The Life Of A Blogger: One Year Blogiversary

One year ago today, I decided to take the plunge and start my blog. It has been a TON of work, but it is worth it. Here are a few things I’ve learned about the life of a blogger.

The decision to start a blog wasn’t an easy one for me. The idea of starting a blog seemed overwhelming and daunting. I contemplated it for about a year before I actually started blogging. Check out this post on Medium about why I started blogging.

Let me tell you, when I started, I knew absolutely NOTHING about blogging! Like zero. Nada.

I questioned myself, “What made me think that I was special and that I could be a successful blogger?”

Nothing really. The only thing I knew was that when I decide to do something, I tend to go all in. I research and learn as much as I can, and I just keep working hard. I’m not much of a quitter. Sometimes I can go a little overboard. Check out this post for some great advice for new bloggers.

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There is SO MUCH to blogging and so much information to learn. I spent so much time researching and I knew I had to just jump in and get started. I mean you could spend YEARS researching and reading different articles about blogging, how to start a blog, how to have a successful blog, etc. The list could go on forever, but I knew at some point I just needed to start and learn along the way.

I took this amazing course by Elna Cain and that was a game changer for me! It was very helpful and really helped me to improve my blog and my traffic.

I am still learning new things every day and I still have so much to learn. I think that is one of the great thing about starting a blog. The opportunities and knowledge you can learn are endless!

As I was doing my research, I remember coming across a post (I am not even sure who wrote it or where I found it), but they said most bloggers won’t make it one year. I was determined to make it past a year. Well, here I am! I am here to tell you that if I can do it, anyone can do it! Here are some tips for starting a blog.

I currently work part-time (about 25-28 hours a week) at my “day job”, take care of my children (I only have childcare 2 days a week), and blog about 5-10 hours a week depending on the week. I wanted to share with you a little more about what I’ve learned about blogging and what life is like as a blogger.

Here are a few things I’ve learned along my blogging journey:

1. If you are feeling burnt out, it’s ok to back off on the time you are spending on blogging or to take a little breather. We need to take care of our mental health too!
   • I love blogging and when I first started, I spent every spare second blogging. I noticed it was taking quality time away from my children, and that wasn’t a goal of mine with starting a blog. In the last couple of months, I have backed off on my time commitment a bit to allow more time for my family.
     • This has certainly affected my growth and traffic to my blog, but I am ok with that. I wanted blogging to stay fun for me and I knew if I kept going at the pace that I was, I would get burnt out.
     • For me, this meant taking a month off to breathe and get a fresh view of things. This won’t work for everyone, but since I am not relying on my blogging income, I was in a good position to take care of my mental health.
     • My advice would be, don’t get caught up in what everyone else is doing and how much traffic everyone else has. Do what works for you, your schedule, and your life.
     • My goal for the next year is to maintain a healthy work-life balance for both my day job and blogging.
2. Write down your goals and a plan.
   • When I first started blogging, I just did things on a whim. Whatever I felt like that day is what I did. I had no plan. It was fun, but it didn’t get me very far and it didn’t take long for me to get quite overwhelmed.
   • Things can certainly change along the way, but this will help you get some direction. I like to make yearly, monthly, and weekly plans. I use this planner to help me stay on track.
3. It’s going to take a lot of work and time. Don’t give up on yourself. Keep working hard and keep learning.
   • Once you start just keep going. Put in whatever time your schedule allows and keep chugging along.
   • You got this!

Here is what life of a blogger looks like for me:

1. Writing posts for both my blog and Medium.
2. Editing, optimizing, and proofreading both new and old posts.
3. Promoting my blog and posts on social media.
   • I am currently active on Facebook, Pinterest, and Reddit to promote my blog.
   • Check out this Medium post for how I use Reddit to grow my blog traffic.
4. Reading other blogs (and not just blogs about blogging) and interacting with those posts.
5. Checking and answering emails.
6. Interacting with comments on both my blog and my Medium account.
7. Research and plan future topics to write about.
8. Analyze stats and use this to help plan future topics and see what is working for my blog.
9. Create printables, infographics, etc.
10. Learning about blogging and how to improve my skills. I have been taking this great course by Elna Cain. It is affordable and has so much great information!

Until I started blogging, I had no idea how many different balls that bloggers had to juggle. I am still amazed as to how much I have learned in the last year!

My main advice (not just for bloggers but for everyone): Don’t give up hope, keep learning, and keep pushing forward! You can do it!

What other tips do you have for new bloggers? I would love to hear any advice that anyone has!