I gave up being an influencer. I gave up the dream that every blogger seems to be chasing nowadays. I gave up an additional $2k monthly income.
And I don’t regret it one bit.
You’re probably wondering – did I get a raise that I could forgo $2,000? Did I get a sugar daddy? Did I win the lottery?
No to all that and yes, an extra $2k per month on top of my salary would be nice but not worth how I had to obtain it.
A little back story. I’ve been blogging for over a decade. If you’re 13 years old, I was probably blogging before you were even born.
Blogging, to me, was an outlet. A stress reliever and a memory keeper. I treat blogging as if it’s my diary. I will share with you my deepest and darkest fears; my embarrassing moments; my fights with my then and/or now boyfriend; my failures and my successes; I will share everything. Honestly, it’s probably one of my oldest hobbies and I don’t ever see myself giving up.
But, I’m stuck in my old ways. I love and miss the blogging era of 2009. Nowadays, every blogger seems to want to make money. Every blog is a lifestyle blog that more or less gives the same bullshit advice on morning or night routines; on skincare; on starting a blog; on studying.
It felt like personal blogging was dying and no longer a niche. It feels as if you were a personal blogger, you won’t be “successful” in the blogosphere. You’re old and outdated. Now is the time to recycle the same 10 tips to make your life easier and try to get some money out of that.
So, I did exactly that.
A few years ago, I rebranded into a “lifestyle” blog. For the first time in decades, I’ve created a blog that didn’t have my name. I felt like if I attached my name, you know it’s a personal blog – hence, Coffee with Claire.
I did everything a lifestyle blog did. I posted reviews on products, services and business. I spammed my posts on Twitter and Facebook groups to generate views.
I even had personal photoshoots! I stopped using stock photos. I took the time to edit my photos.
I had a planner filled with ideas that I think readers would like. Ideas about relationships; fitness; finances; blogging; etc.
In a short time, I started to get PR inquiries and sponsorships. My ads were generating some decent income because of the traffic.
I started writing reviews and sponsored posts because, hell, I was being paid for it and it was based on topics that were targeted to my readers.
For a year, my blog was netting me $1,600 – $2,000 every month that I withdrew to my bank account.
When I received the notification from my web host that I’m set to renew my plans, I decided to hit no and cancel the blog. I took off my PR page and contact details and deleted my blog’s email. I decided to let my blog slowly die off.
I’m not another entitled Millennial. It’s not like I’m saying I gave up an income because I didn’t want to work anymore.
I just hated how I felt about my blog. It didn’t feel like it was mine anymore. Near the end of the blog, I felt like I was a sellout, writing for brands just to have an income.
I had friends always asking me how the blog is going and I hated that. They thought it was cool that I managed to earn money from my blog but I felt like the fact that they did know I earned money, I always had to upkeep my blog to make sure it was generating a monthly income.
I also went on vacation last year for two weeks and during those two weeks, my blog crossed my mind several times. I was growing anxious with the PR emails and tried to keep up with the demands of posting from the companies.
Ultimately, the biggest reason why I decided to quit being a paid blogger was the fact that I no longer enjoyed my favourite hobby.
After work, I would go home and review my blog stuff. By the time I was done working with the brands, I barely had time for my own work. I’d want to update my theme and can’t bring myself to do so because I hated looking at my own blog for so long.
It wasn’t tiring per se, but it was tiring emotionally to drain my creativity and my passion for my favourite hobby that didn’t give me that happiness and relaxation that it once gave.
Yes, the extra money was nice but I hated how it controlled my life and how it ruined my hobby.
Now? I’ve rebranded back to a personal blog with a few lifestyle posts here and there. I’m much happier knowing I can leave my blog alone for two weeks and have no one drilling my ass for an update. I’m happier because I’m back in the 2009 era of blogging where my stalkers can envy my eventful life. Where I can share my thoughts and have feedback from others outside my friends group. I have a place I can rant freely with no worries what others will think or say – because let’s be real… if I don’t like your comment, I’m going to delete it 😛
I deleted my PR page and no longer sign up for any campaigns. I have a healthier balance of life, work and blogging.
More importantly, I’m happy and love my blog again. I found my love and passion for blogging again and it gives me immense happiness to hit the publish button.
It’s not to say that I hate paid bloggers or that it’s not possible to have a healthy balance between paid and unpaid posts but I just overall want to avoid any paid posts. It’s just not my thing because at the end of the day, I turn to blogging if I’m stressed, bored, unhappy, or my brain is running too wild.
The truth is, I’ve never come across a post like yours. Most of the bloggers I follow struggle to get paid. I, myself am looking to get paid and to land sponsorship but not much luck in that department yet. I get what you mean about blogging though, and I respect your decision to re-brand into a personal blog, a blog that you can be happy about.
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Thanks for reading, Frances! I understand that a lot of bloggers would like to be paid and do struggle with it so I think I got lucky with the brands but definitely not my cup of tea! I am so much happier with just a personal blog and not stressing over any posts.
I hope you get some sponsorships soon! Keep at it and they’ll come in time 🙂
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Well, I really admire you for choosing what makes you happy over money. And I hope I get even half as lucky as you with the sponsorships soon. Thanks for cheering me on! =)
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Wow. Reading this was like a breath of fresh air. Very inspiring how you gave up on that extra income in order to stay true to yourself.
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Thank you for reading my experience! I’m happy to have experienced the life of a paid blogger but at the end of the day, I genuinely enjoy blogging as a hobby and not as a part time job.
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Very interesting read – happy to hear you’re enjoying blogging again!
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Glad to hear you found it interesting and thanks you reading! I’m really happy to have found my hobby again.
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Ahh it’s so important to do things based on how YOU feel. Congratulations on getting that 1-2k a month but definitely if it zaps you of your energy, cut it out! I totally appreciated reading this because no one ever reads a blog post about someone who’s actually managed to get to the point of making money monthly and the negative aspect about it.
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You said it! At the end of the whole experience, I absolutely hated blogging and everything about my blog. I would love for everyone to sort of experience to see if it’s really as fun and great as they hoped for or end up like me and just giving it up to have a nice hobby back.
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Mhh isn’t this an interesting post!
It’s very cool that you share this about yourself – I had no clue!
The truth is that I started blogging because I wanted to earn a little extra income.
I thought my blog would be enough. But I guess without Social Media that’s not going to happen.
Never mind then. I really can’t keep up with all that 😉
Blogging, even though only as a hobby, can be overwhelming. And I am not even one of the “big bloggers”. But it does take time to socialize!
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Oh boy, social media really does help promote the blog but it can get overwhelming promoting posts and replying to threads. I think your blog is doing great! Every entry I click on has heaps of comments and likes and it must be a great feeling to just share your opinions and thoughts and have people respond to them.
I agree that even as a hobby, it’s overwhelming. It’s just the up keep of posting entries, socialing with others and catching up with your reading list 😂
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Thanks for sharing this! The blogging landscape has changed so much since 2009 – that’s when I started blogging and like yourself I would share EVERYTHING about my life. I would love to make money from my blog, but I’m trying to strike a balance – I’m trying to change my posts but still keep it personal as well. Well done for staying true to yourself 🙂
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This was so refreshing and inspirational read. You kind of made me start a blog of my own. 🙂 I am still struggling to get in the groove of writing and posting on a daily basis. Do you have any tips on how to get going – when your mind is full of ideas – but don’t know where to begin? 🙂
Much love, joy and happiness from island Rab in Croatia! 🙂
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I’m happy you enjoyed reading this and happy to hear you’re starting to blog!
I think if you have a lot of ideas you want to spit out, it’s always nice to write them down so you don’t forget anything, and then spend an hour or two after work or on the weekend and pick one of your ideas and start typing again 🙂 I think posting daily can be very tiring and may induce early burn out but doesn’t hurt to give it a shot if you’d like to try blogging on a daily basis!
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In a way this is one of the reasons I decided to not become self hosted and make money from my blog, I write what I enjoy and I know I wouldn’t be able to deal with the stress either.
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That’s awesome to hear you won’t go self hosted in that case! I’m happy to hear you know right off the bat that you wouldn’t like the stress either and it’s important to write what you’re happy and proud of!
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In this day and age with the rise of blogging careers it’s a hard decision to make, but I’m glad nonetheless.
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Such a refreshing outlook and I enjoyed reading every minute of it. I just stumbled upon your blog and I genuinely love everything about it! Love the authenticity and looking forward to reading more! 🙂
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Yess! I have turned down all offers to write articles on my blog for other sites. I would never ruin my little space for money. I always suspected it was more than it was worth. I guess I am stuck in the old blogging ways, too. I do it purely for enjoyment & connection! 😛
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Thank you so much for sharing your story! I think the most important thing we can do is just follow our own path and be sure you’re always acting according to your personal values 🙂 So it’s a very brave ting you did to delete everything and start back again!
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This is such a breath of fresh air! I love reading blogs and follow a good amount of notable bloggers on Instagram who I adore, but I can’t help but wonder sometimes how they can feel comfortable writing silly posts like “my top 5 candles” or something. It feels like blogging has become a bit superficial at times, but I guess I get it, we all have to make money at the end of the day. It’s really nice to hear the other side of being an influencer and I’m glad you made blogging fun again for yourself!
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Great post! I used to only have a personal blog for 7 years and I recently re-branded into more of a lifestyle blog (reverse!). It’s true that personal blogging was definitely more fun and an outlet, but after going through a rough year and I saw that my personal blog had morphed into a very depressing place filled with sad posts, I decided it was time for a fresh start. Not looking to get paid but it’s been fun to just be back to a positive and well mindset 🙂 Looking forward to more posts from you.
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I love hearing how blogging brings you joy and a much more positive mindset! I completely understand how personal blogging can be negative at times – I think when I went through a bad period of time in my life, posts after posts were filled with me just complaining and moping over the same things. A lifestyle blog definitely forces you out of that and makes you write more about the positive aspects of your life and finding more activities to do. I love personal blogging with just a hint of lifestyle every now and then 🙂
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The measure of success, in blogging and everything else, isn’t how much money you make, how many positive reviews you receive or any other external measurement. It is simply, was it worth it? When it isn’t worth it anymore, you have to either GET more or GIVE less.
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