I started my blog back in December of 2006 (holy crap, we are coming up on 10 YEARS of blogging... how did that happen?!). I originally started blogging because I had recently moved from Michigan to Southern California and I thought it would be easier to have my friends and family back home read about my adventures in one spot rather than having to email everyone individually (so I guess you can say my blog beginnings were really out of a desire to be lazy).
If you ever go back and look at the archives, you can tell I had no idea what I was doing (shoot, you may even still feel that way). Some posts were all of like 25 words (telling people I was busy and would get back to blogging soon), while others were just articles that I thought were interesting and wanted to share.
Obviously once I got into running a few years back (the Disneyland Half Marathon coming up in a few weeks will mark my FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY of half marathon races - man, how time flies!) my blog started to transition into being more about running/ training/ racing since that was what was going on in my life.
Now, some folks out there may think that I make money at this whole blogging thing... HA, I WISH! Sure, there are a few campaigns I may work on every so often that will compensate me $25 or $50 for my time, but for the most part - this is a very non-paid gig.
The majority of the products I review or post about are ones I either buy myself or actually contacted the brand about (Dear Brand, I think you are pretty awesome. I love your products and would be super stoked to try out your newest _______. I have a blog and am active on social media. If you'd like to team up, I would love to review the item with my followers and hopefully get you some new orders and lifelong customers. XOXO, Carlee). Many of my emails go unanswered (whomp whomp) - but that doesn't stop me from sending them... What's the worst someone could say?!
I know there are some bloggers out there that are making money on their posts (or on advertising that they have on their blog), but I am not one of those. I literally am doing it just because I enjoy it. Oh yeah, and also because my Fibro Fog causes me to have TERRIBLE memory, so if I don't write it down or record it somehow I will completely forget about it within a couple weeks. Because it is something I enjoy, I worry that if it turned into a legit job I might not love it as much (and would feel more pressure to put out content that I might not be completely happy with).
PS I am in no way saying that making money from your blog is wrong or selling out (shoot, if I could do it, I probably would), it just isn't where I'm at. I would love to find someone to pay me to run, post pictures and blog about my life (actually, truth be told, I would much rather that person come find ME, because going out on my own to find that is not only scary and intimidating, it's filled with a lot of rejection and I am not super stoked on that)... but I know that isn't a reality for 99.9% of us out here in the 'real world'.
And even though I don't get paid for blogging, it takes up a large chunk of time. I'd say most posts take me at least an hour to write (then I go back and reread them like 19 times and have to add pictures and images as to not overwhelm readers with all my babbling) - and some of my more in-depth recaps could take upwards of four or five hours.
Currently, this is an outlet for me - to share my feelings, record my training, write about my daily going's-on's, etc. #RealTalk - If you know someone who would like to pay me to do that, PLEASE feel free to pass along my contact info, but otherwise I will continue chugging along, posting about things that interest me and the adventures of the McDots.
Did you think I got paid to blog?
I am pretty much the same type blogger. I don't get paid. It's something I love to do. And it's hard because I am a freelancer so when I am writing a post I feel like it's an hour I could be spending working on stuff that I actually do get paid for. Thanks for sharing your story.
ReplyDeleteI think that's why people will continue to read blogs like ours, we do it because we genuinely want to tell our story. I don't get paid to blog, and when I actually get an email from a brand I get really excited!
ReplyDeleteHave you ever thought about blogging for sites like PopSugar or Women's Running magazine? I think you'd be a shoo-in!
ReplyDeleteI definitely assumed you got paid - but like you, I blog because I love it. When I get paid, GREAT, it's a bonus, but that's not why I do it. And it's not like every post is paid - just a few each month and it's not always consistent. If someone DID want to pay me to blog full time, heck yeah I'd do it! How great would that be?! I haven't been blogging a decade, but 6 years or so. YIKES! Time flies.
ReplyDeleteWell THIS BRAND. Is super happy she returned your email 😘
ReplyDeleteI definitely do not get paid for blogging either. It's amazing how much time I spend on something that I do for free. But like you, it's my outlet and I love it. And I do want to keep it that way. Not something I have to do for money.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad you posted this because it's been something I have been meaning to ask you about. When I discovered your blog, I realized that it went back a long time. Mine goes back to 2007, and I thought THAT was a long time. Whoa. And then I realized that you were blogging a lot. Like almost every day! And I thought it was so cool that you have a living history of your life. Do you like going back to old posts, or do you cringe at your former self? I had a MySpace blog from 2005-2007 that I wrote in about as much as you do and it was some running, but mostly other stuff. I downloaded the archive and I cringe at some of the stuff I wrote. LOL. Anyway, it was cool for me to go back and look at your older posts and see how you've changed over the years. Blogging for the sake of loving it is awesome. I don't make any money on my blog either! Keep it up, I'm enjoying following you.
ReplyDeleteI DID assume that you get paid to blog--it's such a commitment that to do it for long unpaid is a huge deal. Good for you--I love to read your blog and I follow you on a number of different social channels. I love your positive attitude and your transparency!
ReplyDeleteYou're so active on social media that it wouldn't have surprised me if you got paid for blogging/posting running pictures... but I am kinda glad (for me, not for you) that it's not the case and that you're just blogging for fun like the rest of us ;)
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