As with anything in life, there are certainly both positives and negatives when it comes to blogging. This post takes a look at blogging pros and cons and whether setting up a blog is the right thing for you – whether it’s for a hobby or a business.

Before I started my first blog, it was something I had wanted to do for a long time. I was passionate about the subject matter and often couldn’t find information online on the subject I wanted to write about.

I studied both English Language and English Literature at college but never really pursued writing any further, especially as I didn’t want to write a novel.

When I first set up a blog I was scared. I didn’t know what I was doing and none of my real-life friends are bloggers or interested in writing.

I also went into creating my first blog knowing I eventually wanted to make money from it. I know this won’t be the case for everyone, but for me I knew it would be a great way to earn money from home after having kids.

As with anything, there are definite pros and cons to blogging. For me, most of the time, the pros far outweigh the cons. But there are also days where the tech issues feel overwhelming and I worry I’m sharing too much of my life online.

Blogging Pros and Cons

So what are blogging pros and cons? These of course are the blogging pros and cons I have found during alsmot six years of blogging – they will be different for everyone but I wanted to talk about my experience.

Pros of Blogging

Creative Outlet – No matter what you write about, blogging can be an excellent creative outlet. It can be easy to get bogged down with work and family life, so having a space online that is all yours can feel pretty liberating.

You don’t even need to be a good writer to start a blog, you just need to have something you want to say.

Making Friends – I’ve made so many friends since I started blogging and it’s lovely to have people to chat to that understand the blogging world. As much as chat away to my Mum or Husband about my blogs, they never really quite get what I’m on about!

Some of the blogging friends I’ve made I’ve been lucky enough to meet in real life, at a blogging conference I attended. I’ve then gone on to meet them again for lunch or chat.

I also have blogging friends I’ve never met in person. There’s one blogger I chat to almost every day but still haven’t met up with in real life!

There are lots of blogging groups on Facebook where you can chat to other bloggers generally or find others that write about the same things that you do.

I find Twitter is also a great place to get chatting to other like-minded bloggers online.

Community – Blogging is a great way to find a sense of community. I’m part of several blogging communities online that fit into my niche. We help each other out with problems, share ideas and work on community-based projects and campaigns.

While these might not be people that I chat with every day, it is nice to know I can reach out and ask for help if I need it and most are kind and willing to lend a hand.

Earning Money – I’ve often read that you shouldn’t start a blog if your sole intention is to make money from it. Personally, I disagree with this. Your blog is your online space and if you want to make money, go for it!

If you don’t want to make money from your blog, then that’s fine too.

What I will say is that making money from your blog takes time, especially if it’s your main source of income. While you can make money early on with the odd sponsored post, it takes time to build the authority, social presence and traffic needed for a steady and reliable income.

Learn New Skills – Building a website or blog for the first time is hard. And you could choose someone to do it for you, but doing it yourself will give you such a great sense of achievement. The more you do, the more you’ll learn and you’ll gradually become more and more competent.

Don’t forget, these newly learned skills could come in handy in the future. Both blogging and social media are skills that could eventually be added to your C.V.

Helping Others – It’s always great to be able to help others, especially when sharing your experience. This could take the form of tips and advice, sharing recipes or just generally writing about what’s going on in your life.

You’ll often find there are others experiencing the same things as you and sharing your story could help shape the lives of others.

Cons of Blogging

Related post: Disadvanages of Blogging 

Tech Issues – One of the biggest issues when it comes to blogging is dealing with tech issues. Even though I’ve been blogging for several years now I still find the tech side of things tricky.

While I do try to fix things myself, I can’t always do it and it does get very frustrating. I use Lyrical Host who provides a fully managed service and are great at sorting out issues but it can be tough if you’re with a provider whose support is limited.

Online Trolling and Bullying – If you’re going to share your life online then you may get trolls from time to time and you might need to develop a thick skin and be liberal with the block button.

I’m lucky to have never experienced anything too bad, but I know bloggers who have their addresses shared online among other things. While I don’t think you should let this stop you from starting a blog, it is something to be aware of.

If you’re ever featured in an online publication or news article DO NOT READ THE COMMENTS. It’s not worth it.

Costs – While you can choose to have a free blog, most people opt to purchase a domain name and hosting and this does come with a cost. Domain names are around £8-12 a year and hosting usually starts at around £3-£4 for a very basic package.

If you’re not making money from your blog then it can be easy to resent these costs. However, as hobbies go, it’s a fairly small outlay if it’s something that you enjoy doing.

Owning your own domain and site gives you many more options when it eventually comes to making money (if that’s something you want to do). With a free site, monetization can be more difficult.

Screen Time – As someone who works at their laptop three days a week and is glued to their phone pretty much the rest of the time, blogging can definitely increase your screen time unless you’re really strict about it.

Sometimes for me, it can be really hard to find a balance – for example, I have lots of US-based clients and I have been known to answer emails at 5am because they are there on my phone.

I also spend time each day liking posts, chatting, leaving comments and watching videos across all of my blog social media accounts.

Social Media – Almost all of my social media is now blog related which can be both a blessing and a curse. I do enjoy social media, but most my socials are filled with other bloggers or blog related things like blogger Facebook groups. I love it, but it can feel overwhelming sometimes and hard to get away from when I’m taking a break from work.

Metric Worries – Once you start blogging it can be easy to get bogged down with the various blogging metrics. DA, PA, follower numbers, engagement, traffic. It can be frustrating when other newer bloggers seem to be doing better than you or when you post an ad and the engagement tanks.

Judgement – Sharing your life online can open you up to all sorts of judgements from others, especially if you share a lot.

There will be people that don’t think you should share your kid’s faces online, there will be people who don’t think blogging is a real job, there will be people who are jealous or think you’re fame-hungry. There can be times this is hard to take no matter how thick-skinned you are!

Concluion: Blogging Pros and Cons

While there are many blogging pros and cons, don’t let the cons stop you starting a blog if it’s something you’re passionate about doing!