Last Updated on June 3, 2025 by Jan Barley
Have you ever wonderd why new bloggers quit? Well, let’s find out and discover how you can become one of the successful bloggers who stick around and make lots of money.
So, you come up with a brilliant idea for a blog. You spend a weekend obsessing over the perfect domain name, spend three hours choosing a font, and another two staring at stock photos of mugs and laptops.
You finally hit publish on your first post, sit back, and wait for the world to discover your genius.
Then nothing. Crickets. One view (thanks, Mum).
Cue the existential crisis.
Why new bloggers quit isn’t really a mystery. I’ve lived it. I nearly quit several times, usually after checking Google Analytics and convincing myself that the algorithm had a personal grudge against me.
And if you’ve got ADHD like me? Oh, the distractions. One minute, I’m planning out a 12-month content strategy. The next minute, I’m rearranging my bookshelf, crying into my coffee, and wondering if I should start a dog treat business instead.
And, yes, I’ve got as far as purchasing a dog treat recipe book (which is now gathering dust on my bookcase).
But here’s the thing: some bloggers don’t quit. Some of us figure out how to keep going, regardless of the challenges, not because we’re more disciplined or smarter but because we learn what actually works (and what to ignore completely).
Is it easy to keep going? No, not in my experience. Often, the reason why new bloggers quit is that you can go a long time without seeing results (and I mean a very long time). That’s hard for our cauliflower brains, compounded by the uncertainty of not knowing if our blog will ever generate a consistent income.
So, in this article, I’m going to break down:
- The real reasons why new bloggers quit
- What most people get totally wrong in the first 6 months
- How to cope when traffic plummets
- What the smart bloggers do differently, including how I trick my brain into showing up consistently (hint: AI, snacks, and unreasonable levels of self-bribery)
So, my blogging friend, let’s dig in and make sure your blog doesn’t end up in the digital graveyard.
Reason #1: They Expect Overnight Success (Thanks, YouTube Gurus)
You know the ones. The “I made £10k in my second month of blogging” crowd. Irritating or what? Or the “I’m making £50k/Month blogging with AI”
Go away!
The perfectly filtered flat-lay Instagrammers who tell you to just “follow your passion” and the traffic will flow like wine.
Yeah, my friend, that’s not how it works.
Especially not when you’re blogging with real-life responsibilities, ADHD, dogs bouncing around wanting a walk or get fed, client work, and a slightly unhinged Google algorithm.
One primary reason why new bloggers quit is that they genuinely believe they’re doing something wrong when their blog doesn’t take off in the first three weeks.
They write a few posts, maybe pin a couple of graphics, and check their analytics 14 times a day, waiting for the traffic to roll in.
Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.
Not at first. Sometimes, not even after 20 posts. Blogging is a slow burn, not a viral bonfire.
My Blogging Experience
At the time of writing (May 2025), I’ve published 108 blog posts, with a significant number ranking on the first page of Google. My blog generated about $1500 in the last six months from affiliate marketing.
I got approved with Journey by Mediavine in April 2015. That’s a slow start, averaging under a dollar a day. Some bloggers earn $30k+ annually from Mediavine, so it’s worth feeling a bit embarrassed for a while. Of course, the moment I celebrated this achievement, my traffic nose-dived due to a technical reason.
Anyhow, these kinds of stats make new bloggers think, “What’s the effing point of earning chicken feed like that when I’m working so hard?”
And that’s why new bloggers quit. Because it’s painful. You start doubting yourself, wondering whether to switch niches, get a new WordPress theme, or start breeding budgies instead (that was one of Richard Branson’s childhood schemes, by the way!)
The smart bloggers don’t waste time comparing their day 3 to someone else’s year 5.
They keep going because they know momentum builds slowly. They write, publish, improve, and tweak, all while sipping tea and ignoring the siren call of instant gratification.
Remember: traffic doesn’t mean success. Consistency does.
Some bloggers earn a full-time income from ad revenue, affiliate marketing, courses or digital product sales.
It takes time, so commit to the long game.
Reason #2: They Burn Out Trying to Do Everything at Once
Ah, yes, the classic “New Blogger Hustle Spiral.”
You start off just wanting to write a blog. Simple enough, right? But suddenly, you’re building an email list, creating five lead magnets, and learning SEO. As if that’s not enough, you’re designing Pinterest pins, making Instagram reels, rewriting your About page for the 12th time, and considering starting a podcast, all before your second blog post.
And if you’ve got ADHD like me, this isn’t just overkill. It’s an average Tuesday.
This chaotic energy feels productive, but it’s actually just a fast track to burnout. Before long, your brain fries, your to-do list turns into a guilt list, and you decide that maybe blogging “isn’t for you.”
Here’s the thing smart bloggers figure out (usually after a mini meltdown or two): you don’t have to do it all at once.
- Select one traffic source and thoroughly learn about it.
- Choose one writing day per week and stick to it.
- Utilise AI tools to offload repetitive tasks and alleviate mental clutter.
- Permit yourself to suck at first. Take the pressure off. You’re learning.
Blogging is a long game. You’re building an online empire, not assembling IKEA furniture. There is no one correct order, and no one will arrest you for not posting three times a week. However, if you can get into the rhythm of producing more content, your blog WILL grow faster. It’s the law of numbers (I might have made that up!).
Let’s roll into the next pitfall that quietly wrecks new bloggers’ confidence.
Reason #3: They Get Lost in the Comparison Trap
Nothing sucks the joy out of blogging faster than scrolling through someone else’s perfectly polished blog and thinking, “Well… mine looks like a potato.”
When you’re just starting, it’s painfully easy to compare your messy backend and zero traffic to someone else’s six-figure income report and flawless branding. You forget that successful bloggers started somewhere, too, probably with a dodgy logo, all the self-doubts, and blog posts that make them cringe now.
My Jealousy Hit
I followed an established SaaS blogger on LinkedIn and YouTube, but I had to stop following her because her results made me feel inadequate. One time, she posted that she’d started a new blog and had received around 34,000 views in her first month. In my first month of blogging, I had 20 views.
Please don’t put yourself through the pain unless other people’s success inspires you, and sometimes it does. For instance, Adam Enfoy has inspired me over the last year, even when he irritates me a bit.
With ADHD, this kind of comparison hits extra hard. One minute, you’re all fired up with ideas, and the next, you’re questioning your life choices, dribbling into your porridge, because some blogger with pastel aesthetics just dropped her fifth eBook this month.
By the way, if you have ADHD, read my post on Blogging With ADHD.
But here’s what the smart bloggers do differently:
- They stay in their lane.
- Smart bloggers mute the noise. They stop doom-scrolling and start doing.
- These stoic individuals know that every hour spent comparing is an hour not spent writing, learning, or growing.
And most importantly, they stop trying to blog like someone else and start blogging authentically. Because your voice, your stories, and your quirkiness are precisely what makes your blog worth reading.
The sooner you own that, the quicker the magic happens.
Let’s move on to one of the most common reasons most new bloggers throw in the towel:
Reason #4: They Don’t Know What to Focus On (So They Focus on the Wrong Stuff)
When you first start blogging, there’s a weird pressure to do all the things, even the things that make no difference at all.
You spend 3 hours adjusting your logo by 2 pixels. After that, you debate your blog font as if it were a life-or-death decision. The worst thing is you take a whole day to write the perfect Instagram caption for a post no one’s seen yet.
And don’t even get me started on the time I lost researching the “perfect” Pinterest colour palette while completely ignoring my actual blog content. Priorities? Where’s the dictionary?
Falling for distraction activities is where many new bloggers get stuck: they confuse being busy with being effective. Why new bloggers quit isn’t, as you can see, a mystery of epic proportions.
Here’s what smart bloggers (eventually) figure out:
- Content comes first. You need posts for people to find you.
- Traffic building comes second. SEO, Pinterest, or any other channel you choose, master one.
- Monetisation can wait. If no one is reading yet, no one is clicking your affiliate links. It’s harsh but true. I waited for around four months before I started applying to affiliate [programs.
- Perfection is a trap. Good and published beats “perfect and forgotten”.
If you’re not sure what to focus on? Focus on publishing. Hit “publish” more often than you hit “preview.” That’s where the real growth happens.
Publish like your life depends on it because it will eventually change your life.
Let’s keep it going, new blogger, with one of the most important (and emotional) reasons for quitting.
Reason #5: They Forget Why They Started in the First Place
Have you ever read Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why”? It’s a brilliant book that really puts your life and blogging into perspective. Get it. Read it. Implement it. It’s a fun read, too.
When we know WHY we do what we do, everything falls into place.
When we don’t, we have to push things into place.
Simon Sinek: Author “Start With Why”
Let’s be honest: when you first decided to start a blog, you probably had a reason.
Maybe you wanted freedom—a creative outlet or a side hustle that didn’t involve soul-sucking meetings or awkward Zoom calls.
Maybe you just wanted to write about something you love and have people actually read it.
But somewhere between keyword research, SEO plugins, and checking traffic stats like they’re your blood pressure, you forget. Blogging becomes a chore. A numbers game. A daily reminder that you’re “not doing enough.”
And that’s when new bloggers quit. Not because they’re not good enough but because they’ve lost touch with what got them fired up in the first place.
Smart bloggers bring it back to purpose. They ask: “Why did I want this?” and “What does success actually look like for me?”
Blogging gave me a place to create freely, to build something that was mine.
How the Worst Situation Made Me Start My Blog
I became motivated to start building my blog after spending four months in a horrendously toxic situation with a client that left me completely burnt out. I decided that I wanted to get away from relying on client work and build something for myself.
That still applies to me, but recently, I experienced a shift. I suddenly remembered how much I love writing. It makes me feel whole. When I’m writing, it feels like I’m talking to someone close to me, and it eases the loneliness of being a widow.
Remembering that writing is my first love changed my focus. Yes, I still want and need money, but more than that, I want to make a difference.
Oh gawd. I sound like a Miss World contestant 😊
Yes, I want traffic and income (obviously), but what keeps me going is knowing I’m helping others navigate the chaos, too, especially if they’re blogging with ADHD and juggling a million tabs in their brain like me.
For me, the act of putting words together in a coherent way makes me feel alive. It’s as if I escape from reality when I’m crafting a blog post. I love it. I would continue writing even if I won £10 million in the lottery.
Would I really? 😊, I think so. If you’re a writer, it’s in your blood.
Anyhow, your why doesn’t have to be noble or Instagram-worthy. It just has to matter to you.
Let’s bring it home with the game-changing bit: what the smart cookies do instead.
What Smart Bloggers Do Differently
Here’s the twist in the story: the bloggers who don’t quit aren’t superhuman. They don’t have more time, more motivation, or some magical SEO crystal ball.
They’ve just made a few key mindset shifts that keep them moving forward, even when everything feels hard, messy, or downright pointless.
Tip #1: They Accept That Growth is Slow (But Worth It)
They know why new bloggers quit, and they’ve made peace with the slog. Smart bloggersunderstand that blogging is a long game and that patience beats panic. In addition, they don’t obsess over daily traffic. They zoom out and focus on the bigger picture.
Tip #2: They Use Tools to Simplify, Not Overwhelm
Smart bloggers utilise AI tools to brainstorm ideas, outline posts, and even draft rough content or repurpose existing material. I use them to beat ADHD procrastination, reduce decision fatigue, and stop getting stuck in the “what should I write?” spiral.
I literally wouldn’t get anything written or published without AI because I am juggling so many things and navigating my ADHD’s distraction and hyperfocus (yes, the focus often ends up in the wrong place, like researching why pigeons cooing is so annoying!).
Tip #3: They Ruthlessly Prioritise
They don’t chase every shiny strategy. They choose one traffic source. One content plan. One goal at a time. Whether it’s writing one post a week or learning Pinterest properly, they stop scattering their energy and start stacking small wins. There are many bloggers on Pinterest, and for good reason. It’s an excellent traffic source if you persist through the first six months. It’s now my second source of traffic.
Tip #4: They Build Systems that Work With Their Brain
Especially if you’re blogging with ADHD, systems are your lifeline. I use templates, timers, and ridiculous amounts of self-bribery (hello, chocolate biscuit rewards).
I block out time for content batching and use tools to stay focused when my brain tries to run off and redesign my entire blog for the 10th time.
Conversely, because of my ADHD, sometimes I get bursts of energy and focus, and that’s when I knuckle down because I become a content-producing maniac during those periods.
Tip #5: They Redefine Success
Smart bloggers know that success isn’t “six figures by Christmas.” It might be publishing consistently, growing slowly, helping readers, or simply sticking with it. And that mindset shift is what keeps them going when others give up.
Final Thoughts: You’re Not Behind — You’re Just Getting Started
So, to wrap up why new bloggers quit, I hope to encourage you a little to keep going. If you’ve ever felt like giving up, let me say this loudly:
You’re not a failure. You’re a blogger in progress.
This stuff is hard work. Don’t let any guru kind you otherwise. Still, if you keep going, you become a blogging warrior, wielding your mighty sword against traffic drops, website technical issues, and a lack of motivation, wondering if you’ll ever “make it.”
You will! You absolutely will!
Sadly, one of the psychological reasons why new bloggers quit is not because they’re not good enough. No. The real problem is that they expected things to happen faster, smoother, and easier.
Blogging isn’t a get-rich-quick process. You might never get rich. However, you can certainly make a good income (and often a passive one) by doing what you love and helping others.
Blogging is messy. It challenges you. It asks you to keep showing up, even when your stats say otherwise. Google occasionally smashes you over the head with its significant updates, usually just when you feel your blog is making progress; an update then sends your traffic down the drain.
Get up. Get over yourself. Self-pity isn’t going to create the success you want. F*ck Google and keep publishing. Learn Pinterest marketing and start a YouTube channel. Start an email list (telling myself here!) and draw in traffic from multiple sources.
My friend, if you can lean into the discomfort, ignore the noise, and remember your why? You’ll be miles ahead of the ones who gave up.
So go write the post. Publish the thing. Use the AI. Bribe your brain with biscuits if you must.
Just don’t quit. Smart bloggers don’t.
