An Honest Guide to Blogging · life

5 Things I Learnt in 5 Years of Blogging

happy-birthday

That’s right, 5 years ago today little Courtney began writing her first ever blog post. Points to you if you can comment below or Tweet me what I wrote about!

To celebrate, I’ve popped down 5 things that I’ve learnt in HALF A DECADE of blogging. Also, this fits in with my brand new blog series, An Honest Guide to Blogging, which kicked off the other day.

1. It doesn’t matter if you’re not perfect

I’m still guilty of beating myself up for not being as good as other bloggers and I think they’ll always be a part of me that wishes I was better.

I’m trying to put that energy into improving my skills in writing and photography, rather than having negative thoughts about my work. It’s so hard to not compare yourself in the blogosphere because every blogger I look up to is so active on social media. But, if I channel those feelings into improving myself and avoid focusing on being ‘perfect’, I think it will turn out well.

2. It takes a lot of bloody time and effort to write a blog

It may seem simple to those who have never written a blog, however, it’s really quite hard.

You’ve got to plan, write, proof, take photos, edit those photos, upload, promote on social media and it’s pretty much a constant cycle.

And, blogging is a huge part of my day job so it can be really trying some evenings when all I want to write great content for Retro and Thrift, but I’ve already written 4,000 words of copy for that day.

3. You’ve got to put yourself out there

As much as it may be a bit cringy to post on social media ‘GO READ MY BLOG’ every couple of hours, it will help your readership. I can’t believe when I first started writing this blog that I never posted to Twitter or anywhere (I don’t even think Instagram was a thing back then!). If I did, it would be one Tweet just after posting it, probably with no image!

I also tell as many people as I can when I’m out and about working that I also run my own blog on the side. Yes, they may not be interested in what I post on here, but letting people know that you have written a blog since you were 15 can be a great conversation starter and one that could lead to more opportunities.

4. No one ‘in real life’ will think you’re lame for writing a blog.

Or at least they’ve never said that to my face. I’m becoming more and more comfortable in telling people that I run a blog. I think it’s becoming more acceptable now. I also pride myself on the fact that it was my blog, not my degree or anything else I’ve done that got me my first job after graduating. So, yeah. Having a blog is pretty cool.

5. Be yourself and don’t worry if you’re not writing the same stuff as everyone else

Over the last 5 years, I have gone through cycles of doing my own thing, to worrying that I’m not following the crowd. However, I think if you just write what you want to write and not copy others explicitly, you will end up having a lot more stamina and passion for what you do.

I remember at one point, all I was doing was product reviews, which admittedly are very popular. However, I don’t actually buy that many new products and usually just stick to my favourites, so it became draining on my mind as well as my purse! Nowadays, I write for myself, as well as trying to create interesting and engaging content for you guys. I hope it works.

 

Here’s a link to last year’s post on 4 years that I learnt in 4 years of blogging. 

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