Helloooooo internet!
I wanted to write a post today about my experience with
blogging thus far, because I think it is going to be really important for me to
chronicle as the blog grows, and may serve as a good source of information for
those who may want to start a blog in the future. I have been actively posting
here in Wonderland for about 4 1/2 months now, and also survived one whole
semester of blogging as a college student, so I want to share what I’ve learned
already! December has been my toughest month in terms of blogging so far, but I
am prepared to learn from my experiences, and maybe help you out too. Here
goes!
1) Do spend time planning your brand, but don’t stay rigidly within it.
Before posting, I took almost 2 months to doodle in a
journal, compile projects and inspiration, and establish my version of a brand
for my blog. I spent weeks tweaking the website layout and trying to decide
exactly what my blog was going to be like, and this was both good and bad. If I
had just up and started blogging with no planning period, I most likely would
have quickly become frustrated and given up.
That said, I was really mentally rigid in my plans for
this blog when I first began, and that in itself was a source of frustration
and confinement for me. Like any other new experience, I didn’t totally know
what blogging was going to be like until I started actually doing it. My vision
has already changed a little, and I think that is a really really good thing. I
am confident that my blog will continue to evolve and adapt the longer it is up
and running, but I’m also sure that some of the original stuff will stick
around. It’s healthy and necessary to have a balance of both, and I like that.
2) Your content reservoir will run out!
In that month or so before my posts started running, I
also photographed, wrote, and completed a ton of posts to get ahead of the
game. It made blogging really easy at first and was extremely helpful to have
that reservoir as I initially adapted to college. However, I wasn’t creating
anything new, just posting things I already had completed, which kind of went
against why I began blogging in the first place. I would suggest stockpiling
posts, sure, but also continually creating content as you go, so that you have
backup content for those crazy weeks and a creative outlet during all the other
ones.
3) Don’t be scared of the learning curve.
Even after what seemed like endless prep before beginning
my blog (I’ve wanted one for years!), I still had so much to learn once posts
actually started going through. Things from downloadable links and music
playlists, to photo taking and editing, to my style of writing itself all had
to develop in a classic case of “you don’t know what you don’t know!” My
earliest posts don’t have great photos, and the first time I published a music
playlist it was 5 songs long and all separate links to YouTube, which made it
impossible for someone to listen to it easily! But I have taken hints from
other blogs, have been learning, and will continue to learn as my blog keeps
going.
4) They aren’t lying—this is just like a job!
The thing about blogging is that if you choose to, you
are constantly producing content. Every couple days or so there is a new post,
new editing, new Instagramming and Pinteresting to do. And to be honest, I’ve
never really experienced that before. As a high school student, my life cycled
between semesters of work and pre-determined break periods, whereas my blog is
a constant thing. But just because my college semester ended doesn’t mean my
blog semester has. Like any job, you can allot some vacation days, but I think
it’s important for me to keep going and keep creating content! Another note
here is that blogging takes a lot more time than you think it will. So yes, it
is a big commitment.
5) Flexibility is your friend.
On the other hand, all the things I have previously
discussed are in reference to my own blogging schedule, in which I currently try
to post up to 4 times per week. I know of excellent blogs that both post more
and less, so it really is up to you! I have weeks where I post less or post more,
depending on what’s going on in my life, and I think that is one of the perks
of blogging! There are definitely perks to posting more often in terms of
followers (or so the articles I’ve read say), but I make a point to refocus
myself if I’m stressing majorly over getting a post done in time. I have to
remind myself that I love blogging because it is a creative outlet and escape
for me. I want to post often and post well because I care about this, but I
know that if I put unnecessary pressure on myself to perform, I will probably
burn out. That is the last thing I want for this blog—for it to fizzle out
because of my own stubbornness!
6) Your posting plans may fall through, but make them anyway.
After my first month of blogging, I started making a
calendar for my posts at the beginning of the month as per the suggestion by this
post. It really did help me gain a sense of direction for the month in
terms of posting, but there were tutorials I didn’t complete, posts I put
together instead, and the always scheduled but never planned Mondays in
Wonderland! It is important to make a schedule as a general plan, but also be
really flexible to new ideas that come along and old ideas that just aren’t
good.
7) Blogging is truly a labor of love, especially at first.
I am finally at the point where I get a few page views
every day and occasional comments, but in all honesty, my bog is still very
small. It is very easy for me to let this get me down. As I discussed in this
post, I am proud of what I am doing and I want the world to see it. That is
why I must remember that I am not blogging for pride or recognition.
I am blogging because I love writing and making things
and being positive, and I wanted an outlet for those things as I go through the
grind of a college education. If you start a blog with the objective to quickly
gain a following and make money, it probably won’t go as you think. I’ve read
this again and again from successful bloggers, and the slow growth of my corner
of the internet is certainly a testament to that.
But hey, I am happy. Although I needed a little break in
the midst of finals and holiday madness, I’m ready to get going again! I have
some fun tutorials coming up, some really pretty dresses, and a few weeks’ break
from school to regenerate the good vibes! I hope if you stumble upon this or
anything else on my blog that maybe it brightens your day or gets your creative
juices going! Those are the kind of objectives that I think are important to
stay true to!
What’s your blog journey been like, new or old or about
to begin? Any advice for me as I trek along?
Stay lovely,
