Many people think that it is a good and cosy life being a blogger as you get to receive free products for review, food tasting invites, free overseas trips, paid advertorial and many other collaborations and opportunities.
I do have some reservations about using the phrase “free products” or “free overseas trips” as we do put in a lot of effort and creativity into writing, filming, styling, editing, photography, publishing, marketing, promoting, doing social shares and shout outs for the products or media trips. Most of the time, bloggers are also not paid for product reviews.
Here are 6 confessions of a blogger you need to know which I gleaned from my personal experience:
1. Food Bloggers Eat Cold Food Most of The Time
I rarely have the luxury of eating hot food. Before the food even arrive on the table, I try to visualize the angle and composition for the food shots as I do not want every photograph to turn out looking similar.
If the food is piping hot with steam still billowing, I have to capture that shot, and by the time everybody has finished taking their photographs, the food would have passed through many hands and had turn cold.
Sometimes, we also help each other hold the food, LED lights and even stand on top of chairs to get a bird’s eye view shot and carried out all these activities under the curious stares of other diners in the restaurant.
2. My Home is In a Mess
Serious bloggers spend a lot of time on their blogs like running a business, with plenty of deadlines to meet. I am constantly brainstorming ideas to improve the site, exploring opportunities with brands and thinking of content for my site all at the same time.
I am a writer, an editor, a social media marketer, instagrammer, filmmaker and a photographer. If this is not enough, I also write and submit original articles to other sites for extra exposure without getting paid.
To achieve all the above on top of my day job, I actually sleep very little, sometimes working late till 2-3 am in the mornings so as not to stop the momentum and have little time to do any housework at all. The effects of not sleeping enough are showing as my skin is getting drier and my hair drops at an alarming rate around the house.
3. My website is not a hobby
Many people think that blogging is just a hobby but if you want to build a reputable site and establish a name for yourself, you would need to work very hard and treat it with the same due diligence that you would treat a business.
As I have mentioned earlier, the amount of time I spend on the blog is the same if not even more than the amount of energy and effort spent in my day job.
Not that I am complaining because I really enjoy blogging and seeing the fruits of my labour really give me a strong sense of fulfillment.
While the to-do list can get long each day, the beauty of it is that it is entirely under my control and not by my BOSS. I also have the liberty to do the things that I am passionate about.
4. Most of Us Earn Our Income Outside of Blogging
I wish I can tell you that it is as easy as writing articles, sit back, relax and watch all the dollars roll into your bank account from advertisers (perhaps this will only happen for celebrity bloggers) but the reality is that most hardworking bloggers I know earn their income from other revenue streams outside of their blog.
You will notice that many bloggers also have online clothing shops linked to their blogs, sell products on Etsy, sell e-books on their blogs, conduct blogging workshops, offer private blog consultations, website design, and other additional services from which they can draw a revenue.
While I do occasionally earn money from sponsored posts, the income is sporadic and I cannot rely on that solely and neither do I want to saturate my site with too many sponsored content. Most of the time, if the product/company is not a good fit for my blog or I cannot think of a good angle to write that story, I would rather reject the offer.
Currently, I have made some money through banner ads placed on my blog and YouTube videos, of which Google Adsense is the gold standard. Recently, I have joined two social media influencers programme and if there is a campaign I am interested in doing, I can just apply for it online and see if I am being selected by the company. The agency would also email me directly if they find my blog a right fit for the campaigns. I am also currently looking into some freelance writing opportunities for other websites to increase my revenue.
5. We are not properly compensated for our time and effort At Times
It can get frustrating to have opportunities come through my inbox that I like, only to find that there is no budget or compensation in exchange for the article, media coverage and amount of work that is required of me.
Recently, I received an opportunity to film a professional video for a beauty product as the company mentioned that they found me a suitable candidate and face for their new product. Although I felt really honoured to be selected, they only have the budget to pay me $30 for my time and transportation to the studio and on top of that I had to write a review for the product on my blog. I went ahead to ask for a fairer compensation but in the end they looked for another blogger.
I have no regrets letting this opportunity slipped because I know my value and am very sure that a better opportunity will come by one day if I continue to work hard.
6. Nothing Ticks Me Off Than Seeing My Contents Being Plagiarised
You work really hard to take good photographs and write an engaging article, but it just does not get the response you expect it would, or worse, you found that your hard work and contents are being copied and pasted onto someone else’s blog!
One day I was blog hopping and reading articles of my fellow blogger friends when I realise that my ideas and contents had been plagiarised by someone I know. I was a little shocked as I do not think that it was ethical to do so and expected more from this person whom I regarded as a friend. Anyway, to cut the long story short, she realised that I “caught” her and it was really awkward meeting her in events or pretend like nothing has ever happened. Still, I would say that most of the people I met through blogging are really nice people and I had put this incident behind me and moved on.
So ultimately, it is not just about invitations to events, freebies and money that make blogging so enjoyable, it is about having a creative platform to share your passion and ideas with other people, and it only get better when you connect with other like-minded bloggers or your readers through blogging.
Do you have a confession on blogging to share too? Let me know by leaving me a comment below. 🙂
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All are so true!! #3 used to make me so angry when people would assume this. But eventually I learned that it’s likely because I make it look fun and easy (which it’s so not!!!). So I don’t take offense anymore. #2 is so very much me (but I also have 2 young kids, so they are partly to blame ;).
Yeah I think people needs to know whats goes on behind the scenes! Haha….
These are all so true!!
Especially the cold food and messy house in my case lol!
Great list, people really have no idea!
Haha…I know bloggers could identify with all this…:)
Oh so true!! The messy home one reminded me of a photo shoot I was doing (can’t remember which post) and the camera got the clean house of course, but the rest of it was a disaster!!
Yes to all of these! It’s just as difficult as any other business.
This part I loved:
While I do occasionally earn money from sponsored posts, the income is sporadic and I cannot rely on that solely and neither do I want to saturate my site with too many sponsored content. Most of the time, if the product/company is not a good fit for my blog or I cannot think of a good angle to write that story, I would rather reject the offer.
I am having that struggle right now. Finding that balance!
Good luck, cant wait to follow along!
xo
Krista
Thanks Krista!
All of these are soooo true! Blogging really is so time consuming and takes a lot of effort and hard work. I don’t think people really realize.
Shannon
Yes…it is soooo much hard work and effort…. 🙂
Love this post !!! I’m gonna copy and paste it into my blog !! Haha just kidding I find that soooo cray that happened !!! Like who in their right mind would think that’s ok?! Anyways, I love all of these, there is so much truth here. Thanks for being transparent, it’s nice to know other bloggers go through similar stuff.
Thank you Danielle! Haha…you are so funny! Thanks for your affirmation too! 🙂
“FOOD BLOGGERS EAT COLD FOOD MOST OF THE TIME”
Ha!! so true!!
This is great! I’ve been doing this for over a decade now so I don’t take offense as much anymore, and one of my friends loves to tell people “I’m glad I make this hard work look so easy!” 🙂 #2 for sure. My home is a mess between the kids, my blog work, my other business items, and dog. I love when people share behind the scenes photos of piles of stuff in one corner of a room with a pristine photo shoot set up in the middle. Too true!
You have been blogging for over a decade? Wow!
All of these are so true! I hate when people say what I do is a hobby! I am working to build a brand here!!! I agree with you 100%!!
Yes, I agree with all of these! I also hate it when people say “oh, it’s so cool you got that for free.” Maybe I’m reviewing a product and I didn’t pay money for it, but I am paying with my time and work, not to mention my reputation by putting it on my site. I think that is worth quite a lot, which is why I’m picky about who I work with!
Yes, you are so right, I hope this post will set the record straight too… 🙂
I love this post! My husband always jokes about the days pre- blog when he ate a hot dinner!
Haha…I think all food bloggers could definitely identify with this one! 🙂
This is perfectly written! Blogging is immensely time-consuming and we do “wear a lot of hats”! I had no idea I would start improving my photography just because I wanted to blog. It’s something I enjoy so it’s worth it and I love the challenge.
Me too! I didn’t know I need to improve my photography skills until I started blogging! 🙂
OMG so so true, it ticks me off immediately when people call my blog a hobby, the number of hours we put in is insane. And yes, as much as I hate mess, my house is a mess thanks to all the blogging props and lack of time, oh well, we have fun in spite of it all!!
xx, Kusum
These are so true! I often eat cold food … luckily my family is patient with me when I’m taking photos of something we’re about to eat. And the kitchen! Never. Ending. Dishes. I really appreciate you brining up that it’s not a hobby, so many people just don’t get that. For me blogging is my full time job, but I also do a couple of other jobs on the side too. Great post!
Thanks for sharing Emily! 🙂
All great confessions! Blogging is hard work and a lot of people think it’s easy (as I once did before I started my own blog). Sure it’s great to receive products to review but that also takes time and as you said sometimes, you don’t get properly compensated for it.
Oh my gosh, seriously so many things when it comes to food pictures. Different angles? Background? Lighting? Hand or no hand? Utensils? Fun post!
Haha…lol…First thing when I take food photos is to think whether I want a hand-in-frame photo or utensils in the photo or not…hahaha…. 🙂
I absolutely love the cold food comment! Lol, so true. I honestly can’t even fathom catching someone stealing my work. How dishonest! I would never feel right about myself if I did that to someone else.
Thanks Ashley! Yeah its so bad stealing others’ hard work to claim as your own… 🙂
I started blogging hoping to build a brand that would help provide some financial support as I pursue an acting career. As an actor I need a “job” where I can make my own hours so I can go to auditions. The money coming in from blogging is slow but I knew going in that it would take a while to make some money. I make more money from my acting gigs but the blog helps. However, I get frustrated when friends don’t realize that I’m not blowing them off when I say i need to work on my blog because they don’t view it as a job.
Blogging is a legit job and hard work! Thanks for sharing Michelle! 🙂
OMG LOL.. Totally relate to #2 & #5. Thanks for letting people know how hard we work.
All of this is so right on….fantastic post! Also I agree, beautiful blog you have! I too get annoyed when someone offers little of nothing for a blog post that takes 5-6 hours of work and maybe more when you take into account everything you mentioned!!
Thanks for sharing this…I shared it on twitter!
Best!
VAelrie
Fashion and tRavel
Thanks so much Valerie! I really appreciated it! 🙂
Loved the comments about food bloggers. So funny and true!! As a new blogger, these were really great confessions to read!
Thanks Daniela! Welcome to the community! 🙂
Bloggers are totally overworked and under paid.
I hate when companies say that they’ve exceeded their marketing budget for the month so they can’t pay…I say bye because I can’t pay my bills with free product.
xoxo, Jenny
That’s so true Jenny… 🙂
I couldn’t agree more with all of those!
Yes, great list. I agree with all of them. I am very new to the blogging world and am leaving my current day job to do this full time (I have the best supportive hubby ever). People ask me all the time, “how do you make money at that?” or “does it really take that much time?” It’s funny that people think that you just sit down write it out and then you’re done. If only! 🙂 Loved the post!
Thanks Jenn! Going full time? Wow, salute! 🙂
So so true! Especially the last 2 . . . I’ve dealt with those recently. It’s a hard but rewarding gig!
Thanks for sharing! Have a beautiful + kind day!
Taylor Layne
Sorry to hear that…I guess as bloggers, all of us do face the same things, but at least we are here to support each other… 🙂
YES to all of this! Especially the part about not being compensated for all of the time and effort we put in. The allure of being a 6 figure blogger is prominent by the actual work behind that blog is often not discussed..it takes a LOT of work 🙂
I never realised that about food bloggers but it makes sense. I work full time, blogging definitely doesn’t pay the bills!
Yep, these are all so very true! 😀
THE TRUTH! PREACH! I hate it when people say my blog is just a hobby; I’m making real money off of it, so it’s not! I work on it day in and day out!
These are pretty spot on, especially the cold food!
All of these are so spot on! I’m glad I’m not the only one with a messy house!
Agreed on all points.
I think the grass is greener (and more easily kept green) on the other side, so everyone thinks its much easier than it really is to maintain a blog, churn out good content and manage social media channels.
Good on you for sharing the realities with others!
Hey Carrie, thank you for dropping by my blog, I really appreciate it! Haha, I think it is good to let people know how much work we bloggers really put in behind the screen… 🙂
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Hi Vet,
I can totally relate to all of these…especially the second one ;). My bedroom is the room that suffers the most. I straighten up during the week but don’t get to really clean it until the weekend. 🙂 And don’t get me started on laundry, hehe.
Great post! Passing this along.
Cori
Thanks for sharing Cori! 🙂
All are so true!!:D
So true! The first one made me laugh so hard!
XoXo,
Tamara
We all do that right…hahaha 🙂
I agree with so much of what you are saying. Its hard when people do not understand this is something we work incredibly hard at for insane amounts of hours. So much goes into building a following. And, yes the compensation piece is a hot button topic. It goes both ways. There are bloggers who have an inflated grandiose of what they are actually worth too.
Yes I have heard of bloggers like that too, but if they can command very high traffic to their site, maybe they can ask for that kind of price…haha 🙂
Wow it sounds super hard! I am just figuring out how to make my first post on WordPress. Thankfully, I am just trying it for fun. That all sounds so frustrating. Good luck in 2017.
LOL All definitely true. The thing that gets me is that everyone who knows me nods and says “You should keep regular work hours” but then I’m the first one they call to do something “because you’re home”. Yea, I’m home, but I’m WORKING.
And I’d this — if I’m browsing websites, on Pinterest, on Facebook, or quietly sitting and staring at my computer screen until blood comes out of my forehead, I’m STILL working.
This sounds so familiar…. 🙂