Are you scared to start a blog? Are you worried of what other people will think of it? Are you too shy to put yourself out there? I felt exactly the same way before I started my blog, Those Positive Thoughts, but starting my blog was the best thing I’ve ever done!
In December 2016. My confidence was so low that I wanted to keep my blog anonymous. Which is actually the reason why I called my blog Those Positive Thoughts, instead of “Positively Laura”, which was one of my ideas. I had so much fear that I couldn’t even include my own name in my blog. Which sounds so silly now I look back!
Are you scared to start a blog?
I always knew I wasn’t the most confident girl, but blogging bought a lot of my insecurities to the surface, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that. You see, if I hadn’t of started blogging then I never would have stepped out of my comfort zone. My insecurities would have remained unchallenged and I simply would have accepted fear as part of who I am, instead of pushing myself to become more and do more.
Two years ago when I first started blogging, I would have shut down the majority of the content which I currently create, out of pure fear and lack of confidence. I would never of created my own YouTube channel or sold my own products. I was even too scared to post photos of myself on my Instagram page… Oh how times have changed.
I noticed that with every small challenge I faced and conquered, my confidence increased and I was ready to face the next thing. It started with small challenges, such as telling my friends and family that I have a blog. I remember telling my boyfriend of three years about my blog and feeling super embarrassed and almost ashamed of the idea. I honestly don’t know why I felt this way, maybe it’s because I didn’t know anyone else who had a blog, but it’s more likely because I had zero confidence in myself.
Fear of: how to start a blog
I’m lucky enough to have a “techy” boyfriend who was happy to help set up and launch my blog, however this didn’t stop my fear. Fear managed to make its way into every single aspect of my blogging journey, including those areas which should be easy because I had help. But because I was being a total perfectionist I would find myself stressing out over the smallest things. I wanted to do things perfectly and how I saw others bloggers doing it, without just taking it one step at a time and learning throughout the process.
Fear of: introducing myself
I was scared to introduce myself, I was scared of being judged by others and therefore I didn’t show my face. All of the photos which I published on my blog were from the back of my head, until I eventually started using free stock images.
This was a similar story on my Instagram, I use to only post photos of pretty things, but never of myself! Then one day I decided to upload a photo of my face and introduce myself to my followers, the comments I received from others were heart warming, I suddenly realised that I wasn’t alone in feeling embarrassed to show myself to the world.
From that day I gradually started taking more photos of myself and replaced the stock images on my blog to photos of myself. I even had other bloggers message me saying that they are going through the exact same situation and they felt inspired that I had taken that step out of my comfort zone. It just goes to show that by overcoming your fear you’re not only helping yourself, but you’re also helping others.
Fear of: self promotion
At the start of my blogging journey, my level of self promotion consisted of sending an automated email to my handful of subscribers with a link to my new post. Eventually I started sharing the link on my social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. But again, I would simply share one link and that’s it. I knew that if wanted more readers then I needed to self-promote more, but that was just too scary!
Fear of: no one reading my blog
Even though I was scared of people actually reading my blog and potentially judging me, I was also scared of no one reading my blog. It was a no win situation! After plucking up the courage to start a blog* and to share it with my friends, family and strangers online, it’s not nice to think that no-one would read my blog.
Fear of: attending events
The thought of attending an event alone still scares me, I imagine myself standing in the corner alone, friendless! But that of course never happens, I’ve been to about ten blogging events so far and at each one I have returned with new friends, more confidence, and usually a couple of freebies! I now dream about one day hosting my very own well being/personal growth blogging event, which of course scares the life out of me, but to even have those thoughts just goes to show how much my confidence has grown.
Fear of: imposter syndrome
The reason you why might be scared to start a blog is fear of imposter syndrome. Thoughts such as, what skills do you have? What experience do you have? Who are you to give advice? When I first started blogging I felt like an imposter, a fraud! In fact, this feeling is a hard one to shift. Lack of confidence and self-doubt were overriding any belief and life experience which I had, making me feel like a failure before I even gave myself the chance to succeed. The way to overcome the feeling of imposter syndrome is to start recognising yourself and your abilities.
Overall, starting a blog is by far the best things I have ever done for my own personal development. It has turned me into a better person and if you are thinking about starting a blog, I would highly recommend doing it sooner rather than later! Because after you have started, you will be wishing you had started sooner! You can check out my ultimate guide here on how to start a blog.
Was you ever scared to start a blog? Comment below with how you overcome the fear!
Laura x
I can relate so much to all of these!
I registered my blog name for a wordpress blog on godaddy and WIX.com but that was it. the end, never foundout my niche in blogging and no encouragement, after reading your experiences i garnered some confidence YES i can do it,but then doubt creeps in i’m in my late 40s what and who will read my blog?
Author
Well done on registering your blog! I’m glad you found some encouragement after reading my post. Self-doubt is completely normal when you’re starting something new and stepping outside your comfort zone.
OMG! I was reading through this and I could relate to it so much I started an instagram account (laylas_healthy_life 😉 ) but it took me nearly two months to tell my partner and even longer to tell my friends. Like you I was so worried that no one would be interested or they would judge me for it. xx
I can so relate to this Laura! I started my first blog ten years ago and for the first year, I didn’t show my face. I also didn’t tell anyone I had a blog, I was too ashamed! But the more you put yourself out there, the more people respond positively to you and your confidence just grows. I don’t think I would be as confident as I am today if I hadn’t started my blog back then. It really forces you to push out of your comfort zone and face your face. And that’s how you grow.
Laura,there is so much of information on your blog, why don’t you put all your work in a book,pdf online. I hope i’m confident now to start a blog….but the motivation dies down soon…..
Author
Thanks Kurian, I love your idea of creating a book with my blog posts! When you get that motivation to start a blog, take action straight away! Because when we wait and think about our ideas for too long we start to doubt them.. So take action as soon as you feel motivated.