5 Things I Learned in My First Year of Blogging

September 11, 2017 Jordan Writing 42

Today is an exciting day. Today is an auspicious day. Today marks one year since I started blogging!

It’s a weird feeling, because it feels like I’ve been blogging forever and also not that long at the same time. I’ve learned a lot, but I still don’t feel like I really know what I’m doing. Sometimes it frustrates me a bit because I have an ever growing list of things that I could be doing to make it look better, be more user friendly, increase views, or otherwise grow, but the time I have to work on it is limited. My first job is as a stay at home mom, so taking care of my home and family is my first priority, along with my other commitments for church, friends, and extended family. But my blog is my baby, and I love working on it.

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Today, in honor of my first blogiversary, I wanted to share 5 things I’ve learned about blogging since I started one year ago:

  1. I love it. I like writing posts, taking pictures, and interacting on social media. I like learning more about the technical side of web design. It’s a wonderful creative outlet and I really feel like I am adding something relevant to the internet world with my recipes and book discussions. I like the challenge of growing my reach and income, and it’s something I can see myself doing longterm. And my favorite thing is that people have started sending me books to review. Did you get that? FREE BOOKS!
  2. It’s not that hard. When I first started I was very intimidated by the technical details. When I chose my hosting and domain name I went with the absolute easiest, dummy-proof option I could find. It was comforting for a short while, but I very soon realized that there were things I wanted to do on my site that I couldn’t do in the baby platform. So after lots of stress and anxiety (I fear change sometimes), I switched to WordPress, got a new domain name, and moved my content over to the new location for an almost complete rebrand. Now I can integrate HTML and all sorts of important stuff! Most of the new things I want to add or try are only a Google search away.
  3. The blogging community is fabulous. The people I’ve come in contact with in the groups I’ve joined have been incredibly supportive and kind. They are more than willing to answer questions, give advice, and help promote your content and I love returning the favor! I especially relish finding like-minded people who enjoy the same things I do – that would be mostly food and books, if this is your first time here :).
  4. It’s time consuming to do it right. At least for me, it’s not a 10 minute thing where you pound out a quick post, hit publish, and you’re done. Brainstorming, writing, editing, formatting, posting to social media, and promoting take a ton of time! It’s definitely worth it, but that doesn’t make it any quicker.
  5. There is room for everybody. One type of thinking that I’ve had to overcome on my blogging journey is that I don’t have anything new to say, so there’s no point in putting my thoughts out there. Baloney. The truth of the matter is that even if what you have to say isn’t 100% original, nobody else in the world is you, so nobody else in the world can say it the way you can. Everything I publish is presented through the lens of my experiences, beliefs, and intentions which is different from what others have experienced. I believe that God gives us all a unique voice because He has someone who needs to hear what we have to say. Blogging is a great way to talk to people, you just don’t always know the impact you are making since you aren’t face to face.

My most popular recipe so far: Blackberry Cobbler

My most popular book post: Books in Progress: What I’m Reading Right Now – July 2017

What do I hope to accomplish in my second year of blogging?

  • Growth. I want to at least double my page views and social media following.
  • Income. Moment of truth: blogging has not made me rich yet. My income so far has been minuscule, but since I switched to the new site things have been looking up, so my goal is to be making a significant income from this hobby within the next year.
  • Efficiency. I know I need to do better about writing posts in batches ahead of time and scheduling social media posts so that I have more time to promote and brainstorm for new topics.

Want to help me grow and improve in my second year? I would love to hear what you like/dislike about this blog and what you would like to see more/less of in the future. For my fellow bloggers, what is the biggest thing you’ve learned since you started? Thanks for joining me in my little online celebration!  

42 Comments

  1. I am still learning everyday! It is fun and hard work but I fee connects you with more people and also helps to support my family! Keep up the good work! You will kill it in year two!

  3. Congratulations! Your blog is lovely! You are absolutely right about it taking time! When I write a post it takes an entire day! The good thing is, I not only enjoy it, I then have content to repurpose!

  4. I have been blogging over a year now. The biggest hurdle for me has been getting over all the online cattiness. People are just rude, especially online. Drives me bonkers. Lol

  5. I’ve been blogging for a year and a half. I’m always learning. Sometimes it is completely overwhelming. I feel like I can’t get it all done. Then I have to remind myself that this is something I choose to do and enjoy. I try and take a step back to regroup and recharge. I think that your content will suffer if you don’t and people do notice! Put your heart into and you’ll see the return.

  6. I 100% agree with you on all of those things! And I completely know what you mean by there being an ever growing list of things that you could research or do better on. I don’t know if there’s ever a point where you’ve done it all!

  9. Congrats on making it one year! I also was intimidated at first, but it wasn’t as difficult as I was making it out to be and the community is so helpful!

    • Glad you’ve had a good experience too! Especially because what you are writing about is so important. I’m glad for the encouraging words you write 🙂

  10. Congratulations to you! I’m just 8 months in but agree with everything you said. So much time just spent conquering the learning curve and marketing your blog. Best wishes for year #2!

  11. I wish I was as successful in my first year as you have been. Mind you my first year was 6 years ago. I do have to agree with you. It is time consuming but it is totally worth every second of it!

  16. I can agree that when you first start a blog, it can be slightly intimidating: unsure if you’ll make a voice for yourself, not getting lost in the community, etc. But the outcome is very fulfilling.

    Thansk for sharing,
    LovJas💕

  19. Happy Birthday on your blog!! I am a fan of celebrating my friend’s birthday 😉
    It’s time consuming alright. Currently, it takes me at least a whole day to write a post from scratch till I hit publish. Love the community I am finding in the blogosphere. Toasting a virtual choc martini to you for your blog’s birthday!!

    • Ha ha thanks! I keeping thinking I’m going to get faster, but then I add another layer of things to keep up with and I haven’t saved any time at all.

  20. After thinking I know what I’m doing for months I’ve finally sat down and figured out what I’m doing isn’t working and I want to hear what the pros are doing and how I can implement it.

  21. Congratulations on that 1 year mark! I agree, the more blogs I read, I realize there really is room for everyone. Makes it so much easier to connect with every one.

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