So… I’ve been blogging seriously for a little over 18 months now. It’s not that long, but for someone as young that’s me, that’s a pretty fair chunk out of my life. Just saying. *shrugs*

I guess now I’ve just been thinking about what I’ve learned and how I’ve grown from blogging since May 2017, which is when I truly started. I mean, after a year and a half of blogging, surely I can manage my own site, right?

Well anyway, it’s time to get into the juicy stuff. *rubs hands* I’m excited to dig in and see what I’ve actually learned over the months.

Consistency is a habit you need to build

You know the saying ‘consistency is key’? That’s because it is. Consistency is really important when it comes to writing. The kind of consistency I’m talking about is more on when you release your posts or your videos or well, anything on your platform. Consistency means your followers know when you release a new post, so your traffic stays relatively consistent.

But consistency is hard. Stuff comes up, lots of things need to be done, and sometimes it seems like you don’t have any time to draft that post or edit that video.

And my only solution? Get it done. Unless you prioritize that new post, it’s not going to get done. Maybe it’s through a couple of minutes each day, or a few hours set aside on a particular day. It all depends on what fits you best.

One more thing. Don’t set yourself goals you can’t reach. Personally, I do best writing 1-2 posts a week (one for my group blog and another for this site). Preferably one post. On my group blog, we used to release posts every third day. It was difficult to stay consistent for a long period of time and we eventually changed it to Tuesdays and Saturdays. But even after that, consistency was tough, so now it’s once a week and right now, that’s fairly manageable.

Generally, I write, edit, and publish posts on the same day. It’s not the best way to do it, but it’s what works for me and I honestly hope I don’t sacrifice quality by doing it this way. Occasionally I do batch create, but I don’t do it often as I’m busy with school and other things. Like you know, a lot of us 🙂

Having backups is insanely helpful

Speaking of batch creating, it can be so helpful to batch create sometimes and have a few backups on hand. (If you don’t know what batch creating is, it’s where you sit down and write a bunch of blog posts in one shot.) If you happen to be sick or on vacation or anything, you don’t have to sacrifice consistency. Just use one of your backup posts – one that you wrote a while ago – and schedule it for the date it’s supposed to be posted. I’m not sure if that works on other blogging hosts – I’ve used Blogger, WordPress, and am currently on Bluehost – but it definitely makes life a whole lot easier.

It’s helpful even if you’re not sick or on vacation. We all have those days where you’re just running dry on inspiration and creativity and those words just don’t flow. If all else fails, post the backup. And then take a break and recharge.

So if you ever have a day off or something, spend some time batch creating. You never know when it could come in handy.

Popularity doesn’t come rapidly

Um, yeah. This is very true. Even after blogging for 18 months, the most comments I’ve received on any one post is about what? Two? (My friends are more popular than me on my group blog). So even if you do post consistently, it could be years before people start to notice your blog, or your YouTube channel, or any kind of platform you have.

If you’re thinking about starting something like a website, don’t expect there to be much traffic from the start. Just keep working at it, keep producing quality content, and keep being consistent. It’ll pay off some day – only don’t give up.

Your writing continues to grow the more you do it

Yeah, this is definitely an area I’ve grown in. When I look back at my old posts (actually I don’t even like looking back at my old posts), I think they’re good…ish. 

They were as good as I could make them in the past, but honestly, there wasn’t an amazing amount of quality stuff I could learn from my posts. Some posts I’m actually really proud of, and some are ones that should probably remain hidden below the pile of blog posts. It’s complicated. Talk to any writer and they’ll tell you about the struggles of reading old writing.

But guess what? I didn’t stay in that place. I kept writing new posts, and I think I can say today that the quality of my blog posts has improved. 

It’s the same for anyone. If you keep at what you do, you will learn more and you will grow in it. You’ll get better and better. It’s not a circle where it’s an unending loop of getting better, then starting again. It’s an infinite line of possibility.

Design counts for a lot

As people, we judge everything based on how it looks. It’s a terrible habit, but unfortunately that’s how we work. I’ve seen sites with great content, but a mediocre design. It’s the same for you. You could have amazing content on your blog, yet super low levels of traffic because people have opened your blog, decided it wasn’t pleasing to their eyes, and then closed the tab.

Yeah, you don’t want that.

I get that design isn’t something that all people have, but that’s okay. Get a friend to help you, or maybe hire a professional website designer to help you redesign your site. The better your site looks, the more professional it seems.

And the more professional it seems, the more traffic you should get.

The blogosphere is actually pretty nice

I may not have had many comments on my group blog, but I can say that I’ve never had a single bad comment. Some were encouraging and others more thought-provoking, but most were respectful and generally nice comments.

Yes, I get that there are people out there who can comment terrible things that can put you down. I frequent several blogs, and I know a blogging friend who has had people swear at her and try to discourage her from what she’s doing. But do you know what she does? She likes the comment and doesn’t let it affect her. Because she’s that great of a queen 😉

Overall though, most of the comments I see on blogs are fairly positive. Other bloggers are generally quite friendly, so if you’re just starting out, the blogosphere isn’t going to be filled with sharks waiting to tear you down. Just a small piece of encouragement 🙂

That’s all I have for now!

Do you have a blog? If you do and I haven’t heard of it yet, paste the link in the comments below! I’d love to check it out. Or maybe you’re an experienced blogger, and you’ve learned quite a number of lessons. At any rate, feel free to chat with me because a comment every once in a while could make my day.

All the best,