If you’ve been a blogger for a while, you understand the frustrations that come along with the job. Even though blogging has been around for a while, influencer marketing has recently taken off in a big way. The rules of the game have changed and bloggers have more responsibility and competition than ever. However, sometimes, people just do not understand what it takes and that drives us nuts!
I asked bloggers from Her Campus Blogger Network to share what they’re tired of hearing and shared them below. I hope you enjoy!
1. “So people just send you tons of free stuff?”
submitted by Mikkaela Salamatin of Southwest Prepster
It is 100% not free. When a company sends us a product, we have to spend hours upon hours styling it and preparing a post on it.
Bloggers have to plan the post, style photos, take photos, edit the photos, write the post, edit the post, promote the post, and much more.
So if you’re guilty of saying this, I ask you: Is your time free? I didn’t think so.
2. “I like writing or I want free stuff, I should start my own blog.”
submitted by Krystal from Beauty Life Geek
“I’ve heard this this 189266 times,” said Caroline Moses of The Caro Diaries.
I encourage everybody who has a passion for something to write about it. However, blogging is not just about being a good writer. Bloggers wear many hats: publicist, photographer, editor, designer, social media manager, data analyst, advertiser, stylist, makeup artist, and more. If you want to seriously blog, you have to do a lot more than just write well.
Dani Kluss from Dani Dearest says she’s sick of hearing “Oh that sounds so easy!” and “So I just make a website and people give me stuff for free/pay me to write reviews?” It’s much, much more complex than that.
Sofia Nilsson of Redux Squad says she hears “I wanna be a blogger and get free stuff too,” all the time, “Like its so easy.” Blogging is incredibly difficult and time-consuming. If you want to make the commitment to blog, be ready for a lot of work.
3. “I wish I had that much time on my hands.”
Yeah, me too. I go to school full-time, have a part-time job, and volunteer. Blogging takes up roughly an additional 15-20 hours a week for me, but most full-time bloggers spend 40-60 hours a week working. Guess how much time I spent on this post? 10 hours.
I don’t have that much free time either, but I MAKE time. When you’re passionate about something, you’ll always make time for it – it’s all about prioritizing.
“People have no idea just how much time it actually takes! I can spend more than 10 hours even putting together ONE post from start to finish!” said Courtney from As We Stumble Along.
“I hate when people don’t actually understand how much time goes into each and every post…. Not to mention the time spent promoting on social media and even connecting with other bloggers,” Jackie Goldhar from Something About That points out.
“People truly don’t understand the work it takes. Posts can take hours and hours to create! And social media is a full time job. Weekends too. It’s completely different from using social platforms for fun,” said Natalia Pessoa of XOXO Make.
4. “You must be rich.” or “I could have a blog too if I was rich.”
“I think it’s a common misconception that fashion and lifestyle bloggers are all rich. DEFINITELY not the case,” said Julia Flaherty from Miss Trend She.
Personally, I am completely broke. The other day I looked at my bank account and it actually said $7.34. I kid you not. Only a select few bloggers make it big – the rest of us are often struggling to rub two pennies together.
Starting a blog can also be expensive! Sure, buying a domain can be really cheap and even having your site self-hosted isn’t going to break the bank. But there are a lot of other costs you don’t anticipate. You also have to buy equipment like good lighting, a quality camera, and photo editing software. Even things you wouldn’t think of – I frequently buy flowers, stationary, plants, confetti, and other accent pieces for styling photos. I recently re-branded my site and spent upwards of $300 on design features, templates, logos, etc.
5. “Blogging is shallow.”
submitted by Michaela Victoria Fisch from The Monogrammed Midwesterner
People frequently have the misconception that bloggers are extremely self-absorbed – why else would they love posting pictures of themselves online for the whole world to see? This assumption really rubs me the wrong way.
First of all, most successful bloggers have a mission behind their brand. For instance – I love talking about body-positivity and anti-bullying. Many bloggers have a deeper reason why they started blogging. It’s not all about pretty pictures and flowery words, people.
Bloggers also invest a ton of time in developing communities. They pour themselves into their readers – asking what they want to hear and helping them with their problems. Most people don’t follow or listen to vain, shallow people. Successful bloggers have loyal followings because they work hard to foster an authentic community and really listen to their audience.
Finally, I honestly cannot tell you how much courage it takes to post pictures of yourself online for thousands of people and major brands to see. When you’re a blogger, you’re putting yourself in the public eye and making yourself vulnerable to possible ridicule. Writing about yourself or posting pictures of yourself doesn’t make you shallow, it makes you strong and introspective. Also, I have to say: when your income depends on your appearance, that’s a lot of pressure.
6. “Blogging’s not that hard.”
submitted by Angi Burrows
See #1 and #2. But really, blogging is so incredibly difficult. There’s a reason why most people stop blogging consistently after the first few months. It’s just HARD! It takes so much time, planning, and thought.
Stephanie Jenssen of The Lovely Essentials hates it when people say, “LOL blogging isn’t actually writing anything! It’s just like, talking about your day and getting a sample of night cream.” Blogging is about so much more than that. It’s about creating a loyal community. It’s about becoming a respected influencer that people listen to. It’s about making an authentic, genuine impact in an superficial, advertisement-saturated world.
7. “It must be easy working at home.”
submitted by Maria Alyssa Martinez of Style Vanity
Working from home is one of the most challenging ways to work in my opinion. Home is where you relax and have fun. Home is where your family and friends are. Thinking of home as also your workplace changes things. It can also be incredibly distracting.
So many people think working from home means that you are lazy and can just hang out in your pajamas all day. Sure, I definitely will work in sweats sometimes. But honestly, I can’t be productive without a schedule. If I am working from home, I have to get up early, get fully ready for the day, and sit at my designated work space.
8. “So you just put your whole life online?”
People think that “keeping a blog is like displaying your journal to the whole world. Blogging isn’t like live journal used to be!” said Kayla from Kayla in the City.
Most bloggers are actually pretty private. Sure, you may know the name of their fiance or their favorite coffee spot, but that’s all surface level information you can find by stalking pretty much any millennial’s social media.
Blogging isn’t just journaling about your life – it’s about tracking trends, scheduling out posts, curating original content, and being creative.
A lot of bloggers get a bad reputation because people think they exploit everyday things for money. But in reality, their lives are vastly different than what they put on their blog.
9. “You seriously get paid to Instagram? I wish I had that job.” or “I wish I could get paid to just take selfies.”
submitted by Courtney from As We Stumble Along
My response is always: do you really? I bet you didn’t know that one Instagram post will take me anywhere from 10 minutes to three hours to create. When you have thousands of followers, it’s not just an Instagram post. It’s a digital advertisement and endorsement from your personal brand. That’s a big deal that requires a lot of effort.
“Come on, people. It’s about creating relative and exciting content for an audience. It’s not easy, and very time consuming,” said Courtney Kincaid from The Every Day Elegance.
10. “Can you help me start my blog?”
This one just breaks my heart. I cannot tell you how many times people have asked me to help them start their blog. So many successful bloggers will be asked for blogging advice. The problem is that providing blogging advice to everyone who asks is incredibly time consuming.
Many bloggers have solved this issue – they now offer blog consulting services. Although consulting can often be pretty expensive, it’s fair once you know how much time goes into helping people with their blogs.
11. “That sounds like a fun hobby.”
submitted by Jillian Goltzman of Cup of Charisma
Coining blogging as a hobby is actually incredibly insulting to bloggers. As I mentioned before, bloggers will spend anywhere from 10-60 hours a week working on their site. It is often their full-time or at least part-time job. Most people spend only a few hours a week on hobbies.
“I didn’t know people still did that!” is what Emily Brunda of Life is Smudgy frequently hears. People just do not take blogging seriously – it’s easy for them to dismiss it as something irrelevant or useless because they don’t understand it.
12. “Do people actually make a living doing that?”
Britney Nicole Turner of Her Style Media said people ask her, “So what’s your real job? Blogging can’t be a real thing.”
They couldn’t be more wrong. Social marketing has revolutionized the way the public shops which means influencers now make massive salaries when partnered with major brands.
These influencers potentially earn six-figure salaries from brands utilizing their audiences. A blogger with a large following can charge upwards of $50,000 for a single sponsored post or nearly $5,000 for one Instagram post. Sure, most of us aren’t at that level, but it give you a sense of the earning potential blogging has.
Chiara Ferragni of The Blonde Salad reports earning $80,000 a month in affiliate networks and a total of $8 million a year. Jane Aldridge of Sea of Shoes earns $20,000 for each public appearance. Even Refinery29 started as a typical fashion blog but now earns nearly $24 million a year.
It’s not all about the money though. Many bloggers will write just because something is on their mind – in fact, some of my most popular posts have been non-paid.
“‘How much are you getting paid for this?’ is what my dad always asks me that whenever I post something new. I wish I was getting paid for every post!” said Hannah Goldstein of Broke and Fabulous.
13. “Write a review of our store and we might share your post on social media!”
This is probably the most insulting thing a brand can say to a blogger. When I get pitches like this, I don’t even respond.
Yes, there is value in utilizing social media followings of other brands and influencers. However, a blogger needs a little more incentive than just a CHANCE at being shared on social media after they spend upwards of 10 hours on one blog post.
Tianna Sicilia of Story Book Apothecary said, “I’m tired of PR reps emailing me saying how much they love my work and then proceeding to try to get me to work for free, you know because flattery pays the bills! I understand if they don’t have a budget, but sometimes this tactic comes from big brands and I find it to be very manipulative to be honest.”
Sometimes, brands don’t offer any compensation at all. Melissa Vera of Adventures of a Frugal Mom said she hates when brands say they don’t have money to pay for a campaign especially if it’s a big brand.
14. “I blog, too. I only post about 3 times a year, but I totally understand what it takes!”
“I’m sorry, if you only post 3 times a year you have no IDEA what it takes,” said Rebecca Danielle Lindenbach of Life as a Dare.
It’s so true – people who are strong writers or occasionally blog are under the false impression that they understand what it takes to be a consistent blogger. As I mentioned before, blogging takes a incredible amount of planning and organization. Bloggers don’t just write whenever they feel like it without a second thought – there is so much more that goes into each post than most people think.
