Between Pinterest, YouTube, Medium, Twitter, Instagram and WordPress, there are infinite sources on the internet that will convince you large investments need to be made into your blog in order for it to be successful.
This is simply not the case.
If you want to spend money on your blog, and have the money to spend money on your blog, have at’er. But, if money is tight, if you have to watch your expenses, if you’re not independently wealthy, you do not need to spend large sums of money to run a successful blog.
From a personal standpoint, in the past year and a half that I have been running this blog, I have spent $120. That $120 spent is solely on the fee for having a Personal WordPress account. I consider that a worthwhile investment because I wanted the millenniallifecrisis.org URL. For what I desired from this blog when I started it, I would consider it to be successful. I’ve met tons of incredible people, I’ve shared stories, had stories shared with me. It’s been a very valuable resources for me. All that being said, some people want more from their platform. I completely understand that.
If you’re someone who wants more from your platform, if you’re someone who wants to start a business with your blog or wants to start earning income from your blog, I would strongly encourage you to do your research. I’d also encourage you to proceed with caution and understand that you need to walk before you can run. And, depending on how fresh and new your blog might be, you need to learn to crawl before you can walk.
In the past year and a half I’ve seen some really incredible writers invest hundreds, if not thousands of dollars into their blogs only to quit when they didn’t get the response they wanted. Not only is their potential wasted when they quit but that money they’ve invested into having a business WordPress account is wasted. The hundreds of dollars spent on Pinterest ads, the hundreds of dollars spent on Instagram ads, all for nothing.
The biggest mistake that I see people making is that they want to direct as many people as possible to their blog without having a plan in place to keep people interested, to keep people reading and to keep people coming back. They sign up for a blogging network to grow their blog and they don’t know what they want to grow their blog into.
You have to have a plan. A vision of where you want to take your blog and an establish process of how you intend to accomplish that vision. Don’t just throw money at people or platforms and expect your follower count to grow. I can tell you with 100% certainty that if you start throwing your money around, people will always take it. If you don’t have a plan, however, throwing that money around won’t do you any good.
I guess, what I’m really trying to say is, whether you’re rich or not, be smart about investing your money. Money is still money, no matter how much of it is in your bank account. You work hard for that money, so spend it wisely. Blindly charging Instagram ads to your credit card is not only poor marketing for your blog, but thoughtless promotion as well. Throwing money at a network without fully understanding what it can or cannot do for your will only leave you frustrated and feeling helpless.
I don’t want to see you quit.
I don’t want to see anyone quit.
Blogging brings a certain catharsis that everyone deserves. If you’re struggling to find your way in the blogging world and seeking more from your platform, I would strongly encourage you to
- Build a vision for your blog
- Then, and only then, do a lot of research about different options for promotion, marketing and growth investments.
- Get a second and third opinion from someone you trust, or from an unbiased source. If you ever need or want advice from me, I’d be more than happy to make suggestions and provide any help that I can. I’m not an expert, but I am an unbiased opinion.
- Then, and only then, make a worthwhile investment that you feel will benefit your platform.
You work hard for your money. Use it wisely. I don’t want to see you quit because you’re not getting the outcome you hoped for. I don’t want to see anyone quit.