Once, there was but one blog. Today, there are over 600 million blogs and counting, producing millions of content daily. Even more, the average human attention span has shrunk to less than 8s, making it even harder for bloggers to gain and engage reader attention.
This is one of the challenges new bloggers face as they begin their journey into the blogosphere.
Inspired by successful bloggers, many newbies also want to venture into blogging and start a blog, oblivious of the many challenges they may encounter while starting or running a blog in 2020.
In this post, we shall highlight some of the challenges new bloggers face, plus how to overcome them, but first, let’s look at:
Some Reasons Why Blogging is Popular
- Low Entry Barrier
- Low Startup Cost
- Additional Income Stream
- SEO
- Authority
- Audience Engagement
- Laptop Lifestyle
- Work from Anywhere
- Zero Commute
- Flexible Work Hours, etc
These are some of the reasons why blogging appeals to people.
Businesses can also benefit from blogging, whether they’re into dropshipping, retail, SaaS, manufacturing, consultancy, healthcare, education, IT, name it.
By blogging consistently, brands can connect with their customers on a deeper level, helping them win customer trust and loyalty, by providing valuable, actionable content.
However, as stated earlier, there are challenges of becoming a blogger.
Here are:
5 Top Challenges New Bloggers Face and How to Overcome Them
1. Niche Selection
This is usually the first challenge many aspiring bloggers face, especially those with multiple skills or interests. Should I blog about general interest topics, news, or retail? If news, what kind of news, retail news, sports news, education news, or…?
Selecting a blogging niche has many benefits. It helps you curate and create focused content. This will help you attract your ideal reader who is searching for niche information. It establishes you as a niche authority or expert and can land you speaking gigs at major industry events.
Niche selection can be easy for some people, but for multi-potentiality, this is usually a tough nut to crack. Paralysis of analysis sets in and they’re unable to start their dream blog.
How to Overcome This:
Start somewhere. Rome wasn’t built in a day, same with your dream blog. Just start anyway. You can always make adjustments as you go. You can broaden or narrow down from general to niche, or vice versa.
2. Domain Name Selection/Registration
Now that you’ve selected a niche to start with, it’s time to select a matching domain name. Your domain name is like your website or online address. Here people can find where all your online assets or content live.
One website may only have one domain name and sub-domains. This is why it’s also important to select a niche first. A domain name change can be costly, it can cost you money or followers to rebrand all your online assets.
Before selecting a domain name, also check if the corresponding social media handles are available on your favorite social networks. Some people choose domain names, whose social handles are already taken, and have to resort to choosing handles different from their domain names. This can impact your branding efforts.
How to Overcome This:
If you run a dropshipping store, for instance, a domain name like www(dot)amysportsbet(dot) com will confuse searchers and potential customers, who will judge your book by its cover. Instead, you can pick a generic name or product-specific name. It may be better to pick a generic name if you anticipate business growth and expansion into other areas.
3. Hosting Company/Package
Nearly every hosting company allows you to check domain name availability. Why? They can help you host your site if your chosen domain name is available.
There are many domain hosting companies out there like BlueHost, NameCheap, etc, offering all kinds of hosting solutions. And there are several factors new bloggers must consider before choosing a hosting company. Factors like pricing, support, upgrades, ability to transfer to other hosting companies, etc.
Truth is, some hosting companies provide sub-par services resulting in huge downtimes, poor support, overbilling, cyber-attacks, etc. As a new blogger, you need to be wary of poor hosting companies, they can ruin your new blog.
How to Overcome This:
Search for top web hosting companies in your country or region if possible. Being in the same time zone can mean that you get help/support exactly when you need it, in real-time. Alternatively, consider hosts who provide 24/7 support. Compare website hosts and read user reviews before choosing.
4. CMS Choice
After selecting a host and registering your domain name, you now have to choose a CMS. CMS stands for a content management system, the framework that helps you manage and maintain your blog.
WordPress is the most popular CMS out there, powering over 36% of the internet. There’s also Drupal, Joomla, Magento and a host of other CMS or website builders.
There are several factors for new bloggers to consider when choosing CMS like cost, support, technicalities, themes, plugins, extensions, It is important to pick a CMS that’s best suited for your niche, technical skills level, budget, etc.
How to Overcome This:
Search and compare CMS, note their pricing, support, user base, updates, versatility, flexibility, etc. By reading user reviews you get first-hand insight into what each CMS feels like. This will help you decide which is best for your needs or purpose.
5. Content Generation
After choosing and installing your desired CMS, it is time to feed it some content. This is one of the most repetitive tasks you must perform as a blogger. Google loves content, readers too.
There are several types of content new bloggers can explore, ranging from text to voice, video, and multimedia. However, the biggest challenge many bloggers face is creating new and engaging content consistently.
This is because real, valuable and actionable content often takes time and energy to produce. You’ll need to do research, write, rewrite, edit, optimize for search (SEO), publish, share on social media, moderate comments, etc.
How to Overcome This:
Use fresh content ideas to create content that keeps your blog active and your readers actively engaged. This is key to driving organic traffic, generating leads for your business and converting them into paying customers or subscribers.
Conclusion
Doing these will help you overcome the common challenges new bloggers face as they venture into blogging. It will help you choose the best and make the best of your choices.
What other challenges did you face when you started blogging? Let us know in the comments section.
