6 Things I’ve Learned From Blogging for a Year
I’ve officially been blogging for a whole year and it’s been a lot of learning! Granted, given COVID, this has been a particularly different time to do anything, but overall it’s been a fun adventure. Here are the 6 major things I’ve learned along the way.
1. Hosting & WordPress Are Not Straightforward
When I first started out, everything was so foreign. Figuring out how to purchase a domain name and what I actually needed vs what was being sold to me–it was all confusing.
My friend recommended hosting with BlueHost. Hosting is basically where your website lives. That is also where you can purchase your domain name.
After purchasing my domain name and paying for hosting, then I had to figure out WordPress. Now, being an engineer, I thought it would be pretty easy. Nope. WordPress was CLEARLY not designed by engineers. It’s cumbersome and as a new user I couldn’t figure out how to write a post. Programs should be user-friendly enough so that I can dive right in.
Luckily, I discovered BlogStarter which helped walk me through the process. His step-by-step tutorials got me through my first few posts.
2. Canva is Amazing!
I LOVE Canva. It’s a platform that allows you to design social media posts, newsletters, blog headers, and so much more! The best part is that is very user friendly. You can start designing right away. And it’s FREE! Seriously, it’s amazing.
I use Canva for all the design work on my blog and on my Instagram. This post was created in Canva:
3. Planning Ahead Will Keep You Consistent
When I started, I wanted to write two blog posts a week. Now, when I set a goal you can basically count it as done. I was writing two blog posts each week, no matter what.
In the beginning, it was easy. I had so many topics to cover that I had a whole list of blog posts to write. But about 5 or 6 months in, I had covered all the basics and then it got harder to think of things.
Luckily, from the start I kept an Editorial Calendar. Basically, I had a calendar for the next month where I would map out what I wanted to write about. During the months where ideas didn’t come as quickly, that calendar saved me because it forced me to plan ahead.
4. It Gets Easier
When I first started it would take a little over two hours to write a post, find all the images, create a header image, make sure I had all the tags and to post it. In the beginning everything is a little harder and takes more time.
Now, I can usually write, edit, load images, create a header all in 30 minutes. Once you get the hang of it, create a routine, and find your groove, it gets easier.
5. It Takes Time to Make Money
I didn’t start this blog to make money. I started it because I kept getting the same questions from my friends. “Livi, how do shampoo bars work?” (My friends call me Livi.) Or “What would you recommend for this…???”
I started this blog as a resource for my friends. To help transfer all the things I’ve learned in my plastic-free journey.
But I’ve also been a huge fan of my friend’s podcast, Smart Passive Income. (I met Pat when I was in high school and we had a lot of mutual friends.) Through his podcast, I learned a lot about affiliate marketing and as you guessed it, how to make money passively. I’d been listening to his podcast for years not knowing how to apply it. So, when I started my blog, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to apply everything I learned from listening to him.
So, I signed up for an Amazon Associate account and for Google Adsense and started adding links to my blog. Now, I know people who make A LOT of money this way on their blogs and I didn’t think I would make that much but I thought I would bring in a solid amount.
Eh, wrong answer. To date, I have not received a single check. haha. That’s in part because I haven’t even met the threshold for a check. I’ve made less than $20 on each of the two platforms. So, if you’re thinking a blog is a way to get rich quick, think again.
6. The Reward is in the Impact
I know this sounds cheesy, but since I clearly am not getting rich from my blog, the reward is in the impact I’m making. I love hearing “Livi, I switched to a bamboo toothbrush because of you!” I love when I get follow up questions because it tells me people are reading my blog and finding the information useful!
Given everything going on right now, it seems like it’s impossible to make a difference in the world. But knowing my posts inspire people to make small changes in their life and possibly inspire them to think about bigger changes, that’s the greatest reward!
All right, I’m done getting all Lifetime Special sappy. 🙂
What do you think? Are you interested in starting a blog? Let me know if you have questions! I’m happy to help get you started!
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