In What are You Most Afraid of about Blogging? I asked you guys to spill your guts about what your blogging fears were, and you totally came through. Not everyone would be willing to say what they’re afraid of about blogging. But enough of you were brave enough to give me eleven different blogging fears, which gives me a lot of great material to work with to create a super-helpful post for you.
I never intended for this to become a series, but after writing 1,665 words and only getting up to fear number four, I realized this was too big for one post. If I don’t split them up, it’s going to get a little ridiculous.
Talking About Fear
It’s easy to give people rational advice about what to do, but that’s worthless in the face of fears, which are by definition completely irrational. Knowing that fear is irrational gives an advantage, however. Knowing fear is irrational is one step in the direction of banishing the fear.
But that’s not all there is to it. People get very attached to their fears. Fears can be pillars in some people’s personalities. You have to be careful when discussing fears because people can get very defensive and they may feel that you are belittling their fears, which makes them feel you are belittling them as people.
Let me say that I am not here to belittle your fears. Recognizing that fear is irrational does not belittle you as a person. Fears are not to be simply dismissed out of hand. Fears must be recognized and acknowledged. But after you recognize and acknowledge your fear, you must take the next step, which is to also recognize what your fears actually are.
Fear is an emotional & physiological reaction we feel based on imagining events which have not even happened. You might want to read that sentence again.
Fear is not who we are, it’s an emotional state we put ourselves in because of our own thoughts. I’m not talking about biological “fight or flight” responses in the face of physical danger—that’s altogether different (some would say it’s not, but let’s not go there). We can choose to have control over our own minds. We can choose not to imagine the worst. Then the emotional fear reaction will not arise.
Recognizing and acknowledging your fear, and then also recognizing that it’s nothing but the product of your own imagination helps you reach the point of letting go of the fear so that it has no power over you. This is all more easily said than done, of course. It’s difficult to catch yourself in the act of being afraid and tracing its origins back to thoughts you had about events which probably will never happen.
However, it all begins with recognition. That’s the first step. Recognizing, acknowledging, and seeing your fears for what they are is the first step. You may not catch yourself all the time, but you will be more likely to catch yourself feeling irrational fears more often, and that means you can interrupt your usual habit of behavior (and really, that’s all it is: a habit).
OK, enough armchair head-shrinkery (I’m not a mental health professional, blah, blah, blah, go see a real mental health professional if you feel you have serious problems, etc.). On with the show…
1. I’m afraid no one will read my blog or care about what I’m doing
This fear is felt by new bloggers. It will seem to come true because when your blog is brand-new, it truly feels like nobody is reading it. But that’s not true! Somebody is reading it. Maybe a very few people are reading it. But even a handful of people is a start.
When you are trying to start a fire, it always begins as a very small flame, doesn’t it? Just some tinder, some heat, and some air creates the tiniest flame. But we nurture that tiny flame until it becomes a roaring, toasty fire.
The upside about this fear is that it never lasts long: soon a handful of readers becomes 30, which becomes 50, which becomes 100, which becomes 200. It can take some time, but before you know it, your fire is growing on its own and getting bigger every day.
In order for people to care about what you’re doing, you have to care about what you’re doing. But that’s not all: you also have to care about what your specific target market is doing. If you care about what they’re doing, they’ll care about what you’re doing.
2. I’m afraid I’ll run out of things to say
This is probably the most common fear of all. Paradoxically, it’s also the easiest to overcome. And there’s no shortage of helpful information on the web to help us out. Most folks who fear running out of things to say are doing any or all of the below:
- They’re doing work they’re not knowledgeable about.
- They’re doing work they have little or no experience in.
- They’re doing work they have no passion for.
- They have no overall content strategy.
- They have no content plan or editorial calendar.
- They have a very limited notion in their minds of how to come up with ideas or create posts.
For items 1 – 3, you either need training to increase your knowledge & skill, or you need to get into a different line of work, period.
Items 4 – 6 merely require thought, planning, and a bit of imagination.
- Don’t have a content strategy? Sit your ass down and write one (duh, right?).
- Don’t have an editorial calendar? Create one and let your audience know what it is so you’re held accountable to it.
- Feel stuck about how you come up with blog post ideas? Change up your routines and engage in “frame breaking” activities.
- Learn how to be a better blogger by studying blogging and putting what you learn into practice.
3. I’m afraid I’ll fail and have to get a “real” job
You know the old story of the Viking leaders who, upon reaching the shores of the land they were to conquer, burned their own ships? No going back!
Most places won’t hire you after you’ve been self-employed because they know you’ll chafe at the rules and the politics. Not only that, there aren’t that many “jobby-jobs” to get anymore! Unemployment right now is sky-high.
So really, when you think about it, your ship has already been burned, anyway. What that means is you can choose to be free of that fear (and it is a choice, remember?). What a wonderful thing that is.
I quit the last “real” job I will ever have last October, 2009. I was already making more money with blog consulting and info product marketing than I was making at the job, so I knew it was time. I am never working for anyone else, ever again, period. But I’ll tell you a secret: there are times when I am afraid that I will fail and perhaps lose everything.
People are motivated by a complex combination of emotional reactions to past memories and imagined future events (paradoxically, none of that has to do with the present moment). A huge part of what motivates me is my dreams, goals, and desires for what I want out of life. But I’d be lying through my teeth if I said I wasn’t afraid to fail sometimes. Fear of failure also motivates me.
I recognize that fear. I acknowledge it. I understand it’s based on my imagination. That gives me power over it. I can dismiss it. But only temporarily, it seems. It will come up again. It’s part of the constant struggle of self-development and just being human, I think.
4. I’m afraid I’ll make grammar and spelling mistakes, and people will be more critical about everything else, including my content
There are people who will be critical of your ideas if your grammar & spelling aren’t perfect. They have English degrees and self-confidence problems, and thankfully, there aren’t that many of them. We call them snobs. 
Just because one or two people are critical of your grammar and spelling skills, that does not mean that your content is no good.
What is far, far more important than grammar & spelling is the ability to capture your audience’s attention and hold it while you deliver your message. And what is even more important than that is that your audience believes and internalizes that message and acts on it.
Let me give you two examples. Two of the most successful online entrepreneurs and bloggers have had constant problems with spelling and grammar: Jeremy Schoemaker (A.K.A. Shoemoney) and Darren Rowse (Problogger). The reason why Shoemoney is successful has nothing to do with spelling and grammar (actually, his posts seem better, lately, so maybe he has hired a VA to edit them for him). Shoemoney is an awesome storyteller. He is as authentic as they come, and spelling & grammar take a back seat to that.
Darren Rowse often gets the wrong form of its vs. it’s. I notice it every time he does it. But I’m not a snob about it. Darren’s advice is top-notch and his writing is earnest, honest, and highly readable. Many people make this mistake, but I never let it get in the way of learning from them.
People who refuse to accept your content because of a few grammar & spelling errors are so shallow and so few in number that they are a statistically irrelevant group. They have no influence over your business. You simply needn’t worry about them.
Besides, the great thing about blogging is that you can just go back and make corrections if someone points out an error for you. I always thank people for their willingness to help out and happily make corrections, knowing that now my blog is better for it.
Stay Tuned
Here are the rest of the blogging fears I’m going to cover in the series:
- I’m afraid I’m being too obvious and simple (or I haven’t researched enough)
- I’m afraid I won’t make any money
- I’m afraid of putting self out there, afraid to hit “Publish”
- I’m afraid I’m not really helping anyone (lack of feedback)
- I’m afraid I’ll go “too far” with personal content and turn off readers
- I’m afraid I’ll write something that’s already been done a million times
- I’m afraid I’ll be exposed as a fraud
You don’t want to miss the rest of them, so subscribe now!