Nowadays, more and more people are turning to blogging in order to express their ideas.
I started blogging 6 months ago. I feel I can finally start calling myself a blogger. Prior to blogging, I was posting on Instagram but I felt Instagram wasn’t best suited for the information I wanted to share.
I wanted to create a space where people could learn about different aspects of personal finance. There have been ups and downs in my blogging journey so far.
Here are some things I’ve learned from blogging in 6 months. They are a mixture of personal lessons as well as advice for any blogging beginners.
This contains affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. But this does not impact my reviews and comparisons. I only suggest products I’ve used.
1. Your Blogging Platform Matters a Lot!
When I started blogging in January, I was using GoDaddy website builder to host my site.
I quickly realised that this wasn’t the best platform for me. It didn’t have things like Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), it had limited designs and I was unhappy with GoDaddy’s interface.
In March, I migrated my site from Godaddy to WordPress. Migrating all of my content is one of the most challenging things I have ever done. But I’m happy with WordPress because of its customizable designs, features, and functionalities.
Think hard and carefully about your blogging platform. It will impact all aspects of your blogging journey.
2. You Should Automate Your Social Media
The majority of my blog traffic comes from Pinterest and Instagram. I work a full time as a nurse and that leaves little time for curating social media content.
Before, I used to manually create my social media posts. I quickly realised that this was inefficient and unsustainable.
I started automating my social media content using Tailwind and it saves me so much time. Tailwind does Smart Scheduling, Analytics & Monitoring, Content Discovery, Promotion, and much more.
I pay £20 a month for Tailwind Plus and it is worth every penny. If you are a blogger, you should seriously consider using a platform like tailwind to automate your social media content.
3. Blogging Consistently is Key
In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear wrote about the compound effect of habits. He said small habits make a big difference. Over time, they compound and it’s only when we look back that we are able to see the progress.
If you want to start a blog, then you have to be consistent. Consistency allows you to improve. There are weeks where I have writer’s block or I’m not happy with a post I’ve written.
The most important thing is to keep going and to not stop. I look back on blogs I wrote as recently as 3 months ago, and I’m astounded at how much my writing style has improved.
Moreover, every time I write a post, I reach new people. My blog traffic has increased month after month. Have been a couple of times where I have taken a 2-week break and I noticed that in those weeks, my blog traffic reduced.
Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint. In a marathon, you have to keep going, even when you don’t feel motivated.
4. I’m Enjoying Blogging More than I Thought I Would
Blogging is a wonderful creative outlet for me, which I didn’t expect. I love having an idea, researching it and seeing it all come together. I also love learning about different aspects of finance.
Seeing a blog post take shape and having people read and respond to my words is satisfying. I’m surprised about how much I enjoy it.
My favourite posts to date are: How I paid 18k Debt in 18 Months and A Basic Guide to Pensions.
5. People May Not Like What You’ve Written
Took me a while to come to terms with this one. There are some blog posts I was very passionate about.
I loved researching and writing them and I thought people would enjoy them as well.
But they weren’t always well received or had low views.
Not everyone will like everything you write. I know I don’t like everything I read or see so I shouldn’t have that expectation of other people.
It’s very difficult, but accepting this fact saves you from heart ache.
6. I’ve Learned So Many New Skills
Designing a website, creating social media content, learning about SEO are some things I didn’t expect to be doing.
I also (try to) send a newsletter every 2 weeks to my subscribers.
I’ve also created a financial literacy booklet. So a small percentage of my time is actually spent writing blog posts.
Blogging entails more than just writing and it teaches you so many things.
Final Thoughts
Blogging is a great way to express yourself. There are a few things to be aware of when you start blogging.
Things like your hosting platform, SEO and using social media to promote your content.
Overall, I’ve enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I’m also enjoying bringing consistent content to people.
