10 Things I’ve Learned During My First Year of Blogging
Exactly one year ago today, I published my first blog post. Since then, I’ve written 44 posts, gained more than 500 followers on Facebook and nearly just as many on Twitter, and met and became virtual and real-life friends with some incredibly talented people. Thanks to those of you who’ve continued to support my blog over the course of the past year – I couldn’t have done all of this without you! (Really, I couldn’t have!)
I’m nowhere near an expert, but here are a few things I’ve learned over the past year:
- My friends and family are awesome. But wait – I already knew that!
- Blogging is hard. Not only is it difficult to maintain a consistent schedule in light of all of my other projects, but it’s also difficult to choose what to share without violating my privacy or the privacy of those I know and care about.
- Blogging is an awe-inspiring subculture of our society. I never realized how extensive the blogging “network” is until I went all in and became a blogger myself. There are more than 3.9 million parenting blogs in the U.S., and I’m proud to be one.
- There are hundreds of influential bloggers and blogger groups out there, and I’ve been lucky to connect with many of them who have been generous enough to share their time, talents and advice with this newbie.
- Blogging has opened up doors and opportunities that I never would have had otherwise, both locally and nationwide. I’ve been able to use my blog to contribute to the greater good, including causes like the Campaign for Fair Education Funding.
- There are never enough hours in the day — but wait, I already knew that, too!
- Mompreneurs rock. I have met some ridiculously fabulous and spectacular mamas through my One Successful Mama profiles, which I turned into a monthly series after interviewing Jamberry rockstar Shannon Koch, who sparked the idea. As long as there are badass mamas running kickass businesses out there, this series will continue!
- It is possible to make a full-time income blogging (although I’m nowhere close to that). Over the past year, I’ve met bloggers who are making thousands of dollars a month blogging – in fact, one blogger I’ve “met” online routinely makes between $17,000-20,000 a month off of her blog. I’ve met bloggers who have quit their jobs and also bloggers who have SPOUSES who ALSO have quit full-time jobs in order to support their partner’s blogs. If you’re willing to put the time in, it can happen.
- Blogging is not just a hobby, although it started out that way. Through blogging, I’ve learned about Google Analytics, online advertising, social media marketing and affiliate marketing. I’ve also been able to brush up on my long-dormant HTML coding skills. Yes, it’s fun – but these are all skills that make me much more valuable to potential clients.
- I love it. I write every day, and even though I enjoy it, I mostly write for other people. Blogging gives me a platform on which I can unleash my inner creative beast, which I find essential to maintain my sanity.
Are you a blogger? What has blogging taught you about yourself? Share your insight below!
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