7 Things I Wish I'd Known When I First Started Blogging
This was a topic that cropped up when I did my little Q&A a few weeks ago and I thought it was a fascinating subject. I've been blogging nearly 7 years now so of course, during those years I've undoubtedly wished that I could have gone back and done things differently. But then another part of me thinks that this is all just part of the learning process of being a blogger and without those things, I wouldn't be where I am today, and I really love where I am right now. So it's a catch 22 situation but here are all the things that I wish I'd known at the beginning of my blogging journey.
some PEOPLE WILL START AND BECOME AN INSTANT "SUCCESS"
First of all the most important thing with this is that we don't all share the same definition of what success is. But if we're going by the most obvious meaning of the word in blogging which means loads of followers and subsequently a big income then here are my thoughts on it. It's something that I see time and time again and I completely understand why people become so disheartened by it. There are so many bloggers out there who will start up a blog and become instantly traditionally successful whilst you're slogging away and feeling like you're not making any progress. And it will make you question what you're doing wrong? Why aren't you making that progress? Should you be doing things the same way as them? There is no definite answer but something I have learnt that in the real long run you have to do what feels right to you and goes in line with your ethics. Yes, there are quick little fixes that you can do that might feel good for a short time but there is nothing worse than doing something you don't feel good about to just chase numbers.
you don't need to blog daily to be a full time blogger
Something that I'm still learning at the moment is that you DO NOT have to put a post out every single day to be a considered a full-time blogger. When my blog first became my main income stream I was under the impression to make myself feel validated by other people that I needed to put out a post every single day. And for a long time I loved posting daily, it was something that I thrived from and it was probably when I felt the most creative. But in reality now when the format and length of my posts have both completely changed it's just not something I find myself able to do and be able to produce content I'm really proud of. I think it's really easy to believe that if you blog every single day then your stats will skyrocket but I've never noticed a difference in the long run.
there is so much more to blogging than the london blogging scene
Probably the biggest lesson that I've ever learnt when it comes to blogging is that you do not need to be in London to be taken seriously as a blogger. This is a lot more prevalent now than ever as there are bloggers scattered all over the country [and world]. It's a feeling that still crops up in my brain now, do I need to be in London to take this further? But I really don't want to be in London. It's not a place that I'd be happy living in so why would I just want to be there to fit into the blogging world? Yes, for press days and meetings it's better to be central but the whole point of having a career on the internet is that you don't need to be in a certain location to do it. If you need to have a meeting with somebody it can be done over Skype and phone. Then there is the whole photography aspect of London, yes we all love those dreamy houses in Notting Hill [I'm sure the residents want to throw things at people stood posing on their doorstep] but this when I think it's so important to utilise the things around you and showcase some of the awesome locations local to you. I never ever visit someone's blog because they happen to live in a certain location, I care more about the person writing the words than their location.
numbers do matter in a lot of ways but it's not the only measure of a blogs success
When it comes to the numbers in blogging it's a very tricky area to navigate. Some will say you shouldn't pay any attention to them but when it's the way that so many people deem a blog a success or not then it's hard not to let it get to you. And then of course, when it comes to making money as a blogger then yes, you do need some sort of level of engagement because that's what brands want. But I know it's not the only thing that brands pay attention to, some might yes, but it's certainly not the same story for all of them. There are so many ways that people measure the success of their own blog and for me, it's never been about the numbers and it's been about creating a relationship with the people who read my blog. I love having a really good to and fro with my readers and being able to have a conversation, whether that's about a beauty product or a particular subject.
people will not always like you
This is a hard one. Before I was a blogger and looked at the blogging community from afar I thought it was one of the nicest places in the world to be but it isn't. And I apologise if that has maybe burst someone's view of the blogging world but it can be a really awful place to be. With a new witch hunt and catty thread of subtweets daily, there is no wonder that more and more of us steer clear of Twitter. You simply cannot please everybody on the internet and if you try to you will become absolutely exhausted. Knowing that there are people out there who don't like you isn't easy to hear, I don't think it gets easier at any point either because we're conditioned from birth to please other people. But it doesn't matter how nice you are there will be someone out there who just doesn't like you and it really is ok.
the blogging world is never going to be full
Probably one of my most hated sentences to come from anybody, whether they are a blogger or not is that the blogging world is full and there is no room for anybody new. The internet has no capacity limit and there is room for everybody to do their own thing, whatever it is. We're all unique and have our own viewpoint which somebody else will more than likely find interesting and that is something that should be celebrated rather than discouraged. However, a statement that I do know to be true is that we cannot all make money from our blog all the time, marketing budgets aren't unlimited but I don't think that should be a reason for somebody not to create something they feel passionate about. If the only reason that you have any interest in the blogging world is for possible financial gain then that is where disappointment and frustration comes into play. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to make money from blogging but if that is your only reason for wanting to be a part of it then it's probably not going to end well. And it's the same for every single creative industry out there, not just blogging.
you will never quite understand the blogging world
Finally, something that seems almost ironic to mention as writing this post has come from me trying to understand certain things about the blogging world is that it's pretty impossible to really know everything about it. And when you think you've finally got your finger on the pulse something will change and then you'll find yourself feeling as lost as you did in the first place. There are a ridiculous amount of theories in the blogging world, so many think that blogging has died and there is no place for it on the internet anymore. But I truly don't think there is any way to know any of these things for certain and we just have to see what happens and go with it. Which personally, whilst sometimes it can feel pretty frustrating is actually one of the best parts of having a blog. We never know what is going to happen or what the possibilities are with these internet spaces we've created and that's a really awesome thing that should be enjoyed rather than feared.
