Things I Wish I Knew Before Blogging

I've been blogging for ten years now and it's been going great but had I known some things early on maybe I would have grown more early on. Although, that's a part of the blogging journey. Sometimes you make mistakes or discover something new that you didn't know before. It's a learning curve but one day you'll find your groove and get to where you want to go with your blog. I thought I'd help any new bloggers out there by sharing five things I wish I knew about my blog. 

1. Have an idea of what kind of posts you want to do

When I first started blogging, I had no idea what kind of posts I was going to do. I just did spontaneous posts as they came and hoped for the best. One thing I would recommend is before you go live with your blog, have a few posts ready to go so that you can publish them once a week to get you started. This gives you an idea of what kind of posts you want to write but also gets you used to writing posts. Plus having a few posts ready to go always makes it easier if you do have days where you don't know what to write about. Scheduling posts is honestly the greatest asset to blogging because it gives you time to plan out posts and make sure you're staying consistent with your blog. This brings me to my next thing. 

2. Consistency is key

Being consistent with your posts is crucial because it gives readers of your blog reassurance that they'll see a new post on a weekly basis. Not being consistent and leaving it a while between posts can leave the reader getting bored of your blog which could result in them not checking back on your blog. I've had many troubles with doing this as I've had moments of getting blogger's block or I just forgot to make a new post then a couple of weeks have gone by. I've definitely gotten better with this over the past few years and made an effort to be more consistent with my posts. As a result I have seen viewers go up and up every week which I believe is a result of being consistent with my blogging. Even when I'm posting everyday for a month and being consistent that a post goes out everyday at the same time, it gives the reader confidence that there will be a new post everyday. It's about showing your reader you're consistent and giving them something new to read each week. 

3. Purchase your URL

For so long, I relied on using the free Blogspot URL and for a while it worked. I then realised that it's okay when you're starting out your blog but if you want to get serious about blogging then it's time to purchase a URL. I actually realised it wasn't as expensive as I thought it was going to be, especially if you do a yearly subscription. For me I just pay £10 annually for my URL and it gives me that reassurance that one I own my website but also it looks way more professional than a free URL. Definitely purchase your URL in the first year of blogging if you're serious about blogging. 

4. Take the time to edit your posts

If you saw my earlier posts then you know it never went through a spelling or grammar check. I'm slowly working on editing all my posts to update the spelling and grammar but it's a lot of posts to get through. I used to just type the post, give it a little preview to make sure it looked okay and then just hit publish. I didn't even proofread it. I just published it and let the world see it. I've learned that's a big mistake because there's loads of spelling and grammar mistakes but also it just looks boring. I've discovered adding a title card to the posts makes it look more professional especially if you share your post on Pinterest. Also running your post through a spelling and grammar checker makes it easier to spot the mistakes you didn't realise you made. I just copy and paste my posts to Google Docs to use the spelling and grammar checker. It works for me and helps me to edit my posts so that it flows better. It's really important to edit your posts to make them look good and more professional.

5. Be yourself

It's really important when it comes to blogging to be yourself. Don't be like other popular bloggers because nobody likes a copycat. If you are your unique self then the readers will come because one they will expect something different from you but also your personality will shine through. It's also harder to try to copy other bloggers so being yourself just makes it easier. Of course you can take inspiration because some posts like routines and packing tips are inevitable especially if you're a lifestyle blogger but making it personal to you adds that unique aspect to it. You can base the post on your personal experience, likes and dislikes. Making it relatable also helps because people will understand where you're coming from and also may find a useful tip that they never even realised. Being yourself is crucial to making your blog a success because at the end of the day your blog's unique selling point is you. 

There we have it. Those are five things I wish I knew before blogging. Let me know if you have any blogging tips in the comments below. Maybe we can all help each other out because there's always room for improvement. 

Thank you for taking the time to view my blog and I'll be back tomorrow with another post.

See you then. 

Megan x

*This is not a sponsored post*

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