Seven Reasons to Keep Blogging (Even When You Feel Like Quitting)

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 05:00 AM PDT

Do you ever feel like giving up blogging?

Maybe you've had a bad week … or a bad month. You worked for hours on a post, only to get precisely zero comments.

Maybe you're just really busy, and it's tough to find time for your blog, even though you have great ambitions for it.

Maybe your friends and family just don't understand blogging, and you're starting to wonder what the point is too.

Here are seven reasons to keep blogging, even when you're thinking about quitting.

Reason #1: You're Building Something Unique

So much of what we do in life seems to make no real impact on the world around us. Doing chores, going to work, answering emails.

When you write a blog post, you're creating something absolutely unique. It's a piece of content that no-one else could have written – because every word comes from you. By sitting down and tapping keys on your keyboard for an hour or two, you've brought something totally new into the world.

And – regardless of how many readers you have – that's an amazing and wonderful thing.

Reason #2: You're Enjoying Yourself

Blogging is great fun. You get to write about topics that you're really interested in. You get to sort through your thoughts and set them down on paper in a coherent way. And you get to hear from readers who've loved your posts (if that hasn't happened to you yet, it will soon!)

Plenty of people blog just for the fun of it. They're not worried about making money or even building a big audience. They just want to get their words out there.

If blogging's no longer enjoyable for you, look for ways to get the fun back. That might mean shifting your blog's topic slightly, or coming up with a creative spin on your usual posts.

Reason #3: You're Learning New Skills

There's a huge amount to learn as a blogger … in fact, the learning never really stops.

To begin with, you learn how to set up your blog on your chosen platform (probably WordPress or Blogger). You learn how to change your blog's theme, how to add widgets, and how to get it looking at least roughly the way you want it.

As time goes by, you learn lots more. You learn how to write well for the web. You learn how to use calls to action. You learn how to build relationships.

All of these skills are hugely valuable, and you can add them to your resume.

Reason #4: You're Making New Friends

Blogs are a type of social media – and social media is (as the name suggests!) all about being social. Through blogging, you'll meet all sorts of people who you'd never have come across otherwise.

You might have readers all around the world, and you might meet up with bloggers in your hometown. You'll get to know fellow bloggers online, perhaps through Twitter, or by leaving comments on one another's blogs.

These connections and friendships can be really rewarding: it's great to be surrounded by people who "get" blogging!

Reason #5: You're Helping People

Perhaps your blog has ten readers, and you want ten thousand. Even so, you've made a difference in the lives of each of those ten people. (And if you think about it, that's quite impressive.)

Maybe your inspiring post gave a reader a new sense of resolve at a difficult time.

Maybe your funny post made them smile during a difficult day.

Maybe your how-to post helped them solve a problem in ten minutes, instead of spending hours struggling.

Don't underestimate how much difference you're making. Lots of readers won't ever comment or email you – but they may still be very grateful for you and your blog.

Reason #6: You're (Close to) Making Money

Money definitely isn't everything … but you may well have got into blogging with the aim of making money from it.

Even if you're only making a couple of dollars a month, it's something. And if you're making nothing at all, it's just a matter of time.

Every single dollar you make through your blog was won entirely by your own efforts. You didn't have to wait around for someone to employ you: instead, you went out there and made money by yourself.

That's a brilliant position to be in. Even if your blog just provides a small side income, it gives you greater freedom – you're not so reliant on the whims of bosses.

Reason #7: You're on an Exciting Journey

Finally, you'll never know what blogging will lead to.

It's almost six years now since I started my first "pro" blog, with the aim of making some money at it.

Since then, I've been able to:

Quit my day job and make a living doing what I've always dreamed of – writing.
Speak at conferences and events in the US and UK.
Write a book in a well-known series (Publishing E-Books For Dummies, with Wiley).
Become co-editor of DailyBlogTips, one of the blogs that inspired me six years ago.

If you give up on your blog now, you'll never know where that journey would have taken you.

Over to you! Which of the above reasons inspires you most? And what other reasons would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments.

Wanna learn how to make more money with your website? Check the Online Profits training program!

Giveaway: 3 Blogger Bundles for You

Posted: 16 Oct 2013 11:57 AM PDT

The Envato guys are currently running a promotion, called “Blogger Bundle.” Basically you have blog themes, plugins, scripts, icons and digital assets bundled together in a single package. Individually the items cost around $500, but you can buy the whole bundle for $20. Not bad huh?

Here’s the URL to check it out: http://codecanyon.net/bundles/blogger

The promotions starts today and runs until October 30th.

They emailed me asking if I would be interesting in giving away some bundles for the DBT readers. I said sure, so it’s on! I have 3 bundles to give. All you have to do is to leave a comment below. Next Wednesday (October 23) I’ll use Random.org to select 3 people randomly. If you are one of the winners you’ll receive an email with a link to download your bundle.

And don’t worry, even this post comes with a tip for you: one way to boost the sales of your products, especially old ones that don’t have a lot of traction anymore, is to create a big bundle, perhaps with other product owners, and sell everything together.

For example, if you sell an ebook, you could find 10 other bloggers on related niche who also sell ebooks, and create a bundle with all of them. Apart from boosting the sales this would also help to cross promote everyone involved.

Bundle away!

Wanna learn how to make more money with your website? Check the Online Profits training program!

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