Welcome to my little corner of the internet! Today’s post is short and a bit different. I’m talking about why I’m not focused on achieving rapid blog growth.
While watching my blog’s traffic increase organically over the past two and a half years has been pretty exciting, I haven’t put much focus on growth. My primary reason is that prioritizing growth involves aspects of blogging that I don’t particularly enjoy. This is a hobby, not a job.
I’m grateful for all of my readers, returning and new, but I’m also totally okay with keeping this space intimate.
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Money is not my “why” for blogging
Making money was very far down the list of reasons why I started this blog. We already had enough “FU” money, so I was free to pursue my passion for writing and personal finance, without needing to turn my hobby into a side hustle. It’s a nice place to be.
Trying to make money off anything, other than a paycheck, just isn’t my style. I recognize that this is probably some sort of character flaw, but I hate sales, or anything that smells of ulterior motives.
My dislike of having to sell myself, or anything else for that matter, is so strong that it’s one of the top reasons I left public accounting.
I stayed at the same Big 4 accounting firm through Senior Manager and was being groomed for a promotion to Director. However, the significant emphasis they placed on selling business at that level was a huge turn off for me. I didn’t want to spend any more of my time doing something I hated. Of course, there were other negatives that ultimately caused me to leave, like the long hours and lack of work life balance. But the need to sell in order to be successful in the role was a big one.
Achieving blog growth quickly takes work
I work hard to publish well-written, well-researched (where applicable), and authentic content. Over time, I know these efforts will reward me with substantial blog growth.
However, if you want to see faster blog growth, for monetization or other reasons, there are several ways to do so. I did my research, and I know how this can be done. It’s just that… I don’t want to do these things.
Posting more often will increase your site’s rankings and traffic. But I don’t want to post more often. It takes me several hours just to write one post. I can barely crank one of these babies out per week without feeling stressed, let alone two or three.
Keyword research and focusing on SEO can also help drive traffic. But that would require me to spend time researching what other people are interested in and writing blog posts specifically to address those questions. I’d rather write about the personal finance topics that interest me, and teach through storytelling and sharing experiences from our journey. I don’t want to focus on “X ways to [fill in the blank]” type posts just to improve my SEO and Google rankings.
Social media is another great way to increase your blog growth. While I do spend some time on social media promoting this blog, it’s not something I particularly enjoy. A lot of social media feels fake to me. Maybe 20% of my interactions are positive and fun, but the rest feel like work. I don’t want to spend more of my precious time on social media just to drive traffic to my blog.
Intimate is good
For now, I‘m okay with my small community.
While I hope to meet and get to know more FI enthusiasts on the way, I’m not willing to dedicate more time on the parts of blogging that I like the least. If I wouldn’t do these things for a lucrative salary, why would I do it now?
Quite frankly, I also don’t want the pressure of having to worry about blog metrics or view counts.
The only part of me that isn’t okay with this plan is my ego. However, I already had to check that at the door when I left my corporate career during my peak earning years.
Sometimes my ego takes over and I feel doubt or pressure to do more to “succeed” in the traditional sense. But mostly I’m trying to be okay just being myself.
I enjoy researching and writing about the things that interest me. I also enjoy helping people understand and achieve financial independence, especially when it comes to intermediate or advanced finance topics.
It’s okay to have a hobby that you don’t turn into a side hustle
Keeping it intimate and setting expectations low makes it easier to be authentic. And I think we can all agree that the internet needs a bit more of that.
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Bob
Heavily marketed and monetized blogs indeed tend to feel less authentic. Some of us are grateful for blogs like yours that keep the monetization at a low level. Thank you for that!
“Sometimes my ego takes over and I feel doubt or pressure to do more to “succeed” in the traditional sense. But mostly I’m trying to be okay just being myself.” –
I feel you! Might there also be an element of “contributing to society”? We’re able and competent. Shouldn’t we be “doing our part”?
Mrs. RichFrugalLife
Thank you for the comment and support, Bob!
Absolutely agree with your last statement, there is likely some of that. It’s difficult to separate making money from contributing to society, but there are definitely ways to give back outside of a regular job. Perhaps keeping it authentic and vulnerable here will help someone, who knows. I’ve picked up a few volunteer positions over the past year, which I think has helped me to feel like I’m doing my part outside of blogging, which has lowered the pressure I feel to “succeed” here from where it was.
Elena
Great post! Love this, great reminder that I am not doing it for the money but to just share. Not having to focus on growth, and write topics I want to write about. I really enjoy reading your posts!
Mrs. RichFrugalLife
Thank you, Elena! When you focus on the money, blogging loses a lot of its appeal for me. Being able to write about what you want, when you want to, is freeing and cathartic though.
Tiffany
I love this! I’ve thought about starting a FI blog and it’s so easy to get caught up in trying to earn money from it. But I feel that I’m much more similar to you. Thanks for sharing and for being a great reminder.
Mrs. RichFrugalLife
Thank you for reading and commenting, Tiffany! It’s hard not to get caught up in the traditional definitions of success at times.
Liana
Wow, I couldn’t agree more with this! I never thought to write a post on this, but I’m so glad you did because it all resonated so much, and it’s so nice to know I’m not alone in this! (Because sometimes I really feel crazy/not part of “the crowd” because I don’t want to grow fast). And that’s my biggest barrier too (my ego). It helps to just remind myself why I started and why I’m doing it. It’s not for the money, and that’s ok even if it’s different! Thank you so much for this great post.
Mrs. RichFrugalLife
Thank you, Liana! I’m so glad this post resonated with you. I’ve had this post written for a while, but wasn’t sure if I would actually publish it or not. Seems like posting it was the right decision. It is absolutely okay to be different 🙂
Mr Fate
Such a rad post and the 2nd I’ve read in the last hour that centers on the notion of authenticity and writing.
As Fates has always been some sort of amorphous, vampiric, undead endeavor in the FI space, there was never any life to lose from the start. Which, of course, gave me all the life I ever needed to write as authentically as possible.
Ironically, that my articles which bash social media and gently mock those who embrace it are my most popular, they give me courage to know I’m likely on the right path. Your instincts are keen IMHO.
You do you! It’s your originality, authenticity and intimacy that made me read and always will. Keep at it!
Stories and personal writing matter, not SEO, not numbers…
Mrs. RichFrugalLife
Thank you, Mr. Fate! Your interesting and unapologetic candor is what drives me to your blog again and again.
If I try really hard, I could maybe understand how there’s a place for the SEO driven and checklist type posts when it comes to teaching people personal finance basics. However, I don’t think it’s the best way to learn. And some of the posts I come across, especially on social media, include advice that I consider not helpful… or worse, harmful (I’m talking about you, “crypto bros”). That type of writing just doesn’t interest me, but I still feel compelled to interject my opinion loudly when I feel something is misleading or wrong.