6 Things I Have Learned About Blogging (After 2 Years)

I lose track of time and stink at remembering dates. I guess that is why it is so hard for me to believe that I have been a blogger for two years! Crazy that I can have so much fun and help so many people from behind a computer’s keyboard.

While it has not always been smooth, this journey has certainly taught me some valuable lessons.

1) Be yourself.

Don’t try to blog like someone else. Don’t try to make your blog look like someone else. Be who God placed you here to be and keep focused on that. Looking around just causes blog envy. God’s plan for them is not the same as His plan for you… and His plan for you is perfect.

2) Decide if you blog for business or pleasure.

I would love to say that it doesn’t matter but the truth is, if you want to make money from your blog, then it is a business and you have to treat it like a business. Be consistent. Be relevant. If you are not trying to monetize your blog, then it is strictly a hobby and these rules do not apply.

3) Let your readers see you cry.

I think if this world had a bit more transparency and we could see what people are really like, it would be a better place. While I want my blog to be a place of refuge, encouragement, and learning, I am very real and I never want anyone to think that I am perfect or that I have it all together.

When my posts are the hardest to right and the words are the closest to my heart, that is when I have the greatest connection (and the most feedback from) my readers.

4) There are no new ideas.

Very early on, I was offended when a local blogger began posting video of herself. I actually accused her of stealing my idea because I had posted a few weeks earlier that I wanted to do that. “MY idea,” I said. BIG fight. Nasty. I licked my wounds and still started using video. A few months later, a blogger newer than myself came to me and accused me of stealing her idea of using video on her blog. HER idea. Wow. I don’t believe in karma but I certainly saw the error of my ways.

5) Every blogger is different.

No brainer, I know. But, what I guess I should say is that every blog niche is different. Most coupon bloggers are very territorial. They closely guard their traffic and do not look kindly to other bloggers getting on their territory (i.e. Facebook). Homeschool bloggers are happy, loving, encouraging… and are ready to share and swap and link up. Recipe bloggers are much like that too. Just don’t think for a moment though that every blogger is just like you or thinks the way you do about your blog. It leads to hurt feelings. Just accept differences. Abide by their rules. Move forward. (See lesson number 1.)

6) Find balance.

A blog can eat up your life. Every. Minute. Of. It. I could work non-stop on this blog for days before I ran out of something to do. Between social media promotion, building relationships with readers and other bloggers, researching, marketing… it can be very time-consuming. You have to set up office hours or at least find the time of day when you work the best and the fastest and then spend the rest of your time with your family and other responsibilities.

This is the one I have to work on daily.

How about you? What lessons have you learned by being a blogger?

This post is linked with love at The Mommy Club.