Year One Blogging Tips

Tell all ya friends and neighbors!

If you’re thinking of starting a blog, here’s some year one blogging tips I have learned along the way that I’m sharing with you to hopefully make your lives a little easier as you start this real fun, creative blogging journey!

It was exactly one year ago today that I published my first post on this little baby blog. I had no idea what I was doing. I still currently have NO idea what I’m doing. However, I did think it might be helpful to any of you thinking of adventuring out here and starting a blog to share some year one blogging tips and what your first year blogging may look like if you’re anything like me.

YEAR ONE BLOGGING TIPS:

Start on WordPress

If you ever plan on monetizing your blog, apparently it’s easier over here in WordPress land. I don’t know for certain, but it’s what they tell me.

Speaking of monetization….

Do NOT expect money in your first year.

Above is actual footage of my wallet. If you are one of the few who hit it big right away, great! But girls, don’t quitcha day jobs just yet if you’re looking for income. Blogging is a long haul game. For me, the reason I started this was because we bought a fixer which gave me an opportunity.  I also wanted a creative outlet and even more honestly something else to focus on rather than the fact that we were in the middle of a dark road of infertility. So, what I’m saying is have a reason to start a blog for YOU because if you do it for the money you’re gonna be broke and also probably a little frustrated. However, if you do want to ever make money…

Find your niche and stick to it!

I can’t stress how crucial this part is. Did you guys know I’ve had like 3-4 blogs before this one? And none of them ever gained any traction because I was all over the place. Recipes and coupons and DIY and sewing tricks. If I would have picked one of those to laser focus on, I probably could have been way more successful, but I didn’t and that’s okay. It was a huge lesson and now I’ve learned and am moving on. Speaking of learning….

Don’t expect to learn everything at once

There is so much to know. Google analytics, newsletters, social media, affiliate networks, SEO, HBO, YMCA, TCBY, CBS, AT&T. You get my drift. There’s a lot. Give yourself grace! To better help you learn…..

Make friends!

Yes it is possible to find good, Jesus lovin’, just want to help you kind of people. Even the bigger named bloggers. I live a very short drive away from Lauren from Blesser House and she is one of the most kind, genuine people out there. She is always willing to help me answer questions, figure out who to contact where, and she even just dropped off a new lens for my camera because it wouldn’t fit on her new one. Even the ones I’ve just had conversations with online but never met in person are always sweet. We’re all family here. Just reach out! The easiest way to truly make friends is to ….

Keep it real

Look, if you get NOTHING ELSE from what I say, just freaking keep it real, okay? No matter what, my goal is to have anyone who knows me in real life to read everything I say in a way I would say it if I were talking face to face. I alluded to this a bit in this post here. Remember this picture?And remember what I said it actually looked like at the exact time of that picture?Like I said. Keeping it real, right?

I don’t want someone to meet me in person and have a totally different idea of what I’m like because either I write like a prissy snob or like a sloppy chick half asleep with crumbs on her laptop (<—-which, let’s be real, is actually me anyway just with decent grammar and writing skills.) I digress. A good way to keep it real on your blog is to ….

Don’t let one project derail your entire blog

Ya girl about fell in to this category. LOOKIN’ AT YOU ONE ROOM CHALLENGE. Sheesh. That about did me in. And I truly felt like I “owed” it to my readers to finish that before I started more projects but the reality is that’s just not true. I had content literally sitting on hold waiting for us to finish this bathroom and IT IS STILL NOT EVEN DONE. It still looks just like this:

RELATED: OUR BATHROOM IS FINALLY FINISHED!!!! CHECK IT OUT HERE!

Most of all, whatever you do ….

Just have fun!

This is your blog. Thanks to the First Amendment here in the states, you have the right to make your content whatever you want it to be. Just don’t be a butthole, k? You catch more bees with honey. I surely hope some of these first year blogging tips helped you! I would love to know what you learned in your own blogging journey or if you have any first year blogging tips of your own to share with me! Feel free to leave a comment if you have any ideas.

If you want to remember this for later when you’re ready to start your blog, pin it here: