I had my first rude comment on my blog this week. Considering I think my blog is pretty vanilla in tone, I was surprised that I’d managed to attract anger in anyone with my boring little travel blog, but I guess I did.
The person didn’t even have the guts to write an actual comment with their name. Instead, they signed up to my mailing list with a fake email account: “wow-you-have-a-rich-hubby-youdontneedtowork@gmail.com”.
Wooooooooooooowzas. I was so taken aback. Whoever was cowardly enough to write this sounds to me like they’re suffering from the ol’ green eyed monster. Jealous of a lifestyle that is very carefully curated to make it look like I travel non-stop and do nothing but eat out and go to shows with my kid.
And while some of my life is like that, the majority of it isn’t. Most of the time I am working my ass off to pay bills.
I wanted to shatter the illusion that this person might have that my life, and bloggers like me, live some kind of charmed life, just because our blogs and social media accounts might make it look like we do. Hello, it’s called branding and a marketing plan.
I want to make it clear that bloggers like me share a carefully curated image of ourselves to represent our businesses, but underneath that we are some of the hardest workers you will ever come across. Most bloggers, like myself, juggle family, children, paid work AND our blogs on top of it. We don’t spend our evenings watching Netflix or reading a book. Every spare second is spent working on our blogs and social media accounts.
I can’t speak for all of the bloggers out there, but I personally do not have a rich husband, so I do have to work. Golly, I wish I did have a rich spouse! It sounds pretty nice to never have to worry about money and to just be able to faff around on my little blog all day long.
I actually only work on my blog in the evenings after my daughter has gone to bed. During my work hours, during the day when she is at school, I work for various publications and copy writing services to earn money.
Occasionally I am able to make money through my blog. This is one goal of mine to increase, as it’s a dream to make money from a hobby that I love. My blog has enabled me to receive a opportunities I otherwise wouldn’t have gotten to do, such as seeing shows or attractions in return for reviews. I am extremely thankful for opportunities like this as they help keep our lifestyle costs down, and enable us to do and see more.
In general, however, I’m just a normal gal, working incredibly hard to bring in work to help support my family.
I hope this gives a bit more insight into the life of a blogger. If you have any questions, please write them below. I’m happy to answer anything.
Yep – the reality is definitely different to the perception. A blog is a wonderful thing to have, but it takes a great deal of time. I certainly don’t watch any TV anymore!
Soooo true. It’s a huge time-eater! I only watch TV while I’m blogging or doing social media these days – so I half-watch everything and have no idea what I just saw!
So true. Blogging is my second job. Not my only job. And it takes so much time. I do it for love not money. Mind you, if you do discover a store selling rich husbands for bloggers… please let me know. I’ll pop one on lay-by! 😉
I sure will! My husband LHAO when I read it to him about the “rich husband”. He was like “what an idiot, I’m not rich!” People only see the result and not the immense effort and passion that goes behind the blogs.
Well said Christine! My blog is my full-time gig, along with raising my two-year-old and looking after the housework. It is a hard slog but something I am passionate about so all the hard work is so worth it. Don’t worry about the haters, a keyboard and a screen give people some kind of power to say things they would never normally say to your face. Xx
Thanks Sara! And seriously! Give someone the internet and anonymity and they think they can say anything to anyone.
omg! glad you called out that passive-aggressive and ultimately misogynistic statement.
I get that a lot too. I’ve been called “rich mummy” by a male collaborator and another female writer said meaningfully in a group discussion “I need more time to write, I need a husband I can sponge off”
I was like “me too! I work three different paying jobs with no security, study part-time, and am primary caregiver of two kids under 3! and I’d love to sponge off my husband but I’m pretty sure he can bathe himself”
Thank you Melski! And lol about your hubbie!!!! Don’t you want to just smack idiots like the ones you mentioned?
People have no clue how much hard work goes into blogs. Even the ones that don’t make much money! Ahh well… Jealousy is a bitch 😉
Haha yes it is! It’s so silly to be jealous of something like a blog when it’s all just for show, really! A business prop! If they knew the huge amount of time that went into everything for zero financial return a lot of the time I’m sure they wouldn’t be jealous.
BOOM! *drops mic*
BAM!
Yep. I think you summed it up perfectly! No rich husbands here either. Paid work plus kids plus blogging in the twilight hours!
Our stories sound very similar Rebecca! I think bloggers are some of the hardest workers I’ve been seen. I personally have never worked as hard in my life as I do right now.
Absolutely, it’s a hard slog, especially if you are working another job at the same time. I guess we do it for the love of it, otherwise we wouldn’t bother, but I don’t think people realise what such hard work it is.
It’s something you’d only do for the love it, I think! Why else would you spend hours on something that paid no or little $$?
Well, I’m happy to say that I genuinely DO have a rich husband… well, one with a high paying job and I genuinely don’t have any pressure on me to earn money. And anyone who thinks that means an easy life can pop straight over to my house for a punch on the nose. Four children, one with autism and the ENTIRE responsibility for running all of our six lives… because he works so hard. Aaarggghhh… my work on the blog is the reward to finishing my dayjob of running kids and home, which may be well paid but is NOT so much fun! And my aim to earn money from the blog is to help him retire early not late so we can all chillax.
I would say that four kids is a full time job personally! Isn’t your hubby FIFO too?
Hi Christine, he was doing FIFO until last year but works in Sydney. Big boys just got too big for me to manage for a month at a time.
Oh I see. I am definitely turning to you for advice as Cheese gets older. It feels like you’ve been there, done that and are full of wisdom!
What a terrible comment and terrible for being done on the sly too! Blogging is all consuming and you definitely need to love it to keep going with it. No rich husband here either, sadly….
That’s what I thought – at least comment and stand behind it!
Good on you for posting this hun! People are so cowardly on the internet : Running a blog is so much more than just making money, its hard work and dedication, it’s also harder the more commitments you have in order to make it work!
Thanks so much Sammy!
Great post! Sums up our lives pretty well. I get it, I too work nights and every spare second on my blog and do the ‘paid’ contract work during the 2 days that my son is at preschool. I am always helping people and answering questions when it comes to travel which right now doesn’t cost them a cent! But how dare I do a sponsored post where I get paid a small amount to share about a product or do a review. I am trying to create a flexible lifestyle so that I can be available for my children and still contribute to our family finances. It’s a tough gig but I wouldn’t change it for the world! I truly love the people I have met and the families I speak to every day and they make it worth it!
Thanks so much Jenna, exactly how I feel too!
Great post. Sometimes, I don’t think the time expense of blogging is compensated or understood well. But it is a passion and you are so passionate. I love your reviews. keep up the great work, you deserve to do well!
Thanks so much Simone, I really appreciate it.