Is Blogging Time-Consuming? (5 Questions Answered!)
Blogging is a business. It is profitable, too.
But, is it time-consuming?
Let’s find out.
Is Blogging Time Consuming?
Yes! Like any other business, blogging is a time-consuming activity. Most bloggers spend no more than 5 hours per week on their blog. But for some full-time bloggers, blogging can take up to 60 hours per week – sometimes more.
That can be sliced up into 12 hours per day from Monday to Friday or 8.6 hours daily including weekends.
Long story short, blogging as a business may require a ton of time.
The total time it takes to manage a blog depends on a handful of things:
- How fast you are at writing blog content
- Your knowledgeability on your topics
- The level of experience you have in building and maintaining a website
- What content formats you plan to include (video, infographics, etc.)
- The number and complexity of your content promotion strategies
Want to know something interesting?
A survey conducted by Orbit Media revealed that bloggers who invest more time than average into blogging get bigger results.
After all, the more time you put into blogging, the more progress you’ll make, right?
Let’s take a deeper dive into the amount of time blogging takes.
How Much Time Does Blogging Take?
The time it takes to regularly work on a blog depends on a number of factors. Writing blog posts, doing research, promoting content – all these take at least 5 hours per week, often more.
Here’s a closer look at the typical blogging tasks and how much time they take:
1. Writing blog content
On average, bloggers take around 3 hours and 55 minutes to write a blog post. That’s the usual amount of time needed to write 1,269 words, which is the average blog post length.
If you can only commit the bare minimum of 5 hours per week, you can publish 4 posts a month. That’s a grand total of 48 blog posts per year.
2. Doing research
Doing original research for case studies, surveys, and similar projects may take days, if not weeks, to finish. Other tasks like competitor analysis and keyword research may take anywhere from a few hours to around 10 days.
3. Building and customizing your blog website
If you know the steps in starting a blog, you can get a website running in 2-3 hours. However, customizing your blog with over 5 unique page designs could take anywhere between 5 and 8 weeks.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to start with the perfect website.
You can always create something basic and just keep working on it over time. A solid strategy is to use an analytics tool like Google Analytics to track and optimize your website’s performance.
4. Creating original graphics
In-depth, informative visual content like infographics may take 2-3 days to make, especially if you hire freelancers. If you have a drag-and-drop image editing tool like Canva, you can whip up something decent in around 5 hours.
5. Content promotion
Promoting your content on channels like social media and email should only take a couple of minutes. That is if you already spent weeks building your following and subscriber base.
Apart from the activities above, full-time blogging may also require you to dive into other tasks like:
- Guest blogging
- Doing interviews
- Outreach for roundup posts
- Attending online courses
- Developing digital products
These blogging-related tasks also take several days or weeks to complete.
Sure, these things are optional. But these are high-impact activities that will definitely help build your authority and online reach.
How Long Does It Take to See Results from Your Blog?
Most bloggers and marketers will tell you that it takes 6-12 months to get measurable results from a blog. However, there are countless blogs that took over a year to become self-sustaining through effective monetization strategies.
Of course, the definition of “results” isn’t always the same for every blogger.
Let me explain.
Why your milestones might be different than others
A lot of aspiring bloggers start out with a list of goals like:
- Getting X amount of traffic
- Making X much money
- Attaining X amount in sales
While these are great indications of progress, blogging could mean so much more.
For some bloggers, it’s their creative outlet – a way to get their thoughts and musings out into the world. Others use their blog to give ideas, inspiration, and guidance to those in need.
These small “wins” can make blogging a much more rewarding experience, especially when other results aren’t easy to come by.
Want to learn about the other benefits that make blogging rewarding? Check out my post on how to become a full-time blogger to find out!
Remember, it could take several months before your blog starts getting results in terms of traffic and sales. If you focus too much on these long-term goals, you may lose your motivation before you achieve them.
Focusing on the little things, however, will keep you going.
Enjoy writing, read comments, and have fun learning – these are the wins that make blogging fulfilling.
Is Blogging Worth Your Time?
Blogging is a chance for anyone talented and persistent enough to escape the 9-to-5 grind. You can work anywhere, be your own boss, and make a fortune writing about the things you love. In fact, there are blogs that make millions of dollars per month after several grueling months.
To show you exactly what blogging can do for you in a financial sense, let’s look at some income reports.
Related: 89 Blog Monetization Strategies: The Ultimate List (2023)
Pinch of Yum: From $21.97 per month to over $95,000 per month (2011-2016)
Pinch of Yum is one of my favorite food blogs of all time. In fact, I mentioned them several times throughout some of my blog posts.
In 2011, they started something called “The Food Blog Money Making Experiment,” making a modest $21.97 on their first month.
Fast forward to 2016, they released an income report with a total gross income of over $95,000.
This is how much their blog grew after five years.
Sure, that’s before their monthly expenses that also amounted to nearly $30,000. But if you think about what they were making at first ($21.97), a net income of over $60,000 is insane.
As you can see, Pinch of Yum makes most of its income from ads and sponsored content. They also make thousands of dollars from affiliate marketing – my personal go-to passive income strategy.
Pinch of Yum’s owners also founded the Food Blogger Pro – a comprehensive online course for aspiring foodie bloggers. Learn more in my full Food Blogger Pro review!
Making Sense of Cents: From $672 in one month to over $100,000 monthly (2012-2018)
Here’s another website that proves blogging can help you attain financial success with dedication and hard work.
Making Sense of Cents is a personal finance and lifestyle blog that generated $672 way back in May 2012.
In June 2018, the blog generated a grand total of $100,324.
The primary source of income for Making Sense of Cents is affiliate marketing – raking in $57,228 in June 2018.
That just proves how lucrative affiliate marketing is, especially when you make it the focal point of your blog’s monetization.
Just a Girl and Her Blog: From around $1,000 per month to roughly $50,000 per month (2014-2016)
Just a Girl and Her Blog didn’t have income reports as soon as the site started making money. However, blogger Abby Lawson managed to significantly grow her earnings in just a span of 2 years.
From February 2014, the blog was already making around $1,000 per month – sometimes more, sometimes less. But by April 2016, Just a Girl and Her Blog generated nearly $50,000.
So, do you now believe that blogging is worth your time?
Of course, not all bloggers are capable of replicating the results above. But there are still tons of bloggers who managed to turn their websites into sustainable sources of income.
Raelyn Tan actually put together a list of 50 blogs that make four figures or more monthly. You can read her post here.
When is Blogging a Waste of Time?
As much as I love blogging, it can be a waste of time if you make the following deadly mistakes:
- When you think it’s a “get-rich-quick” scheme – Blogging, just like any other business, will not make you rich and successful overnight. Instead of wasting time, energy, and money on these “get-rich-quick” strategies, focus on proven blogging tips that get real results.
- You post articles for the sake of publishing frequently – Great blog content takes a lot of research, passion, and time to make. Forcing yourself to upload posts for the sake of publishing something new will only hurt quality and your drive.
- You don’t like your niche – Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of bloggers who own multiple profitable sites in different niches. But if you have zero interest in your niche, it’s extremely hard to maintain consistent content quality over time.
Evidently, there are a lot of things that could go wrong if you start blogging with the wrong mindset.
The good news is, it is something you can fix with the right guidance.
Here – let me show you some tips on how to accomplish more in less time.
Tips To Do More with Less Time as a Blogger
There are several things you can do to achieve substantial progress in blogging without spending too much time:
1. Set aside at least one hour per day for blogging
Data from ConvertKit’s 2017 State of the Blogging Industry report shows that most bloggers only spend 0-5 hours per week. So, if you have school or a full-time job, you can practically run a blog with just 1 hour daily.
Of course, this level of productivity isn’t ideal if you want to stand out. Still, it’s a lot better than not having time at all to work on your blog.
2. Get your blogging schedule in order
Planning how you’ll utilize your time is a surefire way to make the most out of each hour. Start with a weekly blogging schedule and then build your blog editorial calendar around it.
This involves planning the posts you want to publish for the month and then setting a target completion date.
Usually, a spreadsheet tool like Google Sheets is used for an editorial calendar. Here’s what it looks like:
3. Don’t force yourself to write
Whenever you feel too tired to blog, do yourself a favor and call it a day. You’re better off spending your time resting than trying to create quality content on an empty tank.
Remember, rest done right is also a form of productivity.
Learn how to manage your energy as well as your time. If you’re not in a writing mode, rest, do something mentally stimulating, and get back when you’ve found your mojo.
Related: 23 Productivity Tips for Bloggers (Become a Smart Blogger and Get More Done)
4. Get ideas from your daily non-blogging tasks
If you’re attending school or working a full-time job, try to look for writing inspiration and ideas from daily tasks. You never know when you’ll learn something that can add unique insights to your blog content.
For example, lessons about history and science can be a talking point in your current article. Use them to prove a point, provide an example, or share stories that will help readers digest your message.
5. Learn to prioritize, not multitask
Several studies prove that there’s no such thing as multitasking. It’s nothing more than a fancy word for shifting your focus between multiple tasks at an unhealthy pace.
If you have a lot of things on your plate, prioritize the most important task first.
Use tools like Trello or Notion to organize your tasks and track their completion.
6. Try microblogging
Microblogging is all about sharing short, bite-sized posts on platforms like Twitter, Tumblr, and Micro.blog. That means you can create and share posts with your audience wherever you are through a mobile device.
Of course, you can rely on microblogging while waiting to work on your main blog. It allows you to stay connected with your audience while you’re still at the office or in school.
Related: The Definitive Guide to Microblogging (2023): Bite-Sized Content to Build Your Authority
Conclusion
Blogging, on a business level, can be an extremely time-consuming commitment.
Put simply, you will never run out of things to do, especially if you care about results. It’s hard, but with determination, blogging will definitely pay off big in the long run.
Still having second thoughts about blogging?
Let me know in the comments below. Also, feel free to share your feedback and suggestions for future posts!
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