From Fired Up to Burnt Out: My Blog Blew Up… Then Blew Away (But Here’s How I’m Rising From the Ashes!)
Let me tell you a story about a passion project that could have been amazing, but ultimately failed miserably. A few years back, some friends and I decided to start a blog about something we truly cared about — sharing the rich African culture and our personal stories with the world.
Man, were we fired up in the beginning! It was just a few passionate writers putting our experiences into words, no AI assistants or fancy tools back then. Within the first month, we had cranked out over 35 articles, all from the heart. Our writing was as authentic as it gets. Heck, we even got accepted into Google AdSense on the first try!
But you know what they say — the candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long. Despite our blazing start, the blog fizzled out far too soon. We didn’t even make $5 from it before calling it quits. $5! For all that work!
I’ve spent countless hours over the past months trying to figure out what went wrong. Why did our passion project turn into an embarrassing failure? After reading up on successful bloggers and soaking in their advice like a sponge, I’ve identified the key reasons our blog died a tragic premature death.
So, what went wrong? Let me tell you, the crash landing was epic, but the lessons learned were even bigger. Here’s the dirty laundry list of why our blog went from “star potential” to “internet graveyard”:
1. We Were Busy Bees (But Not the Blogging Kind) We were all juggling careers and figuring out life. Blogging became an afterthought, a chore instead of a passion project.
2. We Lost Our Narrative Groove We started with African stories and culture, but then…BAM! Lifestyle, politics, religion — the whole kitchen sink. We forgot what made us unique!
3. Burnout City, Population: Me Balancing a full-time job with being the blog’s tech guy (posting, editing, the whole shebang) was a recipe for disaster. I was practically glued to the screen, and let’s just say my social life wasn’t thriving.
4. The Money Monster Didn’t Show Up We dreamt of Adsense riches (okay, maybe just enough for a decent cup of coffee), but the reality was crickets. No green. Nada. This definitely took a toll on motivation.
5. Shiny New Job Syndrome Just when I was ready to throw in the towel, a dream remote job came knocking. It paid well, but the worst part? I used it as an excuse to completely shut down the blog.
But wait, there’s more! This isn’t a sob story, it’s a comeback story in the making! I’ve learned SO much from this experience, and I’m ready to share it all with you.
Here’s the exciting part: I’m starting a brand new blog, and this time, I’m documenting the entire journey online. Think of it as a masterclass in avoiding beginner blogging blunders (trust me, you’ll want to take notes!).
Plus, I’m spilling the tea on how I picked the perfect niche (stay tuned for a dedicated article!).
Want to follow my journey and learn from my mistakes (and hopefully some triumphs)? Check out my hustle havens:
- Substack: https://nanzing.substack.com (Side hustles galore — blogging, dropshipping, newsletters, affiliate marketing, and even investing/finance!)
- Twitter: https://x.com/@jonanzing (Get your daily dose of blogging wisdom and bite-sized info nuggets.)
- YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jonanzing
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jonanzing (Let’s get jiggy with some blogging tips!)
- Medium: (I’ll be sharing progress updates here too!)
