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The hard core truth revealed.
When I started my blog over five years ago, it was private and just a place to vent. There were no pictures, no kid stories, no baking escapades, just words upon words upon words.
If I had known the amount of time and energy that goes into maintaining a blog, I might have ...
Well ...
You'll just have to wait and see.
It's a Rat Race
This is a full-on competition to see who can get most comments, most followers, most page hits, most features, have the most and biggest and best giveaways, etc. People are wrapped up in those figures, and a drop or decrease in those stats often leads even the best bloggers to wonder if they have done something wrong.
Whether it's fair or not, people do in fact sum you up based on your stats, and that often determines whether or not they make a return visit.
It's Not Free
Some blog domains are free, but some aren't. Have you ever paid for a new background? Hosted a contest that offered a prize paid for from your own pocket? Ever updated your picture editing program or got a new camera or a cell phone with better Internet access or bought a fancy linky system or joined a community that offered an upgraded membership for just a small fee?
It all adds up.
Time, Time, Everyone's Time
It takes time. Not only is it time-consuming to create and publish your own blog on a daily basis, but it takes time to follow and comment on other people's blogs. Which is basically the foundation of building up a readership in blogging.
It is the ultimate paradox, mommy blogging. Mommies take the time to document and categorize their and their children's lives, and in doing so often take time away from the very thing they are writing about.
Overwhelming Is an Understatement
Blogging can feel like a burden at times. Especially when it feels like you working hard at it no one is even reading.
There also seems to be an unspoken pressure to keep with the the big bloggers' posting schedules ... often times once a day, and every time making it interesting and beautifully assembled.
When you are not receiving a paycheck (or compensation in general) for your blogging, keeping up (or even maintaining) a schedule like that can turn into a burden that sucks all the joy out of the blogging experience.
You Better Know Someone
The more famous bloggers you know, the better chance you have of getting your blog out to the masses. Google even verifies that.
If Perez Hilton links to your blog, you just went up a point in your Google rating. If your Aunt Sally (who has two readers) links to you, there probably wont be to many changes to your readership or your Google score.
Ego Trip Anyone?
Writing a blog about yourself and your family seems like a fantastic way to document the trials and tribulations of being a parent and woman (or man, or even pet) in the 21st century. The reality is, making yourself the focus of your writing causes you to think about yourself much more.
Life takes on a different slant when you are a full-time blogger. What used to be a cute story you had to tell Grandma has now been formulated in your head into a five paragraph blog post with pictures and video accompaniment. Categorizing and summarizing your life becomes the new way of processing information.
It can even take your focus off the moment and the quality of time you are spending with your family.
You also have to get out there and sell yourself. Social media networkers are masters at this and are some of the best bloggers out there.
You Get What You Give
The more you put into this amazing place we call bloggy-ville, the more you will be rewarded.
If you invest time into photography and meeting other photographers, you will end up learning more then you could have ever dreamed.
If you focus on mommy networking and finding other moms with kids the sames ages as yours who are going through similar experiences as you ... it's a safe bet that you will end up being a better mom for it and make lifelong friends in the process.
If you write a blog to document your life, your faith, your heartache and triumph, you will most assuredly look back one day and be thankful for this outlet.
So, to answer the question:
If I had known the amount of time and
