In 2018, I gave up being a (paid) blogger. I gave up the dream that every blogger seems to be chasing nowadays, and I gave up an additional $2,000 monthly income.
And I don’t regret it one bit.
You’re probably wondering – did I get a raise so I could forgo $2,000 per month? Did I get a sugar daddy? Did I win the lottery?
No to all that, and yes, an extra $2,000 per month on top of my salary would be nice, but it’s not worth the effort I had to make to obtain it.
I’ve been blogging for almost two decades! Blogging was always a creative outlet, a stress reliever, and a personal diary for me. I poured my heart into it, sharing everything from embarrassing moments to personal triumphs. Honestly, it’s probably one of my oldest hobbies and I don’t ever see myself giving up.
But, I was stuck in my old ways. I loved and missed the blogging era of 2009. Nowadays, it feels like personal blogging has died. Everywhere I looked, bloggers were churning out the same content: “10 Morning Routine Tips,” “How to Start a Blog,” and generic lifestyle advice.
It feels as if you were a personal blogger, you wouldn’t be “successful” in the blogosphere. You’re old and outdated. Now is the time to recycle the same 10 tips to make your life easier and try to get some money out of that.
So, I did exactly that.
Back in late 2017, I created my first-ever lifestyle blog – October Rain. For the first time in decades, I’ve created a blog that didn’t have my name. I felt like if I attached my name, you know it’s a personal blog – hence, Coffee with Claire (my old blog before Eleventh Avenue).
I did everything a lifestyle blog should. I posted reviews on products, services, and businesses. I spammed my posts on Twitter and Facebook groups to generate views. I even had personal photoshoots! I stopped using stock photos and I took the time to edit my photos.
I had a planner filled with ideas that I think readers would like. Topics about relationships, fitness, finances, blogging, etc.
In a short time, I was contacted by a business that was interested in paying me for sponsored posts.
It was simple – they would draft up posts related to my blog (fashion, food, life, etc.) and send me a link to copy and paste the entire article onto my blog. I was flexible with the graphics and image choices but I went with the images they included in the draft document. Once it was live, I would send them a link and they’ll review it before sending me payment. This practice was meant to boost the SEO ratings of other businesses who paid this company for their marketing/SEO strategies.
For almost an entire year, my blog was netting me $1,600 – $2,000 every month, which means I was making upwards of $24,000 per year as my side gig.
In late 2018, I received a notification that it was time to renew my web hosting plans. Instead, I decided to cancel the blog.
I hated my blog. It didn’t feel like it was mine anymore. I felt like a sellout, taking sponsored posts just to have an income. I was scheduling up to 3-4 articles a day so that left me with very little room to publish my own posts. And when I did publish my own post, it got buried amongst the sponsored posts.
I had friends asking me how the blog was going and I hated that. They thought it was cool that I managed to earn money from my blog but I felt like the fact that they did know I earned money, I had to upkeep my blog to make sure it was generating a monthly income.
I also went on vacation in Spring 2018 for two weeks and during those two weeks, my blog crossed my mind several times. I was growing anxious with the emails from the business I was working with and tried to keep up with the demands of posting all their articles. I remember, after a day of sightseeing, I excused myself a few times to quickly publish the articles, even though I was late based on their schedule. Eventually, the company dropped me since I was not posting fast enough whilst on vacation.
Ultimately, the biggest reason why I decided to quit being a paid blogger was that I no longer enjoyed my favourite hobby.
After work, I would go home and review my blog. By the time I was done copying, pasting and scheduling the sponsored posts, I barely had time for my own work. I’d want to update my theme but couldn’t bring myself to do so because I hated looking at my blog for so long.
It wasn’t physically tiring per se, but it was emotionally tiring to drain my creativity and my passion for my favourite hobby that didn’t give me the happiness and relaxation that it once gave.
Yes, the extra money was nice but I hated how it controlled my life and ruined my hobby.
What did I do after that?
From 2019 to 2021, I went back to personal blogging (aka an online diary) with a few lifestyle posts here and there. I was much happier knowing I can leave my blog alone for two weeks and have no one drilling my ass for an update. I was happier because I was back in the 2009 era of blogging where my stalkers could envy my eventful life (just kidding! But, I did have stalkers on one of my old personal blogs!). A place where I can share my thoughts and have feedback from others outside my friends. I have a place where I can rant freely with no worries about what others will think or say.
After deleting my money-making lifestyle blog, I had a healthier balance of life, work, and blogging. More importantly, during that time, I was happy and loved my blog again. I found my love and passion for blogging again and it gives me immense happiness to hit the publish button.
Towards 2021, I drifted away from personal blogging – this time, for good. However, I still wanted to blog, just… not personally anymore. I chose to keep my diary on my local drive instead. Even then, I’ve found better ways to cope with my thoughts, emotions, and creativity and I ended up deleting my diaries. I think for me, it held so much baggage that I rather delete it than upkeep it (we’re talking decades of old trauma posts and emotions).
To keep up with my hobby and creativity, I created Eleventh Avenue, the current blog you are reading now. Is it my goal to make money off this brand? Yes; I’m not going to lie to you. Who doesn’t want to make some extra side cash in this economy? But, I’m doing it more healthily. I’m more pickier with the brands I choose to work with and no longer sell myself out. All my posts are written by me, and the topics are of my interest. I will no longer let another brand or business dictate how I enjoy my vacation or dictate the posts/topics I share on my blog. I’m much happier and proud of my blog than I was back in 2018. One of my blog’s pillars is transparency; I want to be as transparent as possible to my readers.
Any money generated from my blog is secondary. My main passion in blogging is sharing content with the world, even if I’m not garnering 1 million views a day. If I help just one or two people with my post on saving money, help a few people discover new YouTube channels for at-home workouts, or share a thought-evoking post, I’m happy. I’m motivated to keep going until I can’t.
So, whether you’re getting into blogging (or content creation) to generate an income, or you want to claim a little corner of the internet as your own, don’t do what I did. Don’t sell yourself out for money despite it being nice because ultimately, you’ll hate what you’re doing and call it quits in no time. Work with brands and people who resonate with you and share the same interests. Write your own posts. Work on your own schedule (but be respectful of deadlines). Be your own boss.
Thank you for sharing your experience with blogging. One needs to experience and go through the journey to find out what they really want and you’ve found it and that’s wonderful!! being selective with who you work with and making it align with what you want is key to having less stress, helping you keep going for the long run, and having the success that matters to you.
Wafaa | http://www.loyaltyrain.com