10 Things I’d Tell myself when I first Started Blogging

I am on my 6th month Anniversary of blogging. Time flies when you are having fun. This is actually my second blog. My first blog was really an outlet for everything I was going through at the time. I had that blog for quite a few years. I thought I would have it forever. But, people change and I knew I had to let go of that blog. Because the girl who wrote it was not the woman that I am today. 6 months ago I started this blog. I want it to be a reflection of who I am. I also decided I wanted to keep a log of my life. More then just on Facebook or Instagram. Honestly, my blog friends know more about me then most people in my real life do. Only a handful of people that I know actually know about my blog.

 1. That I am starting the blog for myself.   I do write my blog for myself. It was started and still is a place for me to write my thoughts and document my life.  It is nice to have an audience. I always try to write things that I think people will find funny or interesting.

 2.  I learned that pictures are very important. Also, the size of the pictures matter. And editing said pictures. Sometimes I get lazy and leave them the way they are.However,  I also love using picmonkey or editing pictures on my phone.

3. It takes a lot of time and effort to meet new people. You have to invest a lot of time and energy into getting to know people. Leaving comments are very important. Even if people do not leave comments back on your blog if you really want to get to know someone keep commenting. Follow them on social media. Show them you are interested in who they are and that you would like to become friends. In most cases people will follow you back and you might even become friends.

4. Blogging does not cost a lot of money. However, I learned it does cost some money. I invested in getting my domain. It was the best decision I ever made. I also paid for my layout. That was the second best decision I ever made with my blog. It didn’t cost me a lot of money but the money it did cost was so worth it. If you can spend a little on a domain and make your blog looking the way you want it to you won’t regret it.

5. Comments Don’t matter. Sometimes I am still guilty of thinking this. Of course comments are not the most important thing. However, it is always nice to get comments and to know that people appreciate and like your blog.

6. Be yourself. Don’t write solely what you think people will find entertaining. Don’t try to be someone you are not just because you think it will get you more readers or comments. Eventually people will see through the facade and know you are not being authentic.

7. Other people have a more interesting life then me. I learned that in some cases yes this is true. People will always have something going on that makes their life seem more interesting. But, it’s better to not constantly compare your life to other people. They say the grass always looks greener on the other side. I think this is true. We often see other peoples lives and think other people have a more exciting life then we do. Even if this is not always the case. You can always try to do more things to make your life more exciting. I am working on this since I don’t find my life very interesting. One of my goals is to have more confidence and to try to get out of my shell more often.

8. proofread before hitting publish. I am guilty of just writing a post so fast I don’t even think about any spelling or grammar errors. Then I read my blog post after I hastily hit publish and see my mistakes. So I quickly edit and pray no one saw the mistakes.

9. Make sure you are not a no-reply blogger. When I started blogging again I never even knew this was a thing. Until someone (Amanda) pointed this out to me. Which, I am and will always be grateful for. I figured out how to fix it and now I am a reply blogger. Yay!! So, if you notice someone is a no-reply blogger tell them. They will be grateful. And go check out Amanda’s Blog.

10. You don’t have to constantly blog. I am learning to blog more. I’m guilty of just slacking off. I haven’t taken weeks off from my blog. However, I think I did miss a week here and there. Last week I barely blogged at all. Yes, life get’s in the way. And I do struggle still with coming up with new content for my blog. (which, is why I love these challenges.) But, then you get on a roll and it feels awesome. I also am able to occasionally schedule my posts. That makes me feel even more awesome. And most importantly don’t give up. Building readers and making your blog exactly the way you want it takes time. But, at the end of the day it is so worth it.