17 Nov The Blogger Trap I Fell Into
The blogging world is hard. It’s full-time. It’s time-consuming. I have shared what it’s like to be a blogger, including lots of the struggles I face. But here I am 5.5 years in, 800+ posts later, hours and hours and hours spent and I am still blogging 3x a week.
I am so thankful for this space for so many reasons. It’s a privilege to be able to encourage others and lead them to Christ. I have been able to connect with people all over the world. It’s been quite the journey, but I am thankful that when Father prompted me, I said yes.
But there is also a lot that goes on that a non-blogger might not know about. This post will reveal some of those things, but I am mainly writing this post for the woman who got caught in the same trap as me in hopes it brings freedom.
There are hundreds of blog groups on facebook and I am a member of several. In those groups, many bloggers talk about all the tips and tricks to grow a following, gain readership, build engagement, etc. Hear me out, absolutely none of those things are bad, none of them. Also hear me out, my reason for blogging is different from the women in many of these groups as I blog because it’s my ministry.
No matter why anyone is blogging, I have been disappointed at what I have seen throughout the months; influencers who love to play the “games.” What games? Well for example, paying for “likes” on instagram or using apps that follow instagram users and then when they receive a follow back, they unfollow them. Yes, it’s baffling the measures people go to and the things people do all to gain a follow. It’s honestly sad to see so many cheat their way through gaining readership and a following. Thankfully I am not responsible for those people or behaviors as I’m only responsible for my actions and decisions. I am happy to say I never participated in those methods and that nothing I have done has been immoral or wrong.
You are now probably wondering, “what trap did you fall into?” The trap was participating in what all the other bloggers were also participating in. This included joining engagement groups on instagram, like threads on facebook, and comment threads on blogs. Why would one do any of this? I don’t know! I honestly don’t. Before I knew it I was spending time on things that were building no spiritual fruit. I had no reason to be involved any of those things. 10 extra likes on a picture doesn’t further the Kingdom. A few extra comments on my blog didn’t help anyone either. But, I spent time trying to build engagement because I was told that as a blogger, that is what I needed to do. Everyone else was doing it and so I did too. Talk about the trap of peer pressure.
Again, if you are a blogger and reading this, I am not here to tell you what you are doing is wrong, because if you are spending minutes or hours in engagement pods, I don’t think it is. But if you too are evaluating your day and how you spend your time and realize 30 minutes of your day is spent on something that is unimportant, then I hope you feel the freedom to leave the trap that you might feel like you are a part of. Just because there is a list of 10 things that you need to do to be a good blogger, doesn’t mean you have to follow them. I’m well aware that what this world tells you that you need to do and what God desires is way different. The extra likes? They don’t gain you anything. More time with him? It will gain you everything.
My goal is to always be as real and vulnerable as possible. Trust me, that isn’t fun or easy. If you follow me on instagram, then hopefully you have realized that I am an every day, messy person. I have always said that if one post takes me hours to write, it’s worth it if at least one person reads it and it helps bring revelation or freedom to them. So whether you are a blogger and reading this, realizing you too fell into the trap of what you should be doing and you find freedom in realizing you don’t have to do any of those things, then this post was worth it. Or maybe you are a not a blogger, but have realized some of the things you spend time doing in your day are also unfruitful, then I hope this post meant something to you too. Please don’t fall in the same trap I did and participate in something that doesn’t further the kingdom. And if you have? Please know there is always a way out and the freedom on the other side is much more rewarding than anything you experienced during the trap you were in.
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Vane
Posted at 09:40h, 17 NovemberSo, so good! Needed to read this. Thank you for being vulnerable ?
Melissa
Posted at 10:06h, 17 NovemberSo good! As a new blogger it’s easy for me to get trapped into watching the numbers. I needed this reminder today. Thank you for being you and sharing your heart even when it’s not fun! Love you friend!
Renee @living511
Posted at 10:50h, 17 NovemberCaroline, I absolutely love this post. I, too, fell into the same trap and was so focused on building my following than on building God’s kingdom. It only resulted in jealousy, resentment and feeling like a failure. I think we all have done this at one point or another. However, God convicted me of it. He reminded me of the story when King David took census of his army and how this decision was based out of sin, pride and for David’s own power. This changed my mindset on how I viewed my following on my blog and social media accounts. It is more important for me to point to God in all that I do than to point to myself. I realized it is not about the numbers but about the ministry. I refuse to get caught up in the artificial and temporary gains. I know post like these are not always easy to write but there is so much truth in this. Thank you for being obedient and transparent. Have a wonderful day.
Lily
Posted at 11:35h, 17 NovemberThank you for opening up and being real, Caroline. I recently had an epiphany and realized that spending, more like wasting time on engagement pods on IG wasn’t doing me any good. So I dropped them all. I do participate in Pinterest threads because that’s one of the ways I’ve gotten a lot of traffic. That aside, I love that you are real and so open.
Julie
Posted at 11:48h, 17 NovemberThank you for writing this! You have put into words many of the same thoughts I’ve had as a new blogger. Reading your heartfelt words has helped reaffirm my commitment to writing for my Lord for His glory!? God bless.
Lindsay Tankersley
Posted at 14:30h, 17 NovemberVery interesting post. As you know, I am a fairly new blogger. I joined Blog Passion Project on FB and got really excited but then I didn’t really know what the rules were and all the engagement threads. You’re right in that I don’t really need engagement on an Instagram post or Pinterest Pin. If people like them, that’s great! I DO want people to enjoy looking at myself, but not at the expense of spending time on something I shouldn’t. I love reading blogs and engaging with others on social media, but when we let it bog down too much of our time, we tend to forget our purpose and who we should really be trying to engage with–Jesus!
Lindsay Johnson
Posted at 22:45h, 06 DecemberThank you so much for sharing your thoughts, Caroline. I too, fell into this trap and it was so unfulfilling. I love what you said – I’m well aware that what this world tells you that you need to do and what God desires is way different. The extra likes? They don’t gain you anything. More time with him? It will gain you everything. – AMEN! Thankful for you, and how you’ve helped me grow in my faith!