6 Ways To Build Your Blogging Confidence

You may have noticed that on many of my emails I ask you questions, and I ask you to respond to the email. Why? Because I read them all! And it helps me to understand what problems you are facing, hear about your successes and wins, and know what new content you are interested in seeing from me.

I often ask the question “what are you struggling with in your business and blog?” and one of the most common answers I get is “I don’t have the confidence to launch my blog”.

This response comes in many forms, but there is always the common thread that people feel nervous, afraid and lack confidence when it comes to launching their blog or talking about it to others.

And this doesn’t just apply to the launch, it happens throughout the blogging journey with some telling me they “feel nervous every time they hit publish on a blog post and feel worried that people will judge them”, or that they don’t have the confidence to share their views through fear others will disagree with them.

I can totally relate to this and felt exactly the same when I first began blogging.

I started to blog in 2016 and at the time I still had a career in finance. I was super embarrassed about the blog even though I absolutely LOVED working on it. I didn’t tell anyone I was doing it, especially not work colleagues or my clients (imagine me telling a blue-chip company CEO that on the side of managing his money I was blogging about my latest trip to Ecuador!)

It took me years to feel confident telling people that I was blogging. Looking back I realise this was so stupid. I was building a mini business, I was letting my creative juices flow, I was helping people who were interested in travel and by not telling people I was missing out on potentially valuable business connections.

Once I launched my own retreats and women’s group trips I turned a corner where I felt proud of what I was doing and opened up a bit more to friends and people I met. But this shift in mindset took some time for me and was only possible when I felt I had achieved something more tangible than the blog.

Looking back I wish I could speed up how long it took me to gain confidence in my blog, so I wanted to share some ideas and thoughts to help boost your blogging confidence!

1) Why Are You Blogging?

For those who have not launched their blog yet, are thinking about launching, but lack the confidence to go for it – take a pen and paper and answer these questions:

• Why do I want to start a blog?
• Who do I think my blog will help?
• What is the goal of launching a blog and what results do I want to get from it?

If you take my travel blog WeAreTravelGirls.com as an example the answers might have been something like this when I started:

• Why do I want to start a blog? It will be a fun creative outlet that allows me to share something I am passionate about with the world.
• Who do I think my blog will help? It will help women to travel better, smarter and safer and it will allow them to connect with one another and share experiences. It will also provide a platform for women to write and help elevate their own blogs.
• What is the goal of launching a blog and what results do I want to get from it? The goal is to create a go-to female travel website, to connect women in person at events and group trips and to encourage exploration. I want to be able to run this as my full-time business and earn a steady income from it so I can work for myself and from wherever I choose to call home.

If I had done this back in 2016 I would have seen that my blog had the potential to help a bunch of people and give me the lifestyle I craved, so in fact, I should have been proud of that and been open with people about what I was working on.

I am a big fan of the concept of “Finding Your Why”, which is your personal reason that pushes you to keep going with your blog. If you can identify a concrete why you are working on your blog, whether it is replacing your full time income, raising awareness to an important cause, or connecting with new people, identifying your “why” will motivate you and push you through when things get tough!

Write down your answers and I bet you will feel more motivated to get started once you identify who your blog will help and why you are doing it. Once you put pen to paper you will realise there are a bunch of great reasons why you SHOULD launch your blog!

2) A Small Community Is A Great Community!

One huge fear that I had (and still have) is rocking the boat by saying something people disagree with or offending anyone. Can you relate to this?

Or you might worry that no one will care about what you have to say or the content that you want to share. But it’s important to remember that a small community is a great community!

As you begin blogging the right people who like you and your content will come. Sure, there will be some people along the way that stumble on your blog and it’s not really their cup of tea (and they might let you know!) but that doesn’t matter. You don’t need to appeal to everyone, but instead you need to appeal to a small group of people that can relate to you and love what you stand for and create.

Define who your ideal reader, follower or customer is, then hone in on your niche and create content that you know will appeal to this group of people. If you have a target person in mind then most likely you will be helping a group of people to find the information they are looking for and they will thank you for it – giving you that confidence boost you need to keep moving forward. 

3) Connect With Other Bloggers

If you are lacking confidence, chances are that other bloggers feel the same way, or have at some point in their blogging career. If you can connect with these people and ask them how they overcame issues with confidence then you might find new ways to deal with your own blogging anxiety. Plus a problem shared is a problem halved, and hearing that other people feel the same as you will help you feel more connected and less alone in how you are feeling.

Reach out to some of your favourite bloggers and ask them the questions that you are struggling with, most people are open to helping others in the community and will be willing to share their experiences with you. In addition, try listening to some podcasts from other business owners and bloggers – many podcasts discuss the topics of confidence and anxiety and how to overcome these fears.

If you are looking for a great place to connect with other bloggers then make sure to join my private Facebook group Women’s Blogging Collective.

4) Celebrate The Wins

Confidence and a positive mindset when it comes to blogging build over time and it will definitely be boosted when you have blogging wins. This could be the first time someone makes a purchase through one of your affiliate links or the first time a tourism board shares your article, or when someone sends you an email to say thank you for the content you shared on your blog (that’s my personal favourite win!).

So celebrate these wins, big or small – every win is a win and you should celebrate it to help you remember why you are blogging in the first place and to recognise that you are moving towards the overall goals that you defined at the beginning. So grab a glass of bubbly and cheers to each of your blogging wins!

5) This Is Not Rocket Science Or An Operating Theatre

I don’t want to minimise your fears, but we should all remember that blogging, whilst a legitimate career for many people, is not rocket science or an operating theatre.

If you hit publish and then notice you made a spelling error in the title or forgot to resize your images and add alt-text, it really is not the end of the world. You can go back and fix these errors and if someone noticed it just shows you are human! We all make mistakes and fortunately the little ones we make when we blog can usually be corrected!

I have some handy blogging checklists in the Resource Library that you can print and use to when you proofread your blog posts to help avoid those little errors.

6) Read The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*&k

Mark Manson’s book The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*&k is not advocating that you simply not care about anything, but instead that you only care about a very small number of things that really matter to you. It can be easy to get caught up in comparisons, especially in today’s Instagram first world, so this book is a great example of actionable advice to help you focus on the things that truly matter.

You can take this advice into your blogging career. Does it really matter if someone on the other side of the world doesn’t agree with the top restaurants you recommended to eat in San Francisco? Not really.

Remember what I mentioned earlier, a small community of people who love your content is more important and you should focus on that, not the one person who doesn’t like and agree with your content. The thing that truly matters with your blog is that it meets your goals and fulfils your passions, whilst also helping others and that is what you should focus on.

That’s it, six ways to change your mindset about blogging and grow your confidence. Be confident, be proud, and be creative!

Thank you for reading! I hope that you found this article useful to help build your blogging confidence. Please share your own mindset hacks that have helped you grow your blogging confidence in the comments. 

If you have questions or want to share your own favourites with the community you can join our private Women’s Blogging Collective community

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