Erm, Not All Bloggers WANT To Be Full Time, K?

I feel like I need to say this. Because of the expectations of others. Because of the crazy pressures we put on each other. Because the blogosphere is a weird ol’ place where you can get brainwashed into thinking that becoming a full-time blogger is when you can say you’ve truly made it. And shock horror, I don’t actually think it is.

You see, being a full-time blogger SOUNDS amazing. Just like anyone could say that doing their hobby full-time for a living would be the dream. You get paid to write about your life and get paid to go on fabulous holidays and work flexible hours and have the time at home to work on your flat lay shots for Instagram. Don’t get me wrong, that all sounds great.

But personally, I’ve decided I don’t want my living depending on it.

I mean I get depressed enough as it is if I spend an hour perfectly editing a snap and thinking of a witty Instagram caption and it only gets half the amount of likes I usually get. Imagine if my salary was dependant on that? Imagine the pressure of brand collaborations if I needed them to pay rent, I’m sure my pitch emails would reek of desperation.

I just think it would suck all of the fun out of it.

And hey I’ll just put it out there, I’m not criticising anyone’s career choices here. If you’ve earned yourself a decent living from blogging then good for you girl, you’re killing it. But I just don’t want to ruin my hobby that I love by putting so much pressure on it.

I used to get hung up on the full-time blogging dream. But maybe it looks better from the outside? Blogging can be superficial at times and we’re all trained to project a better version of ourselves out there into the world on social media. So in reality, it can’t really be that glam, right? I mean my Sundays are spent writing and styling and vlogging and video editing and sometimes it can be a right pain in the arse. If I had to do it every day, it wouldn’t be fun for me. And I’d start to hate it.

I also like to take breaks every now and then. If I’ve run out of juice or I’m just feeling like I want to spend my weekday evenings bingeing Scandal instead of writing blog posts, you know? But I’d feel guilty and stressed if I knew it was attached to my livelihood.

And speaking of which, most bloggers I’ve met that have generated a full time income, aren’t becoming millionaires anytime soon. I mean there’s the odd exception to the rule and I’ve heard of bloggers earning a massive six figure salary (mental!), but generally, I can’t see me being able to match my current salary with blogging.

Cause guys, I’m not 19 any more. I’ve done the maths. I could reasonably put in the extra work to extend my blog into a job, but it would mean me taking a massive pay-cut. (Not that I’m ballin’ or anything.) And don’t get me wrong, I’d rather have a job I love that doesn’t pay a lot, than a job I hate that earns the big bucks, but at the same time, I like living in a nice house and being able to treat myself to the odd pair of shoes on payday.

But the full-time blogging salary doesn’t seem that secure, y’all.

Plus there’s the loneliness thing. As much as I like working from home, I’m an introvert that would become a recluse without an office I had to go to every day, I know it. I’d start staying in my PJs all day and become some kind of weird internet troll if I wasn’t forced to leave the house.

Also, I’m gonna be a bit of a bitch here, and I’ve deliberated removing this paragraph from my rant, but are some of the so-called ‘full-time bloggers’ out there not actually full-time bloggers at all, but freelance professionals that also blog? Because a lot of bloggers seem to be earning their money from freelance writing or being a freelance photographer or a social media consultant, rather than from their blog. Which you know, mad props to those guys, good for them carving out a freelance career. I know freelancing is really hard work. But I mean, I just don’t think that should count as full-time blogging, you know? Does it not give bloggers false hope that it’s a really common profession?

And the thing is, I really don’t want to do any of those freelance things. I’ve done a bit of freelance writing in the past but it doesn’t come naturally to me. I like writing this blog in my own style, swearing and using slang words obvs, but you can’t do that when you’re freelancing for publications or professional websites. It wasn’t for me.

But the main gripe I have with this whole thing? The general idea that a full time blogger is BETTER than a blogger with a job.

Like, because I’m not full-time I can’t be considered a serious blogger and my stats can’t be as good. That’s the impression I get from brands and PRs when they find out I have a job. And even from followers on social or from other bloggers on press trips. I’ve actually gone as far as to omit the fact that I have a job and when I can’t go on a trip because I can’t get time off work, tell the PR I’m already booked on another trip that week, dahhhling.

Lolz. Soz PRs if you’re reading this.

But it’s that mindset that brainwashes us all to thinking we want to be full-time. Because that’s when you’re considered ‘serious’.

But not to brag or anything, but I do alright on this blog of mine without being full-time. I get offered free trips and free clothes and get paid to review products or write about things I probably would’ve written about anyway. I didn’t need to be full-time for that. It means I get some extra money every month to play with (mainly spent on travel of course), but there’s no pressure if I don’t want to do something.

We all talk about staying true to our brands and only accepting brand collabs that we really believe in, but if it was the basis of my income, I might be tempted to take on some easy cash, thereby damaging my credibility, you know? I mean would you still read this blog if I started banging on about a gambling website (because seriously they send me emails all the time asking me to write about fucking Bingo).

I just think full time blogging seems to be a dream we’re all chasing and when you step back and look at it, do we even want it?

Ok so this was a bit of a ramble but I’m basically just calling bullshit on this weird culture. You don’t need to be full-time to validate your blog or your skills. Full time blogging isn’t the dream for all of us. You can get all the perks without any of the pressure.

Also soz if I’m being a dick in this post, I’m prone to it every now and again.

Bloggers I want to hear what you think! What do you think of the full time blogging dream? Is it something you’re chasing? Or are you content blogging as a hobby?

Let me know in the comments below or tweet me @HeelsInBackpack!