101 Comments / last updated November 13, 2019

Do Not Give Up on Your Blog Just Yet

Every year millions of people start new blogs with dreams of making an income to help support their family or to just pursue something they love. But, as we know, a massive portion of those blogs fail in the first year.

So when should we give up on a blog? How do we know that this isn’t as good as it’s going to get in terms of traffic, subscribers and earnings? And when do we throw in the towel and just cut our losses and run?

My thoughts…?

Don’t give up on your blog just yet…

A blogging context to giving up

I love helping people figure out how to start a blog and get set up in a way that maximizes their chances of success.

But I still see a lot of fails.

It’s actually quite heartbreaking as usually someone starts a blog because they are dissatisfied with some aspect of their life, have heard about the opportunities that blogging presents people, and want to try and do something new with their situation.

So it sucks when it doesn’t work out.

But it also sucks when someone pours their heart and soul into a blog, website or online business and doesn’t see any results even after months or years of work.

I’ve been there.

And I’ve also seen a lot of other bloggers and online entrepreneurs who are at the tricky “borderland” between pushing on in the face of all obstacles and just chucking it in.

But you should not give up on your blog just because it is struggling right now, especially if you are in the early stages of development.

What should I try before I give up on my blog?

Sometimes a business needs time – some businesses need a lot more time than others. Many small businesses, for example, take at least two years before they start seeing a profit.

give up on blogging

Here are a few things to weigh up (with your lawyer, accountant, partners, priest, family, cat, neighbor, reflection, etc.) before giving up:

  • Are you getting any results at all?
    There is a big difference between a website that gets no results and a website that gets some results. If you’ve had any wins at all it’s likely you’re doing something right and maybe some small adjustments are all that’s needed. A big part of business is learning to scale small profit margins, so any success you have had should be carefully examined.
  • Are you trying new things?
    If you aren’t trying new things you probably aren’t going to get new results. The internet is littered with stories about blogs and websites that changed tact and found new readerships and results. If you haven’t tried a new angle it might be too soon to quit because you are leaving many unexplored options on the table.
  • Are you spending money on marketing?
    So many people give up on ideas and businesses before they actually promote it. It’s marketing and advertising that grows a business so make sure you’ve really given that a solid crack before you think it’s dead in the water. Especially with today’s social media environment, bloggers don’t actually realize how cheap and powerful running Facebook and Google Ads can be compared to running a physical business. Spending money is now essential and shouldn’t be overlooked.
  • Have you got expert advice?
    I recently did a post on how to get 100,000 visitors a month from Google and a lot of bloggers emailed me saying that they’d given up on SEO altogether because they hadn’t seen results. I wondered how many of them paid an expert for a bit of advice or an SEO audit before quitting. I’ve been blogging for a long time now and still jumped on the phone with Marie Haynes a few weeks ago to get some fresh, expert eyes on some issues that were bugging me.
  • Do you have an alternative?
    There’s no point abandoning one business unless you have some ideas about what you’re doing next. It might be that you want to stop working from home and get a real job, or you might have another project ready to do. Whatever it is, alternatives are important because you don’t want to find yourself without a regular income and be forced to follow a line of work that you really hate or can’t sustain for long.
  • Are you adapting to the lifestyle factors?
    Some people adapt really well to the stress of running their own business. Others not so much. There comes a certain point where I think it’s worth looking at how well you are adapting to all the “learning curves” associated with entrepreneurship and weighing up the impacts on your health and your family life. If you’re growing then take that as a big positive.

Again, all of this needs to be weighed up in conjunction with your own financial situation and that is going to be different for every blog, website, individual and family. Make sure you know what your position is before making any big calls.

When should we give up on a blog?

I can’t believe how horrible it feels to write about giving up.

It uncomfortable because we are all brought up to think that giving up is the worst thing you can do – no matter what happens you just have to keep plodding along and eventually it will work out.

Well, when it comes to business I feel like maybe giving up on one failing project might sometimes be a wise thing because it can free you up to start again on something that might be a success.

And that is a huge part of being an entrepreneur.

I had dozens of blogs and online businesses that weren’t successful, but all of them taught me about how to make my next project better.

That is failing and getting back up again.

We’re not in the business of throwing money and time at something when it makes no profit and has no other obvious rewards either now or in the future.

Not giving a project enough time is equally as bad as giving a failing project too much time.

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When you think about it like this, giving up can actually be a deliberate business decision that you make based on data, professional advice and a long conversation with your family and business partners.

Then it becomes something smart.

But what I have come to notice is that a lot of bloggers cut and run way before they should…

I think the real task is to figure out when to make “giving up” part of an overall strategy that propels you forward.

Do you think giving up is ever good?

Have you ever given up on a business and found it to be a good decision to make? Or, alternatively, have you ever stuck at something and seen it bounce back? I’d be really curious to hear your thoughts on this issue.

Oh, and if you need a little support and encouragement regarding your latest project drop a comment below and let’s chat it through and see if we can find solutions!

101 Comments

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  1. Diana D'Souza on January 28, 2018

    You make some good points. I am one of those who thought of giving up several times because my blog was so slow to take off… or so I thought. But the more I read, the more I realized the value of hanging in there.

    I changed some things fully, tweaked other things, experimented with new ideas and it finally paid off. I am relieved, actually thrilled, that I am finally seeing the results.

    I am so glad I did not give up and I would urge new bloggers not to give up. Hang in there, learn new things and be patient. It will happen!

    1. Amazing! I’m so glad to hear that.

  2. Renard Moreau on January 28, 2018

    [ Smiles ] Honestly, I do not believe in giving up on my blog.

    I think that a person needs to focus on their targeted audience.

    A person can post the best articles on the planet, but if they are unsure of what type of people they are posting for, their blog would not get very far.

    Why?

    Because in most instances, people need to know without a doubt, what your blog is all about.

    In regards to getting help, they can invest on an ebook that specialises in blogging.

    Also, there are a lot of reputable blogging gurus who provide information on blogging via their own website.

    1. How do you help them know what your blog is about, Renard?

      1. Renard Moreau on January 28, 2018

        [ Smiles ] Oh, that is simple, Ramsay. By making sure that the necessary information is included in my “About” page.

        Unfortunately, people tend to neglect their “About” page; it is a vital part of one’s blog.

        1. Good point. Thank you.

          1. Renard Moreau on January 28, 2018

            [ Smiles ] You are welcome, Ramsay.

  3. Muhammad Mansur Sani on January 28, 2018

    I am trying to give up when your message came into my inbox. I was like this guy is a Godsent. I was wondering he exact time and the reality was unimagineable. I hope someone will understand me.
    I will be extra grateful if you or anyone can encourage me and give me guideline to continue blogging. Thanks.

    1. Perhaps tell us where you are struggling, Muhammad?

      1. I am in Muhammad’s shoes, struggling with traffic.

        It appears I venture in a very competitive niche and very hard for me to outrank my competitors.

        Please any hint that will increase my blog organic traffic will be highly appreciated.

        Thanks Ramsay and others.

        1. Consider building SEO backlinks on sites like: Google, Weebly, WordPress, Blogger, etc… Feel free to ping me for more info. No niche is too hard to rank on, what’s hard is converting your inbound traffic without using a designer, ux help, a well build website, etc… Even the best ‘blog masters’ are only ranking high because they break Google guidelines. For example Neil Patel ranks high because he has footer links on closed websites, tons of weebly sites with link spam pointing at 20k+ sites on one blog post, and a bunch of other things he doesn’t share as a strategy, and hiring writers is just what people do in the big niches… I know bootstrapping is key to growth – keep it cheap, and grow money without spending is the dream,…

          For me I realized my niche was 99% cheating, so I focused on 1% links, the real ones – and now ranking has become easy, and converting is the complex part – I realized being so wasn’t possible to make enough revenue – so I’ve decided to partner with an inbound marketing expert and build a new member in the business.

          First thing he said was ‘we need to rebuild this website to convert’ and sometimes you need to burn it down to rebuild!

          1. That last line is painfully true. Good work on being brave enough to make changes.

          2. Thanks Dev3lop. I’d like learn more from you. Email @ [email protected]

          3. Moss Clement on January 30, 2018

            Hi Dev3lop,
            Your are absolutely right about how to drive organic traffic. Ven though my blog is relatively new, I have been creating content for clients and guest posting for about 2 years. I have learn that many probloggers do not tell all their strategies, such as Neil Patel you mentioned.

            The strategy he uses is working well and the fact that you’ve identified it is remarkably amazing. Implementing same strategy will definitely increase traffic.

            Thanks a lot for the insight.

  4. James Bogash, DC on January 28, 2018

    Well…you know where I’m at. 18+ years blogging and I still can’t get the traction I need. (4,000+ posts) I’m just loosing the energy to get these 5,000+ word articles done. Hard to keep the focus for what it takes knowing that only 100-200 people are going to read the content that it took me hours to compile.

    At this point, I’m really just continuing because I’ve been doing it for too long to just drop it now. But I’ve dropped from weekly blogging to now rarely (last post was in Sept).

    1. Is anything improving, James? Any more clients, sales, traffic?

      1. James Bogash, DC on January 28, 2018

        Not really. With the move to MHM, don’t think I’ve had more than 400 views on my most popular article over a course of a year. Maybe 30 opt-ins.

        1. I’d be interested to see whether you match up against and penalties: https://barracuda.digital/panguin-seo-tool/

          1. James Bogash, DC on January 28, 2018

            Ramsey–I plugged it in, but just really couldn’t tell what kind of metrics I was looking at.
            Overall, though, since Aug of 2016 the stats are a wee bit sickening…
            4,897 unique visits (sitewide) with 87 opt ins (it’s entirely possible that most of the visitors were driven through because they are already on my email list).
            Busiest post had 425 views.

    2. Are you a graphic design master? Is anyone giving you feedback on your blogs? Have you considered bringing on someone who specializes in conversion? What’s your daily traffic? How many backlinks do you have on average per blog? Do you have a backlink exposure strategy?

      Sorry for the questions – sounds like you have a good thing! Just need to generate actionable content – reblog your work on places like Medium, and start getting feedback from people who will give you criticism you need.

      If you’re not getting hot when you get feedback, leaving with sweat, you’re not talking to the right people yet!

      1. James Bogash, DC on January 28, 2018

        Dev3lop–when I say I’ve done it all over the past 18 years, I’m not kidding. I’ve followed all best practices. I’ve consulted with multiple experts.
        My biggest problem is traffic. My most popular post only had 425 views over 1.5 years. This is an article I probably put 15 hours into.
        As for feedback, I could probably count on two hands the comments I’ve had across all 2,000, despite trying all the best practices to get dialogue across the site.
        Overall, the picture is hard to follow because I starting blogging about 18 years ago before we knew what this was going to morph into. My main website has more links and backlinks that Wikipedia (ok..maybe not that many) but the blog failed on there so I moved to the new domain with a new branding, but not much has changed.

      2. Moss Clement on January 30, 2018

        Hi Dev3lop,

        What is the best way to reboot or republish your blog posts on medium and LinkedIn?

        Re blog whole article and specify that it was originally published on my site? Or post an excerpt, about 200 words and direct users to read the complete article here?

        Thanks for your reply!

    3. Cool domain name, and your site looks nice and clean BUT….

      I’d be interested to know the bounce rate from your homepage.
      There’s no real call to action – nothing to make me click on into your site.

      The first thing I see should be something amazing that I didn’t know. Get me interested, make me want to click further.

      Also, “Sign up for Modern Health Myths and receive a free ebook” isn’t going to make many people sign up.

      You need to come up with a better reason to sign up.

      1. James Bogash, DC on January 28, 2018

        Paul,
        Thanks for the comment. Bounce rate off the homepage is 32%. Posts is much higher.
        I haven’t focused too much on increasing opt-in rate because it’s a wasted effort when no one is visiting the site (home page….386 unique visits over 1.5 years). Traffic has always, always, always been my problem.

        1. When I type “modern medical myths” into Google here in Australia there is zero Google Ads.

          I would forget the content creation for a while and try Adwords ads. Pay for some subscribers.

          But that definitely means you need a better hook than “receive a free ebook”.

          1. James Bogash, DC on January 29, 2018

            Paul,

            As I mentioned, this is my second website. The blog originally started on my clinic website (www.LifeCareChiropractic.com). I’ve spent probably $10K over the years trying to increase readership, between AdWords, FB ads (recently), web development, expert help.
            The problem has always been that I don’t really have a defined niche (with the exception of http://www.MigrainesAndEpilepsy.com which suffers from the same problems as my other two sites) so targeting with Adwords would have to be per blog post, not for the blog itself.
            I even spent about an hour on the phone with the HubSpot people, but they didn’t really have anything to offer me as far as increasing traffic beyond what I’ve done.
            Ugh.

        2. Hi James.

          Just a thought:

          Bounce rate is also a pretty strong rankings signal for Google; if they think visitors aren’t happy they’ll lower your position over time.

          1. James Bogash, DC on January 29, 2018

            I could be wrong, but the average time on page is between 5-8 minutes per post. That’s why the bounce rate is so high for the post–no one is interacting beyond the post because they’re actually reading the content.
            If anyone knows otherwise, please correct me–I thought that, after a period of time of someone being on the page Google wouldn’t penalize for a high bounce rate. The readers are getting what they were looking for.

        3. I dunno then.

          Maybe start a blog about blogging – forget what these guys say to do and take note of what they are actually doing.

          1. James Bogash, DC on January 29, 2018

            Now THAT is something I’ve got experience on! (not to step on Ramsey’s digital toes…)

          2. None of the blogs that I’ve successfully sold have been in the blogging niche. FYI I think it’s one of the most competitive niches there is.

  5. Rob Powell on January 28, 2018

    I like this article Ramsay! Particularly the first point: ‘Are you getting any results at all?’. In my first year of blogging that was my main survival strategy: looking at the steady (but slow) increase in traffic. And reminding myself that something was working. As you say, a big part of succeeding in any business is scaling what you’re doing right.

    1. Thanks Rob! Glad the slow and steady approach is working.

  6. Izzy Matias on January 28, 2018

    Thank you for writing this post, Ramsay. I’ve been in that position of wanting to give up on my blog numerous times, but part of me also thinks that maybe I haven’t seen the results I want because I haven’t focused on my blog as much as I should have. This year I’m going to really prioritise it & incorporate some of what you suggested (especially the part about spending on marketing) 🙂

    1. Check out sites like Gaps, Detailed and Viperchill for lots of tips on that!

  7. Sarfraz Khan on January 28, 2018

    It’s a coincidence that you wrote on this topic because right now blogging has become very difficult. Particularly in my niche, the products aren’t available for sale, so income reduced drastically. Next thing is google update which hit my site on 12th dec and lost 50% of the traffic. I have invested a lot of money now on marketing SEO and other stuff. I have even changed the theme and upgraded to better hosting. Made a team of 3 members for writing and SEO purposes and now have started working 4 times more than before. Life is going sleepless these days.

    1. Why do you think you got a Google penalty in December?

      1. Sarfraz Khan on January 28, 2018

        Well, that wasn’t a penalty but an update known as “Meccabees” and it affected mostly affiliate sites. Impressions decreased, ranking changed and CTR had a significant drop.

        1. Best of luck with the future changes.

  8. Nazim Ansari on January 28, 2018

    Great Tips to be focused you have shared Ramsey.

    By the way,

    It’s human nature, who think like that.

    We should be continue on the way because It’s life, ups and downs is the rule of it.

    1. Yep, good point!

  9. Laura Routh on January 28, 2018

    Good timing, Ramsay! I’m not planning to give up, but I’m focused more on pitching freelance article ideas to publications. It’s so discouraging. Part of me would rather be working on my blog because it allows me to be in charge. I need to bring in part-time income, though, and freelance opportunities will help improve my writing skills. So I post once a month, now, but I’m itching to post more as well as edit older posts. I have ideas for monetizing my website, but it requires putting more effort into it.

    I admit I’ve thought about giving up and starting over down the road. But I’ve made too much progress. So I guess for now, I’ll keep one foot in each world.

    1. Hey Laura. What’s the hardest part about that kind of pitching work?

      1. Laura Routh on January 28, 2018

        The black hole. Rejection isn’t nearly as bad as not knowing. And some publications don’t even state in their guidelines how long you should wait to hear back before sending a story idea somewhere else. I usually wait three weeks, send a follow up email and wait another three weeks after that before sending my pitch elsewhere. I created a table to help me keep track because I have multiple proposals going at the same time. Yet, I’m not pitching nearly enough. It’s, in part, a numbers game. So what’s holding me up? Self doubt? I don’t feel that way about blogging. Thanks for asking, Ramsay. Having to think about how to answer your question was kind of like therapy. 🙂

        1. That does sound profoundly frustrating…

          Is there any way to develop ongoing relationships with just one or two large ones to prevent that?

          1. Laura Routh on January 28, 2018

            I have a relationship with one, and I really appreciate them because they stay in touch. I’ve only published one piece, so publishing a second one will help my confidence. I’m working toward that second lucky break! Granted, I published the first piece through a mentor program. The second one will feel more like the real deal.

            I will admit, though, that my blog–even when I’m not working on it– is a distraction. It keeps me from fully committing and doing the work necessary to write a greater number of proposals. That’s why I entertain thoughts of giving up every now and then. And I have some family commitments that factor in, too. But learning to juggle family, freelancing and blogging may simply take some time.

            I’m not ready to give up my blog yet, but I understand how someone could get to that point. Recognizing that point is the trick.

            Writing this post was such a good idea, Ramsay. I think you’ve given many of us food for thought, for which I’m grateful.

        2. I totally understand about the black hole! I have the same spreadsheet; I do the same with following up with pitches too.
          There’s ALWAYS so much more I could be doing – pitching, writing, social media, networking, contests. Last month I had to start over with my wp theme because my old one’s functionality went screwy. More time down the rabbit hole with site maintenance and I haven’t gotten to restructure, place ads, and add the sign-up pop-up.
          That’s my biggest frustration – what effort will actually get me a result. I read this great post by Ramsay because I’m wondering what I should drop . . . but I love my blog in all its shortfalls (especially the bank account)!

          1. Yep, it is such a hard one. I have something coming out soon that will hopefully help with this issue.

  10. I have seen that just when I wonder about whether I am on the right path something gives me a signal.This is my 3rd year blogging and I am happy to say I am not giving up

    1. Congrats!

  11. Love this quote – it’s stopped me giving up on my blog and other projects :

    “When life shuts a door, open it again. It’s a door. That’s how they work” Unknown

    (source: Australian Writers Centre).

    1. Ha. Love it!

  12. Johnpaul Onwueme on January 28, 2018

    I don’t really think it is a good idea to give up on your blog.

    When you decide to quit might be the exact time you will reap the fruit of your labour.

  13. Lily | Fit to Nurture on January 28, 2018

    This was a good read Ramsay. As always.

    I’ve faced lots of challenges trying to build my blog but I’ve never once thought of quitting. That’s a good thing?

    I think what it is is knowing “this is the life I want, it’s working for some people, I just have to learn from those people”.

    But, it’s not completely doable for more than a short while. Especially when a lack of income meets financial responsibilities + you’ve got to invest money to grow your business, so I’ve recently started freelancing. It helps.

    Having a plan (more like a roadmap), even if it changes in future also helps.

    1. Hi Lily.

      I agree it can be hard to balance all of those priorities. I think the plan and timeline helps immensely as then you know if you’re on track.

  14. Vishal Ostwal on January 28, 2018

    Ramsay,

    Great to see you talk on this topic.

    I keep thinking about this one a lot.

    “When is the right time to quit?” – that’s a hard question.

    Something I try to avoid and not answer (to myself and others), because it’s a sensitive subject, and people are deeply attached to their work (whether it’s blogging or something else).

    In short, it’s tough to ask someone to quit. At the same time, you don’t want to delusion and false hopes to take over.

    Your interpretation was the most positive way to deal with a question that keeps bugging several bloggers.

    So yes, assessing little pointers of growth and persevering harder helps. “Surviving” is a practical goal when it come to blogging.

    When I had started blogging, some stats talked about how a majority of bloggers quit in their first years, or the upcoming three years – I didn’t want to be among those who quit, so I intentionally used my pocket money to buy a domain for three years.

    To be honest, blogging was something I decided to do only for myself (I thought I needed at least one thing I want to do for myself, and writing and art seemed to be the perfect things).

    So I was committed the moment I had started.

    I feel that as bloggers, we’re most vulnerable in the initial few years, because we really have no idea what the heck we’re doing. It seems foolish.

    But slowly, it pays off.

    In my case, I’ve been much like a turtle – the progress has been really slow. Neither have I done something earth shattering.

    But when I ask myself this simple question, which is “has all this been worth it?” I don’t regret.

    It’s been worth it.

    Quitting doesn’t seem like a good thing to do.

    PS. I could’ve rambled more and had some genuine thoughts to share. Feels nice to comment here, and to be listened to.

    1. I always enjoy reading your thoughts, brother.

      Keep at it. You’re an excellent writer and I’m sure it will lead to a lot of new and different opportunities over time.

  15. Ivan Sonavia on January 28, 2018

    I am thankful for this post, Ramsay.

    I was ready to give up on my blog. Which is barely going anywhere.

    But, what is ‘going anywhere’ really?

    Right now, I am taking my time for a while and rethinking about the purpose of my blog, my audience and is it worth my time and money to keep my blog alive.

    The more I think, the more I want my blog to stay alive and thrive.

    Thank you for this post, Ramsay.

    1. I hope it helps! It’s hard but usually worth it.

  16. Lisa Frideborg Eddy on January 28, 2018

    Thanks for this post, Ramsay. I’m sure most of us considered giving up at one point or another. Here’s the thing for me though, even if I didn’t have a blog-based business, I wouldn’t be able to stay away from blogging for too long. I’ve been at it since December 2006, blogging about Tarot and related topics. I’m a bit of an addict, to be perfectly honest. For me, it’s not about carefully honing in on a ‘target audience,’ as much as it is about sharing my passion with the world. On some level, I’m succeeding, I guess, though I’ll never get rich from doing this (and that’s OK)… I am connecting with wonderful people along the way and learning so much – often from your blog, Ramsay, so please don’t stop being awesome!

    1. I’m so glad you love blogging as much as me!

  17. Excellent article as always Ramsay . I have a lot lately . But I am seeing wins although not monetary . I just got invited on s press trip with Norwegian cruises . 3 plus years is finally paying off ! I am having my site redesigned , and switching my main niche to travel , instead of it being secondary .

    Money is always a problem – rebranding is spendy – little by little!

    1. Hi Valerie. Your blog link doesn’t work for me. Did you leave the right URL?

  18. There is another thing which is even more worst than giving up and that is blogging halfheartedly, not going anywhere . That is; still spending enormous amount of time on your blog but not doing anything meaningful or treating it like a business. I am also guilty of this sometimes. We have to have a real purpose for our blog, know exactly why we do everything we do, and know exactly what we are trying to accomplish.

    1. I think we are all guilty of that sometimes.

  19. Stephen Walker on January 28, 2018

    Hi Ramsay,

    Another great post and, as always, very timely.

    Not that I am quiting, or even thinking of doing any such thing.

    However, my blog has been in the doldrums for quite a while now. I and still posting new material which seems to be well received.

    But, I felt it was not performing as well as it should so I am now revisiting and curating all my old blog posts.

    It is never too late to reivigorate an old blog.

    I use Yoast SEO to analyse my posts. But, in the early days I was not taking the advice I was given.

    Now that I am updating my posts so that they all perform well in Yoast SEO amd am seeing steady growth in my organic traffic.

    I just wish I had been doing this from the outset.

    1. Hi Stephen.

      May I ask what you are doing to breathe life in to those old posts and what results you’ve seen?

      1. Stephen Walker on January 29, 2018

        It is quite simple. I have been updating the posts, sometimes rewriting the posts, to ensure that I get both the SEO and READABILITY ranks as GOOD in Yoast SEO.

        On occasion I have changed to the focus keyword to make it more pertinent and hopefully more searchable.

        My page views have been steadily climbing throughout this process, which still has a long way to go. I have nearly 1,000 posts to check and update.

  20. Hi Ramsay,

    I really appreciate your posts. This one is especially a gem and I definitely relate as I have just launched my blog/brand on January 1st and I am slow to see any real traffic happen. I did a lot of research ahead of my launch however, I am still struggling with getting people to my website.
    It is definitely a hard business to start and maintain as you are just one person trying to make this plane take off. Dedication and time are needed and many people struggle with that. Luckily I was laid off last summer and have had the time to dedicate to it but come April I know I will need to look for work and switch to part-time then. Hopefully into a field that I like…
    Thanks again for this post and I will keep an eye for new comments.

    1. Debbie Johnston on January 28, 2018

      Hi Lorriane, and Ramsay,
      I relate to this post and to your comment Lorraine, and Ramsay I must thank you for helping me ‘keep my hope alive’. I’ve not launched my blog as yet, and many times have nearly let my domain go. Then I read one of your posts and think, ‘no, I want to do this, and I can do this.’
      So thank you for your inspirational and down to earth posts. I’m going to put the planning in now, and get my blog happening.
      My main struggle right now, is just what is my BushBlogger going to be focusing on……………
      Many thanks.

      1. Hi Debbie,

        Blogging is a great outlet for creatives. If you have purchased a domain name and thought of writing than you need to keep with that thought and pursue it.
        I am sure you have great talent that is waiting to be unleashed and it will open up a whole new sense of courage and confidence for you. When you are feeling unconfident about your blog (which you will) come here and read one of Ramsay’s wonderfully uplifting and informative posts.

        Good Luck and don’t wait, start now.

    2. Hi Lorraine. You didn’t leave your URL so I can’t really take a look. Sorry to hear about the job lay off. 🙁

      1. Oh no worries, it was a blessing in disguise. Gave me time to pursue the creative side in me.
        I appreciate your response and your super uplifting posts.

        You have a fan in me!

    3. Hi Ramsay,

      I did not leave my URL as I do not want to be seen as a spammer but I will gladly share here at your request.
      https://tenaciousred.com/
      Thanks for any comments.

      1. Oh, I just meant that your first comment/name didn’t link to your site. 🙂

        1. Oh shoot apologies 🙁

          I had put it in, guess it did not take in the send through?

          No worries.

  21. Lisa P Sicard on January 28, 2018

    Hi Ramsey, I’m in my 7th year. My sixth year was my best but now this year traffic seems down (January) and I’ve had to help with my dad’s health issues thus taking time away.
    I go a few days wondering if it’s worth it and then I get emails or comments or someone that really needed to read what was on the blog and I get re-charged.
    I don’t plan on quitting but wondering how much time I should put into it as I work a full time job too.
    I’m doing a guest post about how daunting it can be and how to get through it which ironically is making me think it can be done 🙂
    Glad to see to wrote it can be 2 years to see success. Too many say it’s days or weeks. No way! You are right on! Thanks Ramsey.

    1. Hi Lisa.

      Sorry to hear your dad is unwell.

      My best tip would be to really figure out the things that bring results and then try to do them more and even hire someone else to help you do it more often.

  22. Steve Robinson on January 29, 2018

    Certainly very well said. Back then i have written many articles and am waiting for the positive response. Thanks to the great share. I have been reading many articles lately and am happy to read this one.

  23. Claire Redmond on January 29, 2018

    Hi,
    I’ve been blogging for 1 year now, it started as a hobby and I set myself a challenge to publish 1 blog post a week. I’ve enjoyed it and want to keep going even though I’m really busy working 3 jobs. I haven’t looked into monetizing it but that’s what I wanted to do next and maybe allow me to quit 1 job but I’ve just found out that my server is down (due to some update gone wrong) so my website is gone too. It was a family member who set it up for me but he doesn’t think that it’s been backed up so is all my stuff gone? Is there any way I can get it back or map it to another server? I know it’s a bit off topic but I thought you might have some ideas? Thanks in advance.

    1. Hi Claire. You need to get in contact with your blog host provider and ask their support staff.

  24. Arbaz Khan on January 29, 2018

    Hey Ramsey,
    I personally think that a person shouldn’t give up in anything he/she does because everything takes time, especially blogging. But, if there isn’t any passion from your side, and you easily get distracted by other, then it’s better to give up altogether and focus on what’s already working.

    1. Well said!

  25. Thanks for this post. I have been thinking for a while about this but now I released that I have not put in all the work I needed too and I was waiting on results from not doing much. Thanks, Ramsay.

    1. I hope it helps!

  26. Thanks Ramsay for the post!
    It’s sssssooooooo great to see everyone else’s comments and hear their frustrations too. I love my blog – which was broken but now on the way to recovery.
    What are your thoughts . . . or a post? . . . on when and what to outsource?
    In order to keep going, I need help with making more happen.

    colette

    1. Hey Colette.

      IMHO we should be doing it from day one if we want to run it like a business. It’s about figuring out where your time is best spent, and then finding the right people to give the other stuff to.

  27. Cathy Mayhue on January 30, 2018

    Nice points Ramsay! What I feel is that one should start blogging when they have something to say, never do it with the intention of minting money, this will follow, if you write something helpful and some thing that generates value. Just follow your heart, instincts and just write for couple of months, with out caring about anything else. Then gradually start promoting your best content over social media, see the response, fine tune your writing and interact proactively with your visitors.

    1. That is a really lovely point of view. Well said.

  28. Chandigarh on January 30, 2018

    Thank you for this incredibly helpful post!

    1. You’re welcome!

  29. Victor Korir on February 1, 2018

    Honestly, we didn’t come this far to only come this far.

    I believe that we all started blogging because there was something that we wanted to share with the world. The fact that somebody gets to read this, is a massive success in itself.

    Then, the other challenge comes in, you need massive audience and massive income for your massive goals… I doubt if that was the initially part of the plan though.

    Nevertheless, you need extra effort, extra knowledge, extra skills, extra mass failings, extra mistakes, extra tries….

    Blogging is all A/B testing. If this doesn’t work, try the other, while giving adequate time for each to master the results.

    If you really have to quit, quit because your initial goal of sharing information was never met

    🙂

    1. Lovely comment, Victor. Thank you.

  30. i havent given up on my blog yet even though i am struggling to find sponsors to host it. i still pour out my heart on that blog every time with the hope that m dreams will come through one day. Dont give up on anything you do because that last action you take might be the saving grace you need. Well Dev3lop, you might be helping me out later.

    1. Are you sure sponsors are the right way to make money for this blog? What’s your angle on that one?

  31. I am super discouraged right now. I have been working on setting up my blog for over 6 months now, and just about ready to pull the plug. I owned another business website that was Weebly Drag and Drop and had no problems with it. With Word Press it seems like I get one technical problem fixed and have another one hat takes weeks to fix. I am not very technical and this is not coming easy for me. I have had about 6 themes til I finally got a premium I can understand. I had to change my hosting plan, I can’t seem to make my admin login page secure. I try to add security and end up getting locked out of my own site. I am broke and don’t have $ to invest so trying to wing it on my own.

    I just want to write a blog to help people and wondering if it’s worth it anymore.

    I get scattered pieces of help here and there from articles and tutorials. It makes me wonder how anyone has ever started a blog.

    Sorry for the rant. Found your article and seemed to fit my circumstances. Just frustrated and wish I could get to the point of trying to get People to opt in.

    Any suggestions on getting started would be awesome. Thanks, Kathy.

    1. Hi Kathy.

      Sorry to hear you’re having troubles.

      What is you blog URL that you’re struggling with and who is hosting it?

  32. I’m not quitting but dang it’s stressful. My blog is roughly 8 months old and I only have 60 posts. I’ve spent quite a bit of time researching keywords for each and every post as well. I have no problem getting traffic from Pinterest but I can’t seem to get more than 5 organic visits per day. Search console shows that I’m getting impressions on my links but nobody is clicking them. However, I have changed the titles on my articles many times to see if it would help but nothing seems to work. Really don’t understand why people would be clicking the pins on Pinterest and reading my article, but yet not click anything on Google search. Additionally, I don’t put ads on my site or anything and my site loads in less than a second so I just can’t seem to figure out why my traffic won’t grow. My articles are all between 2,000-4,000 words as well. I keep seeing others in my niche growing their traffic with no problem so this whole thing just gets pretty darn frustrating. Got any tips?

    1. Hi Garrett, have you tried any of the tips in this post: https://www.blogtyrant.com/get-more-traffic/

  33. I want to give up on my blog. It’s a mom blog basically about a mom that has overcome addiction and now focuses on motherhood. I show that I am a real mom and not very good at motherhood because I am sick of all the fake mom blogs out there. I try to show there are all types of moms with all types of lives. No one seems to care to see real moms, they just want the fake pastel perfect moms… I know I don’t.

  34. I am struggling. Just completed a year of blogging with 100 posts. But, I am yet to see any thing good.

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