6 Struggles You Will Face in Your First 6 Months Blogging

This post may contain affiliate links. If you use the link I receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Thank You!

When you first launch a new blog you are going to face struggles.

Give it time though!

You will learn so much along the way and constantly see progress being made. Whether you recently launched a new blog or thinking about doing so check out the 6 struggles new bloggers will be faced with.

1. WordPress

WordPress is highly recommended by other website owners. There are more simple platforms out there, but WordPress is what the big boys use. It can grow with you over time.

WordPress is tough at first though!

Not everyone who runs a website has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to tech. Maybe you want to create a blog about gardening. In this case, your expertise is in gardening, not website design.

The first few days on WordPress were overwhelming. I bought I theme that I couldn’t do anything with. I then ended up switching to the free version of Astra the theme. I felt much better about this theme but still ran into bumps along the way.

Some examples of things I experienced difficulty with include managing social sharing icons, the homepage layout, blog post categories, fonts, and even colors.

Bloggers often advise you not to waste too much time on all these things, but you have to spend some time on them.

One thing that bothered me immensely was that on mobile there were social icons on the left side of my post. As I scrolled on my phone they bounced down and continuously blocked the text. This would infuriate me as a reader. If I can’t read the article I came to read I will bounce.

I had to solve this problem!

Just know if you are struggling with WordPress and setting up your website you are not alone.

My advice is to keep trying different things. You will eventually find the solution. Another tip is to write down the problem you are trying to fix and come back tomorrow to try then.

I found myself getting very frustrated at times.

And lastly, if you pick a popular theme you are more likely to find tutorials and troubleshooting problems online.

2. Initial Set-Up

I have come to realize I enjoy blogging, but I do not enjoy setting up a website. I mentioned some aspects of setup in my struggles with WordPress but there are other parts of the setup process.

For example with my host (BlueHost) I paid for website security, but when I got going with my website realized I was missing the SSL. I am not a tech wiz and will not be explaining this. All I knew was http is ok and https is better. I wanted the “s”.

BlueHost tech support helped me fix this issue in like 5 minutes. They were great. But it was one more part of the setup that I didn’t understand. I strongly recommend Bluehost for new bloggers click here to sign up using my link where I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Another setup I struggled with was getting started with Google Analytics. I messed this up for so long. Then I finally got it working, but my views were ridiculous. I realized it was counting my logins. Let’s just say 12 people were not responsible for 673 pageviews. I only had like 15 posts published.

Clearly, these pageviews were mostly me checking how my pages looked during the process of building.

3. Learning New Skills

Once I learned a skill I wanted to stick with doing that task. Then that task would become a part of my routine.

However, with blogging, you have to continuously learn new things. In those early months there is so much to learn.

First, it was getting that initial setup. Then it was learning how to publish blog posts. Once you have a few posts up you want to interlink those posts. (This is super easy now!) When you do things for the first time then take practice. You worry about doing it wrong, but with time it becomes part of the routine.

Some other new skills include creating pins for Pinterest, starting an email list, and imputing helpful PDFs on your blog posts.

Then you try to monetize with affiliate links and ads on your website. These are more things to learn!

Personally, I resist change and learning. I am a creature of comfort. Conquering new tasks is a struggle for me.

4. Organization

The amount of time spent on organization and prep work is stressful.

In the beginning, I so badly wanted to create a list of goals to achieve. I looked at the traffic and income reports and would take the average of their numbers to create my goals.

I wasted so much time trying to set the perfect goals!

At six months in I had earned $5.53 total!

What good did this list of goals do for me?

I quickly realized this was me wasting time trying to have to perfect plan and the perfect setup.

If you are a goal-oriented person set goals you can control such as how many pieces of content you will publish in a month.

Keep organized took time.

I created folders and file systems for outlines, published posts, so much in regards to Pinterest.

Can you see my level of tracking in this excel sheet?!?

My system involves every post having a number and every Canva template having an assigned number.

So article one for example has a pin with templates 1, 2, and 3 and beyond.

I then track if the pin has been used and if it is one of my better pins.

There is also prep work associated with this. To publish a pin I first need to create the pin template on Canva. This is after finding a stock image online.

The pictures I put directly on my blog post also must be compressed to help with load time.

There is so much behind-the-scenes work to do!

5. Analytics

During my first 6 months of blogging and beyond I have struggled with looking at analytics.

It is such a waste of time and I am addicted. I check Google Analytics probably about 5 times throughout an average day on my phone.  Now if we are out camping or something I wouldn’t then, but a typical day has me logging in way too frequently.

Between Pinterest, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console you can get sucked into the numbers. What is the point of checking them you may ask?

Well, it is the satisfaction of seeing growth. It is watching to see a spike because a pin went viral. It is looking to see what articles are performing best so you can create more content like that.

These are all the reasons the check your analytics.

You do not need to look at this frequently.

Constantly checking your analytics is a struggle that is stealing your time. Quit looking at them. If you must look once day. Ideally at the end of the day and see how you did. Or maybe you have more discipline and can look once a week at the end of the week.

Another part of looking at the numbers in understanding the numbers. I used to think Pinterest saves and impressions were the metrics to follow. Saves are a good thing of course, but I don’t need people to save my post. I just need them to click through it. Impressions are good of course. That means people saw my pin on the feed, but once again I want to know if my pins are drawing people in to click and read.

Don’t waste time in the beginning focusing on numbers when you don’t know what those numbers really mean or what you can do with them.

Move on and complete a task. Write a piece on content.

6. Productivity

When you are in your first months of blogging you want to get EVERYTHING done but don’t know what to do next. Should you use your limited time working on your email list, creating a freebie, writing content, or tracking your analytics? There are so many things you could do with your time.

There were days where I honestly wouldn’t know what to do or what I wanted to accomplish. I can’t just sit down and write. I have days where I work on outlines and then often end up writing the post. Sometimes though it is just an outlining day.

I learned quickly that the days I bounced around I ended the day feeling like I didn’t complete anything. My to-do list still felt full.

I am learning that batching is the way to go. If I am in a writing flow I do my best to roll with that. If I can’t write I do work related to that such as idea lists, outlines, and blog post titles. Keep your focus in a specific area.

Along the lines of productivity, I have learned the struggle and difference between being busy and being productive. I can keep busy all day making tweaks to the homepage of my blog or I can be productive by making a freebie that will get me more email subscribers. I can stay busy tracking my income from affiliates or I can look for ways to incorporate more affiliate links in my posts.

I am not saying you can never work on simple tasks. Sometimes my day is making pins. This is simple, but it does need to get done. You can’t make a million-dollar course without the initial work on content and traffic. Everything does matter, but you want to do your best to spend your time on things that move your blog business forward.

Recap of My Six Struggles:

1. WordPress
2. Initial Set-Up
3. Learning New Skills
4. Organization
5. Analytics
6. Productivity

Conclusion

Some of these struggles I am still dealing with while others are so far behind me.

The initial learning curve with publishing a post is gone. The clicks now come automatically for me.

The big tasks on my to-do list constantly get pushed back even though they are important.

Two struggles I did not mention were keeping to my publishing schedule and blogger burnout. I have never struggled with either issue. Writing content is my first priority. I schedule blog posts out in advance to keep on my schedule. Often time I have 4 posts scheduled ahead. This way if like gets busy my posts will continue to publish. My blog is nothing without the content so I will continue to prioritize writing.

Update: I took a break from blogging due to extreme family circumstances. If you want to read about why and my feeling about the break and how I jumped back into blogging please check out this article The Significant Reason I Took a Short Break from Blogging.

The second issue of blogger burnout has not been a serious problem because of my scheduling strategy. If I have a few days of burnout and need a break I can take it. I have never wanted to quit though. At six months in with $5.53, I didn’t want to quit.

If you want to hear more about my passion for blogging click to read, Why I Will Continue to Blog Despite Making No Real Money.

I love blogging. Blogging is giving so much to my life. Even if it is just a hobby I will continue.

I hope reading about these struggles helps you fight yours. With preparation and work, you can overcome any struggle.

Good luck to you in your blogging journey.

Check Out My Articles

Steps to Take to Have a Successful First Month Blogging

My First 6 Months Blogging Income Report