I’ve been a blogger for almost 3 full years now.
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| This was the blog’s first birthday bagel. Bless it’s little heart. |
I am by NO MEANS an expert, and by many definitions, I am only on the very beginning edge of even being mildly successful.
But in the three years of consistent writing and participating in the blogging community at large, there are a few things I’ve observed, and they’re things I never would have know when I was just a casual blog reader.
Blogging is hard work.
The vast majority of us have at least one other full time job, and this is not something we have hours and hours to do everyday. We make very little, if any, money (again, there are a few exceptions out there but money making blogs are not the rule) and we do it simply because we care about what we’re writing about.
We don’t have editors.
I am the queen of typos. I try really hard not to have any, but yes, even an English major like me can have the occasional there, they’re, their or your, you’re hiccup. Please be kind to us. It’s just us and our computers.
Sharing really IS caring.
The ONLY way our work is seen is when you share it. Facebook has made it almost impossible for people to see our posts without paying them, and twitter and Pinterest and other forms are great, but if I’m the only one sharing what I write, not many people are going to read it. So if you like a blogger and want to see her continue to write? Please comment on her posts and share them as much as you can!
Sometimes We Get Free Stuff but not often . . . . .
Yes, occasionally we will connect with a brand to do a review or a sponsored post. Every blogger I know only does this when we really like a product, and the compensation is minimal when you consider how many hours most of us put in. Please don’t judge us for doing so.
We LOVE our readers
When you reach out and ask a question, or ask us to write about something, or comment something encouraging it makes us swoon. I’m not kidding. And if you actually subscribe to our blog through email or something like Bloglovin? We truly are happy for weeks.
Writing is hard work. I will always do it because I love it, and I’m not fully “me” if I’m not doing it, but blogging requires a serious amount of dedication to the craft. We are all just putting our ideas out there into the vast expanse that is the internet universe, and hoping that our words make a difference to someone.
Happy Running!! And Reading! And Sharing and caring.
Jen
Amen one thousand times over. And for everyone who critiques grammar, I have a job opportunity for them…on call editor with zero salary and quick response time required!
EXACTLY! And there’s a way to do it, right? When someone sends a respectful email letting me know about a whopper, I’m actually grateful but tone is everything! Bless our hearts . . . .THIS IS HARD!
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Thanks, Jenn! This newbie blogger needs to call you–I have some practical questions:)
Are these practical questions that can be answered over sushi??
This post is so true!
thanks, Laina!!
Hi Jen! Yours is one of the first running blogs I started reading and I know you were the first I ever left a comment on. It was that post where you wrote about how you have knack for picking the newbies out of a crowd and making them feel welcome. That really resonated with me at the time as it was right before my very first race and I was convinced every single person there would know I had NO CLUE what I was doing. 🙂 Anyway, I really enjoy your blog, typos and all. Just wanted you to know!
And . . .I’m crying. Thank you so much, Shannon! Your words are so encouraging to me!! I love your journey and how you’ve embraced your inner runner girl!! Here’s to many more years of racing for us both!
Thank you for writing this… all very true! (And, good to know I’m not the only one…)
Thanks for reading and commenting, Jennifer!!
Amen–you nailed it. I think it’s definitely a labor of love, otherwise many of us wouldn’t be doing it!
Exactly. I honestly often wonder if it’s worth it – but then I get an encouraging email that says someone was inspired by something I wrote and it’s all the fuel I need for many more hours of writing and posting!
I love this post and have so much to say about it…lol!
1. I am actually an English teacher and I write for my “real” job ( magazines and newspapers and I KNOW our blog has typos. I am hopeful that people can overlook it because to tell ya the truth when I read typos on other blogs, my brain knows what they meant to say even if the words on the screen don’t reflect it.
2. I LOVE reading about products that bloggers like ( whether or not they get them free from companies or not, I don’t care). Some readers get really upset that bloggers review products because they feel their blog is too much like a commercial. I don’t mind, at least it gives me a review of a product and for that I am grateful. I don’t understand why others have a problem with it.
3. At first glance I thought your “sharing is caring” said “Sharing is SCARY”, which is actually kind of true. We share a lot about our loves on the blog. As a teacher, I know kids can be very bold in what they say and quite unkind. Until I started blogging, I never imagined that adults could be this way too. I would NEVER imagine writing something negative on someone else’s blog or facebook post just because I didn’t agree with them.
4. On the other hand, I NEVER imagined that we would become such a part of a wonderful community and meet such great people that we actually consider to be real friends.
okay, sorry for such a long comment but this post really resignated with me because I understand how you feel. Perhaps I will make my own post about this. Thanks for the inspiration!
LOL on sharing is scary! So true! It so is! Sometimes I publish something and think, wow, that was really vulnerable, maybe too much? But typically those are the things that resonate most with people!! I love the long comment! Thanks for the encouragement, Friend!
Case in point, in the above comment I meant to say “We share a lot about our LIVES”, not “loves”. Although we do share things we love on the blog!
HAHA! Nice way to prove your point on the typos;). Love it! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve caught a typo in a magazine or even a book and I think, “wow, those things had tons of eyes and professional editors and they still didn’t catch it!” Helps me give myself a break.
Yes, and as I read over it again I realized that I definitely had some mis spellings as well as typos. O well, we are all human!
All of this is SO true. And what I wouldn’t give for an editor 😉
Interesting post Jen. When Christine and I started our blog several years ago, we made the decision that we did not wish to monetize our blog at all. In fact, we have never taken a penny from any of the companies whose products we have reviewed. We feel that honestly is so important and we don’t want to review tons of stuff that has no interest for us. Our favorite part of blogging is connecting and sometimes meeting runners who have found us through our blog, or vice versa.
That’s my favorite part, too, Pam! Still waiting for another chance encounter with you and Christine! We seem to be ships passing in the Run Disney night lately, never at the same races!
Love all of this..especially the part about not having editors! I review all of my posts like 10 times (perfectionism) and STILL find errors after publishing!
So happy to have you as a fellow blogger! 🙂
The worst is when you find one on your phone and you can’t edit it right away. I hate IT!!!!! AND RIGHT BACK AT YA, AMANDA!
Great post! I’ve had some people make some negative statements about bloggers and I figure they just don’t get it. I doubt that my blog even breaks even once you consider hosting fees and related software (completely ignoring my hardware costs and my time!). I write because I like to share info and make connections and to help reduce how crazy I make my family by gushing about runDisney, running and Disney!
For me it’s how I express myself and yes, like you, make connections and great friendships! The blogging community has blown me away – truly amazingly talented people and bonus, really, really likeable!