5 Realistic Expectations for a Money-Making Blog

People have different intentions when they set out on their blogging journeys. Some do it in hopes to earn a living from it, while others enjoy writing as a hobby, so they begin a blog. No matter what your initial goals are, the thought of actually earning money from your blog is usually always a welcomed idea.

Sadly, I think many people get fooled into thinking that it’s easy to earn a living from a blog alone. It takes a lot of time, work, and patience before you even earn your first dollar, to be honest. While I don’t mean to deter anyone from their hopes and dreams, I think that an honest, black and white opinion is sometimes needed for realistic goals.

Here are some of the most realistic expectations that you should expect before beginning a blog:

1. Don’t Expect to Get Rich Quick

You’re bound to come across some bloggers that post about their ginormous monthly salaries that sound almost unbelievable. While I’m sure that some bloggers do make the big bucks (and boy, are they inspiring!) they are guaranteed to be far and few.

Realistically, you can expect to make absolutely nothing for at least the first year of blogging. In fact, most bloggers never consider attempting to monetize their blogs until well after the first year of consistently blogging.

2. Expect Rejection

Sensitive bloggers or soon-to-be bloggers beware: expect to be rejected by brands, other bloggers, and even your friends! Anytime that you set out on an entrepreneurial adventure, there’s always a huge risk of rejection. Don’t let rejection get you down or stop you from your blogging dreams. Learn from it, move on, and don’t be afraid of future rejections.

3. Expect Problems

If I had known everything that went into actual blogging before I began my WordPress blog — I am not sure if I would have had the courage to do it. Sure, I like to write. But in order to be a successful blogger, you should familiarize yourself with photography, photo editing, blogging laws, and the most frustrating (for me): the tech side of operating a blog.

It’s easy to become frustrated with problems that range from simple to complex. My best advice is to just roll with the punches and realize that we’ve all been there!

4. Expect to Learn … A Lot!

Even if you consider yourself a 100% professional in your niche, you are still going to learn a lot about the world of blogging. No matter what your expertise is, it’s guaranteed to be vastly different than maintaining a blog. That is, of course, unless your blog is about how to be a professional blogger.

For instance: when I started out, I knew very little about WordPress, which is a relatively easy platform, but can become very complicated quick. Not only do you have to learn your way around your new platform, but you’ll be introduced to the world of hosting and a bunch of technical jargon that is like speaking a new language.

You’re always learning, and if you’re not someone who particularly fancies the technical aspect of how the internet works, then you are likely going to get frustrated a time or two. Luckily, there are a lot of awesome bloggers that have written helpful posts in regards to what I have come across and tons of YouTube videos as well.

5. Expect to Change Monetization Methods

Honestly, I can’t even count how many times I have changed my methods of monetization for my blog. Since every blog is different, it’s important to keep your mind open when it comes to ways of monetizing. Just because one blogger can rake in the big bucks with ads, doesn’t mean that it’s suitable for your blog.

Helpful tips when deciding how to monetize:

• Consider your readers. Look at the demographics of their age, location, and the overall interest in your blog.
• Consider your topics. This should significantly influence your method of monetization. For example, you wouldn’t necessarily want an ad on your blog about computers for sale if all you blog about is gardening.