Can Anyone Start a Successful Blog in 2022?

Blogging isn’t as daunting as it’s sometimes made out to be. Can You Start a Successful Blog in 2022? In short, yes. Of course!

You would be forgiven for falling into the trap of believing that blogging is dead. It’s a rumour that has been going around for years. But if you take a step back for a moment you will realise that blogs are linked to the largest and most powerful search engine in the entire world. Google. So long as Google is around, blogs/websites will be too.

Everyone has a different idea of success but to be transparent, this will take the meaning of success to mean in a financial sense. 

So long as your main reason for wanting one is based on you wanting to write and share information, then absolutely you can make a success of it.  If your focus is passion in your niche and not purely for the money, then yes, absolutely anyone can blog.

Blogs have been around for many years now. Blogging itself seems to come in and out of popularity. Some say blogging is now pointless (believe me, it’s not), others are making thousands/millions from theirs – and everyone in between.

Any time you look up just about anything online, you come across blogs/niche websites. Literally all the time. Not as dead as people make out!

Blogging is still an incredible way to have a creative outlet and make money at the same time – if making money from your blog is something you are interested in.

Even if you have no interest in making money from your blog, you can still get an amazing amount back from it. That in itself is also a reason to create your own blog. Any positive benefit to you is a reason in itself to have your own corner of the internet.

 

What is your main reason to want to blog?

There are many reasons why you might want to start a blog:

• To have a creative outlet
• To share information and ideas with likeminded people
• You feel like you can help/provide value to others with the information you have to share
• As a personal blog for yourself to document your own life/journey
• To make money (small or large amounts)
• You love to write
• You’ve discovered a new passion you want to learn more about
• You want the opportunity to work with brands you love

…and many more!

Any of the reasons above – be it a single reason or a combination – are perfect reasons to start blogging.

A word of caution if your only reason is the money. You can absolutely monetise most types of blog, but your want to blog and to be able to stay consistent to get to the point of making an income from it, you will need at least one of the other reasons from the list above as to why you started blogging in the first place.

 

Personal blog vs niche blog?

There are pros and cons to both types of blog. 

I know the question here is if anyone can start a successful blog in 2022, but success is subjective. It depends what success looks like to you!

Success to some is money or financial freedom. Success to others is a way to escape daily life. It could be that you need that “me time” to focus on whichever topic you choose. Success is what feels right to you.

It totally depends on what it is you want from your blog! If it’s because you need an outlet where you can just keep writing to get things out of your head (amazing for your mental health), or to document your own life or a specific journey then a personal blog would be the right fit.

It’s your blog, your personal space, you can write about whatever you like! 

The biggest drawback with personal blogs is that if you wanted to monetise it down the line, this would be very tricky. Not impossible! But definitely very tricky.

Opting for a niche blog on a topic you love and are interested in, whether on a slightly more general topic such as “Garden birds in the UK” or a very specific niche such as focussing on one specific game you love, does take away a lot of the “blog about whatever you like” aspect, but makes it a lot easier to monetise and find like minded bloggers and companies wanting to work with you as they are a perfect fit for that niche. If you are that way inclined.

If you are really torn and have reasons for both, then have both! 

 

Either of the above are amazing reasons to jump in and create that blog.

 

Decide what you want the blog to provide for you longer term (it’s absolutely okay for money to be a reason at this point), and follow that route.

Remember there is nothing stopping you from setting up two websites. If you want a personal blog to use as a personal journal for mental health purposes or just an escape, then down the line realise you would like a blog to be on a more specific topic, set up a second one!

One thing to remember here;

If your blog is a personal one, you are blogging for you.

If your blog is in a niche/to be monetised, you are blogging for your readers.

 

 

Reasons blogging may be a good fit for you.

As I said above, if your main/only goal to start a successful blog in 2012 is purely to make money, it won’t work. And here’s why…

Blogging (as a business or for any form of real income) is hard work. Is it fun? Absolutely. Worth it? Definitely. Do you need a heck of a lot of patience due to it taking months to even start to see any return? Yes. 

And this is where the problem lies for some.

If you adore blogging and the topic you are writing about, you will enjoy the whole process and will most likely keep writing those posts even when it feels like it isn’t “going” anywhere.

It will, it just takes time.

The important part is to keep up the consistency even when in those early stages. When you love the topic you are talking about, this makes it a hundred times easier than spending your whole time feeling like it’s a chore, which literally defeats the purpose! 

If any of your reasons to want to start are because YOU want to (as opposed to because everyone else is), if you want to share your journey or knowledge or ideas, or want to help people or be a part of a community, want it as a space for your own outlet, then you should absolutely do it.

You will know yourself if you truly believe you can research/write/learn information on a topic without any return for at least 6-12 months then that sounds like the perfect topic for you.

 

 

Do you need to be a good writer to have a successful blog?

No. 

Haha.

Seriously though, you really don’t.

One of the biggest worries people have is that people will judge how they write.

Isn’t the beauty of why we enjoy different blogs or books, literally that everyone writes differently?

With a blog you want to write as you would talk. Obviously some topics would be more professional sounding than chatty, but people will enjoy reading your own quirks and styles.

As long as it makes sense and you can put your message across to your readers, this is all you need.

Like with anything, the more you do it the better you will get, so over time you may naturally become better at writing, but it isn’t a necessity to sound like a pro from the get go!

If you are very self conscious about your writing, there are lots of things you can use to help. You can ask a friend to proofread it, even little sections at a time. The other option is to use a website like Grammarly! 

 

Never let a skill you can learn be the reason you don’t do something you want to do.

 

 

Free or paid blog?

I wrote a full post on the differences and which is best for you:

https://katherinemclee.com/can-you-make-money-with-a-free-blog/ but as a quick summary;

If your blog is for your own use, just a journal or a diary of your own life and is purely as your corner of the internet where you can get all thoughts/feelings out and you would never want a large amount of views or to make money from it, then a free blog could be perfect for this.

Very little you need to do aside from create an account and pick a theme and you can get started!

You should remember though that you don’t own a free blog, the company you get your free blog through does, so they could potentially close it down, but it isn’t too likely to happen.

If you want to make money from your blog, have full control over your website, be able to really personalise it or grow a large following of readers, then you absolutely need a self hosted website.

Read the full article here: https://katherinemclee.com/can-you-make-money-with-a-free-blog/

 

 

What’s holding you back?

So often people want to start a blog of their own but something holds them back.

• You may have a fear of no-one reading your blog, or a fear of people reading it 
• The worry that people will judge you
• Feeling like you don’t understand how it works or that there seems to be so much to learn
• Worried everyone else’s blogs are “better” than yours
• What if you don’t have the time to find time to blog consistently?
• Don’t feel you have enough self confidence/why would anyone want to read what you have to say

The list goes on!

These are all completely real and relevant concerns… except none of them matter. Not really.

If any of these (or any other) concerns are holding you back and preventing you from starting your own website, put those concerns in the bin! 

Flip the situation, if a friend came to you and said they adore crocheting and talking about it and want to have their own blog but were worried no-one would read it or they would get judged, what would you tell them? To ignore any concerns and go for it! They will be great! And so will you.

The fact you want to blog is a good enough reason to get set up and start! 

 

Eliminating Concerns

Let’s go over some of the concerns listed above and I can explain how all these points are really not anything to worry about.

 

You may have a fear of no-one reading your blog, or a fear of people reading it! 

This was one of mine! I wanted a blog to be able to share ideas (my first blog was reviews of books and beauty products), but I was also so scared about people actually reading it?! 

Not sure what exactly it was that worried me, but it’s a common fear a lot of new bloggers start with. I soon realised that I spent a lot of time literally reading other blogs, enjoying the different ways people wrote, not wanting them all to sound the same anyway.

Once you decide to go for it, you will most likely find you enjoy writing about your chosen topic to help others who may be searching for that particular information.

If you are worried no one will read it, you just have to learn to get your name out there and you can absolutely grow yourself a decent audience!

The benefit to having no readers when you first start is that it gives you time to get into the flow of writing before you have that many eyes on your blog.

You want to start a successful blog in 2022, just remember that it doesn’t start off as an overnight success. You and your blog/blogging business will grow together.

 

The worry that people will judge you

I think deep down everyone has this fear, even a little bit. If you think about it though, while you are still a new blogger you will have next to no one reading your posts, and by the time you have got more posts up and a small following forming, you’ll be enjoying it so much that the fear of judgement will go out the window. Nobody starts off perfect, embrace that your first few posts may be a little messy or not “perfect” – it’s all part of the process!

Everyone has something they enjoy talking to others about, what’s wrong with sharing that knowledge with other people in a way that you enjoy?

 

Feeling like you don’t understand how it works or that there seems to be so much to learn

This one I do absolutely understand. I’m secretly (probably not so secretly) a bit of a geek. I love reading and learning on topics that interest me and can watch videos or listen to podcasts about mindset and productivity for days. If I’m interested in something I just want to absorb all the information on it.

Personally I adore blogging, the concept, the limitless nature, and love helping other people see their own potential in whichever topics they are interested in themselves.

You don’t need to know everything about your chosen topic to get started. There will always be so much more to learn, so never let this put you off. 

You don’t have to learn/know/perfect everything all at once, just to get started.

Start with the basics, and learn as you go.

As a new blogger (anyone who isn’t already making a good income from their blog) – just blog.

Write content.

Market this content.

You can learn all the other bits as you go on, but just focus on writing those posts on that topic you love. Once you feel comfortable doing this, you can then start to market it. But one step at a time.

Rome wasn’t built in a day.

 

You’re worried everyone else’s blogs are “better” than yours

Everyone’s own blog is their own. Their own design, personality and writing style – that’s the beauty of a blog. If everyone’s blog looked the same, how boring would that be?! Nothing would ever stand out.

As with the writing, as you go on you will change and update parts. This is part of the process.

This is the same with everything, things get better with time. Never compare your chapter 1 to someone else’s chapter 20.

You could listen to the same song by 7 different people and one or two will stand out and you will adore those versions – often you aren’t even sure why – there’s just something a little different that you are just drawn to more than the others.

Blogging is exactly the same. You may be blogging about a topic that lots of other people are too, but you will have people coming back to your blog because it’s YOU.

They will enjoy your writing style or humour or the simplicity of the layout. Could be a number of reasons. 

When they are coming back to read what you have to say in the way you say things and put them across, the look of the blog isn’t as important really, is it?

If you want to start a successful blog in 2022, do it!

 

What if you don’t have the time to find time to blog consistently?

Everyone’s life is different so I can’t sit here and tell you you definitely will have time. That would be silly as I have no crystal ball.

What I can tell you is that there are often ways to make a bit of extra time in your day.

How much time do you spend on Facebook? How do you currently spend your lunch hour? Do you spend 2 hours doing a job that should take 10 minutes to do because you get far too easily distracted? (That one is literally me.) Could you get up an hour earlier? 

If you really want to do something, you will find the time. 

Everyone’s situation is different and some may only have a few hours a week whereas others may have multiple hours every day to work on their blog, but consistent effort will help grow your blog. Doing 10 hours each week is a much better path than 30 hours one week and then nothing for the rest of the month. Keep it manageable so you can stay consistent as this is where the growth happens.

 

Don’t feel you have enough self confidence/why would anyone want to read what you have to say

This one ties in with the point I made earlier regarding you being unique. Your superpower advantage here is that no one else is you. You will portray things differently and people will want to read your blog because they like you and what you have to say, in the way you say it.

The beauty of a blog is that if you don’t use your name and go for something unrelated to yourself or anything identifying, no-one has to know who you are or what you look like. I don’t mean that to sound as creepy as it probably does! 

I just mean that there are no rules to what you have to name or put on your site.

Yes it’s recommended to have a smiling photo of your wonderful face on your blog, but you don’t have to. That can come later when you feel comfortable enough to do so.

Have you ever scrolled through the comments on a blog/YouTube?

(Let’s not mention Tumblr, unless you want to end up in tears laughing as the people on tumblr are hilarious and so random at the same time. Done this so many times. Usually when I’m trying to sleep… not recommended…I digress…)

But yes, have you ever been reading a comments section somewhere and you find a comment you just completely agree with. I don’t mean a comment where someone just said “agreed”, but a comment someone has put thought into, and you instantly feel like you like that person? This will happen with your blog when people read it! 

 

Start the blog!

I really hope this has helped give you some insight as to who can start a successful blog in 2022 (literally everyone).

Ditch all concerns, create your blog for YOU.

People will love what you have to say. Why wouldn’t they?

You will never please everyone, so do things that make you happy.

Learn and grow with your blog. Enjoy it.

If you have a new blog, leave the link in the comments so that I can check it out! 

Speak soon!