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After two years of marriage, you’re still considered a newlywed, but in the blogging world, two years seems more like a silver anniversary. 

I read that over 90% of bloggers abandon their blogs after the first year.

According to 10 Blog Statistics of 2017, the average blog post takes 3 hours and 16 minutes to write.

When you consider that the top-ranked posts in google are between 1,140-1,285 words and that the median average time spent reading an article is 37 seconds and that 43% of readers skim blog posts, you can see why we sometimes we wonder if the only people really reading our posts are other bloggers.

We publish words that feel vulnerable, hoping our stories will bring comfort to someone and remind ourselves that we never know where/who our words are reaching.

We are often surprised that our Pinterest pin has reached another country or when we receive a comment from a thankful reader who has been ministered to. Those are the moments we remember our purpose in ministry and in doing what we love.

And that’s the thing. We love doing it. 

So I want to share with you some of the struggles I’ve faced as a blogger. Not because I’m complaining, but because I/we need your prayers. 

I believe the internet is a great way to share the Lord with so many people that would never otherwise have been reached. I believe the more Faith Bloggers out there, the more people we can reach with the gospel of Christ.

We May Have a Hard Time Calling Ourselves Writers

I had a hard time calling myself a “blogger.” It just felt strange to me. In fact, I’m not even sure I really care for the sound of the word.

I preferred calling myself a “writer” but I couldn’t even say that out loud until last year. I went to a Christian writing conference and they had everyone look at the person next to them as if in an AA meeting and say “I am a writer.” And then I realized I wasn’t alone.  Most of them had a hard time claiming the esteemed title in their head of what they think a writer should be.

But I can finally say it now with confidence because I know I’m living out my purpose when I share the Lord through my writing. My favorite thing to say is that I’m a Hope Writer. It’s also one of my favorite writing groups.

 

What Most Christian Bloggers Wish You Knew About Them

 

We May Struggle to Share Our Writing Ministry With Friends 

 

When I started blogging, all I wanted to do was write and share how the Lord has worked in my life. I wanted to help others.

I soon learned that if I wanted to reach others with my message of hope, I needed to start a FB page, a Pinterest business account, and learn Twitter and Instagram. It was honestly so hard for me to put my posts out there because I didn’t want others (especially the people I knew) to think I was trying to “promote myself.”

But now I see that unless I share, the message won’t reach anybody. Sometimes when friends ask me what I’ve done that day and I share about my blog ministry, there’s this awkward silence. I’ve had to learn to let that go, deal with my own insecurity and not take it personally. Some people just don’t read blogs or maybe they don’t understand how it can be a ministry, and that’s ok. 

We Haven’t Arrived

The most-viewed posts on Pinterest are lists and How-To’s like How I Fight To Keep My Marriage Strong. Some are lessons I’ve learned through some very difficult times. But the thing is, I am STILL learning them. I haven’t arrived at some lofty place where I have it all together and I can tell others the cure-all for marriage woes.  

But, I can share with people important truths I’ve learned. I just wrote a series called Mending Marriage Prayers. I believe with all my heart that prayer has helped mend the broken places in my marriage, but the thing is, prayer is STILL mending those places. And that’s ok.

God doesn’t wait for us to have it all together before he can use us. Click To Tweet

Amen for that, right? Sometimes we succumb to that lie—that God wants us to have it all together first. But He uses the broken and the weak. He comforts us so that we can comfort others.

Satan Attacks Us in the Things We Write About

I have never felt the attacks of Satan as strongly as I do now that I am pressing publish on posts that share about Jesus. When I first started my series on fear I was about to publish a guest post on overcoming the fear of death. I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night and felt an evil presence in my room with a sound so deep and dark I knew it was Satan. I’ve always hesitated to share this because this is not a normal kind of experience for most people or me.

But I was not afraid of it. For one, I know that believers who are indwelled with the Holy Spirit cannot be possessed by the devil. But they can be influenced by Him. I knew exactly why this darkness was trying to scare me and I also knew that Jesus is all-powerful.

I shouted out loud, “I am NOT afraid of you, in the name of Jesus go away!” and instantaneously, that presence left my room. I know that Satan uses death to destroy our faith in God and He did not want me sharing about the hope of heaven.

I’ve talked to many Christian bloggers and found out they get attacked in the topics they write about.  Usually, it happens right before I’m about to publish something and I feel like a hypocrite because I’m struggling in that very area.

Keeping Up Our Blog Usually Costs us More Money Than We Make

There are a lot of posts out there on how to make money blogging. Although there are some wonderful Christian bloggers who are business savvy and have managed to make a steady income, the truth is, most bloggers I know would be happy if they could just cover a portion of the cost of keeping up a blog.

That’s ok with me because my main goal and passion is to write as a ministry. But it is nice when an affiliate sale comes in and covers some of my blog upkeep. 

We May Struggle With Unsubscribes

When I first started writing heartfelt posts and saw unsubscribes in my inbox I wondered what I was doing wrong. Deep down, an unsubscribe kind of feels like an unfriend on FB. I’ve talked to other bloggers who have struggled with this too. We all come to the point where we realize we only want readers who really want to be there. People lead busy lives and often don’t want their inbox flooded with emails, and we can all understand that. Sometimes we have to grow thick skin and remember to keep on keeping on. 

We Love Our Readers

I’ve seen so many bloggers come so close to giving up their blog. That is, until they receive a comment from a reader who felt God led them to a specific post and it really helped them. It seems like God gives us that extra encouragement at just the right time. So if you read a post/email and it really ministers to you, don’t be shy about letting the blogger know in the comment section. It just may be the one comment that prevents them from giving up.

I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this post. It is truly an honor to live in a world where we have the freedom to share Jesus. 

If you love to write, then pray about starting a blog as a ministry. 

If you are a blogger what is one thing you wish people knew about you? What do you struggle with? 

Hope*Writer’s is one of my favorite writing groups! Every Tuesday you’ll hear from a Tuesday Teacher. These are accessible in the website. The Facebook group is also very active. Check out this amazing list of Tuesday teachers available right now in the Hope Library: 

Alicia Mey Kasen (marketing director, Zondervan)
Alli Worthington (author, Fierce Faith)
Ann Voskamp (author, NYT bestselling author of One Thousand Gifts)
Andrea Doering (editor, Revell Books)
Anna LeBaron (book launch manager, author The Polygamist’s Daughter)
Amber C. Haines (author, Wild in the Hollow)
Carolyn McCready (editor, Zondervan)
Carolyn Starr Rose (children’s author)
Cindy Bunch (editor, InterVarsity Press)
Claire Diaz-Ortiz (author and entrepreneur)
Chad Allen (editor, Baker Books)
Deidra Riggs (author, One)
Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith (author, Sacred Rest)
Ed Cyzewski (author, Pray, Write, Grow)
Erin Loechner (author, Chasing Slow)
Hilary Yancey (author)
Ian Cron (author and Enneagram teacher, The Road Back to You)
Jamie Ivey (author and host of The Happy Hour podcast)
Jenni Burke (literary agent, D.C. Jacobson)
Jennie Nash (book coach)
Jennifer Allwood (blogger + podcast host)
Jennifer Dukes Lee (author, The Happiness Dare + speaker)
Jessica Turner (writer, entrepreneur)
Joseph Michael (Scrivener coach)
Kendra Adachi (teacher and writer, The Lazy Genius Collective)
Kristen Strong (author, Girl Meets Change)
Lisa-Jo Baker (author, Never Unfriended)
Marion Roach Smith (author, The Memoir Project)
Mark Lane (cover design, Tyndale House)
Melanie Shankle (NYT bestselling author)
Mike Kim (marketing consultant)
Rachelle Gardner (literary agent, Books & Such)
Ruth Chou Simons (author, Gracelaced)
Seth Haines (author, Coming Clean)
Stephanie Smith (editor, Zondervan)
Tsh Oxenreider (author, At Home in the World)
Twila Bennett (marketing consultant)
Tim Grahl (book launch marketer)
 

 

 

 


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I had a hard time calling myself a writer at first. But God has shown me I don’t need to shrink back from calling myself a writer. In fact, I love being able to call myself a Hope Writer. That is my heart. I want to write about the hope I find in Christ. And being in community with those who have the same heart, means the world to me. Interacting with other Hope Writers, bloggers and authors has been such a blessing.  I feel like I have a backstage pass as I see other authors get published and learn the behind the scenes of a writer’s life. If you are a blogger or have any desire to write a book someday–this is the group to be a part of. I’ve had opportunities to be in small groups called a Hope Circles where I’ve learned about the process of writing a book proposal. I’ve received opportunities to be on book launch teams where I’ve learned so much. The FB group is always active and the founders very involved and helpful. I’m pretty picky about where I spend my money, but this group is honestly a no brainer for me.

 

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