If you ask me, blogging is the best job in the world.
It allows me to be creative, has an uncapped earning potential, allows me to travel the world, and best of all, I don’t have to answer to a grumpy boss.
However, as with anything in life, blogging does have its downsides, and I’d be lying if I said that this whole blogging lark wasn’t really bloody hard work at times.
If you’re thinking of starting a blog but haven’t quite made the leap yet, you may be wondering about what the advantages and disadvantages of blogging look like, and whether the good outweighs the bad (spoiler alert – it does!).
So, if you’re on the fence and undecided about starting a blog, don’t worry, because this post will tell you all you need to know about the pros and cons of blogging, so that by the end of it, you’ll hopefully be more informed and able to make the best decision for you!
Ready?
Then let’s get into it.
25 Advantages and Disadvantages of Blogging
Advantages of Blogging
Be your own boss
One of the most obvious advantages of blogging is the fact that you can be your own boss and not have to answer to anybody.
This means that you can work whenever you like, from wherever you like, take days off if you feel like it, and have full control over everything you do.
This can take some adjusting to if you’ve never been self-employed or owned a business before, but my god is it incredible.
Write about what you love
There is a blogging niche for everything out there, and the more obscure your passion is, the fewer people will be writing about it, and the more traffic you’ll get.
Blogging allows you to fully immerse yourself in your passion all day long, researching and writing about the things you love and introducing them to other people too.
Meet a great community of people
The blogging community is amazing.
Over the past few years I’ve had the privilege of meeting hundreds of travel bloggers and influencers, and not only are they great to have as contacts from a professional point of view, but they have also become dear friends of mine.
In 2022 alone I went to 3 conferences (2 on travel blogging and 1 digital nomad conference), and on 3 press trips (Spain, Czech Republic, Italy), and the people in this industry are truly AMAZING, inspirational people from all walks of life.
2022
Cheap to set up
Of all the businesses out there, blogging is one that demands an incredibly low investment.
You can secure your domain for as little as 99p, build a free theme, and get your web hosting for £2.99 per month or less for your first year.
Compared to pretty much every other business (even scammy MLM businesses that claim to be a low investment), blogging is insanely cheap to get started with.
Helping and inspiring people
Whether you’re giving plus size gals the confidence to wear what they like, teaching new moms how to adjust, giving out your best baking tips or providing action-packed travel itineraries, one of the biggest advantages of blogging is that you get to HELP people every day.
I’ve had dozens of people reach out to me and tell me that because of me, they booked a holiday to a place I recommended and that it was the trip of a lifetime, and hearing that feels AWESOME.
Work with brands
Many people start blogging or cultivating a career as an influencer because they want to work with brands, and why wouldn’t they?
Working with brands will open the doors for free trips, clothing, restaurant meals, glitzy PR events, and so much more.
When you have a certain following, you’ll even get paid to post about the things you receive – how cool is that?!
read: the best books for influencers to boost your growth
You learn a lot
Most people think that a blog is just an online diary, but the truth is that it is so much more than that.
This doesn’t always feel like a positive (as I’ll explain in a minute) as it can be very overwhelming, but the facts are that you are learning and developing valuable new skills that will last you a lifetime.
Some of the things I’ve learnt/improved on in my blogging journey include:
- My writing skills (I have a degree in English but writing every day really hones those skills!)
- SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
- Keyword research (which is part of SEO but also a skill in its own right)
- Copyright laws
- Email marketing
- Branding (I got a lot of this from the Travel Blog Prosperity course)
- Affiliate marketing
- The basics of technical SEO
- Google Analytics
Establishes you as an expert
When your blog grows and begins to get noticed, you will start being recognised as an authority in your field.
For me personally, I’ve been interviewed on podcasts and documentaries and been featured in major newspapers, which has been pretty awesome!
Blogger friends of mine have spoken at conferences, on panels, and even give TED talks!
All of this is great as it opens you up for new opportunities, puts you in front of new audiences, and it also makes you feel very cool 😉
Uncapped earning potential
By far one of the best things about blogging is the fact that your earning potential is completely uncapped.
Many bloggers are making 4, 5, or even 6 figures a month from their blogs, and once you know how to build a successful blog, there’s no stopping you from growing your traffic (and earnings) exponentially.
Passive income
One of the best things about making money blogging is that the vast majority of your income will be passive, meaning, you can make money in your sleep.
There’s no better feeling than checking how much ad revenue I made while I was in bed, or getting an email saying that I’ve just received an affiliate commission.
Once you start earning passive income through your blog, you’ll never want to trade your time for money again.
Suited to a digital nomad lifestyle
If you’ve ever dreamed of embracing location independence and switching to a digital nomad lifestyle, then blogging may just be for you.
As a blogger, you can work from anywhere, no matter what the time zone is.
All you need is a strong internet connection and you can run your business.
Gives you a voice
Having a platform gives you a voice that you can use for good.
Once, I spoke out about the problems with influencers promoting Saudi Arabia, and I ended up being featured in The New York Times, The Philip DeFranco Show, and having millions of people hear what I had to say on an issue I felt strongly about.
If you’re passionate about a cause, blogging is a great way to get yourself heard and make a difference.
Lots of ways to earn money
When it comes to the main advantages and disadvantages of blogging, the ability to have many different income streams is a great plus.
Some of the ways you can earn money from your blog include:
- Display ads
- Affiliate marketing
- Brand campaigns
- Social media posts
- Sponsored blog posts
- Consultancy/coaching services
- Selling digital products (online courses, eBooks etc.)
- Selling physical products
- Writing for other people’s websites
- Selling banner ads
- Promoting brands to your email list
- Offer services (e.g. cooking classes, if you have a food blog, or working as a virtual assistant for other bloggers)
- Creating retreats that complement your blog (yoga retreats, vegan retreats etc.)
- Create a subscription-based membership (e.g. Patreon)
- Review products
- Public speaking
- Host paid webinars
The ways that I personally make money blogging are from hosting display ads and affiliate marketing.
Soon, I plan to launch digital products on this website to help my readers on their own blogging journeys.
Allows you to be creative
When you have a blog, you’re allowed to let your creative juices truly flow, and experiment with mediums that you wouldn’t ordinarily.
There is no way on earth I’d have started making Reels and TikTok videos if I didn’t have a blog, but I did, and I really enjoy it (it’s also got my work in front of a new audience!).
read: top tips for choosing the perfect lifestyle blog name
You file your own taxes
Part of owning your own business involves filing your own taxes (or hiring an accountant to do them for you), and while that can be a headache at first, you can actually get some pretty cool tax allowances!
For example, if you are a food blogger, you can claim tax relief on things like food, kitchen gadgets, restaurant trips, and camera equipment, or if you’re a travel blogger, you can claim on flights and hotel stays!
The Disadvantages of Blogging
You have to be an expert at everything
As I mentioned before, blogging is about way more than writing, and it can be very difficult to beat the imposter syndrome, tackle the overwhelm, and realise that you CAN do this.
As a blogger, you are also your own business owner, content strategist, SEO, web designer, accountant, social media manager, customer service rep, graphic designer, photographer, marketer, and all of the other things that come with starting a blog.
Takes a long time to make money
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your blog be.
Well, it might technically be built, but it certainly won’t be earning you any money.
Making money from your blog takes a LONG time, and that’s if you do it well.
If you don’t do it well, you may never make any money from your blog.
The most experienced bloggers out there will still need to work hard on their new sites for at least 6 months before they make any money, and even then, 12 months is more realistic.
This is why you really have to love blogging as a hobby in order to have the patience and commitment to make it work as a career.
Lots of competition
Is it too late to start a blog?
ABSOLUTELY NOT.
Although there are millions of blogs on the internet, there is still plenty of room for newbies.
Sure, the blogging landscape has changed over the years – a blog is no longer a personal diary posted online for your mum and friends – but there is more money in blogging than ever right now, and it is my belief that we are still early to the game.
On this point, I will say that in order to be successful now, you do have to really niche down.
It is no longer enough to just be a ‘travel’ or ‘lifestyle’ blogger, because the landscape is too saturated.
You need to narrow down on a very specific area within that larger niche (called a micro-niche), and aim to be a big fish in a small pond.
Can be lonely
Although the blogging community is the best community out there, there are definitely times when blogging can feel lonely.
Even if you use a coworking space, it can suck not having anybody to talk to who understands what you do, and if you work from home, you may find yourself missing social interaction altogether!
Something that hit me this year was seeing all of the people on their work Christmas parties having fun in town – I’ve never had that!
However, I then reminded myself that I’d just returned from an epic week-long conference in the Czech Republic where we had a party in a castle with unlimited sparkling wine and canapes, and then I didn’t feel too bad 😉
You have to be active on social media
If your blog is your business, then social media is one of your most important business tools.
For some people, that might sound great.
However, if I could delete all my socials tomorrow (with the exception of Twitter and Reddit), I would, because it just isn’t something I enjoy.
My main blog is a travel blog, and while the traffic on that blog is fantastic, my social media numbers are low (less than 10,000 on all platforms), and unfortunately, social media followers are what most brands really care about.
With the blogging giants spending hours every single day on social media, it definitely begins to feel like less of a fun pastime and more like an obligation sometimes.
Plus, you have to jump on new social media platforms as soon as they become popular.
As a blogger, you may just want to research and write articles, but unless you’re creating short-form video content for TikTok, you’ll be left behind.
The tech side
One of the major disadvantages of blogging is that there is a moderate amount of technical knowledge that you must possess (or be willing to learn) if you want to run a successful blog.
Page speed, dofollow vs. nofollow links, alt tags, domain authority, web hosting, and WordPress plugins are just some of the things you’ll need to develop an understanding of if you want to grow a profitable blog, and it can seem super overwhelming sometimes.
With that being said, I am the least tech-savvy person you can imagine, and I’ve managed to muddle my way through most of it.
The internet is filled with helpful guides and people willing to help (Reddit and Facebook are goldmines for blogging advice), and if you ever get too stuck, you can always hire someone to help you out (and more often than not, your hosting provider will help you out for free).
No fixed source of income
As somebody who has always been self-employed, I’ve never had the security of a fixed income and so I don’t know any different.
However, if you’re making the transition from a 9-5 with a guaranteed salary, adjusting to the highs and lows of owning your own business can be difficult (but it’s worth it for those uncapped earnings babyy!).
No employee benefits
Sure, the tax write-offs and freedom to do whatever you want are great, but with self-employment comes a whole host of other responsibilities that you’ve never had to think of before.
When you work for yourself, you are on your own when it comes to sick pay, an employer pension, health insurance, company car, paid time off, and other benefits that you take for granted at a ‘regular’ job.
Requires commitment and discipline
Like anyone who works for themselves knows, it requires a lot of discipline and motivation.
Working from home and not having a manager breathing down your neck is not for everyone, and you need to consider whether it’s for you before you take the leap.
Nobody will take you seriously
Wow, if only somebody had warned me about this one!
Perhaps the SINGLE most frustrating thing about blogging is that nobody will ever truly understand what you do or take your job seriously.
The only people in my life who know how hard I work are my mum and my boyfriend, and my boyfriend had to see it first-hand for about 6 months before he realised that actually yes, blogging is a ‘proper’ job *eyeroll*
Now maybe you’re one of those people who doesn’t care what others think, and that’s great!
Seriously. I envy you.
But if you’re anything like me, hearing ‘so you’re an Instagram model then?’ or ‘do you actually make MONEY from that?!’ will get old quickly, trust me.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Blogging | Final Thoughts
Ending this post with the negative elements of blogging may have left you feeling disheartened and wondering if you really want to start a blog after all, and that is not my intention here.
As somebody who has proudly been a blogger for over 10 years (and been a full-time blogger for 2), I firmly believe blogging to be the best job on the planet, and despite all of the frustrations and challenges that come with it, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
The freedom that I get from this job allows me to travel the world, never miss an important event, and live life completely on my own terms, and the fact that my earnings are set to explode this year is a pretty welcome side effect too 😉
I am currently running a 5-Day Blogging Bootcamp for my email subscribers (it’s free), where I go through the process of setting up a profitable blog step-by-step, so if you’re interested in that, just sign up using the form below!
As always, if you have any questions, let me know in the comments section below and I will get back to you.
Until next time,
XOXO
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