How to Stay Motivated When You First Start Blogging

When you first start out blogging, you probably have a few weeks or months worth of material that you want to write about. It’s hard to start out at first, but once you get into a groove, creating content becomes second-nature. However, it’s very normal after a few months of blogging to wonder, “Why did I start this blog again?” “I feel like no one is reading it except my mom,” and “I don’t know if this was worth it.”

I am here to tell you that it IS worth it!!!

As my regular readers know, I did not start my blog as a hobby. While I’ve made some wonderful friends and love the blogging community more than ever, my primary reason for starting a blog was to earn an income. (Do you want to do the same? Read my tutorial here on how to start a profitable blog. You’ll receive a discount by using my link!) And, I am happy to report (2 1/2 years in!), that I finally was able to quit my full-time job to focus more on my blog! Woot! If I can do this, so you can!! Just give it time! 🙂

Here are five ways you can keep up the momentum when you first start blogging.

How to Stay Motivated When You First Start Blogging

Find a blogging friend

I met my friend Christina through blogging, and she has quickly became not only one of my biggest motivators, but also one of my best friends. We text each other daily about blogging because we both love it so much. We bounce ideas off of each other, we keep each other motivated, and heck we even wake up at the crack of dawn to blog and hold each other accountable! I didn’t start talking to Christina until I had my blog for close to 10 months, but she was worth the wait!! You can meet your own blogging buddy by simply commenting on other blogs and emailing bloggers that you think you would get along well with. Don’t be shy!! Remember, we are ALL in this together!! You can even feel free to email me!! 🙂

Keep your end goal in mind

I will admit that I didn’t have this post scheduled for today and was seriously considering just skipping out on a post altogether. However, that would not align with my end goal, which is making $10K per month within one year and ultimately having both my husband and I work from home together if that’s what we end up choosing to do. I want us both to have options and I know that blogging can eventually give us the freedom that we crave.

Whenever you’re feeling discouraged, think about your reasoning for starting a blog and stay focused!! Success does NOT come overnight with this sort of thing. Most big bloggers have been at it for at least five years. If you do so happen to see a super successful blogger who’s been doing it less than a year, he or she is one of the lucky ones!! And feel free to reach out to the owner and ask for advice!! 🙂 A blog is a long-term commitment. You most likely will make some money after the first six months, but I don’t expect to see any “real” income until after two or three years, to be honest.

Take one or two full days off

Blogging can be extremely time consuming, whether you’re just starting out and trying to figure out the ins and outs of your theme or you’ve been doing it for a year and you’re trying to improve your social media promotion (like me!). There is just so much that goes on with blogging that goes above and beyond writing posts. It can be draining, which is why you absolutely MUST give yourself at least one full day off each week. I haven’t always done this, but it makes such a difference in my productivity during the week. I know if I can get everything done by Friday evening for the beginning of the following week, I can fully relax all weekend with my family. Set boundaries for yourself. Blog when you’re supposed to be blogging and rest when you’re supposed to be resting.

Comment and interact with other bloggers

This helps keep me motivated! There are a handful of blogs that I regularly leave comments on, and while we don’t email back and forth or text each other, I really enjoy reading what they have to say and sharing my thoughts. This not only helps keep me motivated (if they’re doing it, why can’t I?!), but it also gives me ideas on what to write about! While it’s never OK to blatantly copy someone else’s post,  you can absolutely use someone’s post as inspiration for your own!

Try something new

Producing the same type of content can get old after a while. Try to change it up a bit by trying new things with your blog every now and then. You might want to promote an affiliate course, rearrange some of your ads, or go big and create a product of your own!

I’ve created two products. The Beginner’s Guide to Starting a Blog (this book is free for those who start a blog using my Bluehost link) and How to Make Money as a Web Hosting Affiliate.

Creating products isn’t near as daunting as it seems. For The Beginner’s Guide to Blogging, I created the document in Microsoft Word, saved it as a PDF and uploaded it to Gumroad. My course – How to Make Money as a Web Hosting Affiliate – was created using Teachable.

I encourage all you beginner bloggers to really keep it up. Think of it as a three-year commitment from when you first purchase your domain name. Do not give up before that!! I’m not at the three-year mark yet, but I think I will be pleasantly surprised once I get there!

How do you get back your motivation when you’re in a blogging slump?!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog in that way!