6 Myths People Have About Bloggers

The stereotypes about bloggers constantly swirl around in my head. People say these things to me, to other bloggers I know, and it's a little frustrating at times. I was inspired by Rebecca of Sunny Rebecca and her post about Blogger Stereotypes to write some of my own myths that I've heard about bloggers.

1. Bloggers get paid to say good things about certain products

It seems like every time you go to your favorite blog, the author is raving about a new product that they just tried. No matter what they try, it's the absolute best, especially if that post is sponsored and the product was provided by the company. It's true that bloggers tend to say nice things, but that's because we want to provide you with the best possible products out there! Bloggers strive to be incredibly authentic, at least they should, and it would be wrong to feed readers false information about a product. If a blogger is given a product that doesn't live up to its promise, is not made well, or a blogger reacts negatively to it (think beauty products) why would we want to expose you, our wonderful readers, to it! So yes, technically we do get paid to say good things, but only if we good things to say. And sometimes (read:most of the time), even without getting paid we say great things about products we love and use on a daily basis!

2. Blogging is so easy. Literally anyone can blog.

This is another one of those half-truths. Yes, anyone can blog. All it takes is some motivation and inspiration to get you started! However, blogging is 100% not easy, and if you're not willing to sacrifice time and a little of your sanity, it's probably not for you. It may look like all bloggers do is take pretty pictures, write a little bit, and boom, done! But there's so much more that goes into the blogging world, mostly business and marketing tactics that no one really thinks about! I've talked more in depth on that issue in my post about what goes into making a blog post so give that a read if you want a better idea!

3. Bloggers have perfect "Insta-worthy" lives

If you weren't aware that Instagram is a lie, well, now you know. This doesn't just go for bloggers, everyone wants to seem like everything they do is sugar coated and amazing. For bloggers, that's just kind of our job! We want to make our lives look like everything is put together and beautiful to be more inspirational to our readers and followers. Creating a pretty picture helps to establish an image for ourselves and our brand, which hopefully appeals to our target audience. Of course our lives aren't actually perfect all the time! My room isn't always 100% organized, my lipsticks aren't arranged by color (although that's a great idea...), my food isn't always so pretty on a plate, and I don't wake up with a full face of makeup every morning. We're all just regular people, who just try a little harder to look perfect via social media!

4. Blogging isn't a real job/Bloggers are so rich they don't need a real job

I've heard both sides of this argument in the almost two years that I've been blogging. It's either all bloggers are making six figure salaries, at least the popular bloggers, and don't do any other form of work or blogging is only a hobby and doesn't "count." For probably 1% of bloggers, the former is true. There are some blogs that make huge amounts of income, and the author of the blog can rely on that income alone to live their life comfortably. But for most everyone else in the blogging world, there is something else that the person does along with blogging to support themselves. This could be owning a small online business, doing graphic design work, working a completely separate job (like Krista from Covering the Bases!) or are full time students, or a combination of all of the above. So yes, some of the very well known and well-established bloggers are making a good amount of money, but even if they are, it's still a real job. Again, the amount of work that goes into blogging is more than meets the eye and when you're running a blog full time it's a business of its own!

5. Writers block isn't a thing

Writer's block is always a thing! There will be times when I can think of 20 blog post ideas in one brainstorming session and then there are times when I'm left sitting with a notepad wanting to pull my hair out for not thinking of anything creative. The amount of times I've asked my friends or family "What should I write about?" is insane. Sometimes, you're just stuck!

6. All *successful* bloggers fit into a certain category

This myth is more for the bloggers themselves than for readers. I know so many bloggers who feel like they have to be squished into a tiny niche in order to be successful. You either have to be all fashion, all home decor, all food, etc. and if you're not, you won't do well in the blogging world. I think it's definitely important to find a target audience and keep posts centered around a few topics, but it's practically impossible to limit yourself to one single category. Some of my favorite, and very successful, bloggers have two or three main focuses that they post about and it keeps their blog from seeming repetitive. Bloggers are diverse, and I think that's one of the best things about blogging! You can be a food blogger who also does outfit posts, or you can be a book review blogger who also loves to talk about beauty products. Whatever your blogging about, there isn't necessarily a limit. 

What myths have you heard about bloggers?