Things I've learnt whilst blogging

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I've been blogging for almost two and a half years now (honestly, where the hell has time gone?!) and in that time I have learnt a lot of things, about blogging, about bloggers and about myself! Not all of them have been good things but all of them have been beneficial to the work that I do, so I thought I would share some of the most important things I've learnt with you guys! 

Be wary of your stats
When I hit 100,000 blog views- according to Blogger- I was absolutely thrilled! When I saw my blog posts getting 200, 500, 1000 page views, I was over the moon! And then I found out that Blogger stats are basically a lie. If you want to check your stats and page views etc. accurately, use Google Analytics. I was shocked at the drastic difference between the figures and it really made me feel a bit crap about my writing at first, but then it just made me work harder to push for more views and engagement!

Bloggers are so supportive
Honestly, I've rarely come across people as supportive as the bloggers that I know- and that's so strange, because most of them I've never even met in person, and yet I can still rely on them to be there for me when I need picking up, to support my magazine, to retweet my posts and so on. Yes, there is obviously some nastier bloggers around, but for the most part, I find bloggers to be incredibly lovely! 

People love to hate
95% of the feedback I receive about my blog posts is so lovely. People tell me how I have helped them out or inspired them to do something they've been wanting to do for ages or just that I've made them laugh, and that's great, I love that! However, there is a tiny portion of people who love to hate. No matter what you write, no matter how good it is, someone's going to disagree with you or write nasty things about you/in response to what you've said, just because they don't like to see your success. I've had it happen to me and I've seen it happen to so many of my blogging friends. It's nasty, and its unnecessary but unfortunately it still happens. You just have to rise above it! 

Be careful with what you post
As a blogger, there's more 'rules' for blogging than you might first expect. Are you allowed to write about your place of work on your blog? Can you share details about your friends and family without their permission? Do you have permission to use that photo that isn't your own? You have to consider everything when creating blog content, even if you think it seems trivial and silly. It's better to be safe than sorry. 

It's a great way to progress career wise
Particularly if you're after a media based career. A blog is a great way to demonstrate your work and what you can do and it can also act as a portfolio for any jobs that you apply for too! Blogging is more than just writing; it can be used to demonstrate your tech skills, social media skills, SEO skills and also to demonstrate whatever it is you're passionate about (e.g. if you're a niche blogger and write about music). 

AdSense sucks
I don't know if this is personal to me or if everyone who monetises their blog with Google AdSense finds this but it literally makes no money. I hosted Google Ads on my blog for around 3 months and literally made less than 50p. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, maybe I need more ads, who knows? It just doesn't seem worthwhile having it! 

People will use you
Sometimes with blogging comes opportunity, and people around you will no doubt want a hand with their own success via yours. I've had several people ask me for favours from brands I've worked with, discount codes that I can't even give out, emails of certain contacts and so on, always expecting me to just give this all out to whoever. Whilst I'm always up for helping people, and will do so accordingly, you have to be able to tell when someone genuinely needs your help and when someone is using you for your contacts etc.

I've said it before and I'll say it again that starting a blog was the best decision I ever made and I'm so glad I did it! If you're thinking about starting a blog and want more tips or advice, feel free to drop me a message; I'm more than happy to help you out! 

If you're a blogger, feel free to share some things you've learnt whilst blogging in the comments below!

Love from,
Florence Grace 

Comments

  1. Anonymous11 December 2016 at 00:58

    I feel like blogging has made me more confident. I used to be so shy but now although I am still shy, I am nowhere near as bad as I was before I started blogging x
    http://blossomofhope.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Florence Grace17 December 2016 at 16:03

      Yes, blogging has definitely made me more confident too! :) x

      Delete

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