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5 Things You Should Know Before Starting a Blog

Hello, everyone! As you may or may not have known, this blog has been going on for almost six months now! I have actually been blogging for longer, as I had another blog with Em before we started this one. So, yeah: I guess you could say that I have a good deal of knowledge on blogging.


Blogging is definitely fun and I would recommend it to anyone who was interested in starting a blog, but there are a few things that I think you should know before jumping into the blogging world.


1. BLOGGING TAKES TIME
Sure, you probably already knew this, right? But when I say that blogging takes time, I mean that blogging takes a lot of time. Between actually writing the posts (and then revising and editing and adding pictures), taking pictures (and then editing and watermarking and uploading them to the computer), and promoting your blog, there really is a lot of time that you will need to put into your blog. I have spent whole nights working on posts and doing research for our blog, and yet there is still more that I can do. There is always something to do when running a blog.

2. THINKING OF A BLOG NAME CAN BE DIFFICULT
You are all set to start your blog. You have a topic idea, a few posts to get you started, and even the perfect blog name. Well, guess what: your perfect name is taken. This happened to Em and I (yes: "Reading is Inevitable" was certainly not our first choice). Even if your name idea isn't taken with the blogging service that you use (ex. Blogger), it might be taken with other services or on the social networks you planned on using. Finding a name that is available on every one is difficult. (Unless, of course, you do something personal like "Julia and Em's Bookish World".)


3. THERE ARE A LOT OF BLOGS OUT THERE
A lot of us seem to have fantasies in our heads, little daydreams and wishes that we hope will come true. One idea about blogging is that, "Oh, I will run an amazing blog with tons of interesting content and it will be popular and everyone will read it and -" No. It's not that easy, because, truth is, there's a lot of blogs out there. In other words, there's a lot of competition. Sure, maybe you already knew this, but when a post only gets one view after five months of blogging...? It hurts a bit.


4. THINKING OF POSTS & STICKING TO A SCHEDULE IS TOUGH
If you have a schedule for posting like us at Reading is Inevitable (we post every Monday and Friday), having a post ready can be difficult. Eventually, you're going to start running out of ideas, and while you could just decide not to post some days, then your blog will be (I don't know what other word to use so here I go) dead.


5. IT WILL EVENTUALLY START TO GET LESS FUN AND MORE STRESSFUL (AT TIMES)
I'm not saying that it will never be fun again. No, there will be times when you find blogging to be quite enjoyable. But if you are sticking to a schedule and are slowly running out of post ideas, it will get less and less enjoyable and more and more stressful. Thoughts include, What should I write about?, Shoot: the post pubs in four hours and I still don't have anything! (yes: this has happened to me), and Why is no one reading this post? Especially if you have a job or, like me, school that will be taking up most of your time.

In the end, there's a lot to consider. But if you really want to go for it, do it! Blogging can have a lot of pluses, including being an enjoyable activity and giving you planning skills.
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