Last updated on December 28th, 2022 at 09:28 am
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It is May 2022 which means it’s my blog birthday this month. Two years, to be exact.
It’s weird because it doesn’t feel like it’s been 2 years. It feels like I’ve been doing this forever.
As a way to celebrate, I wanted to write a blog birthday post on all the lessons I’ve learned so far on my blogging journey.
Blog Birthday Lesson #1: Creating Content Isn’t the Hardest Part
A huge part of blogging is writing. You will hear bloggers moan and groan about creating content.
Although struggling with writer’s block is very real, it’s not something I’ve dealt with a lot.
Since a lot of bloggers talk about this topic so much, I honestly thought I would struggle more with creating content.
But that’s my favourite part. Maybe because it’s only my second blog birthday but I find myself still having so much to say.
It could also be that I’ve been training myself to shoot out a new blog post every Thursday. It’s practically a habit now so I don’t feel like it’s been extremely difficult.
There are other aspects of blogging I struggle with a lot more.
2) You’ll Feel Mixed Emotions
Depending on the day, you’re either proud of your blog (like now because it’s my blog birthday) or feel like you’ve still got a long way to go.
If I’m feeling productive or am in a good mood that day, thinking about my blog will make me smile.
I will think about the number of times I was close to giving up on blogging but stuck it out.
Then you have the days when you’re sitting with your computer thinking how much more you have to get done. Thinking about your blog journey sounds absolutely painful.
Those types of days usually come more often than good days, to be honest.
I’ve been able to get over those bad days so far by taking breaks. When you focus too much on what you haven’t done, the thought can be paralyzing.
Each time, all I can do is tell myself that I need to take a breather. Focus on one step at a time.
If I’m feeling too overwhelmed to the point where I need to focus on actively breathing, it’s a big sign that I’m done for the day.
3) You’re Always Adapting
Blogging is constantly changing. One of the things that won’t change is that you need to post content consistently.
Although it’s my second blog birthday, I still very much consider myself to be at the beginning of my blogging journey. I feel like I’m only at the tip of the iceberg.
Okay, maybe beginning to middle, but there’s still much yet to be discovered. So much I still haven’t done.
When you first start, all bloggers recommend growing your traffic through Pinterest. They say that you’re supposed to pin more than 10 pins a day on Pinterest. Or even more!
That’s a ridiculously high number. If I had joined earlier and followed the piece of advice, I might have gotten more traffic.
In 2022, this method is no longer recommended.
Pinterest is an ever-changing platform. Now, the platform prefers quality over quantity. Many bloggers now say you pin about 2-5 pins a day.
If you go overboard with pinning, Pinterest can even block your account. They might see it as a spam account.
You need to stay up to date with the rules and adapt.
4) Blogging Can Be Lonely
The people that know about my blog in real life are extremely small.
From the start, I decided to keep my blog a secret. On my second blog birthday, this still holds true.
While my friends have been supportive, I’m not sure how much they truly understand because they’re not a blogger.
There are always blogging communities (mostly Facebook groups). These are the people I go to for blogging advice. It’s also a way of promoting my blog.
Everyone I’ve met on those platforms has been extremely helpful and encouraging. However, they are not people I know on a personal level like my own friends and family.
There is a difference between talking to people who can help you and those who truly know you.
Do you know what I mean?
There are moments when you will feel lonely because you’re doing everything by yourself.
Sometimes, I even wish I partnered up with someone on my blog. It would lift some burden off my shoulders. It would also make me feel less alone.
5) You will Hear Conflicting Advice
When you ask people for their opinion, you will get different answers.
For example, I didn’t know how I felt about the website, Medium. I’ve had bloggers tell me other than working on SEO and creating pins, Medium is a great website to gain more readers.
Some bloggers have every single one of their blog posts on Medium AND their website. They said it’s been working well for traffic.
On the other hand, some bloggers disagree.
They were like, ‘well if readers can see everything on Medium already, why would they go on your website?’
Their suggestion is to post a snippet of your blog post on Medium then leave them hanging. Say something along the lines of ‘for more, please go to my website.’
Quite frankly, to this day, I’m not sure what the correct thing to do is. Both of them make sense.
My current priority is editing old blog posts to make them SEO-friendly and creating new pins.
So posting on Medium is going to have to take a backseat. I’ll consider it more later.
You will hear conflicting advice from bloggers and ultimately, it’s up to you to decide on what you think is best for your blog.
6) Promoting Your Blog Might Feel Unnatural
A big lesson I’ve learned is that promoting your blog might feel uncomfortable at first.
While re-reading my first blog anniversary post, I knew promotion was something I was going to spend a lot of time doing.
And I have.
I’ve been spending more time promoting my blog this year compared to the last.
A feeling that keeps popping up is feeling shameless.
I grew up in an environment where modesty has always been considered a virtue. Even when someone compliments you, you’re supposed to brush it off.
When you’re promoting your blog online, you’re essentially asking strangers to check out your blog.
You have to believe that your website has GREAT content and push those feelings of shamelessness aside.
(But don’t go too overboard with promoting or else the feeling of shamelessness is justified. You might also be kicked out of blogging communities).
7) You Can Always Fix it Later
A lot of new bloggers seem to worry about making everything perfect from the start.
I was like that too.
Thinking about how everything needs to be exactly to your heart’s desire is too much.
Also, you might think it’s perfect at the time but you might change your mind later.
Editing my blog posts is the perfect example. When I first started, I didn’t think my writing was that bad but now, looking at them is making me go ‘yikes.’
But I’m fixing them now.
With some things, you truly need time and experience to get better at something. If I hadn’t spent so much time writing the past two years, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
I’m not saying I’m very good at blogging but I’ve improved. That’s all I can ask for, right?
8) Everything is at Your Own Pace
There are times when I REALLY don’t feel like doing anything blog related. I know I should but instead, I procrastinate.
It took me the longest time to create a blog planner freebie. Creating the planner wasn’t even that hard but I just kept putting it off.
I pushed it off for months before having to force myself to sit at my desk to work on it.
I even questioned myself when it was completed. Why didn’t I get it done earlier?
Being a blogger means a lot of things are up to you.
Do you feel like writing 4 draft blog posts today and scheduling them for the next month? Done!
You didn’t post any content on your blog for one month? That’s also on you.
Everything is at your own pace. You might not feel rushed since no one is pushing you. You have to push yourself.
Sometimes, that’s even harder because you’ll find yourself making all kinds of excuses.
Final Blog Birthday Lesson #9: You Will Make a Lot of Mistakes
What’s something you would tell your younger self if you could turn back time?
Mine is doing SEO from the start. I procrastinated because I thought SEO was too hard.
I would figure it out eventually. That thinking led me to months without doing much for SEO.
Looking back, what was I thinking?
If I had started learning more about SEO from the get-go, I wouldn’t have to spend so much time going back to clean up old blog posts.
I messed up and now, I’m paying for it.
And let me tell you, reworking SEO is not fun.
No wonder all bloggers emphasize SEO.
There’s a reason!
It’s easy to look back and think about all the things you should have done.
You will make a lot of mistakes throughout your blogging journey. It’s all a part of the process.
You live and you learn.
Final Thoughts – Blog Birthday
I didn’t even realize how many blog lessons I’ve learned until this post. By sitting down to properly reflect on my journey, I was able to write a whole blog post about this topic.
Happy blog birthday to Watercolour Marks! It’s a bit weird to say that but as a whole, I have been pretty satisfied with my blogging journey.
I have a good feeling this is far from the end. When I look back at this blog post one day, I’ll probably realize how much more I have learned.
I am looking forward to celebrating another blog birthday as I continue to work on my website.
Now to You – Your Blog Birthday
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Xoxo,
Nicole