The Thirty Day Year

For Those About to Blog–Issue 3–7 Myths About Blogging

1) The first myth is a biggie.

It is “blogging will make you very rich very quick”.

This is not my experience, nor did I expect it would be.

I had read enough other blogs before starting this one to realize this was not the case, and my blog is no different than most.

In fact, since my first post on September 27 2007, and this is my 106th post, I have made all of $1.48 on this blog.

Not a great sum, perhaps, but it is actually more than I thought I would make this early.

So if you’re looking for a get rich scheme, blogging isn’t it.

2) Another myth is that if you don’t make money, it is not worth doing.

This depends largely on what it is you seek when you begin.

I wanted to define my beliefs to myself and to others, and perhaps to help someone–just one someone–in the process.

That was my biggest motivation.

Hopefully, somewhere in this stack of posts, there is one that has helped you.

3) Another myth is that it costs a great deal to run a blog.

All you really need to pay for is–well, nothing.

You can run blogs for free on some sites, WordPress.com, for instance–for more info on that, plus lot of great tips on WordPress, check out  http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2006/01/10/get-your-free-wordpresscom-blog-now/ . Even if you do choose to have your blog hosted, it is not terribly expensive. My blog is hosted through AnHosting (aff.), and the cost is minimal. Especially considering the pleasure I get just prooving to myself that I can do this, and the hope that I am helping someone.

4) As well, I am happy to tell you that the blogging platform, the software program that enables you to do all this stuff in the first place, is completely free of cost. This, thanks to an amazing army of volunteers over at WordPress, who are continually working to perfect this amazing product. There are other platforms, but I use WordPress, so that is what I write about here.

5) Blogging doesn’t take much time.

Not true, not if you do a post a day as I aim to most days.

It takes time to write a decent post, plus it takes some time to go through comments, get rid of spam, keep track of which ads are running out when if you have that type of ad on your site, and all the incidental little things you do in the course of your day as a blogger.

Not everyone posts every day, and I had initially planned to cut back to a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule in January, but have not done so yet. I’ll try my current schedule for thirty days, and see if I wish to change it.

6) Blogs are for the very young.

I’ll be 45 on February 5.

This is my blog.

Enough said.

7) Blogging is hard work.

Well, no.

And yes.

Sometimes, coming up with an idea for a post is tough, but if you love to write, it is an amazing thing to do.

Plus, learning to make changes is work intitally, but like so many other things, once you figure out how to do stuff, it becomes easy.

Give it a try, and see how you like it.