7 Things Blogging Has Taught Me

I’ve got 7 things for you. Seven super simple things! With 3 years of consistently learning this blogging skill, I have some important things to pass along.  I may not be a PRO, but I’m confident these things will be helpful to you. And today, that’s what I want to be—helpful! I hope this encourages you and gives you new energy to continue blogging even when it’s hard and slow.

So here we go!

1. Be just as confident with 5 followers as you are with 100+ followers.

We shortchange ourselves all the time. I only have 5 followers, so basically no one really cares about my blog. I only have 19 followers, it’s going so slow. Why should I even write? Maybe all of us bloggers have been there…??

But here’s the thing, have the same attitude with 5 followers as you do with 100+. Write with the same passion and the same confidence. Strengthen your community. Thank them for being there. Enjoy when you grow. Enjoy when you don’t. A fall in stats should not make you re-think your entire blogging career. Just keep writing. Keep enjoying the 5. Those 5 turn into 100.

Enjoy the process.

2. Spend two hours every week just getting to know your blog.

It might be hard to find that kind of time in this crazy thing called life. But if you can dedicate at least 2 hours of your week to figuring out your blog, your widgets, your set-up, your design, then your blog will improve by eons. You will start to really understand how you want your blog to look and what kind of content you desire to post.

Two hours goes a long way, and all the behind-the-scenes work really pays off!

3. Don’t worry about being successful, just BE.

If you’re in this just for the followers, the viral post, the whitespace fame….GET OUT. And I mean it! Those aren’t valid reasons to have a blog.

I know that you have a natural desire for this blogging endeavor to work out well. And yes, you should strive for a readable, likeable blog. BUT do not obsess and worry about success. Simply concern yourself with BEING a writer,a blogger, and a communicator. Be someone that helps, that gives hope, that creates a welcoming space for people to interact. Stop worrying about whether or not you’ll be successful in the process.

At the end of the day, you’ll probably never reach your idea of success, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t successful.

4. Take advice from seasoned bloggers, but don’t conform to it!

It’s easy to become just like other blogs. You inadvertently take their advice or writing style as the absolute way to do things…but NOPE. That’s not how it works. Honestly, there is so much freedom when it comes to a blog.

Throw your personality into it, post when you want to, find your rhythm and stick to it. Is there advice you should take because it will improve your skill & community? YES. But be discerning. Don’t lose your own style in the name of sleek, trendy blogging. Just because everyone else has that amazing font (you know what I’m talking about!) doesn’t meant that you need to jump on the bandwagon too.

5. You will have REALLY slow seasons.

You might start out on fire. A hundred friends just liked your page. They are excited for you! But this dies out, so make sure that your determination doesn’t. You’ll have seasons of growing double in size. You’ll have a month where your community is just booming. There is chatter and real talk and it’s awesome. But then, you will have dry, slow, unresponsive seasons too. That’s life!

Let the slow seasons run their course. And while it does, be consistent. Don’t quit your blog, just because it feels like the response has stopped. Keep taking those daily steps. The spring season will return!

6. Don’t blog.

Wait, what?! This seems contradictory to everything you just said. Hey, every now and then, it’s good to say no to blogging for a couple days, a week, a month.

You’re not giving up, you’re intentionally taking a break. Breaks are necessary.

Go live life. Go spend more time with family. Take a 2-day vacation from the blog world. Do something aside from scheduling, writing, updating, connecting. You’ll miss writing and interacting, but it will be so, so good for you.  And in turn, it will be rejuvenating for your blog! I have found that my occasional silence gives new life to my blog!

7. Be so happy with the community you have right now.

Never call your readers fans. They are individual people who read your blog. Don’t think in numbers, think in people.

They are important. They cheer for you and share life with you. They learn with you and encourage you. They are enough. Grow your skill and improve the way you reach people, but never have an unhealthy desire for more people to come follow you. You have x number of readers, and today they are more than enough. Enjoy them!

And so, wherever you’re at today….don’t give up! We don’t want you to.

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