8 things I've learnt through my first year of blogging

Through, what seems like a very quick year of blogging, I have come to learn and realise a few little things along the way. So I thought i'd share them with you, whether you being a new blogger or someone who has been doing it for a while, I'm sure you can relate to a few of these.

  • The blogging community is amazing. After joining twitter for blogging purposes and over the months of following and interacting with fellow bloggers, everyone is so so supportive and they all genuinely want you to grow and be the best version of yourself. Whatever mood you're in there is always someone else feeling the same as you. And the retweet accounts are amazing, to a name a few: The Bloggers Hub, A bunch of blogs, GRL POWR are all accounts who do always try to retweet your tweets and get you as much engagement as possible.
  • You will get the 'funk'. Every blogger/youtuber will all know the infamous 'funk' that glooms over us once in a while, where you'll send guess your blog or your channel and think 'why am I even trying' but, I can assure you, this is only temporary. You will wake up with the motivation you thought you lost and you'll be able to start making great content again. 
  • Numbers don't matter. I know for some, numbers are a reason why people do the things they do, but for most people in the blogosphere, blogging is way more than about how many views you get and how much blogger mail you get. People blog to express themselves and help each other whether that be with reviewing a new product or sharing their own stories and experiences. Don't get me wrong, getting lots of views and gaining more followers is amazing but it isn't the soul reason everyone blogs.
  • Interaction is key. While this may seem obvious, the more interaction you do with your followers on twitter and Instagram, the better. You will see so much of a difference in views and followers. Be sure to interact with other bloggers and twitter chats that the blogging accounts hold, to find out the times of the chat, just check their twitter accounts for example the ones I mentioned in the beginning! 
  • Growth doesn't happen instantly. As a new blogger, I know the feeling of just hoping my twitter and instagram would start growing and getting noticed. But I had to get my head around the fact that these things take time, the only way you'll grow is to also engage with your followers and other accounts. Also, if you go on the 'explore' bit on instagram, just have a quick scroll down there and you should be able to find other accounts that are to your liking that you can follow and like their pictures and hopefully they'll like back! I feel like this may be seen as a contradiction to what I mentioned earlier and how 'numbers don't matter' but I am just simply saying this because everyone wants to their social media grow, right? But at the same time that doesn't mean that your just wanting to gain followers or views, you're doing this because you love it. 
  • Believe in yourself. Even though sometimes this may seem like the hardest thing to do, believing in yourself and thinking positive thoughts really helps when it comes to blogging. Especially when you're in a funk, it is really important to just try and believe in yourself, saying this is easier said than done I know, but just thinking to yourself 'come on, you can do it, you're doing great' can really help. And if you're really stuck on something or you just need a confidence boost, the blogging community is always on hand, especially on twitter to give you that little extra support!
  • Find your niche. While you think you may have to find a niche before your blog, that is in no way the reality of it. You learn as you go along what works for you whether that be the style of writing you use, the images you put up or the content you provide on your blog. Once you have found your niche, that doesn't mean you're restricted to stick to it either, its your blog and you can do what you want with it! No one is here to tell you how to run your own blog. 
  • Enjoy what you're doing. For me personally, I think this is one of the most important things I have learnt through blogging. Doing something you enjoy makes you want to do it better and the best you can be at it, so make sure you're enjoying it! If you find theres a period of time when you're thinking 'hmm, I don't think I'm liking this as much as I did' then take a break and come back, make sure you're 100% into it. 

2 comments

  1. I love this!! Interaction is definitely still a thing I need to improve x

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is all so true. I think I can say now, after 4 years of blogging, that I have sort of found my niche. And yes, interaction is key - twitter chats are very beneficial here as well! I've met the most amazing people through twitter chats!

    Ilse | www.ilsedanielle.com

    ReplyDelete