Blogging Diary: 4 Months and Counting

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,