Pros:

1. Blogging Has a Low Barrier to Entry

Blogging is accessible to anyone.

You only need to own a website, a domain name and hosting.

In the case of Hashnode, blogging is completely free.

All other extras (such as Grammarly, keyword research tools, etc.) are purely optional for the beginning.

Related: FREE Blogging Platforms To Start Your Tech Blog Today

2. Blogging Can Be Outsourced

Blogging can be outsourced.

I haven't reached this stage yet, but writing blogs is an activity someone else can do, freeing up your time to focus on other tasks.

I suggest you learn how to write blogs before you hire someone else to do it for you.

3. Blogging Is Flexible

Blogging is one of those things you can do anytime from anywhere.

You only need access to a good internet connection and a laptop.

Even though it's a great idea to keep a consistent publishing schedule, there are no hard deadlines.

4. Blogs Are Easier to Update

Google likes fresh and updated content, and blogs are straightforward to update and modify.

5. Developers Prefer a Written Format for Learning

When it comes to learning, an overwhelming majority of developers seem to prefer written format over videos, according to the 2022 StackOverflow Survey

6. Blogs Are Great for Legacy

Once you publish an article, content becomes evergreen over time.

You might have noticed this when doing your research on Google. Some articles remain on page #1 of Google for years, continuously bringing traffic to your blog.

7. You Decide the Best Way to Monetize Your Blog

You get to decide how you want to monetize your blog.

There are different ways to do so, and you can choose to implement some or all of the following:

1. Ad revenue.
2. Affiliate marketing.
3. Selling your products (such as eBooks, courses, and books).
4. Providing consulting.
5. Subscriptions.
6. Paid community.
7. Sponsorship.

There are probably other ways to monetize your blog, which I haven't mentioned.

You can get creative and decide the best way to make money via your blog.

Reminder: blogging is NOT a get-rich-quick schema. It takes an effort to make a profitable income.

Cons

1. It Takes Time to See the Results and Feedback

With blogging, you need to write many articles for months (at least 6/8 months) to start seeing results. And this is what makes people want to give up.

They're not willing to push past the first months before they start witnessing results.

You should be able to see results after six months. If you haven't, you might want to revisit your content strategy.

Related: How To Increase Your Blog's Traffic in 3 Easy Steps

2. Blogging Is Competitive

Blogging is unlike YouTube, where people are likely to watch the first ten videos and beyond.

With blogging, people are likelier to click on the top articles on page 1 of Google.

You'll compete with bloggers who have been in the game for more time than you and who have more established and authoritative blogs.

It's unlikely users go past page 1 of Google unless they're doing deep and extensive research.

If you want to drive traffic to your blog, you'll need to rank on page #1 of Google.

Doing upfront keyword research is essential to achieve this goal.

Related: 6 Easy Steps to Get Your First 10K Monthly Visitors

3. You Need Discipline Over Motivation and Passion for succeeding

I love blogging, but let me tell you that passion alone won't be enough.

If you want to succeed in the long run, you'll need to find a way to stay disciplined and create content when you don't feel like it.

It'll often happen that you don't feel like blogging.

You must push through and find the discipline to create content in those moments.

4. Blogging While Travelling Is a Challenge

I mentioned in the Pros list that blogging is flexible.

This is entirely true.

However, depending on how fast you want to see results and if you want to make your blog a business, there'll be times when you may have to blog while on holiday.

I've been blogging for over a year. I've travelled extensively during the last 12 months and had to bring my laptop and write blogs while on holiday.

In these scenarios, you'll have to plan accordingly. You either prepare a blog in advance or you write while on holiday.

It's tough because you don't have the mental space to do it.

It takes enormous willpower.

Related: Lessons Learned In 12 Months of Blogging

Conclusion

I hope you've enjoyed this article and that you consider these aspects if you ever want to start your blog.

Until next time!

🙋🏾‍♀️