This month I’m celebrating my one year blogging anniversary! This has been such a fun adventure and a creative outlet for me. When I started my blog last year I told myself that if I helped just one woman feel more beautiful, inspired them to make something or find a great deal, I’ll consider my blog a success. And I AM considering it a success. In this post you will find the top lessons I’ve learned in my first year of blogging.
This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you were to purchase any of the items linked at no additional cost to you. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I have been consistently blogging for one year! Notice that I said “consistently.”
Technically, I first published my blog in December of 2018 but I didn’t begin posting consistently until May of 2019. So, I’m considering May my blogging anniversary.
Before I started this blog, I had been thinking about it for years. And this isn’t even my first blog! I dabbled on Blogger back in 2016 but didn’t keep up with it.
I realized if this is something I had been thinking about doing for years, I just needed to swallow my fears and go for it.
Things to know before starting a blog
I’ve learned A LOT this year! I taught myself how to build and manage a website, optimize for SEO, edit in Lightroom, and so many other things! To celebrate my blogging anniversary, I would like to share the most important lessons I’ve learned. If you’re thinking about starting a blog, this is the best advice I can offer so far.
Stop Caring About What Other People Think
This was my biggest hurdle to overcome before I finally hit “publish” on my blog. I kept wondering what others would think or how I could keep it a secret from people I knew. Finally I asked myself, why do I care? If you want to start a blog to help people and talk about your passion, DO IT! If people want to judge you for it, that’s their own problem.
Don’t Start a Blog to Make Money
If you think blogging is just an easy way to make money, you’re wrong. Blogging is a lot of hard work and your content needs to be authentic. Yes, you can make money with a blog, but if that is your sole purpose people will see through it.
The three core ways to earn an income with your blog are through affiliate marketing, brand deals and ads on your website. I enjoy affiliate marketing because it’s sort of passive. I am able to link the clothes I’m wearing or products I like and if someone clicks the link and buys the product I earn a small commission. The affiliate program I work with is connected to almost every major retailer, which makes things really simple!
You Likely Won’t Find Overnight Success
The blogging world is very saturated. There are a ton of blogs out there and it may be hard to stand out in the crowd. However, it’s also important to determine what success means to you. Does success mean 100k followers on Instagram, earning a profit or just having fun?
For me, success thus far has been proving that I can stay consistent with my blog posts and having fun with it. A lot of this year has been me just testing myself to see if I can keep up with posting.
Be Okay With Imperfection
By nature, I am a perfectionist and this has been something I have had to overcome. Is my website perfect? No. Do I love every one of my posts? No. Is my Instagram feed as beautiful as it could be? No.
You can’t let perfection stand in your way. To move forward, you have to take action and look past the little things that may bother you.
Post Consistently
Set a posting goal and stick with it. For me, I try to publish one new blog post a week. Many bloggers post much more frequently, a lot of them post once a day. However, once a week is feasible for me since I work full-time.
It’s okay if posting once a week isn’t feasible for you. Posting twice a month is okay too! What you don’t want to do is post a lot and then not post for months at a time.
This is the hardest part about blogging for me. Life gets really busy, but you have to make time for your blog. I try my best to post once a week, even though I did miss a few weeks this year.
My Favorite Blog Posts
To celebrate my blogging anniversary, I would like to highlight some of my favorite posts! I am trying to incorporate more DIY content into my blogging schedule. My reverse tie dye blog post has been by far the most popular.
- How To Reverse Tie Dye a Sweatshirt with Bleach
- 4th of July Outfits You Can Wear Again
- What To Wear For Winter Engagement Photos
- DIY Pearl Hoop Earrings
If you’re thinking about starting a blog, feel free to reach out to me or leave a comment below! I absolutely love talking about blogging, I could talk about it all day!
This is an important milestone to me because I proved to myself that I could blog and keep up with it. I’m more proud of myself than ever and it’s a wonderful feeling.
Thanks for reading!
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