I started blogging back in 2005 when it wasn’t really a thing in India. Over the years, it has truly evolved though, from being just an online diary to today being the voice that sets trends locally and globally and yes, even becoming a source of income that runs houses!  

It is easy then to have many a wrong concept about blogging and what it takes to be a successful blogger. Here are some of the misconceptions I come across regularly that I seek to correct.

Top 7 Common Blogging Misconceptions

I should know computer languages to start a blog

Even after 13 years, I still don’t know any computer language. Writing your post, highlighting the words you want, adding images, making your blog look beautiful with widgets and doodads – all of this is actually very easy and often involve literally just the push of a button.  

Good articles will definitely find an audience

I know it sounds like it should be true but sadly, no, you’re wrong. There are thousands of brilliant articles I’ve come across that get no views or shares while poorly written ones from famous sites get plenty of coverage. You need to invest time to promote your content on social media. 

The ideal length of an article is 300 – 600 words

While smaller articles are definitely easier to read owing to our own waning attention span, the truth is I’ve personally had success both ways. The most successful article in my site, ‘Why I will never allow my child to be a doctor in India’ was over 3000 words long. Some of the other posts which form the top 10 views in my blog are all 1200 + words.

If I may offer a different view, look to make your points in a concise manner rather than fitting a word limit. If necessary, split the article into two parts.

All bloggers are paid for the stuff they review

Definitely, there are product reviews that come with a pay cheque (often determined by your blog popularity) but this is a relatively new trend (less than a decade) and applies to some, not all. Most bloggers still do review products because they like it and want the world to know.

You can make quick money easily via blogging

If you can, then the other bloggers have hidden the secret recipe from me for sure! No one becomes a celebrity blogger overnight who gets paid in rubies for blogging. The bloggers I see who run their households via blogging work very hard at it for years and are constantly focused on things like client meetings, SEO strategies, identifying online global and national trends, deadlines and juggling multiple activities simultaneously. It is never as simple as ‘just sitting in front of a computer’. There is no overnight success.

Blogging is nothing more than a hobby

The other end of the spectrum negates the value of blogging entirely, reducing it to a mere fad. Well, if the biggest companies and events of the world all find it worth investing their money to get bloggers to promote them, I would hardly call it ‘a hobby.’ For some, it is not about the money but about catharsis, taking off the masks they wear in real life and baring their souls to an audience who gets them.  

Blogging within a niche is a competition 

It really isn’t. I watch bloggers from the same field (travel, food, fashion) constantly on my timeline and with the exception of a rare few, the others are actually really good friends and meet up socially too. One of the best things blogging does (it did for me too) is give you an extended family of like-minded people. 

These are some of the main misconceptions I have noted. Can you think of any you feel should be added to the list?

Authors Bio

Anaesthesiologist Dr. Roshan Radhakrishnan believes in the healing power of love and laughter but practices medicine just to be on the safe side. A winner of Write India (India’s largest crowd-sourced literary competition) Season One as well as Two, he also has a trophy for ‘Best Blog in India for Creative Writing’ awarded to his blog, Godyears.net at the Country’s First Live Blogging Conference and Awards Ceremony. Over 20 of his short stories have found their way into anthologies over the years.

I totally insist to drop by his blog and read his series on Everyday Heroes.

P.S I have written a guest post on Dr. Roshan’s blog on My Favourite Television Shows.