What I learn from my first year of blogging?

Time flies when you are having fun. I can’t believe it’s been already a year since I started Budget to be Free. Yes, it’s my Blog anniversary. I push passed my fear and starting writing about the topic I love to read about, Personal Finance. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I started this blog, but I had to try. Blogging is not easy and a lot of work. I am sharing what I learned from my first year of blogging.

Consistency is important.

This is very important thing you want to do with your blog. Get use to creating good content.  I still struggle with writing consistently. My goal was to post every other week and I still couldn’t keep to it. I know I need to create an editorial calendar and plan for it. If you want to get followers and be taken seriously, you must be consistent. If you are going to post every Monday, then do it every Monday. So, they can get use to finding you on that day. I posted 14 blog post in the year. I am working on doing better this year.

Time

Blogging is not an overnight scheme. It very time consuming. You are a writer, graphic designer, web designer, and social media manager. I spent so much time just picking a theme on WordPress. Always remember you can change it later if you don’t like it. Just keep going.

Also, you spend time researching for your article to make it the best that you can. If I want it to grow, spend time on perfecting your craft.

Learning Curve

There a lot to learn when putting together a blog.  WordPress alone has different components to learn such as, pick a theme, add plugins, widgets, and more.  It was very frustrating at first and time consuming. Also had to learn how to create social media pictures and blog posts photos with Canva. Thank goodness for YouTube, forums, and Facebook groups. My blog is still not the way I want it to be but it’s getting there.

Marketing is key

Promotion is important. You spent a lot of time on writing your post. Now you must spend the time marketing it.  I made the big mistake thinking after I push submit on my post that I was done. I didn’t know that I must keep promoting the same article more than once. But it makes sense, there so much info out on the web and social media, it can take a while for someone to see it and want to read it. You won’t getting a following unless you promote your work often. Also, with the consistency they will eventually look for you.

Email list is important

The goal is to get readers to your blog. If you have their email information you can remind them to read your blog. Also, social media, you really don’t own the platform, they can kick you off anytime and they crash at different times.  With direct communication to your readers, then you can continue to communicate to them.

Don’t compare yourself to others

Comparison will steal your joy. You look at different websites and see how beautiful it is. You can see how much they wrote in their blog posts. But you don’t know how long someone has been blogging. When you first start it not going to look great. But you started and learning along the way. I am learning not to compare my beginning to someone else year 5.

Community is so helpful

Get you a support system. There is a lot of Facebook groups that are related to your interests. It is helpful to be surrounded by people with the same interest. People in the groups are usually willing to help or can answer your question. Also, if you can afford it, go to Conferences. I went to Fincon last year. It was a great experience and met a lot of great people. A couple of ladies that I met at there, we started an accountability group for our blogs and different things we are working on. It has been great to bounce ideas with them and ask questions and get help when needed.

Don’t try to do too much at first

There is a lot of different ways you can promote your blog: Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook Groups, Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok and more. Pick one social media outlet and get consistent and learn how the platform works for you before trying different ones. You can burn yourself out trying to do to much at first. Do get your blog names on all the platforms. Also think where your audience will be at. You will drive yourself crazy trying to learn all the different social media platforms and then you won’t be consistent and give up.

What’s Next for Year Two?

My goal is to keep striving to be a better content creator. I will continue to be more consistent with posting. Keep learning to make my blog work better and faster. I will continue to share my story to with my community to help them.

Are you a blogger? What have you learned since you started blogging? Comment and let me know! Also, don’t forget to share!