Dispelling Myths About Professional Blogging

Blogs and bloggers have become a core component of internet culture. People have them to journal their lives, businesses have them to promote their products and some (like myself) make their blog a business. A way of expressing and promoting beliefs, ideals and sharing information with those they think might benefit from it. Of course, blogging is much more diverse and complicated than that. It is fun, rewarding and opens a whole new world of possibilities. With it though comes a host of misconceptions and misunderstandings; this is true of most professions and hobbies, naturally. However, having done this for a little while now; I thought it could be constructive dispelling some myths about professional blogging out there.

Blogging is On the Way Out

Vlogging is the future. Instagram is the future. No-one reads anymore and so on. The thing is; this is a load of rubbish. There are over a hundred million blogs out there which cover every single possible conceivable topic. Seriously, there are blogs out there for every taste, interest and profession; carpets, fences and road cones are all fair game. However, so is the environment, mental health and parenting. Blogging is absolutely not on the way out. This is not something to take seriously.

Bloggers Just Want to Be Influencers

Nope!

Whilst I’m sure that fame and popularity are great and all; perhaps some even do want this. I don’t know. I can’t speak for every blog writer and what they want from the gig; but I do know myself and the fellow bloggers I work with.

Honestly, what most bloggers want is independence. Not all that long ago, I wrote a post about professional success and happiness. I talked about how corporate life left me in a bad place; that it was not a profession for me. What happened, was I found that a significant portion of the bloggers I work with feel exactly the same. For the majority of us, it isn’t about being famous or popular and rocking that influencer badge. It’s about being free to make a living on our own terms, independent of ideals and attitudes that don’t work for us.

All You Need to Know How to Do, is Write

Blogging involves writing, sure. You write about interests, feelings, situations, brands and so on. That said, it isn’t as simple as just that. You don’t just write and that’s that.

Being a blogger means producing content, promoting it, self-advertisement, liasing with brands, working with other bloggers and understanding both social media and search engine optimisation.

If a Post is Positive About a Product it is a Paid Endorsement

Modern life has made it difficult to be independent of product and brand influence. When someone talks positively in public about a company, it is easy to assume that it is an advertisement. Sometimes, maybe it is. However, when it comes to blogging; there are laws and there are best practices among the community. Disclosures are a thing to look out for but honesty and professional integrity a major part of the work.

Brands rent our time, not buy our opinions and endorsements.

Blogger Endorsement Cannot Be Trusted

Whilst there are exceptions to every rule, here’s the thing that you might not realise. As a blogger, I and my fellow bloggers spend a lot of time passing on work that doesn’t fit our audiences. Integrity and honesty is important, in fact; that is what we are offering with our blogs. A genuine human reaction to whatever niche(s) we are dedicated to.

Conclusion

Blogging involves a lot of considerations and effort in choosing the right working relationships, content to share and endorsements to make. Being a professional blogger comes with a whole heap of misunderstanding and myths to contend with but they are just that.