What I Learned After 2 Years of Blogging

When  I started The Scribe’s Portion I had a vague idea of what my goal was for blogging. All I knew was that I wanted to blog about my faith as a way to connect with other Christians. Initially, I did not have in mind to monetize my website because I had a strong sense that it was wrong. However, I did have a desire of making it a small stepping stone toward a “stay-at-home” job, whether it was as a writer, transcriber, or even a translator, I thought blogging was a great way of getting my feet wet.

Little did I know that I was in for a rude awakening. I never imagined that blogging would play a crucial role in my worldview and in my personal/spiritual growth. But 2 years, thousands of followers/subscribers, and almost 100 posts later, I can genuinely say that blogging about my Christian faith has been the most beautiful endeavor I have taken… thus far. And well, it has taught me a thing or two. Curious to know? Keep on reading! 

[bctt tweet=”Are You Called to Blog? Check out this blog post for new Christian Bloggers! ” username=”TheScribe_Blog”]

As I have mentioned before in other posts, I started blogging in 2012 but didn’t create TSP until July 2017. Up to that point, blogging for me was a way to exercise my favorite hobby- writing. And then, I felt the calling to blog. I mean, actually, write for a real purpose. Not going to lie, it was a little intimidating, given that I had never considered my writing a public matter. But now, I felt the urge to write so others could read it. Others, as in basically ANYONE. Before, my writing was only shared with family and close friends. So with trepidation, I launched myself to the task. And 2 years later, here I am, still going even when I thought I’d quit long ago. 

When I started TSP I was a little timid. That was bad. Let me tell you why.

You see, I was careful not to offend the theology, beliefs, and opinions of others. This headbutted with my personality because I am a person of strong conviction and opinion. Although I hate to admit it, I was a borderline people pleaser. I am not afraid to admit it but I am always hard on myself so I began to be hard on others too. 

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” 

(Colossians 3:23)

Blogging helped me to not care about offending others. I accepted the fact that the Truth will always be offensive to many. The last thing I wanted was to compromise the Truth for pride’s sake. 

So I started writing on topics that I knew many would be angry about. These were topics I felt a strong conviction for but that I had been holding off for fear of being offensive. Sure enough, some were offended yet, my biggest surprise came when many more thanked me. I had written on many “safe” topics, yet the tougher ones became my most popular posts. To this day, I continue to receive messages and emails of gratitude for these “eye-opening blog posts” as one reader said. 

Lesson #1, write without compromise, there are many people hungry for the Truth. 

Soon after TSP went live online, I flirted with the idea of making income through my blog. I was tempted after seeing other Christian bloggers make a living from blogging. Since I was looking to work from home, I thought why not? Totally ignoring the conviction gnawing inside me. Well, that didn’t last as the bad far outweighed the good. For one, it’s a lot of work to make enough income through blogging to quit your day job. It’s not that I was lazy or lacked ambition, I would have definitely bite the bullet (business and marketing just isn’t my thing) and worked hard if it had not been a Christian blog I was managing. Try as I might, I couldn’t ignore my conviction about making money off the Word of God. 

Secondly, I would need to compromise…again.

I noticed that those Christian blogs who tended to do better-published articles on “soft” topics. I occasionally visited some other Christian blogs and couldn’t finish reading a single post because it was baby food. Where was the meat? So that settled it for me. My blog would remain ad-free, sponsor-free.

 Lesson #2, Christian blogging for income is not a good idea. 

Along with making income, I struggled with following the tips and tricks blogging experts argue you need to employ in order to drive traffic. I tried the Pinterest, social media, SEO, and marketing tips they always recommend without results. And of course, along with that came the comparison trap. I saw many other Christian bloggers who literally got thousands upon thousands of daily views without even trying. Even though I knew that it wasn’t a competition, but let’s be honest, it’s difficult not to act as though it were. 

 I felt foolish for paying attention to these people in the first place but I struggled because my blog hardly got any traffic. On a good day, my blog got 10 views (this was right after I launched). I was a little frustrated because I put so much work into every post only to be read by a few people. Not only that, but I was burning out fast. I am not a heavy social media user. I’m not one to check Facebook every hour or upload 5 pictures daily on Instagram. I felt forced to do this just to increase my audience. 

Little by little I gave it up because it was very silly.

Questions went round and round in my mind, who am I writing for? What is the purpose of my writing? God wanted me to examine my motives. Was I striving to become a popular Christian blogger? Certainly, not. Did I write for the people or God? Not for the people for sure, that’s why I don’t compromise. So what’s there to worry about? 

When I stopped focusing on the how and on the audience, God began to grow my blog. TSP is by no means a famous blog, but the traffic has grown by over 5,000% and most of it is organic! Turns out, I didn’t need social media because many of my blog posts rank high on Google. And I didn’t even try. But it’s not even the numbers that matter- that’s not where I draw my joy from, but in knowing that the Word of God and His Truth are reaching thousands around the globe! TSP visitors come from over 100 nations! 

I realized that when I focused on reaching just one soul, the Lord did the rest.

If any of my blog posts were read by only one person and that person’s life was somehow touched by it, then my work was all worth it. I’m not fishing for compliments or accolades therefore, there’s no reason to seek a bigger audience. 

Lesson #3, write for His glory, not yours. And whatever you do, NEVER lose sight of that goal. 

Blogging has also made me a better writer. I’m always seeking ways to improve myself. I am a huge proponent for bettering yourself academically. One of my biggest enjoyments in earthly life is self-education. I didn’t finish college due to financial reasons but that didn’t deter me from learning. Whenever I have the time, I pick up subjects to study. I have taught myself more than I ever learned in the 3 years I spent in college. I don’t say this with vainglory but in hopes of motivating someone out there. Blogging has definitely taught and continues to teach me better grammar and sentence structure. My first posts are a bit embarrassing when I reread them, but I’m not going to edit them because they are a testament to my improvement. 

Lesson #4, the more you write, the better you get. 

When I sat down to write this post, I was going to discuss the pros and cons of blogging then I realized that those don’t matter when your purpose is to write for the Kingdom. Instead, I decided to open up a little with my readers. I just talked about my very real blogging journey thus far. I know that I don’t make this kind of posts often but I just hoped to share a little of my Internet trek with you all. Behind this screen, behind this logo, is a real person just like you who doesn’t have it all together either. But I do have all that matters. 

And for those of you have a desire to blog, self-analyze. Are you called to blog, or do you simply want to write? One is not the other, pray to know the difference, it makes all the difference. Try it. 

“Let all your things be done with love.”

(1 Corinthians 16:14)