
  Reply
debsrandomwritings

July 19, 2017

Hi Jess, it’s a shame you find reading blogs a chore. It is something I still genuinely enjoy. I am totally with you on the follow all and share all ‘thing’. My least favourite thing about blogging is juggling everything that needs to be done. Photographing images, writing posts and reading blogs all takes time and time management is not my strong point, although I now use timers to help keep me on track!

xx

Reply
1. Jessica Foley
  
  July 25, 2017
  
  I am TERRIBLE at juggling everything. I spend a lot of time thinking about what I need to do, and by the time I get to sit down and do it, it’s all gone. I get so frustrated, but I can’t do anything about it while I’m at work…
  ~Jess
  
  Reply
Jayne @ Sticky Mud and Belly Laughs

July 23, 2017

Hi Jess, I hear you! Although I do quite enjoy reading others blog posts, but one thing I do dislike is like Debs mentions, just how time consuming it can be to get your posts live. There’s so much work that goes into it and it’s hard especially as I freelance too.
Love your FB live, I will keep a look out for your next one 🙂

Thanks so much for sharing with #MMBC. Hope to see you Monday.

Reply
1. Jessica Foley
  
  July 25, 2017
  
  Thanks Jayne! Turns out I quite like doing off-the-cuff FB lives. If you follow my FB page you’ll see I’ve done another one! One of these days I’ll script something, but for now it’s just top-of-my-head ideas. Thanks for the support.
  ~Jess
  
  Reply
Catherine @ Story Snug

August 14, 2017

I often read comments about how Pinterest drives lots of traffic to peoples’ blogs but I haven’t quite discovered how yet!

I read blogposts if I see a link on Twitter that interests me and I enjoy reading posts from particular linkies but other than that I don’t spend a lot of time reading blogs, sometimes it’s hard to find the time for my own blog!

#MMBC

Reply
1. Jessica Foley
  
  August 17, 2017
  
  You sound just like me. I do occasionally read other blog posts, but I don’t go seek them out. I have a small group of like-minded blogger moms whose posts I try to read more often, but even that rarely happens. Life is just so busy!
  ~Jess
  
  Reply
David

August 26, 2017

Haha, your experience with blogging pretty well sums up my experience too. And Pinterest is still a bit of a mystery for me too. I only recently got to grips with Instagram – and I’m now finding that quite useful – so I guess I should try to make the effort with Pinterest too.

Reply
1. Jessica Foley
  
  August 30, 2017
  
  I know, right? I added a few, new, better pins and I’m trying to pin more of other’s content. All this social media business is exhausting!
  ~Jess
  
  Reply
Avrie

September 26, 2017

I don’t think its selfish to want to make some money doing something that amounts to a ton of work that you really pour yourself into. I appreciate your post. One thing I don’t like about blogging is wondering “should I be documenting this? it would make a GREAT blog post” and then feeling pressured to take photos or make a video when all I really wanna do is go to bed at a reasonable hour.

Reply
1. Jessica Foley
  
  September 26, 2017
  
  I totally identify with that. I stay up late (-er than I would like to) doing so much blog related stuff that it’s crazy! Often I carry my camera around under the hope I will capture something great that I can blog about later, instead of enjoying whatever we’re doing!
  ~Jess
  
  Reply
  1. Abigail
    
    March 26, 2019
    
    I identify with what Avrie said. I don’t like the pressure I feel to document things I would have just sat back and enjoyed in the last. At times, blogging can prevent me from engaging with my family the way I desire to engage with them. If I let it, blogging can impair my ability to be the mom I want to be.
    
    Reply
    1. Jessica Foley
      
      March 27, 2019
      
      Blogging can easily consume your life. Finding balance is really important, and good for you for realizing that Abigail. Thanks for weighing in!
      ~Jess
      
      Reply