As you may have seen from this post at the end of December. I’ve recently celebrated my blog’s 4th year anniversary. And the space of four short years, the blogging world has certainly changed. I’ve seen my blog grow from one or two followers to thousands. And it’s turned into the most time consuming but rewarding hobby I could imagine. But as with anything, there are highs and lows to blogging. And while the blogging community is mostly full of incredibly positive and inspiring lovely people. I wanted to share with you all seven things I’ve learnt since blogging:
- Blogging gives you a chance to grow. Both in the sense of growing your blog but also growing as a person. When I started blogging I knew nothing about websites, photography, and social media promotion but over the years I’ve taught myself pretty much all I know. In fact writing and growing this blog has led to my dream job. So you really never know where blogging could take you.
- Blogging is real. Because blogging can be incredibly personal you can feel like you really know the blogger and can catch a glimpse of their real lives. Most of us are just regular people sharing our achievable realities. Obviously, some people do have access to lifestyles that could rival the Kardashians. But for the majority of us ‘normal’ bloggers we’re just trying to inspire you with our latest MAC purchases or Primark hauls. And I’m glad that blogging encourages us all to be real.
- Blogging isn’t about winning. I used to think to be a ‘successful’ blogger it was all about the numbers. But over time I’ve realised that success can mean different things to different bloggers and that numbers don’t always count. You’re only in competition with yourself to be the best blogger you can be and that doesn’t necessarily mean being the ‘biggest’ blogger around.
- Blogging is about choice. One of the great things about blogging is that there isn’t a rulebook. You can blog about whatever you want to, whenever you want to. You can choose to keep certain things private or share every detail of your life, you can choose to post daily or once a week. The choice really is yours.
- Blogging forces you to be organised. Whether you’re posting once a day or once a month you will need to be organised with your blog. From brainstorming post ideas to taking pictures at the weekends you really have to manage your time well when you have a hobby like blogging.
- Blogging has made me realise how important is it to have a passion. I’ve never been someone who had a big passion or hobby. In fact, I look back now and wonder how I filled my time without my blog. But I’m so thankful to have it.
- Blogging has made me step out of my comfort zone. While you are in control of what kind of content you put out there. I’ve found the more I’ve been blogging, the more I want to share with you all. So much of my life is on social media and that’s taken some getting used to. But if anything it’s just boosted my confidence by being able to step outside my comfort zone.
And finally, one of the biggest things I’ve learnt since starting this blog. Is that great branding is key. You want to ensure that your blog stands out amongst the millions of others out there. And a great logo is an essential part of building your blog. And your brand. And I love the service you get from Logojoy. Not only are they affordable, and easy to use but they also use artificial intelligence to generate beautiful, unique logo ideas for your business.
If you’re a fellow blogger, what have you learnt since blogging?
The biggest thing i’ve learnt is on your list, being organised. I hate leaving my drafts empty. If i’m releasing a post I need to write another one that’s ready to be released.
I really enjoyed reading this having only started blogging two months ago!!! Thx for the advice I’ve taken it all onboard x
I’ve just started and a lot of these rang true for me! Especially the being organised one. And being passionate about a hobby 🙂
These are so true and i love the one about it not being about winning, there’s space for everyone so i don’t get the whole competitiveness of it all!
I definately agree with you about how there is no rule to blogging. You can wrote about whatever you like x
I’ve definitely been more organised since blogging and its great when u have a passion for it and enkoy what u do.
I agree with all of these points. I also feel like I’ve really come into my own and found my voice not only online but in real life too since blogging x
As a rookie blogger, its great to hear from a veteran that continues to find meaning and inspiration through her work!
I absolutely agree that at the core, the only ones we are racing against is ourselves. Success (and satisfaction) is not about accumulating and unwieldy mass of followers that infrequently engage, its about sharing our passion, and sharing it more eloquently as we hone our skills, with an audience that wants to share in the journey.
Great post. Thanks!
This is such a nice post! Blogging is definitely very real and makes you do and learn things you’ve never thought of before 🙂
Can totally relate to all of these and more!
I love a light read like this, great post! xx
http://www.styleandsplurging.net
To be more organised, also not to worry about numbers all the time like you say good is different to everyone and what might be a great achievement in my eyes is normal or irrelevant for the next blogger
All these ring true for me too, number 3 especially. I’ve been blogging on and off since 2011, last year I took the wordpress app of my phone to stop me fretting about my stats and removed myself from all the rankings, like tots100 etc. Now I bog just because I want to, not to try and keep up with everyone else x
I have learnt that blogging should be fun and not something you do for the sake of it. I really love blogging and have made so many friends.
I agree with all of these – I’ve been blogging just over a year…there’s so much to learn and there’s always room for growth.
Em x
http://happywiseowl.com
I really enjoy reading posts like this, because I’m new to blogging myself. It’s great that you’ve managed to learn and grow alongside your blog! x
Thanks for the very gracious mention – we’re glad you enjoy our platform!