One Year Blogging: Four Things I’ve Learned

Celebrate good times, come on! *dances*

Yes, I’ll start there because this month this little blog is celebrating it’s first birthday! Let the party begin!

But before we party like it’s 1999, I wanted to share with you the four things I’ve learned blogging this past year. I’ve been reflecting upon what I have learned about blogging over the past few weeks and jotting down my ideas as they pop into my head. Of course, the first thing that came to mind was how it’s always on my mind. Ya, pretty much always. Somewhere in the back of my brain, no matter what I’m doing part of me is always thinking STRUCKBLOG– should I take a photo of this? Oh I could do a post on that! Oh that would be a great place to take photos for the blog…

[Tweet “Too often the blogging I see online and on social media is pretty, perfect and somewhat superficial.”]

Now please don’t get me wrong, I LOVE blogging. But, too often the blogging I see online and on social media is pretty, perfect and somewhat superficial. For this first birthday celebration, I’m going to let you into my world over the past year, and what it’s like to create, manage, grow and maintain your blog. Is everything always picture perfect? Absolutely not, you’ll see! Maybe you’ll have this great idea to buy a giant balloon, but maybe it starts to deflate on a blustery day. Keep smiling! That’s the attitude you need to maintain to start a successful blog.

01.
My Blog, My Baby

Yes, this is what happens, it kinda becomes your baby. No, I don’t have any children as of yet and in no way am I comparing having a blog to raising a child (although how some people do both I have no idea, you’re a hero). What I mean is that it becomes your responsibility. You’ve created something but that’s not good enough if you want to grow. You must produce content regularly, post on social media daily (or at least almost daily), create blog posts, brainstorm photo concepts, interact with your users and followers, fix technical problems and learn at least a little about SEO, CSS, HTML and other techno-acronyms. I’m not trying to scare you off, but I am telling you that you will need to devote yourself to your new creation while still living your normal life. I see ads sometimes where they make it look so easy, click “start blog” and ta-da! Yes, it can be easy if you’re a millionaire and can just hire people to work as your personal blogging team, but that’s not really what it’s all about and that brings me to my next point.

02.
You Are Your Blog

That’s right, YOU. Not your manager, social media management company, your website designer, or your digital marketer. I don’t have any of these people, I AM these people (well, my husband is also some of these people so I don’t have some kind of personal stress-induced breakdown, thank you hubby). Ask yourself why you started this blog in the first place. For me, I started it as a creative outlet, as a place to share and connect with others around the world who are going through a similar journey (you can read more about that on my About STRUCKBLOG page). Yes, that is what I am still doing, yes that is still my goal.

[Tweet “Blogging is a lot of work but not everyone will respect or acknowledge that.”]

It’s important to keep in mind because blogging is a business. No, you probably didn’t start blogging thinking “oh I’ll be able to quit my job and blog full time, sweet” but brands will begin to email you, companies will want to collaborate with you and you’ll have to think about what you and your blog stand for. Like I said, blogging is a lot of work but not everyone will respect or acknowledge that. They might just see numbers and really want to sell some stuff. That’s why you have to remember that you are your blog, Do you like their stuff? Do you believe in their product? Would you actually wear that? Don’t sell out, don’t outsource your baby. You will learn so much, and it’s so rewarding.

03.
Blogging is Photos

You’re going to skip reading this point because you’re really smart and you’re like “duh, yeah, obviously” – but I cannot stress this enough. Photos are everything and the caliber and quality of your photos will largely determine your success. It’s not enough to have a great blog post idea, list, or concept and just type it all out. It’s got to be engaging. Photos are the bloodline of your blog, they are the key to entertaining blog posts, inviting social media, and for telling your story in the most captivating way possible. Spectacular photos don’t just happen (well, sometimes you get lucky), usually you have to put thought into a beautiful location, take time to edit your photos (but don’t get crazy), ensure good lighting, and take a bunch so you get some where your face looks normal. Oh, maybe that’s just me. Most importantly, have fun creating them! I love taking photos and dreaming up in my imagination what the end result may look like. But sometimes it doesn’t totally work (like in these hilarious shots), and that’s totally ok. I’m not a professional model (and actually it’s harder than it looks) so I laugh at myself along the way. Your readers visit for you, not Gisele. So try to produce the best photos you can muster, they’re worth way more than a thousand words. Life is real and so are you!

04.
Blogging is Relationships

Over the last little while I’ve been getting emails about once a week (thanks for taking the time to contact me) asking for advice. I have no idea what on earth makes me some kind of expert, but I of course love to connect, share and chat with just about anybody. These emails completely flatter me, and I truly do feel honoured that other people care to hear my two cents. Thank you!

[Tweet “You need to devote time to your followers right back, give what you get, it’s human nature!”]

Often, I’m being asked how I started my blog, how to get started blogging, and how I’ve grown my Instagram so quickly over the past year. Well, the first thing I did was set a personal goal for myself. This sounds obvious, but like they say when you set your mind to something chances are you’ll get there. For example, when I first started my Instagram account I followed a lot of bloggers that inspired me and that I could learn from. I told myself “by the one year mark, I’m going to have a little ‘k’ beside my follower number too, I’ll get to 10k in a year.” That’s exactly what I did, but in ten months. Amazing, the power of personal motivation and my hubby playfully telling me “nah, you can’t do it” – just to push me further. To summarize, it’s all about relationships. Really it’s very simple: give what you get. Yes, it’s time consuming but if you want followers, follow people. Like photos back, make comments back, follow back. If you want to be successful on social media it’s going to take up a lot of your day, especially at first. You need to devote time to your followers right back, give what you get, it’s human nature!

I cannot believe a year has flown by and it’s been pretty awesome to see something born in my imagination take shape and grow. By far, that’s been the most rewarding thing about blogging. It’s awesome to put my creative energy towards something that I can share with the world and has become a platform for connecting with so many. Thank you so much for your visits, comments, likes, following, retweets, reposts and love! It means everything. Please do contact me if there is anything else you would like to know. As you can probably tell, I think blogging is fascinating! Would love to chat. Oh, and be sure to subscribe to receive new posts directly in your inbox.

—– Thank you to my absolutely spectacular husband who endlessly supports me and my lofty blogging dreams. I Love you! ♥ —–

Anna