Can you believe I’ve blogged for nearly 2 years? I can’t, that’s for sure. It’s so weird to think that I’ve been consistent with this for 2 years when I thought I would give up within 6 months. It’s become such a daily habit of mine that I don’t even notice the months go by sometimes. Either way, here I am, 2 years later and still going strong! I’ve made mistakes, learned a few things, and made some great friends over the course of that time, and I want to share with you what all of that has taught me so far.
YOU’RE CONSTANTLY LEARNING
Even though this is a post about what I’ve learned thus far, I know there will be more as I continue. I’m always changing the way I blog, the way I engage, what I talk about, and more. It’s a constant process as you encounter issues you need to resolve or just change as a person. Never think you have it all figured out.
IT’S LIKE A PART TIME JOB
Seriously. One of my top 5 pieces of advice to new bloggers or people considering starting a blog is to make sure you have enough time to put into it. I’m not saying you have to invest all of your free time to it, but just enough to actually do it. Personally, that means several times a week of writing posts, blog hopping, replying to comments, or any other task related to my blog. I probably put at least 15 – 20 hours into my blog per week. This isn’t something I expected when I started. I thought writing posts was going to be easy, I thought commenting on other blogs was going to be easy. Boy, was I wrong because all of it takes so much time.
NOT ALL ADVICE WILL HELP
BUT CONSIDER MOST
Even though I’ve provided blogging advice since the beginning of last year, I’m still going to tell you that not all advice will be helpful. It just isn’t. Sometimes something that works for one blogger just won’t work for you. This is something I’ve learned throughout the years when trying out some advice from others, only to discover that it’s not for me.
However, I did at least try it, and that’s my second point. Always consider all the advice you read because you just might find something that works 100x better than what you’re doing. That’s how I discovered Bloglovin’ (I was pretty anti-it before), how I found that commenting back isn’t something that is feasible for me, and how I learned that Mailchimp was a better option for my email subscribers than regular WordPress. As my mother always says, “Don’t knock it till you try it”.
CONSISTENCY ISN’T ALWAYS KEY
When I started blogging, I thought that I had to post the same days every week with the same type of post each day. I had a schedule and I followed it 100%. As time went on, I found that it just didn’t always work. Sticking to a schedule like that caused some stress because sometimes I wouldn’t have time to write a post or I had no idea what to talk about. It also didn’t work because it caused burn out. So, what I learned is that having a “guide” for what I post is more helpful and that breaks are not the end of the world.
I’ve gone 1-2 weeks without posting. I’ll tell you what didn’t happen: I didn’t lose followers, I didn’t get shunned, and I didn’t lose friends. It’s okay to break consistency if it’s something that doesn’t work for you.
IT’S A GIVE & TAKE HOBBY
You can’t give nothing to the community or your blog and expect something in return.
You can’t just run your blog and expect people to flock to you. This isn’t something I ever expected out of blogging – but I did notice two things in the past 2 years. One, when I take a break or get lazy with my blog, the amount I talk to you guys is definitely affected. Two, when I notice that other bloggers don’t seem to put time into their blog, I don’t always follow them.
If you want loyal readers, care about your blog. Design it with the reader in mind.
If you want people to comment, care about your content. Write something original, solve a problem for your reader, help them out somehow.
If you want to make friends, reach out to other bloggers – comment on their blogs, share their posts on social media, talk to them on other social platforms.
It’s give & take. Give to the community and they’ll give back.
THE FRIENDS YOU MAKE IS WORTH IT
All the stress and time you put into your blog is worth it because of the community. Sure, it’s not always perfect, but you’ll find a group of friends that you can always rely on to fangirl with you, complain with you, and just be awesome. Speaking of which, here are a few bloggers that have stuck around this long with me and that I cherish so much. Some I talk to all the time, some are friends that I can always rely on to comment something great, and they’re all people I look up to:
- Mikaela from The Well-Thumbed Reader
- Shannon from It Starts at Midnight
- Lauren from Wonderless Reviews
- Kai from Quartzfeather
- Grace from Rebel Mommy Book Blog
- Kristen from Metaphors & Moonlight
- Ashleigh from A Frolic Through Fiction
- Marie from Drizzle & Hurricane Books
- Kei from The Lovely Pages Reviews
- Mahriya from My Bookish Life
*If you’re not on this list, don’t fret! I cherish all of you but I can’t make this list too long. There are so many not on here that I appreciate and read regularly. You are all awesome for even being here in the first place!
Well, I hope some of that was helpful for you! It’s what I’ve learned and I hope it resonates with a few of you. Thank you all so much for sticking around this long with me!
What are some things you’ve learned in the time you started blogging?
46 Comments
Congratulations on two years blogging!
I havenot been blogging very long and I’m just starting to learn a lot of this stuff myself. I did not expect it to take up so much of my time but I always wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I do!
Here’s to many more years of blogging!! ❤︎
Ah, well welcome to blogging! It’s a lot of fun, even if it does take a lot of time. 🙂
Congrats on 2 years of blogging!! It goes by fast right?!? I will agree on so many of these especially it being like a part tie job. It is a lot of work! Fun but work. I am finally giving into not having to be super consistent and taking time when I need it. Aw so glad to make your list 🙂
Thank you! I’m not quite there yet, but I’m super close! I think it’s technically the 15th o 16th hahah I don’t even know. Anyways, I’m rambling…THANK YOU!
I love this. #4 is hard for me, and I need to remember this! I 100% agree with #1, #2, and #6!! The blogging friends is what keeps me doing this!
Ah, yeah, I’m still working on it myself. I go through phases where I’m more relaxed with the schedule, and other times that I worry a lot. It’s an ever-changing mood hahah
Definitely some good lessons here! I too didn’t realize the sheer amount of time I would end up devoting to my blog. I mean, I did have a lot of free time, so that helps! Consistency works for me, but you’re right, it doesn’t work for everyone. I also agree that what you put in affects what you get out of blogging. If you take the time to post somewhat often and interact with other bloggers, it makes people want to come back to your blog. I don’t have a huge readership, but I definitely think that blog-hopping and commenting on other people’s posts has helped me build good relationships with other bloggers.
Ah, yes, it takes so much time. But luckily I have a lot of free time too! haha so it works for us. Readership will come over time. I remember when I hit my first 50 followers, it was so exciting. Just keep up the good work! 🙂
Congrats on two years of blogging, Molly! <3
Thank you 🙂
AWW HAPPY TWO YEARS!!! 🎉 That’s so amazing. I really love and relate to this post! I’ve only been blogging for six months, but I’ve still learned A LOT of things. BLOGGING TAKES SO MUCH TIME I AGREE. But, like you said, the community makes up for it! I’ve made so many friends and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. I hope you continue blogging for a long long time! 🙂
Thank you! Eep, happy six months! That’s a big deal. Like I said in the post, I thought I would give up by 6 months haha.
Happy blogversary!!!!
Thank you! 🙂
congratulations on this milestone! I love these advice points, I would agree with all of them, especially the time commitment one. I would have never expected that for my blog as well, but it’s 100000% true!
Eep, thank you so much! And yes, its very much worth it 🙂
Congratulations on two years of blogging! I just hit a year and a half and it’s wild to realize how long I’ve been doing this already. The time really does fly by!
This is a great list and I agree with a lot of what you’ve said here. If I’ve learned anything about blogging during the time I’ve had my blog, it’s definitely that you are ALWAYS learning. When I first made my blog, I had no idea how much there was to learn about and continue to improve upon. And as far as advice goes, I’ve definitely learned to take it all with a grain of salt. A lot of it has been useful and has helped me grow my blog into something I’m proud of, but like you said, what works for one blogger may not work for you and us bloggers need to realize that it’s totally fine if that’s the case!
Thank you so much! Happy 1 1/2 years! 🙂 Also, agree with all of that (obviously haha). I’ve found some things that work for some popular blogs that I just hated doing/having on my blog. So, always find what works for you 🙂
Agree with everything – and I’d add – be flexible and try and be open to learning new things about this here hobby 🙂
Agreed!!
First and foremost – congratulations on 2 years!!! I found myself nodding my head as I read your list.
Thank you so much!
It definitely is like a part-time job! I didn’t know how many skills that I’d end up picking up, but maybe knowing how to make okay graphics will pay off in real life? 😂 And I really want to work on the consistency thing! There are some days where I post even though I’m not really happy with what I’m posting, and in the end, I ALWAYS regret it, so I want to start just telling myself that if I don’t have a post on a scheduled day, that it’s totally fine to skip it!
And, aw, thanks so much for including me in your friends; I consider you one of my blogging friends as well! ❤ Happy 2-year blogiversary! 😄
Yeah, I’ve done that before too just to stay consistent. I usually end up hiding the post a few weeks later but by that point, whoever was going to read it, already read it haha and AW YAY I’M GLAD! Thank you 😀
This is a great post. I definitely like numbers 5 & 6, which are good reminders for me. It is just a great community and that is such a motivating factor for blogging! I am happy for you that you’re enjoying it so much too!
Yeah, without the friends you make, none of this would be worth it!
Congrats on 2 years, Molly 🎉🎉
Loved reading this! The part time job thing is so true, haha. When I first made my blog I thought it’s something I’d do occasionally, but the majority of my time is spent on blog related stuff. I’m glad you mentioned the consistency thing one too because I’m like consistently inconsistent aha and sometimes I feel like I’m a bad blogger because of it but I’m trying to be easier on myself.
And aw, you’re the sweetest!! I’m so glad we’re friends and managed to meet ♥♥
Exactly! I was like “oh it will be nice to have this during my free time” and then it became “I NEED MORE FREE TIME” hahahaha Also, I can relate to the consistently inconsistent thing. In fact, right now, I don’t have ANY posts ready >.< Oops. I probably won't have one up for a few days. It's definitely something that I have to work on being okay with. And EEEE yay! <333
I couldn’t agree more to all of these! Blogging demands time, from writing reviews, to coming up with discussion posts, to commenting on other blogs. It’s definitely not easy. Personally I never had a schedule, other the the weekly memes, the rest has been random and it worked out for me.
As for the learning, ALL THE YESES! I just now changed hosted and I’ve never felt more like a newbie, totally unprepared.
Aww thank you, that’s so sweet coming from you since you’re definitely on my list too 💜
I’m a mix of schedule and no schedule. Although, I used to have a VERY STRICT schedule and it jst stressed me out so much haha. OHHHH you did? Hows it going? I’ve been self-hosted since I started, but I did just change hosts which was just a mess. Everything is good now though lol And eee yay! That’s good to hear. <3
You give some really sound advice 🙂 and congrats with the 2 years! Ita absolutely true about the part time job though! But it’s just so much fun. I have been blogging since last October now, and I find pretty much all you say to be true. But it’s strange that when I was only coming into it, I expected at least half of those things. And came into this knowing how much work I’d have to do. I guess I didn’t have to be surprised in an unpleasant way?
Thank you! Also, that’s good that you went in kind of knowing how things would go. I never even read a blog before I started so I literally knew nothing about the blogging world haha
I think we all thought blogging was going to be something we gave up after a few months. One of those fun hobbies which we all tried out to see what the fuss was about before we moved on. I know I did, anyway. I mean, I love books and started because the book blogging community seemed so cool but I definitely think I’d still be about now.
No one ever told me how much time blogging would take up and that is just plain old rude. I have to fit in a full time job, blogging, being social and find time to read and see my family. Who can do all that every week? I also learnt that learning from others is important because you will never know it all (no matter how much somes bloggers totally look like they have it all together, they’re still fumbling in the dark too).
The best thing I learnt from blogging is that you get what you put in. I wondered why no one visited my blog for a while and that’s because I didn’t visit anyone elses, did I think folks were going to divine my blog? Putting the work in and talking and being social and generally just trying to get myself out there means I actually get visitors and people visit me without me always having to go to them and it’s great. Now all I need t do is figure out social media!
Well done on the two years and hope you stick around for another two and tell us all what you’ve learnt then.
Ahhh, that’s true. A lot of us probably thought we’d be over it by now haha. I DEFINITELY did.
Ugh, right? It’s hard to maintain the time sometimes. I think I read LESS now that I blog because it’s just so hard for me to find the time for it.
Yeah, you definitely have to put in the work to get anything back. Visiting other blogs and replying to comments is key to building your community 🙂 And thank you!
This is a great list, Molly! Thank you for sharing your lessons learned. I completely agree with #4 — I’m not consistent and I think that flexibility is essential to my happiness with blogging. Plus, my community is super key to my support as well! I don’t know what I’d do without my community.
Hm. What would I add to this list? I would add: Be yourself. Yes, you’ll always find someone who is doing something better than you, but that doesn’t mean it would work for your blog. Read what you want, write what you want, and design how it works not only for your reader– but also for you. Because if you aren’t yourself your blog writing will become more challenging and keeping readers will also be super hard. Honesty is key!
That’s all very true! It’s pretty easy to get sucked into trying to be like all the “big” blogs, but that’s no fun! Being yourself is definitely important 🙂
This was so helpful! I just started my blog and am overwhelmed for what to post! Thank you for providing your blogging wisdom.
Aw, thank you! I’m glad it was helpful 🙂
This is so true! It is really time consuming! But worth it! I have been blogging for a longish time and It really is like having a job. I love blogging and discovering new blogs and reading other peoples thoughts!
Discovering other blogs is probably the hardest part for me, but it is my FAVORITE part. haha I should work on that!
Great post and I definitely agree with your point about consistency. I try to aim for a certain number of posts per week, but I’m flexible about that number and about what days I do the posts. I’m pretty sure I would have failed miserably if I had tried to make a rigid schedule to follow. I also agree about it being like a part-time job. I’m just glad it’s a “job” i love, lol.
That’s kind of how I have a “schedule” now. I like to post at least twice per week, but I’m not too strict on which days or what the topics are haha
Aw you dear, thank you for mentioning me! I’m glad to have (virtually) met you <3
Also for the first one "you're constantly learning" … it's hard not to, when every process is basically *something goes wrong* "WHAT DO I DO?!" *googles and complains on twitter till you find an answer* ahaha xD Basically my entire blogging process really
Aw <3 Well, you're my friend! Also...YES. HAHAHA All the mistakes and then the endless use of google to figure it out. It's impossible not to learn something along the way lol
You’re completely right, blogging is a hobby for most of us but it can become so stressful sometimes.
Definitely stressful! Especially when you start falling behind (like me right now lol)