Is It OK to Blog For Fun

There’s a lot of talk about making money via your blog these days, isn’t there?

I mean, heck, half the posts on my blog have a focus on setting yourself up for money-making opportunities, right?

That’s because making money as a blogger is a more real possibility in 2017 than ever before. The e-commerce world has blown wide open and the barriers to making money through a blog have all but disappeared.

It was just a few years ago that blogging was a hobby – especially for moms. “Mommy blogger” was a dirty word that was synonymous with “bored housewife” or “wannabe writer”.

Not anymore.

The world wide web is now full of smart, interesting, thought-provoking, and fun blogs that are making their authors cold hard cash. 

So I can see why, in this world of “MAKE MONEY BLOGGING!” it would seem like there is no room for the old style of blogger – the one who used their blog as an online journal, pouring out thoughts, feelings & information simply because they wanted an outlet to share, learn and grow.

For those who are considering starting their own blog, it must feel like it’s not possible to just blog because it’s fun to write, it’s fun to read and it’s fun to interact with like-minded people.

So let’s put to bed a myth that has been getting way too much airtime in the online world shall we?

IF YOU WANT TO BLOG FOR FUN, THAT’S OK!!!!!

It doesn’t tarnish the reputation of money-making bloggers if you choose not to monetize your blog. It doesn’t diminish the work of others if you want to grow a blog for your own enjoyment. And it certainly doesn’t make your content less important than those who blog as job or for money.

In fact, if I may be so bold, let me be one of the first to say that starting a blog as a hobby – because you simply love the subject matter or you love to write and share – is an amazing thing that we need a heck of a lot more of in the online space.

Let me take you back to 2009.

I was a brand new mom, totally feeling alone and scared and overwhelmed. I had no one to talk to about my feelings and so I did what so many other new moms do: I turned to the internet.

It was there on the world wide web that I found women across the world going through the exact same emotions that I was having. Strangers who just understood who I was and what I was all about. The connections I made with other moms was unbelievable.

Finding those other women who got exactly where I was in my life and what I was feeling as I navigated new motherhood is the reason I started ‘Sleeping Is For Losers’ in the first place. That community allowed me to write every day, share the monotony of life at home, and become my biggest cheerleaders. I really believe that blogging every day during that first year of my son’s life saved me and shaped me in a way I couldn’t have imagined.

But here’s the catch: I wasn’t blogging for money. I was blogging for me and for all those women just like me – the new moms who needed a safe place to land.

I didn’t know anything about traffic, social media, monetizing, plug-ins, hosting, finding a blog “niche”, marketing, email lists, or anything else that I talk about now. Heck, I didn’t even have Google Analytics installed for the first 4 years of blogging! I just blogged because I wanted to.

Money came to be via my blog in a lot of ways because I was in the right space at the right time. It was good and eye-opening and gave me an opportunity to explore career options that I just never imagined would be possible…but it wasn’t why I started blogging and to be honest, the money isn’t why I continue to blog.

It’s ok to start a blog because you want to try it out or explore this online world without worrying about setting yourself up for making money. In fact, it’s probably the best thing you could do for yourself.

And if you feel like you can’t just have a hobby blog, then let me apologize on behalf of all of us (people who blog full-time) who may have made you feel that way.

Maybe the best thing we can do as a community of women who live online is to support each other on whatever path our blogging life takes.

Some of us will make money as bloggers. Some of us will leave careers to live our lives online. Some of us will make a little money here and there but really never go full-throttle. Some of us will blog when the spirit moves us. Some of us will have dedicated editorial calendars and can’t miss deadlines. But we all deserve to have our blogs read and engaged with – hobby or job! We all deserve the opportunity to have our unique voices heard – money or no money.

We all have something vitally important to contribute.

So when you ask me if people should even bother with a hobby blog, my answer is a resounding YES. Blogging and the community it brings saved this drowning mom who didn’t give a rat’s youknowwhat about SEO, traffic, social media followers, and everything else that comes with monetizing a blog…and it can do the same for you.

So start that blog. Write on it. Every day, if you can.

Don’t worry about your “niche” or your audience.

Don’t be overwhelmed by all the possibilities a blog can bring. If those possibilities are meant for you, you’ll know the right time to start looking into them.

Blog for fun.

Just write because it’s fun and makes you smile.

Write because it’s therapeutic and makes you feel better.

Share it with others or let strangers find out what you’re all about.

If you’ve been thinking about it and holding yourself back, then consider this your virtual push to just start that blog, ok? (PS: I created a tutorial that will help you start your own blog easily.)