Happy Thursday! Wow, I can’t believe that it is Thursday already. But we’ve still been having some lovely warm weather, so it’s all good. Today’s brand new blog post is all about the 5 things I have learned blogging. But first, here’s what I’ve been up to! I’ve been catching up on season 2 of 13 Reasons Why and I’ve started watching Anne With An E, although I have almost finished season 1 now! It’s so good. I’ve never actually read the book that it is based upon, Anne Of Green Gables, but I’m so tempted to give it a read. I ended up watching 4 episodes last night! I don’t think I went to bed until about half 2 this morning! It is that good. But I must admit, I was an emotional mess throughout it. It’s such a lovely and charming story, but I think I definitely need a box of tissues next to me. I thought I would also start this post off with a little Bonnie the Bonsai Tree update! Bonnie is doing great and has started sprouting new leaves! Yay! And Bonnie definitely likes the tube of special feed and a good water too!
I’ve actually been wanting to write this post for quite some time now, as I always love to think about the things I have learned during the past few years. So I did a little mind map that I love to do when thinking of ideas for blog posts, and I’ve decided to base this post on the things that I have learned during the 5 years I have been blogging. Obviously, there is so much more that I have learned, and maybe some of them can be left for another post. The few things below I feel are very important. I started Clem Loves in 2012, so It’s actually almost getting on for 6 years I’ve been blogging for now. I’ve kind of blogged on and off over the years, but my love for it has never left. I am so passionate about writing. I can always seem to get my words across more clearly when writing. My love for my blog continues to grow and grow and I’m constantly learning new things all of the time. Even now!
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. The blogging community is amazing.
One thing I have learned over the years is to not be afraid of asking for help. The blogging community is amazing and I have made so many blogger friends over the years. I used to be quite shy asking for help, but everyone is always more than happy to help you, including myself. I love to help people as much as I can. I always find everyone to be so supportive and kind. There are so many different Facebook groups for bloggers to join. I am a member of quite a few different ones, and they are there to help you with whatever blogging help you may want and need.
Life skills blogging has given me.
I have learnt so much through my 5 years of blogging. I’m still learning even now! Recently I’ve been learning so much more about SEO, domain authority and using keywords. I’ve also been continuing to learn to improve my writing and photography. If it wasn’t for my blog, I wouldn’t have realised how passionate I am about writing and taking photos in the first place. My blog has enabled me to do so much more that can be used in current and future projects and work. Blogging has also helped me to start my own little Etsy shop selling stock photos, along with networking, promoting, time management, social media management and just so much more. I’ve also learned how to have a healthy balance with things more, such as when I was studying and now with working and blogging.
Don’t compare your blog to others.
When I first created Clem Loves and started to take blogging more seriously, I never really compared myself to other bloggers. Around that time, the blogging community was a lot smaller and I basically just wanted to blog about anything and everything, so even though I read other blogs, I always wrote for myself. During the 5 years, I have at many different times, compared my blog to others. I started to feel that maybe my content wasn’t good enough and thought to myself, why would anyone want to read it. But over the years I have learned to love myself so much more and my blog. My blog means so much to me and it’s unique, just like every other blog. No one’s blog is the same and everyone’s is unique and wonderful. At times I would get so down about my photos, but then I realised that I don’t want to be like everyone else, I want to do me and I want my personality to come across in my blog and photos. There are still moments occasionally when I read someone else’s blog and feel a little disheartened about my own, but then I think about all of the lovely comments and all of the things I have achieved so far on my blog. And I think that is one of the most important things. I love my blog and I enjoy writing on my blog. Through blogging, I have learned that the most important thing is to always focus on my own blog, and if I love something and have enjoyed creating something, then that is all that matters and what is the most important. I should not compare my blog to others.
Are numbers really everything?
As I mentioned above, when I first created Clem Loves and started writing, I was just doing it because I loved to write. Although I was taking blogging more seriously after having other websites and blogs previously, I didn’t really think about numbers. As my blog started to grow, my views started to go up. A few years back, there were so many bloggers who had the view count on their main page, I was one of them. This triggered a sense of panic in me, that I wasn’t getting enough views and as many as other bloggers. This ended up making me feel that I wasn’t really getting anywhere with my blog and that something was definitely wrong because I wasn’t getting the views. It was also after this that I started to think to myself do numbers really mean everything. I decided to take my view count off of my blog. This kind of goes hand in hand with comparing my blog to others. I was comparing the view count. Now, I don’t really think about the view count, I like to look to see how well a post has done, but I just appreciate how many views I do get along with lovely comments from fellow bloggers. I have personally learned that numbers aren’t always everything. I’ve worked with some amazing brands. I create the content on my blog because I love it and I love doing it, even if that does mean that some days I don’t get as many views.
It’s good to keep a notebook near you.
I always keep my notebook next to me when I’m at my desk. Having a notebook next to me means that I can just grab it and quickly write down any blog related ideas that pop into my head. I haven’t always had a notebook handy though when writing, and there are probably hundreds of ideas that I have had over the last few years that would have been great for writing about, but I just forgot about them because I didn’t write them down! As I mentioned at the top of this post, I love doing mind maps. They were something I loved doing when I was in education, and I’ve continued to do them for my blog when thinking up new ideas. In my notebook, you will find long lists of blog post ideas, ideas for future videos, as that is something I would like to start doing, information that I picked up on tips for learning SEO, times for Twitter chats and also notes for my Twitter RT account, @BloggerLS. If I’m stuck for something to write about, I can just flick through my notebook and pick out an idea from it. I also use it to write down my favourite blogs and accounts I have come across, so I can go back to them again later. If you are out and about, having a notes app on your phone, really does come in useful. You can pop your ideas down on your phone and then they are there to write in your notebook when you get home again.
Be yourself.
I’ve saved this one for last, as to me, this is one of the most important things I have learned through blogging. It’s so important to always be yourself. I have tried in the past to create my photos a certain way because everyone else was doing it, and also I’ve tried different styles of writing. But nothing beats beings yourself. That’s what people want to come to your blog and read. Posts that show your own personality and your own style of writing and photos. I don’t want to be like everyone else, I want to be me. I now have my own unique theme for my photos which I love and I have even had a blogger write to me that as soon as they saw one of my photos, they knew that it was taken by me. You have no idea how happy this made me! Although I love reading other blogs and looking for inspiration, I love to just be myself and write about what I want to write about. That was why I created Clem Loves back in 2012.
What things have you learned through blogging?
Looking for more blogging based posts? Check out these prop ideas for blog photos. Read here about my thoughts on the future of blogging. Or check out here at why I started blogging. Here are 6 reasons why I love blogging.
