Starting blog was never something I thought about when I was growing up and what I would be doing at my age. It really came to be when I wanted to keep producing some content after my son was born while not having to be live streaming and active in that space. Having blogs scheduled and what not was a huge help and slowly but surely after a year and a half I am finally finding how to navigate my way around how things work.

One of the biggest things I am gathering when it comes to blogging is that niches change. And how important it is to have a niche. I talk about my feelings about niches here if you want to see something more specific to what niches are and how they are useful when blogging. Something that I touch base on is how I stuck to one niche and I shouldn’t have for so long. When I started to blog I wrote about streaming and advice and tips and tricks that I had learned. I was such a new blogger I barely knew anything when it came to tags to get your blogs seen. I never knew what SEO was and still don’t fully understand but I am learning. Since making a pivot from streaming blogs to blogs about parenting and my own life, I have seen so much better response that It really is mind blowing that I stuck with streaming for such a long time.

Some of my most popular blogs are the ones that have made me uncomfortable writing and are the most real. My struggling with weight loss was published in November of 2020 for example and that blog still to this day gets reads as well as likes on it. It was part of me facing who I am and what I struggle with in hopes I can maybe help others in the process. When you write blogs, or at least I find when I write them, and I am the most real with myself or even with you all, they seem to get a way better response than when I try to spit out different facts or something that is very one toned and robotic. Being relatable makes it easy for people to connect and I think it also adds a lot of value to a person reading when a post is relatable too.

Pinterest is something that I still am very fresh with and do not to as much as I should. but again that is a learning experience. Out of all the socials that I thought I would really use for blogging pinterest was not one of those! I also didn’t know that you are also able to use pinterest itself to schedule pins to be posted. I was using an app for it however this makes it easier. I also have used canva in order to create pins which has helped tremendously. I need to plan this for myself in my planner a few times a month to schedule pins to post blogs.

Following more bloggers on Twitter. I know this seems to be a no brainer to me but for a while I had strictly used my Twitter for streaming. I had barely anyone who, if anyone who blogged followed. I find that watching others who blog post theirs, or even their tips and tricks can be super useful. The blogging community is so much bigger than I thought it was and a lot of folks are just trying to help one another and grow their brand or business in the process too. Seeing others who are successful also can be really motivating when you might lack motivation. The amount of different things people can write about really is endless. It can also help if someone writes some blogs similar to your own and you can get ideas for your own blogs to write. No that does not mean to copy someone word for word or their own opinions, but seeing different subjects can help trigger your own ideas.

Lastly something that I find I dont do nearly enough as I should is to read other blogs! I need to find out how to search and find different blogs that I would be interested in reading regularly. The same goes for any writing, where you will get better as you read and educate yourself on what it takes to be successful. Having a better idea about what others do and are successful will help me to fine tune myself and better promote my blog as well too! Successful bloggers are a great way to help grow my knowledge of how to be successful myself however it is something that I put on the back burner or make excuses for and push away when the time comes. I need to make a plan to even spend some time each week catching up on some favorite blogs that may or may not be on the same subjects that I write about.

There is a lot of things that I wish I knew when I first started blogging. These are things that as I am learning them and growing my blog, I am slowly and surely starting to see more success with my own blog. Learning to blog can be overwhelming for sure. Especially when you are trying to learn what different aspects of it, I find myself being overwhelmed and giving up. There is also different spots and people who have mini books that are able to purchase for more than reasonable prices that have basically done the research for you! I need to find these myself and use them. I think it is a great way for me to grow my brand even if I am just a small fry in a big pond though!

Did you start blogging as a way to produce content?
Was your main focus to build a brand?
Or are you just researching how to blog and are prepping for your own start in the near future?

Let me know in the comments below, I am always willing to hear what folks are finding to be successful!

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