10 Deadly Blogging Myths That Will Kill Your Success

Starting a successful blog sounds daunting and a bit scary, right? You see bloggers make money online and you want to do that, too! But how do they build such successful blogs? Sounds like a difficult thing to accomplish, right?

Well, as it turns out, starting a successful blog doesn’t have to be difficult. You see, there’s a handful of common misconceptions and blogging myths that may keep you from taking the first step. Trust me, blogging is just like anything else: anyone can learn it.

In this post, I’ll walk you through 10 common blogging myths that may be holding you back from starting a successful blog of your own.

I’ll also share some practical, actionable tips to take advantage of to launch your blog the right way from the beginning.

Keep reading!

Here are a couple of related articles you may want to read, too:

Myth #1: You need to focus on just one niche

I know tons of bloggers who would disagree with me on this. But hey, it’s not the only thing I don’t see eye-to-eye with everyone!

Because here’s the truth: Even though it’s a good idea to choose a very specific niche when you start your blog, you are free to complement it with another one later on. Or even with several niches if you like.

You see, you’ll find it easier to launch your blog if you focus on just one niche. You can figure out your long-term blogging goals and lay out a robust strategy for achieving them.

Recommended: 7 Critical Things You Must Do Before Launching Your Blog

And when you know what you want to achieve, it’s easy to break down your goals into smaller milestones. That way, you’ll know exactly what you need to do next to get closer to your goal, right?

Because starting a blog is such a big project, you should choose only one niche to start with. Otherwise you’ll risk losing your focus and getting overwhelmed with too many ideas.

But that doesn’t mean you couldn’t expand your blog into further niches in the future. You could see great results from writing about another, complementary niche. All you need to do is to make sure you’ll attract the right demographic with it.

Read also: What to Blog About? How to Find the Perfect Blog Topic and Niche

Myth #2: You should avoid heavily competed niches

One of the most common blogging myths is that you should avoid blog niches with heavy competition. Trust me, I hear this from almost every beginner blogger I help choose the perfect blog niche.

But, as is turns out, if a particular blog niche has tons of big bloggers making money, it’s a good sign! I mean, there’s obviously demand for blogs like that, right?

Read also: 12 Biggest Benefits From Starting a Blog

Blogging works the same way as any other business. If there’s money to be made, someone will seize the opportunity. All they need to do is give the people what they want.

It’s quite simple, really: Demand means you’ll find an audience. Audience means blog traffic. Blog traffic means monetization opportunities.

Get my point?

In short: Don’t be afraid to choose a blog niche that’s heavily competed.

First, you can be sure there’s enough demand in the niche. I mean, if you want to find a profitable blog niche, why should you reinvent the wheel?

Moreover, you’ll have a benchmark to strive for. If someone else has already succeeded in the niche, you’ll know what’s possible.

Read next: 101 Profitable Blog Niche Ideas that Make Money

Myth #3: You need to spend a lot of money to start a blog

Hold it right there! This is one of the biggest blogging myths I’ve ever heard – and one of the most common ones, too.

The truth is: Blogging doesn’t have to be expensive. You don’t need to buy all the bells and whistles you read about on some blogs, trust me.

I know you don’t want to invest tons of money in something so early on. I felt exactly the same way when I started blogging. After all, it can take some time to start making money with your blog, so you don’t want to spend a lot just now.

So, how much does it cost to start a blog, then?

You only need two things to launch your blog:

  1. Domain name – A domain is the name of your blog that you write in the web address field in your web browser. Domain names usually cost around $10 – $15 per year.
  2. Blog hosting – Blog hosting is a subscription-based service. A hosting provider makes your blog accessible to anyone using the WWW. You “rent” web space where your blog lives. Blog hosting usually costs around $7 – $15 per month.

All in all, a domain name and blog hosting sum up to around $95 – $195 per year. Considering you can turn your blog into a full-time business in the long run, that’s not a bad investment!

It’s up to you to choose where to buy your domain and hosting, of course. There are dozens of good providers that give great value for your money.

The provider I use and love is Bluehost. Their setup process is super easy and it only takes 10 minutes. And to help you save money when you want to start your blog, I’ve teamed up with Bluehost to give you access to an exclusive hosting deal starting at just $2.95 per month, including a free domain name.

If that sounds like a good deal to you, head over to my step-by-step tutorial on how to start a WordPress blog on Bluehost in just 30 minutes.

Myth #4: You need to be an extrovert

So you’ve been on social media and you’ve seen at least a few bloggers who have managed to turn themselves into successful brands, right? Their feeds are perfectly thought out and they’re always boasting a smile as if they’ve jut won the lottery. They seem to feel so comfortable with promoting themselves, being all social and super extroverted.

But what if you’re not comfortable with all that? Can you still start a successful blog if you’re a complete introvert?

The truth is: Hell yes you can!

What you should right now is to stop comparing yourself to others. You don’t have to be like other bloggers you see out there.

Just be you.

Instead of seeing all the things you can’t do, focus on what you feel comfortable doing, OK?

If you don’t want to go out there and connect with everyone, don’t do it. You don’t even have to use your own name or photos to start a successful blog.

Thus, if you’re an introvert, that’s perfectly OK. Don’t think it’s a weakness or a flaw – it can be your biggest strength in life. So don’t let it hold you back from starting a blog.

More importantly, don’t let it hold you back from anything in life.

Read also: How to Stay Truly Motivated When You Start Blogging

I can be a total introvert myself, but I try my best not to let it hold me back. I’ve learned most introverts are great at focusing on things they really want to do. I mean really really, not because it’s socially “normal” and it gets tons of likes online.

I also know that we spend a lot of time inside our heads, so we need to find a way to let our thoughts out. Blogging can be a powerful creative outlet, for example.

Just focus on what you feel most comfortable with. And heck, if you’re thinking about how difficult life can be for an introvert, start a blog about it!

Myth #5: You have to be a good writer

Starting a successful blog means writing a ton of great blog posts, right? Your content needs to be on par with your competition for you to make money blogging.

But what if you’re not a great writer? Can you still make it as a blogger and earn money online?

Of course you can!

Here’s the deal: Becoming a successful blogger is so much more than just writing. Even though blog posts are the most prominent part of blogging you can see from the outside, there’s so much more to blogging than just writing one post after the other.

Related: 10 Instant Tips for Writing Better Blog Posts

I mean, of course you need to produce amazing content on a regular basis. That’s just how blogging works.

But the thing is: Your blog will be a business. And when you’re running a business of your own, you should focus on the things you do best. You shouldn’t waste your valuable time trying to excel at something you don’t enjoy.

Here’s what you can do:

  • Outsource and hire a ghost writer – Go online and find a virtual assistant who will take care of writing your articles. It takes a few bucks, but you can earn that money back with the time you save.
  • Substitute text with other types of content – Why just write text when you can create videos, take photos, and record podcasts? Be creative and think of alternative content if writing isn’t your cup of tea.

In short: Outsourcing is the best way to achieve amazing results in whatever you need to accomplish.

I know it sounds like a big investment when you’re just starting out with blogging. But as your blog grows into a proper business, you can cover the cost of outsourcing more easily. Simply use the time you save by not having to write to earn that money back.

Keep in mind that it’s your blog. You can do whatever you want with it!

Recommended: How to Defeat Stress and Stop Feeling Overwhelmed With Blogging

Myth #6: You must post every day

I know a lot of successful bloggers who started posting every day, 7 days a week. They burned out in just a few months, growing tired of publishing so much content.

You don’t need to publish a new blog post every day. What you need to do is to find a publishing schedule that suits you. I mean, you do have a life outside of your blog, right?

Whether that’s 2 posts each week or just 1 post a month, it’s perfectly OK. You don’t want to be too ambitious with your schedule. If blogging becomes something to stress about, you’re on the wrong track.

Now, whatever schedule you choose, the most important thing is to stay consistent with it. If you publish a new post every week, always do so on the same day. For example: If you choose to publish every Thursday, your readers will know when to expect new content from you. They’ll know when to come back to your blog to devour your new posts every week.

Also, what matters more than posting every day is the quality of your content. Most bloggers who post several times a week can’t take the time to edit and structure their posts properly. And if the quality suffers, so do the readers.

Therefore, if you only publish once a month, take the time to make sure every post is top-notch, timeless, and evergreen.

Myth #7: You need tons of traffic to make money

In fact, a big part of this blogging myth is true. Traffic does help when you want to make money. A lot.

But if you feel like your blog isn’t going to attract massive traffic, don’t worry. You can use a few simple monetization methods to turn your small blog into a nice side hustle.

Here are a few ways you can make money even if your blog isn’t exploding with traffic:

  • Increase conversions, create more valuable content:
    The best way to increase your conversion rates is to serve your readers the best, most valuable content they can find. If you only have a handful of readers, make sure they find exactly what they’re looking for on your blog. Find the biggest problem they’re having and solve it perfectly. Make them fall in love with your content and show how you can improve their lives!
  • Sell your time and skills, start freelancing:
    The biggest advantage of a small readership is that you can get more personal with them. Make it clear that you want to help them out and earn their trust. Whatever help they need in your niche, offer 1-to-1 coaching or a valuable digital product, for example.

The most important point you should remember is this:

If you want to make money from your blog, growing your traffic per se isn’t your goal.

What you need is more conversions, i.e. more readers who see the value in what you’re offering.

Read also: How to Find the Best Blog Post Topics That Generate Traffic

Myth #8: You need more traffic to make more money

As I mentioned in the previous point, traffic will help you monetize your blog. But it’s not everything.

I see heaps of bloggers only fishing for more traffic with clickbait headlines and social media updates. And yes, they probably see tons of traffic and page views doing that.

But what matters more is how well you can convert your traffic into earnings. What you need is good traffic; people who are genuinely interested in what you have to say.

Good traffic is much more likely to click on your affiliate links and buy your products.

The best way to generate good traffic is to focus on helping your readers. Give them what they really want and need. After all, they’re coming to your blog because they’re looking for helpful information and answers to their questions.

So, solve their problems and answer their questions. All of them! Show them how much easier and better their lives can be when they consume your content and buy your products!

Related article: 7 Powerful Tools to Drive Massive Traffic to Your Blog

Myth #9: You need a long time to make money with affiliate marketing

I’m sure you’ve heard a blogger say they’ve been trying to make money with affiliate marketing for years and have only made a few bucks here and there.

And if affiliate marketing was something you were interested in, they just killed your buzz. I mean, judging by what they’re saying, affiliate marketing doesn’t seem like a great way to make money.

Wrong!

The truth is:

You can make your first affiliate sale the same day when you publish a blog post about the product.

Again, all that matters is the quality of your traffic. You can’t expect all visitors to be the same, right? If you write about a tennis book, you can’t expect a golfer to click on your affiliate link.

That said, the trick is to attract the right kind of traffic.

Here’s what you need to do:

First, find out who your target audience is. What’s their biggest problem you can solve with your affiliate product? Write a thorough blog post to show them how that particular product can help them!

Then, find out where they hang out online. Once you’ve figure that out, make sure you don’t waste your time promoting your content on the wrong platforms!

Start a blog and make money - Step-by-step beginners guide on how to start a successful WordPress blog

Myth #10: You need tons of email subscribers to make money

If I got a dollar every time I hear “the money is in the list”… I wouldn’t be writing this right now!

I know some bloggers will disagree with me on this.

But I think one of the biggest blogging myths is that email marketing is the easiest way to make money blogging.

You see, email marketing isn’t what is used to be. In fact, I hate getting emails from people who don’t have anything meaningful to say!

I love reading valuable emails from blogs I’ve subscribed to. But if I see they’re just writing fluffy messages to remind me they’re still alive, the first thing I do is look for the link that says “Unsubscribe”.

The truth is: having a massive list of subscribers can be super helpful when you want to make money blogging.

But hey, if you’re just starting out, chances are that you have a round 0 subscribers.

If that’s the case, no worries. You can still make good money with your blog using other monetization methods.

Now, even though an email list isn’t a must-have for making money blogging, it’s a good idea to start collecting emails from your visitors anyways.

To get started now, check out my tutorial on how to start an email list for free in 7 easy steps.

Even if you only get a few new subscribers a month, they can become your most loyal readers. They were willing to give you direct access to their inbox, so they must have liked what you had to say, right?

Final Thoughts: 10 Blogging Myths You MUST Ignore

Even if you’ve never written an article before. Even if you’re a total tech wreck. And even if you don’t like writing in the first place.

You can start a successful blog with no technical experience and make money blogging.

Remember that anyone can start a blog and succeed in making money online. Nothing you read online should hold you back from becoming a blogger if that’s what you want.

You know, your inner critic may come and go, but what’s more powerful is how much fun blogging can be. Believe me, it feels empowering to share your knowledge and connect with like-minded people from around the world. And if you’re willing to put in the effort you need to, you’ll soon see how rewarding it can be, too.

As long as you have the determination and discipline to put enough effort into it, you’re all set.

That said, don’t let any blogging myths or misconceptions hold you back from starting your first blog! If you’re determined to succeed with blogging, you can totally do this!

So, are you ready? It’s your turn now!

When you feel ready to take the first step, I’ll be there to walk you through it all. Simply head over to my step-by-step tutorial for starting your first WordPress blog from scratch. You’ll only need 30 minutes, I’ll see you there!

Here are a few helpful posts you may want to read, too:

If you enjoyed this article about blogging myths, just drop me a line in the comments below! Have you come across any other blogging myths and misconceptions lately? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

P.S. If you liked this article, I’d appreciate if you shared it with others! Thanks so much!

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Hi, I'm Mikke!

Blogging strategist, online entrepreneur, freelance web designer and web developer, addicted to delicious coffee and sharing my growth hacks for small businesses. I help content creators start a blog the right way, earn money blogging and work from home so that they can spend more time with their friends and family. Come join me on Pinterest or Twitter!

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