How to Overcome Self-Doubt and Blogging Fears – Part 1

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Can I really just overcome these feelings of self-doubt and these blogging fears and just get started?

If you are reading this post, chances are you have thought about starting a blog. Maybe even dreaming of becoming a big, successful blogger. Yet, in a moment of truth, you are held back by self-doubt and fear. That little voice in your head that starts a whole litany of excuses.

• You’re not good enough.
• You’re not an expert.
• You don’t have what it takes to be a talented blogger.
• You are afraid of being judged,
• You’re afraid of failing.

How can you overcome these self-doubts and blogging fears and just get started?

These doubts and fears are all totally normal thoughts. It is natural to feel these things and to worry about them.

After all, by exposing your thoughts and creativity to the world, you reveal private parts of yourself.

And revealing any part of yourself can be scary. It opens yourself up to being judged by others.

You worry about what people will think of you, that you are wasting your time, or that what you are doing is stupid. Not to mention, it could be that self-doubt has you convinced that *you* don’t even know what you are doing and that *you* are just going to make a fool of yourself.

Self-Doubts and Fears

Self-doubt, that nagging little voice in our head…provides us with any and all excuses to prevent us from starting a blog – “I don’t have the time”, “I don’t know how to begin”, “I am not that techy”, “It’s not for me”, “I’m not that interesting.” Sound familiar?

If you are nodding your head right now, then it is time to say goodbye to self-doubt and to sit down with a cup of tea (or other beverage of choice), your fears (if they must come along) and just get started!

Everyone who has ever started a blog, no matter how good and successful they may seem to you, has experienced all these same fears in one way or another.

And let me just share a little secret with you, even the greatest bloggers who you look up to and who may have been your inspiration to start a blog, they have their own blogging fears too.

Where Do I Even Begin?

When you decide to start a blog it is so hard not to be alarmed by the sheer number of decisions that must be made in the very beginning stages:

1. Which blogging platform to use?
2. How to choose a niche?
3. What to call the blog?
4. How to design it?
5. Which social media to be active on?

And the list goes on, and on…

Yikes!, no wonder you don’t know where to start!

It’s so easy to feel as if one wrong choice can ruin it all.

The good news is, you can’t really screw it all up.

Blogging Is a Continuous Process of Trial and Error

Starting and managing a blog is a continuous process of trial and error, and no wrong choice can be all that disastrous.

• Don’t like the platform you have chosen?
• Unhappy with the design or theme?
• The name you chose suddenly doesn’t sound right to you?

Change it! It can all be changed!

Yes, it’s true, these initial mistakes may cost you a bit of time and money, but they are absolutely reversible. And thankfully, the financial investment in a blog is very low, so even if you have to make some changes along the way, the expenses will be relatively negligible.

Will Anyone Even See My New Blog?

Another thing to keep in mind is that in the first few months after your blog goes live, it won’t have many readers – and you’ll be surprised by this, but trust me, it’s a good thing! During this time it will be much easier for you to make changes without anyone noticing.

When I started my first blog years ago, it was so that I could learn about Blogger. I knew absolutely nothing about blogging, but I had gotten it in my head that I wanted to learn.

If I had waited until I knew ALL THE THINGS, I probably would have never got started. It was the same when I got it into my head a few years later when I wanted to learn about WordPress. I just decided to get started and I learned about using Blogger and then WordPress as I went.

So, until the long-awaited readers arrive…take advantage of the fact that right now not many people are reading your blog! Take some blogging courses, try out different themes, widgets and plugins.

Play with colors and layout of your blog. Work on developing your own personal voice. Just spend time finding out what works best for you.

Just Get Started!

After all these years in the blogging world, I still learn new things every day! So what I am trying to say is that you will never feel 100% ready. You have to jump in with both feet and just get started!

Start thinking about your blog as a work in progress rather than as a final product.

I am not tech savvy enough to start a blog

Lots of people give up on the idea of starting a blog way before they even get started because they think they have to be computer savvy or know a programming language or other technical things, to operate a blog.

Let me tell you something, anyone can start a blog! Starting a blog is WAY easier than people think, and there is no need to know CSS, HTML (although, I think knowing CSS and HTML make it more fun…but that’s just me) or all sorts of other things that may sound like gibberish to you.

The days when you had to be a computer expert to set up a website, or at least you had to hire somebody who is one, for hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, are way behind us. Like many other bloggers, I chose to set up my blog, Tech Girl Help Desk, using a platform called WordPress (check out my post on WordPress here).

It is a Content Management System (CMS) that allows a user to write content, add media and design a site easily with themes and templates and not to mention, the thousands of plugins that allow for even more functionality…all this without having to know a single line of code! You can have your site up and running and publishing your first post in the same day!

Let’s Not Forget the Blogging Community

Even though I am interested in all things computers and kind of a tech nerd, that doesn’t mean I am not met with technical problems all the time too. And actually, since starting Tech Girl Help Desk, I am constantly reminded of the irony (Tech Girl needing Tech Support…always makes me chuckle!) and humbly reminded of my inadequacies, when I too, need to get on the phone or on an online chat with a customer service representative to help me out.

One of the best things you can do to help yourself out on your blogging journey is to be a part of a blogging community. I have learned so much from other bloggers who are just trying to figure it all out too.

We are all learning this as we go. And we all have different skill sets and strengths and weaknesses.

I’ve heard it said that “It takes a village to raise a child.” Well, it also takes a village to succeed in this blogging adventure.

Blogging Communities for the Win

I am a total introvert, yet, being a part of a blog community is something I can manage. And it has been really great. I’ve made some really good friends through these communities.

And I have even seen bloggers who started out blogging with me (when I first decided to check out this whole WordPress blogging stuff) become pretty big and have some great success with their blogs.

Being part of a blog community allows you to benefit from the knowledge and experiences of others who are at various stages in their blogging journey.

Learning from their successes and failures helps you to make choices for yourself and avoid some pitfalls. It is also just nice to be a part of a group of like-minded people. People that get what you are talking about and who are willing to help each other out.

That is all for now but stay tuned for Part 2 of Overcoming Self-Doubt and Blogging Fears.

What’s holding you back from starting your blog today? Share in the comments below. Maybe we can help you to overcome your self-doubt and fears and just get started! 

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