Are Your Blogging Fears Hindering You From Success?

Fears. Everyone has something they’re afraid of, but when it comes to blogging or achieving your goals, there may be beliefs or notions that are holding you back.

And yes, because it’s Halloween, a time where all things scary are aplenty, I’m taking this opportunity to talk to you about your blogging fears.

I hope you’ll realise you’re not alone in feeling this way and you can overcome these fears.

The first step is awareness.

It’s not easy changing these patterns.

Bad habits are hard to break.

The key is to acknowledge that you have these thoughts and then you now have the choice to continue thinking this way or make a conscious effort to turn the wheel to a different direction.

Blogging fears are real.

And they could be holding you back from the content creator you’ve always wanted to be.

Let’s talk about some of these fears together and let me know how you deal with them.

Blogging Fear #1: I don’t have anything new to bring to the table

I’ve seen many fashion blogs out there.

A lot talk about the same trends or pieces, but what sets them apart is their personality–their voice.

I’m not telling you to copy someone else’s work because that’s such a huge no-no. 

What I suggest is to avoid reading anything about what you’ll be writing a week or two, so that you can focus on what you have to say and avoid mimicking what someone’s already said.

This blogging fear was what stopped me from starting this blog sooner.

I kept thinking what if by writing about things like blogging or social media or travel that I’d be seen as a copycat.

This is one of my biggest fears more than failing or sucking so bad at blogging. 

How to conquer this: If you want to write about a topic that’s already been done before, go ahead and do it, but do it in your own way. What angle can you give that’s different?

Blogging Fear #2: What if I suck?

Many people are afraid of doing something only to be seen as being terrible at it.

But how can you become an expert at something if you don’t start somewhere?

In order to be good at something, you have to acknowledge and accept that, in the beginning, you will stumble and you will suck.

Yes, you will suck.

And that’s totally okay.

I remember the first novel I wrote, it was a disaster.

There was no plot.

The characters were unrealistic.

But still, there was this sense of accomplishment that I’d finished a novel even if it wasn’t perfect.

Heck, it was far from perfect.

But I kept writing and writing.

It took me years and multiple books later to realise how much I’d grown as a writer, and in the same sense, with blogging, you get better with time and practice.

You’ll learn what content works best for you and for your community.

You probably will at first because no one starts out an expert at something.

Embrace the beginner stage.

Allow yourself to make mistakes and to experiment.

If you’re worried about this too much, then why not create a couple of blog posts just for you.

To test out your voice, to learn and to tweak

How to conquer it: Just start and then keep practicing. Don’t stop learning about the best ways to be a content creator. Be patient. You’ll get better. 

Blogging Fear #3: What if nobody listens to me?

Blogging is a way for you to express yourself and to make yourself heard.

I get it.

Back when I started, though I was shy about sharing my real personality and name online (I was also paranoid), posting my thoughts online was sometimes my way of wanting to be heard.

Even if it was just one person.

Sometimes, I’d share my emotional thoughts in the hopes of someone telling me everything was going be okay or that I wasn’t the only person to feel this way.

Maybe blogging for you is about sharing what you’ve learned, but at the end of the day, you share it publicly because you still want to be heard.

If you didn’t, then you’d probably just write everything down in a notebook.

How to conquer it: You might be scared to admit that blogging is about you wanting to be heard.

Chances are, there will be at least one person interested in what you have to say.

And if you stay true to yourself, then people will listen.

They’ll trust you. So say what you believe in and stay authentic. 

Blogging Fear #4: What if I fail?

This next blogging fear is related to the second blogging fear.

Yes, you’ll suck, and you’ll fail.

There is no growth without failure.

There is no success without failure.

I know it’s not easy to deal with failures.

I’m hard on myself when I make mistakes, but I haven’t given up. 

Failure is scary because it’s seen as such a negative thing.

I read something once that stuck with me.

It was about a person who grew up in a family who encouraged her to fail.

At the end of each day, her parents would ask their children, “What did you fail at today?” and in doing this, they helped their children see failure as a normal part of life–and not to fear it.

You might be a perfectionist, so you want everything done correctly even the first time, but this way of thinking just adds unnecessary stress.

Take it from me.

I tend to stress over the smallest things and waste energy worrying.

How to conquer it: The key is to keep moving forward.

If you want this online business to work, then you have to keep going.

Look at failures as learning opportunities. 

Take a break if you need to, but don’t give up if this is something you truly want. 

Blogging Fear #5: Blogging is not a legit career 

Up until a few years ago, blogging wasn’t even something many people considered as a job.

So it’s totally normal for you to feel this way or be in denial.

Blogging was a hobby.

Though some people might have already figured out they could earn a little extra from this and made blogging their side-hustle.

Nowadays, loads of people are full-time bloggers.

For me, that was the dream too.

Back when I had a day job, I was slowly working towards that goal while learning to prioritise self-care.

Today, I am a full-time blogger.

The term “blogger” also has this negative connotation to it, and that’s also why I’d been ashamed to label myself as a blogger for a long time and fully embrace the term.

Sure, it was on my Instagram bio and on my Facebook page, but I wouldn’t own it 100%.

Part of me was still scared to tell people that I wanted to be a full-time blogger because they’d say it’s such a silly dream and I’d been throwing away all my hard work in school to get a good degree.

There’s a lot of pressure to get good grades to land a secure, well-paying job that you’re supposed to have until you retire.

But what if I want to do more than that?

What if I want to live to the fullest while I’m young?

What if I want to travel the world whenever I want to without waiting until I’m retired?

How to conquer this: I’ve realised that this is mostly a mindset challenge, so focus on why it’s important to you.

For me, it’s because I want the lifestyle that comes with blogging: the freedom to choose how to spend my time. 

Why do you want to be a content creator?

Conquer Your Blogging Fears

Those are just some of the blogging fears content creators face today.

As with any goal, you’ll face uncertainties and doubt, but if it’s what you want, then don’t give up. 

When you’re feeling this way, counteract this doubt with one small thing you’re proud you’ve done.

For example, you’ve thought about quitting before, but you stuck it out and you’d landed one dream collaboration then you wouldn’t have gotten if you’d quit a long time ago.

It could be that you were courageous enough to take that first step and email one of your favorite brands and asked if you can collaborate and they said yes.

Often times, we forget about these achievements, so in times of doubt, recall all your victories.

This blog post was inspired by UK word girl’s Halloween Blog Post ideas.

Do you have these blogging fears too and how do you deal with them? Let me know. I’d love to try out a new way to conquer these fears.

Photo by Anthony Intraversato on Unsplash