Two Years And Still Blogging
Two years ago last week I first started blogging properly; I purchased my blogs’ URL, theme and signed up with a self hosting company. I had dabbled with Blogger for a short time before that, but wanted more control and liked the thought of self hosting my blog.
The thought did scare me silly, but not one to be put off by a challenge, I threw myself into setting up my blog and learning everything I possibly could about running it. It took two weeks of blood, sweat and sleepless nights to get it to a point where I was happy with how it looked.
My brain wouldn’t switch off, in two weeks I went from a person who knew nothing about blogging, to someone who had dabbled with coding. To anyone who is computer savvy, the coding I did was minor, but to me it was a big deal and still is. Saying that though, I did manage to create coding that allows bloggers to display multiple images in one widget in their side bar, with each individual image linking to a relevant blog or post.
What I Have Learned In Two Years Of Blogging
Is that blogging is full on and relentless. There is always something to do and just when you think you are on top of things, you aren’t.
Much of my time is spent what I call PRing, which is reading and commenting on other people blogs (which I really enjoy), closely followed by tweaking my blog behind the scenes and sorting images.
I have also gone from someone who didn’t ‘get’ social media, to someone who has a Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and Facebook account. I may not be a social media guru, but I now have more of a clue and am working on growing my accounts.
One of the most important things I have learned about blogging, is that life will get in the way, but when it does I don’t panic as I know my blog will still be there waiting for me when life settles down again.
The Blogging Community Are A Fantastic Bunch
The one thing I never expected when I started blogging was to ‘meet’ people, but I’ve ‘met’ some great people through blogging and made what I consider to be online friends. Just because we have never met for real doesn’t mean we don’t ‘click’, make each other smile and support one another when need be.
I’ve ‘met’ people whose posts have touched me and made me think and I’ve ‘met’ people whose posts have made me laugh. These are people who I can relate to through their writing. One big thing I have noticed is that we are all very different, but maybe not so different after all (which I know doesn’t really make sense).
Blogging brings people together and allows them to share their experiences. It makes the world a smaller place.
Two Years Ago
I had no idea really what I wanted from my blog. I also had no idea how important it would become to me. It’s become a big part of my life and it’s never far from my thoughts. I can be washing dishes and thinking about blog posts or driving to town and thinking how I want my images to look.
I still wake up excited about a blog post idea and my heart rate still rises as I nervously hit the publish button.
Starting out blogging I used to worry about running out of post ideas, but life happens and with it comes plenty of post ideas.
Looking Back
I won’t lie, the look and feel of my blog has changed a lot since I first set it up (for the better I hope). My first posts make me cringe slightly now, but I won’t delete them as they are a part of my blogs’ history. They are where I’ve come from as a blogger and I think they show how I have become more confident in my writing.
How my blog used to look
We have to be able to look back to know where we have come from and to acknowledge changes, whether they are good or bad.
To Others Considering Starting A Blog
Stop considering, go forth and start blogging. If you don’t try it, you’ll never know if it’s for you and whilst it’s not for everyone, it may turn out to be the best thing you’ve ever done.
Some Words Of Advice
Don’t compare your blog to other peoples blogs. By all means admire and take inspiration from them, but always be your own person when it comes to blogging. After all, being you is what you do best!
Your blog and you as a writer will grow together. It may happen slowly or it may happen quickly, no one can tell you.
And as with anything in life, you really do get out, what you put into blogging.
How long have you been blogging and what have you learned along the way?
© 2016, Debbie. All rights reserved.
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