Having your own blog has a TON of advantages. But I’m not going to lie, it has certain disadvantages as well.
Let’s weigh up the pros and cons of blogging – so you can decide if it’s right for you.
I’ve been blogging for over 10 years. In 2020, I mastered SEO and launched my first profitable blog.
13 Pros and Cons of Blogging
The Pros of Blogging
1. Boost your existing income
Probably the biggest pro of blogging – the opportunity to make extra money.
You don’t even need to give up your day job – it’s perfectly feasible to start a moneymaking blog in your evenings or weekends. Blogging is also one of the best side hustle ideas out there.
Having extra income is especially important these days, with the skyrocketing living costs around the world.
2. Replace your day job
What if you hate your day job? Well, blogging can make you enough money to leave the office behind for ever. Wouldn’t that be an incredibly freeing and exciting prospect?
3. Create new career opportunities
Another good one for those of you who hate your day job. Having a blog is a great way to showcase your skills and knowledge. It’s better than any resume.
Back in 2016, one of my old blogs was pivotal in landing me a great job at one of London’s top tech start-ups. You can do the same, if that’s what you want.
4. Live abroad wherever you want
Maybe you’re a serial globetrotter looking for an outlet. Or maybe you just want to start a new life in a country that better suits your personal and political values.
Whatever your case, blogging will give you the freedom to pursue it. In my opinion, that’s one of the major pros of blogging.
5. Work flexibly on your own terms
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have been thrown into the world of remote work (whether we like it or not).
If you like working remotely – and so many people do – then starting your own blog is a great way to regain that flexibility in your life. Great for those who are night owls, early birds, or have kids!
6. Connect with interesting people
Out of all the pros and cons of blogging, one of my absolute favorites is the amazing scope it gives you to connect with all sorts of new people.
Some of them might become your friends, while others might become new colleagues, clients, or partners. Putting your ideas out into the world via a blog helps you build a community of like-minded people.
7. Starting a blog is cheap
You might think it’s expensive to start a blog. Well, you’d be wrong. In fact, you can get up and running with your first few posts for less than $10.
Of course, later down the line, there are lots of great tools to help you maximize your blogging income. But it’s easy to get started on an extremely low budget.
8. You can make money in many different ways
Building a profitable blog doesn’t follow just one approach. In fact, there are so many ways you can make money from your blog. Here’s a list of some of the most popular:
- Affiliate marketing (promoting other people’s products on your blog in return for commission)
- Advertising (e.g. Google Adsense)
- Sponsored content (when a company pays you to feature them on your blog)
- Selling information products (e.g. ebooks or courses)
- Selling physical products (think of your blog as the shop window)
- Selling consulting services (best way to monetize in the early stages)
- Selling your services as a freelance writer (your blog is the perfect portfolio)
- Flipping a blog (buy an old blog, build up its traffic, then sell it on a specialist marketplace like Flippa.
The Cons of Blogging
OK – we’ve looked at most of the pros, but what about the cons? Surely blogging can’t be an entirely perfect activity. You’re right, it’s not.
But like anything worthwhile, the advantages likely outweigh the disadvantages. Let’s examine the cons of blogging in more detail right now.
1. You’ll need plenty of patience
I’ll be honest – building a profitable blog doesn’t happen overnight. It can take at least six months before you start to see any reward for your efforts.
Your blog might take over 12 months to make a decent amount of money, if not longer. If you struggle with patience (I did, at first), then blogging may not be the right fit for you.
2. You’ll need at least basic tech skills
You don’t need to be a computer wizard to build a successful blog (and you absolutely do NOT need to know how to code), but you’ll need some minimal level of ability with technology.
Setting up your blog and publishing posts on it require basic IT knowledge and feeling comfortable with computers. Or, at least being willing to put in the time to acquire these skills.
If you’re terrible with technology and not interested in learning, then starting a blog probably isn’t right for you.
3. You Need Decent Writing Skills
OK, you could use AI tools (such as Jasper AI) or hire freelance writers on Fiverr or Upwork to produce all your content.
But in the early stages, you’ll be writing at least a few blog posts by yourself. If you don’t enjoy writing, or aren’t very good at it, that could be hard work.
You might also struggle to stay motivated long enough to see good returns from your blogging efforts.
4. You’ll need to be organized
Publishing on a regular schedule requires good organizational skills – especially if you’re building your blog around an existing full-time job.
In 2024, it’s no longer enough to publish sporadically. To make money from your blog, you’ll need to establish a regular publishing cadence.
In the first few months of my current blog’s life, I published a new post on average once a month. That wasn’t much, and my growth was pretty slow as a result.
Once I started publishing 3 to 4 times a week, my traffic skyrocketed. So you need to be super organized to make blogging a success.
5. People might criticize you
Releasing your ideas out into the world is a courageous act. Most people will salute you for it. But a few will try to tear you down.
Whether that’s online trolling of your social media accounts, or leaving disgruntled comments on your blog posts, be prepared – not everyone will like you.
Some of this also depends on the topic of your blog. I rarely get negative comments, and can’t remember ever having what I would class as a genuine hater. Maybe it will be the same for you. But we have to be prepared.
Next Steps
Blogging is one of the best ways to make money on your own terms.
In this article, I’ve walked you through the main pros and cons of blogging.
It’s important to be fully informed about the pros and cons of blogging to decide whether it’s the right fit for you and your lifestyle.
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