Biggest Blogging Challenges: Blogger Edition

I truly believe it’s important to shed light on the behind-the-scenes struggles and not just the highlight reels of success. Beneath all of the beautiful curated feeds, incredible brand partnerships and amazing style lies various daily challenges and set backs. Not many people choose to open up about these struggles, but I do think that it’s a conversation that should be discussed more often. I think when we share more of these unfiltered moments, that is where the true connection lies with our readers. That’s what inspired me to create my Life Chats series two years ago and why I continue to do my best to build on this. A few weeks ago, my girl Esther reached out and asked me to participate in a blogging tips post with a ton of other bloggers. You can check that out here. I’ve been wanting to expand my blogging tips series, so it gave me the idea to do something similar, but to also continue doing more posts such as this one. I love this idea of shining light on other bloggers and getting them to talk about more than what you just see through their photos. It’s another way to support them and it’s also a great way to introduce you to new creative women whom you might not have known of before.

I have openly discussed my own struggles with blogging, so this time I decided to ask 9 of my fellow blogger babes what their biggest challenges have been with running their blogs and what they’ve done to overcome them. From struggling to grow their brand to dealing with uncertainty and trying to find ways to keep their content fresh, these girls are giving you insight into the hurdles that they have had to overcome. All of them inspire me for
different reasons. I love the creativity that shines through the content they put out. I
admire their constant drive to push forward and be successful in an industry that can be so
disheartening at times. I respect the hard work that they put into their craft and I
appreciate the relationships that they have built with their audience. Some of them I know very well personally, while others I’ve grown so fond of via social media. Either way, I’m so happy and thankful to have connected with each of them. I’m excited to share part of their
behind-the-scenes with all of you today!

“What has been your biggest challenge with running a blog/being a blogger and what have you done to overcome it?”

Esther – New York
Esther Santer @esthersanter

“The most challenging part of running a blog is staying motivated even when it doesn’t feel like you’re growing. This industry is tough and super competitive, so it’s hard not to
compare yourself to other bloggers and feel disheartened. One way I overcome that sense of discouragement is by remembering why I started blogging and recognizing all of the
incredible opportunities my blog has made possible. It’s so easy to get caught up in the
numbers, but it’s important to take a step back sometimes and just be proud of what you
created.”

Daniela – Miami
Nany’s Klozet @nanysklozet

“When it comes to being a blogger, I think one of the biggest struggles for me is being able to fully disconnect with it to completely enjoy time with friends and family. Having a blog becomes a 24/7 job. We create content all the time. There are no weekends, no vacations, and no days off. It can be hard to put your phone down and truly enjoy the moment instead of thinking about how to make it picture perfect or sharing everything for your readers on real-time platforms like IG stories or Snapchat. I’ve been trying to really enjoy the moment, focus on great conversations, on me-time, and on family time. And then, all of this inspires me to be better in my career.”

Cathy – Atlanta
Poor Little It Girl @poorlittleitgirl

“My biggest challenge: keeping content fresh for the reader and for me. I’ve been blogging for 7 years and sometimes the inspiration for blog posts, Instagram posts, etc. can be tough. I actually did a reader survey to find out what my readers loved on my blog, and what could go. While outfits and style tips are still a top request on my site, turns out my readers really respond to my Blogging Tips series. So I now work to hit that category in posts about once or twice a month! Before I was only doing it once every few months, if that! It is fun to share my blogging tips and answer questions that new bloggers may have about the industry. I also learned that my travel posts aren’t top hits on my site, but do great on Instagram, so I focus more travel on social media and skip that for the blog!”

Grasie – Los Angeles
Style Me Grasie @grasiemercedes

“My biggest challenge as a blogger has been with Instagram. It’s easy to compare your
following with other bloggers and feel like you’re not doing enough or not getting it right. Now more than ever it’s really hard to organically grow on Instagram and retain engagement but I don’t let that get to me anymore. I try to stay true to myself and my brand and stick to what feels right for me. Comparison is the killer of happiness so my biggest tip or word of advice is to NEVER COMPARE! Be YOU and stay true to YOU! Your followers will appreciate your authenticity and love you for that!”

Lindsey – Minneapolis
Lindsey Kate @Lindseykateco

“When I first started blogging it was a lot more life-invasive instead of life-capturing than it is now. I think it comes down to a few things. I was insecure about my voice, so I took on everyone’s voices. I felt like I had to make sure to say and do what everyone was doing to not miss a moment or appear like I wasn’t the real deal. A lot more FOMO-driven early on. I was also indecisive and picky about my photos and would take so many then take forever picking which ones to use. Everything had to be just right. Perfectly staged, perfectly arranged. I would be all uptight about getting just the right shot in every possible instagrammable moment to the point where I missed moments more. Now I’m like alright, I’m gonna do my life and Instagram/blog can be part of it. Not the other way around.

How do I make this happen? 1- reduced variation. Every other Sunday, my cousin who’s an amazing photographer comes over to take 3 outfit sets. I get my sponsored posts covered through this. 2- be present. Take 5 photos, not 55. Honor people. If someone takes a photo for you, be polite and considerate. Genuinely thank them and don’t take it for granted or be weirdly picky. Be quick about it. One snap of the food is good. Make your photo enhance your time with whoever you’re with. I love bringing friends and family into my snapstories casually. Make it fun and keep it brief. Set boundaries and put your phone down sometimes. Keep things balanced, in check. Eye contact with other people more than with your screen as much as possible. Don’t let Instagram fomo keep you from living life to the fullest!”

Sydne – Los Angeles
Sydne Style @sydnesummer

“One of the biggest challenges for me has been accepting there is no set road to success in blogging. Unlike other jobs, where you can climb the corporate ladder, accelerating your promotions with hard work, being a blogger is full of uncertainty. I’ve learned to overcome this by rewarding myself for every accomplishment, no matter how big or small.”

Caitlin – Arizona
Dash Of Darling @caitlinclairexo

“One of the biggest challenges of running your own business from home is staying on top of everything. When you work from home it can be easy to get distracted and fall behind. One thing that works for me is to treat my work like any other job and set myself specific hours. I like to wake up early (I am most productive in the mornings), shower and start my  work day in my office at 9am, starting with emails. It’s the small things like this that can make a big difference. I find when I work from the couch, little things like responding to an email, takes twice as long. It’s important to make yourself a proper work-life balance with a few set boundaries when working from home.“

Allyson – Oklahoma City
Allyson In Wonderland @allysoninwonderland

“My biggest daily challenge is time management. I’ve never been a very organized person, so these days I’m leaning on technology to help me out with scheduling my tasks. And I keep a ridiculous amount of lists… the only problem is remembering to read them!”

Megan – Atlanta
Lush To Blush @lushtoblush

“The biggest challenge for me as a blogger has been Instagram. I love to write and create content, but when I go on Instagram and see other bloggers growing more quickly than I am, I get discouraged. I feel like my engagement is lower than it should be no matter what I try to do to increase it. But as a blogger, I know it’s best not to rely on one social
media platform. So I continue to remind myself to put energy into creating beautiful, quality content for my blog and let my social channels supplement that. I love to write–that’s why I started my blog in the first place–so when I get discouraged with yet another new Instagram algorithm or comparing myself to other bloggers on Instagram, I remind myself of why I started.”

 I really hoped that you enjoyed this post and that it gave you a bit more insight into some of the daily struggles we face with our blogs. I also hope that it gave you some good tips to overcome these challenges in case you are struggling with the same things. What I loved the most was getting a different perspective from each girl. I plan to do more of these in the near future with a different group and a different question each time. Make sure to check out all of their blogs and social media. I think you’re going to love them as much as I do! Let me know what questions you want answered next.❤️