Lifestyle

Blogging, One Year On

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Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday Little Miss Mel, Happy Birthday to you! Hip hip HURRAH!! Hip hip HURRAH!! I can’t believe my little blog is one whole year old now! What a fast year it has been! I have loved it and I can’t wait to see what the next year has in store!

To blog, or not to blog was the question I was asking myself over and over, for what feels like such a long time. I knew I wanted to do it. But as always, the fear of the unknown held me back. I wondered if I might fit in, if people would even be interested in what I had to say. If I could master the art of the flatlay to produce blog worthy photos.

Like anything, there are always a million and one reasons as to why we think we shouldn’t do something. One day I asked myself the same question, to blog, or not to blog. On this day I thought, I can have a million reasons why not to do it, but I only need one reason why I should. My wanting to do it was plenty reason, so I put my stubborn streak to good use and I set about muddling my way through creating a blog!

I found it quiet a challenge, and even now there a lot of things I still don’t know. But it felt like I was making the right decision and I was so excited to finally have my own slice of the internet for all of my little ramblings. To this day I am still so in love with blogging.

Like most things, it does come with it’s negatives but overall I really love it. I know I made the right choice embarking on my blogging journey. One of the most amazing things you get with blogging is the community. Bloggers are some of the most supportive and wonderful people I have ever came across. I am forever grateful to have met so many lovely people, some I can call friends. It really enriches my life and you can never have too much of that.

Some of the most valuable things I’ve learned along the way so far are:

  1. Blog for yourself and yourself alone. You should never create content based on what you think people what to read. Your best writing will come from what you feel most strongly and passionately about.
  2. We all suffer from bloggers block one time or another, and it’s totally okay and normal. Don’t force writing. Take a break and it will come. I promise.
  3. Always give an honest review regardless whether the product in question is gifted, or part of sponsored content. Always be truthful in your reviews.
  4. Never under value yourself. If someone doesn’t want to work with you because they want to sell you short, they’re not worth working with. Good PR’s no the value of good work.
  5. There’s a lot to do with blogging that isn’t easily found out, but don’t worry, just ask someone for some advice and for the most part the community is happy to help.
  6. Engage! Engage! Engage! Participating in blogger chats and comment swaps are invaluable and you meet some great like-minded people.
  7. Consistency and patience are vital. It’s hard to build up a blog and work at it.

I have learned so much more than that, but they are some of the most important things I have come to learn on my blogging journey this far. A popular misconception none bloggers have about bloggers, is that we get loads of free stuff and that blogging isn’t really work. If you’re a blogger then you will you know this to be entirely false. Blogging is actually hard work and sometimes it can be tough to combine with everyday life, particularly working alongside other jobs, family life, etc. As for the free stuff, if anyone does get any items sent, we consider ourselves very lucky. It is a labour of love and it does require a lot of discipline and commitment to maintain consistency.

If I could say one thing I wish I had done differently, it would be that I wish I had started sooner. I have been so pleasantly surprised by how wonderful the blogging community is, and how rewarding I find blogging.

This time of year is my favourite so I find blogging topics come easier, and with far more ease then say January. I have a lot of Autumnal and Christmas content planned which I can’t wait to share with you all.

Thank you to each and every one of you who take the time to read my blog posts, leave me comments, tweet me, comment or like my Instagram photos, none of it goes unnoticed and I am grateful to every one of you. I hope you continue to enjoy my posts going forward, and any feedback you might have I would love to hear.

Heres to the next year!

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21 Comments

  1. Congrats on your blog birthday. Mine is Next month, one year too! Like you say, definitely a labour of love! The hard work pays off, it’s just about finding the right balance.

    Great post lovely x

    Samantha

    http://thebeautyspyglass.com

    Reply

  4. Happy Blog Birthday! I only started my blog a few months ago and really loving the experience so it was really interesting to see what your experience has been like after a year of blogging!

    Reply

  7. Happy blogging anniversary! Bet its been one fab year for you. Thank you for sharing what you have learnt along the way, I’ve still got a while to go until a year and already experienced writers block, its horrible!

    Heather xox || http://www.xhighlandbeauty.co.uk

    Reply

  8. Congratulations on blogging for a year! I’ve only been around for four months, but it’s already gone so quickly, and I know I’ll quickly be celebrating my blog birthday! I hope you still enjoy it as much as you did when you first started, and I hope it continues that way! 🖤

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  12. Happy Blog Birthday!!
    I totally agree with all your points about blogging. I’ve been blogging for just over a year now and I always try and remember to blog what I want to and try not to force it. Plus I love the blogging community. It was such a big surprise as I had no idea people could be so supportive xx

    Reply

  15. Congrats on your one year anni! I so agree with you on your point about the writer’s block – I’ve been blogging for over 7 years now and one of the things I’ve noticed is that you can always tell when a blog has been forced because it doesn’t have any of that passion that you feel when reading a post someone enjoyed writing.

    I wish you all the best in your blogging future!

    Reply

  16. Hi, Happy Birthday to your blog. Writing about what you are passionate about, consistency and patience are key to blogging.

    Reply

  20. Happy Blogging Birthday, I’ve only just started so really appreciate your tips and experience xx

    Reply

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