Last updated on December 28th, 2022 at 10:33 am
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This blog post is dedicated to one of the most significant blog milestones I’ve reached so far: my first blog anniversary.
Happy birthday to my baby!
Isn’t it weird how one year can feel so long and short at the same time? Typing out my accomplishments (even though some of them are small) made me realize I’ve done quite a lot of stuff in the past 12 months.
Honestly, I’m not sure if I would have gotten back into blogging if it wasn’t for quarantine. This time allowed me to reflect and gave me the courage to go after what I really want.
When I started blogging, I didn’t really think about how the odds were against me. I barely knew anything except the fact that I wanted to blog.
There was no plan on what to write about or how to grow my blog. All I knew was that although I failed my first blog, this was something that I still couldn’t get out of my mind.
I took baby steps and tried a bunch of things. It didn’t go anywhere so I enrolled in a bunch of courses – completed some of them while abandoning others.
Blog Milestones – The Yays
Within the year alone, these are some of the blog milestones that happened:
- Bought my domain
- Posted my first blog post
- Created my social media accounts
- Got my first comment
- Joined Facebook groups
Some of these happened so quickly that I don’t remember all the exact details of how they happened, but I want to talk about a few of them in detail.
Long Blog Posts
Generally speaking, one blog post should be 1000+ words. It depends, of course, on what you’re writing about but longer blog posts do better with SEO and social media sharing. These are both things you care about.
Something I’m proud of is writing long blog posts. Almost all of these blog posts written within the first year are at least 1000+ words.
It sounds like a lot but once you start writing, you’ll realize it’s not actually that hard to get to 1000+ words per blog post.
Just keep thinking about what other information you can add to make this piece of content better.
Posting Consistently
I didn’t know where to put this because it could have belonged in the yay or nay category but I’m going to put it here.
I wasn’t posting consistently in the first few months which was a huge problem as a beginner blogger. How can I gain readers if there’s no consistent schedule to share content?
So about halfway through the year, I made a promise to myself to push out a weekly blog post for at least one year. The timing also coincided with New Year’s and I wanted to prove to myself that I can accomplish my New Year’s goal (I did).
Writing a weekly blog post was extremely difficult at first. I had to get down to write when I wasn’t in the mood.
With school or work, there’s a firm deadline because someone is counting on you. With blogging, there was no one to push me. It was on me to discipline myself.
I struggled a lot but eventually kept my promise.
This is one of the blogging milestones I’m most proud of.
(If you look at my blog now, you will notice there is not a blog post every week. I republished and/or deleted some irrelevant posts but I did do this.)
Blog Milestones – The Difficulties
This blogging journey wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. There were moments when it was rainy and stormy.
Made some mistakes. Okay, a lot of mistakes. Some I’ve fixed and some I’m still working on.
Working on SEO
Bloggers constantly emphasize the importance of SEO but I kept putting it off. I could have finished learned about SEO way earlier in my journey instead of waiting until near my first anniversary to get it going (I’m still trying to figure out keyword research which is arguably one of the most important aspects of SEO).
SEO takes months to see results. I lost out on that time that I can’t get back. I’m trying hard not to dwell on that too much. There’s nothing I can do to reverse time.
At least, I’m getting better at SEO. Going forward, I will implement all the SEO techniques I’ve learned from the course SEO Jumpstart so that all posts will be SEO-friendly articles.
Blog Layout
A lot of bloggers have seemingly complicated layouts.
I want my blog theme to be simple but then it seemed unprofessional in comparison.
It took me some time to figure out the menu categories because I couldn’t make up my mind.
I’m sticking with my theme for now, but I will be open to change if something better comes up.
Almost Giving Up
When it comes to pursuing a long-term goal, most of us go through a period where we are close to giving up.
Yeah, me too.
I felt hopeless many times. Everything seemed like it was so much effort with no proven results.
Should I continue with this?
Maybe I should spend time doing something else. There are so many amazing bloggers out there. Plain old me joining the blogging world wouldn’t even matter.
One bad thought can easily spiral into having doubts about everything.
One day, I came across an online article about how 95% of bloggers give up on their blogs. I was mildly shocked at the statistic at first but when I thought about it, it’s not that surprising.
People might love the idea of owning a blog but eventually realize they don’t want to put in all that effort when real life gets in the way. They decide that it’s just not worth it anymore so they shut it down.
Oddly enough, that statistic was inspiring.
If you want something badly, you have to work for it.
Instead of being a part of that 95%, I want to become a part of that 5% that won’t quit. This thought gave me strength many times and is one of the reasons how I made it to my one-year anniversary.
I don’t want to give up, not now and not in the near future.
The Next Steps
There are so many other blog milestones I’ve yet to achieve.
Mastering keyword research is one of them. This won’t be easy but after procrastinating, I think I’ll eventually rise to the challenge.
I have to go back to editing old blog posts to ensure that they are high quality.
I’m still a bit shy about promoting my site. Having great content would significantly boost my confidence because then I know I’m providing something valuable to the public.
The next thing on my to-do list is being more active on social media. I received a Twitter notification celebrating my first year but have barely posted on there. Although my blog is always going to be the main platform, I want to branch out to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.
There are a million more things I want to accomplish but I don’t want this section to be super long.
This blog post is about celebrating my one-year anniversary and reflecting on my journey, not what are all the other things I have to still do.
Advice – Blog Milestones
Reaching your one-year blog anniversary still puts you in the beginner (or maybe intermediate) category. This is only the beginning of your blogging journey.
Most of us aren’t an expert in blogging yet but we’re far ahead of those who gave up in a few months.
The biggest advice is to keep going. Also, be open to continually learning because the blogging world keeps changing.
It is vital to be adaptable as you continue to navigate this industry.
I can’t wait to see where this path will take me. Here’s to us reaching our 2nd blog anniversary and more!
Now to You – Blog Milestones
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Xoxo,
Nicole