I was sitting in the bath the other day when the idea for this post came to me. I can’t remember what prompted it but hey-ho, here we are. I’m not going to ramble with this introduction for TOO long because the responses I got on Twitter when I asked people for their “unpopular blogging opinions” really do speak for themselves.
Instead of sharing my own opinions, I wanted to react to yours. They’re much more interesting and versatile and I was pretty taken aback by the amount of responses and what some people were saying. Some I entirely agree with, others not so much, but it was incredibly interesting to hear what people are currently thinking and feeling about the blogging world.
The blogging industry has changed over the years. I’ve been blogging since 2013 and I started out in a very niché area of it (book blogging), so I’ve seen plenty of changes within the industry and within my own feelings about it, having turned from hobby blogger to a full-time job.
Things change. That’s cool, they always do. But I definitely think that the essence of some parts of blogging and what made it wonderful has shifted in slightly the wrong direction. It would appear some of the people who responded to my tweet thought the same thing too.
So before we get into these unpopular blogging opinions (which might not be unpopular at all – let’s see), please be respectful even if you don’t agree! The opinions shared on Twitter are highlighted in pink – my reactions are below.
When I discover a new, relatable and inspiring blog then to look and find they haven’t blogged in years. I find it annoying cause their writing and photography is so good yet they don’t utilize that in their blog and save it all for Instagram!
I can see why this is annoying! It seems a shame that people would seemingly “waste” such talent solely on Instagram, a platform that isn’t theirs (and never will be) and could be taken away at any moment. But if that’s what they want to do, then is it a waste?
People who miss use hashtags on Twitter.
This annoys me and will annoy me until the end of time. The #bloggerswanted hash tag is pretty much unusable now, for people using it for all the wrong reasons. If you’re not looking for a blogger for something, why are you using it to promote yourself?
Brands who expect you to follow so many rules for a collaboration when really you are getting a “free” gift and won’t pay for the work you put in.
Ugh! I wholeheartedly agree but I also think it’s difficult for newer bloggers who perhaps are only JUST getting contacted by brands to know what’s “right”. I spent AGES accepting low priced “gifts” and going above and beyond to create blog photos, imagery and social content for it. Looking back, I just didn’t realize how I was being taken advantage of!
Agencies who expect you to host a badly written article promoting their client with a do follow backlink for $20 and no disclosure. And bloggers who accept this. No shade if you have bills to pay but this devalues us all. Please, know your worth!
Great point! The more people that accept these low prices, the more agencies, brands and PR’s will think it’s acceptable. It’s a tough to find the line though because some bloggers genuinely do really need the money and an extra $20 might make such a difference. But like I said, if more people say no, then it’s better for all of us in the long run!
Blogging can be a big drain on your mental health if you’re not careful and it’s easy to burn out.
Yep, wholeheartedly agree with this statement. There’s a lot of things that can affect your mental health in this industry; comparison, worry about money, not feeling good enough. It’s VITAL that you have self care practices in place to help when you’re approaching burn out.
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That you can make $3756 in the first 6 months of blogging.
Unlikely yes but not impossible. I think it all depends on the time you have to put in, the money you’re willing to put in, the resources you have and the knowledge that you have as a new blogger. I didn’t make money for years – but I wasn’t trying to nor did I know how.
I think it is misleading though, when bloggers push their own eBooks and courses etc about how they made that money in the first 6 months but they’re not disclosing the fact that they paid out like a thousand pound for additional help.
We wear way too many “hats” as bloggers. It’s impossible to be an expert writer, graphic designer, photographer, web developer, marketer, etc. and be an the most knowledgeable in our niche. If we want to provide quality, we need to stop spreading ourselves so thin and get help.
I half agree with this. Yes, we DEFINITELY wear a lot of hats and need to know about a lot of different aspects of blogging – some of which we don’t necessarily enjoy as well. But not everyone has the means to get help, so have no choice but to learn how to do those things themselves.
The blogging community isn’t really a community. Most of us are so disconnected from others even in our own niche, it’s not even funny. The “community” isn’t friendly anymore. We’ve become a selfish bunch, focused only on our own blog’s survival and financial gain.
Hmm, again, half agree with this. In regards to what I said earlier about the blogging industry changing, this definitely applies. We’re much more focused as a whole on things like monetary gains, SEO and the like. Which, if you’re a full-time blogger, is crucial. If this is your JOB then that’s what you need to do.
From my own experience in the community, it’s still friendly and there are some wonderful people within it. I’ve had a lot of support recently from a few members of the blogging community and it’s made a world of difference to my own situation. I guess this very much depends on your niche and personal experience.
There’s no personality with blogging anymore, everything is sell, sell, sell, review, review, review which is sad. I come from the days of when blogging was all fun and somewhere to express yourself. Now it feels so commercial.
Again with the “things change” aspect of this post. As blogging has become a more recognized career, it’s natural for it to become more commercial. The thing is, I don’t think commercial and personality can’t go hand in hand if it’s done right. I follow a nice mix of bloggers; some who do it full-time, some who blog as a hobby, some who promote brands and products, others that share personal stories.
Blogging is the best way to kill your interest in something because it’s almost impossible to not get caught up in the numbers and trying to grow.
Okay I have first hand experience of how this can be true and that’s when I was a book blogger and it made me resent reading. So yes this can definitely happen! Luckily I love reading and blogging about books again now but that’s only because I’m not a book blogger, I don’t review books anymore nor do I put any pressure on myself to do so.
If your first blog ever is in the ‘how to blog’ niche, claiming to be an expert, you’re looking for a get-rich-quick scheme and you’re just scamming people out of their money. Sorry, but if you haven’t built a successful blog, you shouldn’t be teaching someone else.
Wholeheartedly agree. I mean, the only counter argument to this that I can think of is if the person has experience in their job or has had another successful blog in the past. But if that’s the case, it should be automatically obvious. Even worse is if they’re trying to peddle an eBook after 2 weeks!
That Pinterest is super easy to gain traction/views. “All you have to do is follow X amount of rules”, when in reality it’s not that simple and the algorithm is always changing. Also, blogging without heart/personality makes a blog feel impersonal and fake.
I despise Pinterest so I agree with this. Pinterest can work wonderfully for some people and I’ve had some success with it as well. But I still hate it and it’s NOT as easy as some of these Pinterest guru’s say it is. There’s SO MUCH stuff you HAVE to do in order for it to *maybe* work for you that it almost doesn’t seem worth it, unless you hire a Pinterest manager.
I’m a blind blogger, and I’m routinely frustrated by the inaccessibility of the stock image libraries. No alt-text or file labels so I can’t tell what they are, and can’t use them.
Not an unpopular opinion but one that I think is important to point out and talk about more. I’ll be featuring a guest post from this person in March!
I like reading stories with my recipe posts and the people who complain about having to scroll past it to get to the free recipe are actually the worst.
Okay I know there’s a lot of differing opinions on this. For the sake of SEO, the longer recipe posts are obviously important as recipes can bring in a lot of traffic, which is great. For me, I don’t typically read everything beforehand. If I want the recipe, I’ll scroll straight to the recipe. But I don’t moan about it because I know all the chit-chat is there for a reason.
I’d absolutely love to hear your reactions to some of these opinions! Please remember to be respectful; we’re all entitled to an opinion and all have very different blogging experiences to each other.
Which do you agree with? Let me know in the comments!
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