The Pros and Cons of Blogging

Happy Monday, ya’ll! I know – it’s been a while since I last posted, which is part of how I was inspired by today’s post. As you know, I jetted off to Mexico for a few days with my family, and then never really caught my breath the several weeks after. With that said, blogging is not very easy… especially when you work full-time and go to graduate school afterwards. In fact, sometimes it seems plain impossible, and I can’t work up the energy to post on my blog or social channels. On the flip side, however, those weeks when everything seems to be going well and I’m not lacking any motivation, I absolutely love it! It’s so rewarding to push out content that my readers engage with and feel like I’m actually making progress. So, I thought I’d be honest today and explain the pros and cons of blogging.

Pro – Having a Creative Outlet to Express Myself

For those of you who don’t know, I work in public relations full-time and am studying Global Strategic Communication for graduate school. While I like the field of communication, I have so many outside interests such as beauty, fashion, skincare, social media, SEO – you name it. I don’t always have the ability to pursue and express those things most of the time, so this blog serves as an outlet where I can pour my heart into what I desire. It’s all mine, and I can do whatever I want! Sometimes I feel like posting about my favorite books, other times I express things a little outside of the norm!

Con – Playing the Comparison Game

We’ve all experienced this in all facets of life – whether it be at work, with your friends and family or at school. It’s extremely difficult to see other bloggers doing well and landing dream partnerships, and not feel a bit envious or inferior. I always wish I had more time to devote to this little corner of the Internet, but that’s not my reality. It’s a bit hard to not get down on myself when I don’t feel like scheduling social media posts, pitching brands, updating my SEO and all of those necessary tasks, but it’s something I’m working on and I have to be appreciative of what I can do.

Pro – Working with Brands

When I do eventually get around to those things (LOL), it’s so awesome when a company reaches out and says they see value in your work and want to partner with you – especially if it’s a company you love! Some of my favorite collaborations over the past year have been with Tobi, Harry’s and most recently, Neutrogena! While it’s very fun to pitch different companies on a variety of concepts, it’s always a bit more invigorating when they reach out to you on an idea and it all comes full circle!

Con – The Work and Money

I feel like so many people misunderstand blogging and think it’s taking photos of clothes all day, when that’s not the reality. You have to think of an idea, take the photos, edit the photos, come up with a creative theme for the post, write, proofread (proofread again), consider the SEO elements, promote the post on social media consistently, comment on other posts for engagement and so many other tasks! Not only are those things extremely time consuming, but it costs a lot of money. I’d say that photography is my most expensive cost, but I’ve also recently invested in other monthly services such as Canva and the premium version of Buffer (which I talk about in this post). If this wasn’t something I was truly invested in, I’d save myself quite a few expenses haha!

Pro – Meeting People

This advantage is so broad because you meet so many different types of people – religious followers, other bloggers, cool public relations professional, you name it. I’ve made some pretty cool blogging friends and followers over the past few years, and it’s been so awesome! In fact, a few of them were so kind enough to help me out with my capstone project for graduate school this semester. Pretty cool, right? It’s nice to form a little community who knows exactly what you’re going through, especially when it can be a bit difficult for friends and family to understand.

So, as you can see – there’s more pros than cons which is great, but it’s definitely not all sunshine and roses!

What are some of the challenges you face with blogging?

Shop the post:

Sweater: Nordstrom (similar) // Jeans: GAP // Boots: Saks off Fifth // Bag: Urban Outfitters (old, similar)

Photos by Jill Green