Today, I am rolling back the curtains to somewhat expose the dark side of Blogging nobody talks about as we are all humans and like to share only the good parts of our lives. Being a Blogger for 10 years has taught me some much needed life lessons about Business, Life and Human Nature.
Before I go any further I must let you know I love Blogging and it has been the most consistent thing in my life as I am an Aquarius woman who has many interests and talents and I love to explore them all. This is one of those eye-opening posts that will either make you feel great about being a Blogger or might steer you away from the industry. Let’s go right in!
You will feel Un-inspired .. ALOT
Blogging is something that comes naturally to me and I never run out of ideas but that doesn’t mean I’m inspired to create content all the time! A huge part of the work we do at Haute People is covering events and certain times of the year, they are back to back. The months of October and November are our busiest months (apart from Fashion Season) where we have to be out and about covering, producing and creating content. I remember in 2018, I was so un-inspired to create content that I reached out to other Bloggers to go in my place and take the photos and write the content on my behalf. I was not sad or depressed or anything like that, it’s just that going to the same events became monotonous — there was nothing that piqued my interest but it’s like things looked exactly the same as the year before. This led to a bout of complete “uninspired ness”.
The Dark Side of Blogging they Don’t Tell You About
You will be SCAMMED
Listen to me when I tell you, people will use you and exploit for your talents and not pay you. We have all experienced those situations where a company, brand or personality engages us for a service and they badger you non stop until the work is done then when it’s time to pay, they go missing. There is always the “Oh, you know I was just thinking about you”? or “Yeah man, yeah man the funds will be in the account today” and of course ghosting. I have created a new rule where I require a 50% deposit upfront before I start any job — it doesn’t matter how long I’ve known the person, in the words of Rihanna, “B*tch better have my money”. On this same not, they will try to bargain your price and make you feel bad for charging the amount you do. I’m able to create a Blog post or write any type of Content within an hour once I have all the information because I’ve been doing this for 10 years. It should not be negotiable with how fast something can be done to determine how much a client should pay you. If people can’t afford your price or rates, those are not the people you should be doing business with.
It’s Lonely
This is of course dependent on how seriously you take Blogging whether it’s a Hobby or a Business. I knew after 2 years that it was a Service based business that I took seriously. I always try to do things 100% and I would work with Photographers and Videographers for events versus taking phone photos like everybody else. I knew the value I was adding to the Industry and did my best to ensure the brands that engaged our services where always positioned in the best light and this is with high quality photos and videos. If you do things on a larger (professional) scale like we do here in Jamaica, you will more than likely be the only “Blogger” at events among the likes of TVJ, CVM , RJR Group and other Media Houses. When I was nominated for Blogger Awards in Florida, I looked around and realised I was the only Jamaican Blogger in the room and felt lonely. Sure this was an honour to be recognised outside my country, but it was hella lonely. It would have been nice to see other local Bloggers in the room to talk to like-minded individuals but it did not work out that way. It will get lonely as well because your friends might not understand what you do and probably not interested in going to a Fashion Show or anything Fashion related. It’s completely natural to have friends who might not share the same interests as you, but there are some places you are invited to that they might not want to go, or can go because of limited invites.
The Competition Will Break or Motivate You
Of all the Blogging Niche’s in Jamaica, the Lifestyle space is the most divided! The Food Blogger are highly supportive of each other and often do collabs and invite each other out to new Restaurants and so on, but it’s not so in this space. People will see you collaborating with brands and going to various events and instead of congratulating you, the question in the DM is “How can I get invited too” or “How can I work with that brand”. My response is always:
“By putting in the work, being professional, consistent and continue to show up as your best self all the time.
I made a mistake by inviting Bloggers on separate occasions to events and they were late and unprofessional. Instead of actually doing the work, it was a hype and profile with endless selfies and not networking with the organisers or sponsors — it was a mess to say the least. Instead of looking at all this in a negative light, I use it as motivation to keep pushing because I know the purpose I have and the plans that God has in store will prosper me.
Stress and Burnout Is Real
Imagine doing this for 10 years and being a daily blogger, plus having a full time job, a social life, side hustle , responsibilities. This type of industry does not sleep which means I have to always bring my A-Game and be well-read , well- watched and well travelled. If a new movie or series comes out on Netflix, I have to ensure I’ve watched it so I can create a Blog post so when it starts to trend, my post will show up on Google when people use a specific keyword. To help with this, I usually have “Content Day” on a Sunday where I write all the articles on this day, then hit publish on specific days which allows me some “free- time” to an extent. There is also reaching out to contractors, brands and vendors which is on a rolling basis and let’s not talk about those emails which are never ending across a number of platforms. Stress and Burnout is inevitable which is why we see several Bloggers having self care days and taking vacations several times throughout the year.
It Can be REALLY Expensive
I am a stickler for “using what you have” but as you grow, you will need to make improvements so you can provide better quality to the end users. This might look like a $300,000 computer, $250,000 camera + lens and other equipment such a lighting, props, office furniture, courses, online subscriptions such a Photoshop and Canva that you use on a daily basis. There are also vanity things like outfits for events, makeup, shoes, transportation (Gas) or other wise, accommodations, plane tickets, meals etc. I’ve discovered the value of working with Designers which is something I discovered quite late in my Blogging journey where a designer dresses me in an outfit and I write about it on the Blog and also feature on Social Media. This has been a life saver as there are certain outfits called “speciality outfits” that are so extravagant that you can literally only wear it once, then what do you do with it? Throw it away? Nope. The good thing Is that I’ve been making enough to cover the costs but I would like to keep costs as low as possible so I’m able to re-invest in the business.
Conclusion
Blogging is a great. career once you decide to take things seriously and go professional. There are however a few nuances that nobody mentions that can be deemed as dark and even stressful.
Let us know in the comments below which of the above was eye-opening for you.
#The Dark Side of Blogging they Don’t Tell You About
#The Dark Side of Blogging they Don’t Tell You About
#The Dark Side of Blogging they Don’t Tell You About
#The Dark Side of Blogging they Don’t Tell You About
#The Dark Side of Blogging they Don’t Tell You About
#The Dark Side of Blogging they Don’t Tell You About
#The Dark Side of Blogging they Don’t Tell You About
