Today is a special day.
On August 27, 2012, I nervously hit publish on my first post after nearly a year-long hiatus from blogging.
Yes, friends, today is my one year blogiversary here on Spoons. I’ve been in [and out] of the blog world a little longer than that, but it was one year ago today when I really decided to commit to blogging and take things a little more seriously.
Blogging has become such a integral part of my day that it’s honestly hard to imagine life without it. Seriously. When something exciting happens or I come across an amazing product? One of the first things that crosses my mind is “Ooooooo! I can’t wait to blog about this!!” And the connections… oh man the connections. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to interact with like-minded people on a daily basis – to be inspired and learn from others, and to inspire and share with others.
I thought about doing a giveaway to celebrate this momentous occasion (humour me), but one thing that bothers me about giveaways is that only one person really benefits… I’d rather offer something that multiple people can [hopefully] get use out of, so I thought I’d share some blogging tips, tricks, and tidbits that I’ve picked up over the last year or so. Now, by no means am I trying to suggest that I’ve got it all figured out – Lord knows I still have plenty left to learn – but I really enjoy reading these kind of posts, so I figured it would be a good idea to write one as well.
And without further ado, here are 9 thoughts on blogging. Why 9? Because a 10th one never came to me…
Blogging requires a lot of time and effort. I think one of the biggest things that people fail to realize before they jump into blogging is how much work it actually takes. Between writing posts, taking pictures, editing, planning, engaging in social media, answering e-mails, and commenting on other blogs, blogging can easily take up as many hours as a part time job. You need to decide if a) you have the extra time to spare, and b) if that time is worth spending on blog-related matters.
Blog because you enjoy it. At the end of the day, blogging is just a hobby [for most of us], not a job. The last thing you want to do is get yourself to a point where blogging starts to feel like a chore – that’s when it’s a good idea to take a step back and re-evaluate your approach. This might mean taking a small hiatus or posting less frequently – whatever it takes to re-ignite your passion for it. I know it’s easy to get caught up in the mentality that you need to post every.single.day to be successful, but this isn’t the case at all. When it comes to blogging, quality always trumps quantity. Your readers will know if you’re posting just for the sake of posting, so don’t sacrifice the quality of your blog just to meet some imaginary posting schedule pressure that you place on yourself. That being said…
It helps if you take blogging [semi] seriously. Don’t go stressing yourself out over it, but try to fall into some kind of general routine. Set aside a certain amount of time to devote to blogging and use that time to write and engage with others. Work on improving your photography and writing skills, and try to keep a consistent posting schedule. Again, this doesn’t mean that you have to post every day, but try to get something up a few times a week so that your readers know when to expect a post from you.
Keep a blogging notebook. I have a Moleskin weekly planner that’s basically attached to my hip. I love it because one side is a weekly calendar while the other is blank notepaper that’s great for jotting down ideas. Every Sunday, I devote some time to planning out posts for the upcoming week so that I have a general idea what I’ll be writing about. I also use it to jot down random ideas whenever they pop into my head, as well as keeping any blog related notes.
Social media is kind of a big deal. I neglected things like Twitter and Facebook for so long because I had no idea how to use them properly so they just ended up overwhelming me. That and I didn’t really think they made a huge difference when it came to blogging. Big mistake. Not only is social media a great way to engage with others, but it’s also a perfect way to get some exposure to your blog. Sharing random pictures from your day on Instagram can help people feel like they know you a little better, and sharing your posts on Twitter and Facebook is a good way to get more traffic. It’s also a great idea to tweet about posts that you enjoyed from other bloggers – they might just return the favour and introduce more people to your blog as well.
Open yourself up to the possibility of criticism. The blogging community is a great place full of supportive people, but not everyone is going to agree with you or like what you have to say, and that’s fine. You’ll never be able to please everyone, and trying to do so will only rob you of your true voice and make you resent the whole process. Be yourself and write for yourself; if someone has a problem with it, so what? Judgment is an unfortunate reality not only in the blog world, but in life in general. Don’t let it get to you because only you are in a position to accurately judge yourself; and sometimes that’s not even the case.
Be aware of the negative influence of others. It’s easy to fall victim to the comparison trap, whether it be with body image, diet, exercise, or something like blogging success. It’s a hard thing to avoid, but being aware of it makes it easier to catch and hopefully stop. Some good words to live by are “don’t compare your behind-the-scenes with someone else’s highlight reel.” Most bloggers focus on the positives and avoid mentioning the negatives. You don’t know what else might be going on, so don’t assume everything is all sunshine and rainbows. People are people, and everyone’s life is full of ups and downs.
Just because it’s online, doesn’t make it legit. There is a lot of information out there in the blogging world, and for every piece that’s useful, you’ll come across ten [or more?] pieces that aren’t. Learn to read critically and don’t take what you see written on the pages of a blog as being written in stone. There’s nothing wrong with being inspired and trying out new things, but don’t cling to something that doesn’t work for you just because it worked for someone else. Trust yourself and follow your own rules.
Filter what you post. Remember that what you put online is available for anyone to see. You don’t know who’s reading your blog, so be sure that what you put on there is something that you’re comfortable with having everyone see. And keep in mind that what is once on the internet is always on the internet…
. – . – . – .
In closing, blogging is great and I can’t see myself giving it up anytime soon. It makes for a wonderful creative outlet and introduces you to some pretty fantastic people. That being said, it’s definitely not all sunshine and rainbows, and requires a good amount of commitment and a strong sense of self. Basically, it’s like everything else in life – it can be good or bad, depending what you make of it.
If you’re a blogger, what are some of your blogging tips/tricks/tidbits?
If you’re not a blogger, have you ever considered starting one?
well said friend. And keepin it real, which you always do! it’s about being relate-able. So thank you for that and happy blog anniversary! glad you came back!
I fully agree with the filter what you post. I work in a job that cannot really be discussed on my blog – so what you see on my blog is very much filtered and lots is left out. I might want to try the notebook idea because I am almost thinking stuff in my head, but rarely do I actually remember what I thought about.
A tip that I would give would to experiment with how to create your own, self-hosted blog. It isn’t that hard (especially with WordPress), and when you learn the basics, you can troubleshoot a bit more easily. It is also easier to make the blog your own and not just a copy of someone else’s.
Happy One Year! I would have thought you have been blogging a lot longer, i love reading your posts. These are all great blogging tips. I think staying connected with others is a fun way to get to know the other bloggers.
Happy Blogiversary!! You are such a gifted blogger, so thank you for sharing your talents with us 🙂 All of your tips are super helpful. I have been blogging for almost a year now and it’s definitely been a year of ups and downs, lots of comparison traps (that you helped me come out of a few times, believe it or not), debating if I want to keep blogging, perfectionism syndrome and on and on! So your tip on taking blogging seriously really speaks to me because I’ve recently decided that I really enjoy it and will love it so much more if I stop comparing/being a perfectionist and take it a little more seriously. Thanks for being an inspiration. Congrats, again!
I went through the same.exact.thing. It took me quite a while to find a little groove for myself, but I started to enjoy blogging so much more once I did. My advice it to just stick with it, try different things, and see what works for you. Blogging can give you SO much confidence once you really find your voice 🙂
I just discovered you through The Athletarian and I love everything so far 🙂 Thanks for blogging. I can’t wait to follow along.
Happy One Year!! I’m a blogger who’s still in the beginning stages. I’m just trying to figure out how to fit blogging into my busy life. I loved your tip of keeping a blogging notebook, especially a moleskin one. I think I may have to get one 🙂 you have a lot of great tips that I’m going to keep in mind.
Everything you listed, I do! I feel pretty BLOGGER LEGIT RIGHT NOW!! Aha ha!! Oh and since it’s your blog anniversary, CONSIDER MY latest video an ODE TO: RUNNING WITH SPOONS! 😀
Birthday guac for Spoons?! #happydance
Happy 1 year anniversary! Such a huge accomplishment! Love all of your tips and tidbits; couldn’t agree more with every one of them! I use the Notes in my iPhone to write down any idea that might spark a great post the second it hits me! That way when I am feeling slightly uninspired, this sparks my creativity again! Great post!
Happy Blog Birthday!
Hahhaa funny analogy right, because the blog really is like a child or an offspring.
Except not really.
You get it. (I hope).
One thing I wish was that more bloggers knew:
It’s possible to have a blog and not BE a “blogger” … you know?
As an avid blog reader I get sad when the trajectory of a blog goes from being genuine and fun and spontaneous to eventually writing posts that seem forced or obligatory or they start posting a billion reviews and give-a-ways and content declines… etc. I’m like “Where did she go?” underneath all of the… blog stuff? Lol.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPOONS!!!!
I’m so glad you picked up blogging a year ago, because you’re one of my favorite bloggers ever <3. I ALWAYS look forward to reading your posts and love your take on life and honesty!
LOVE YOU GIRL!
Awwr, right back at ya, lady 🙂
Happy Blogiversary! These are great tips and all are 100% true. I wish so badly I could get myself to understand Twitter more but I get extremely overwhelmed when I give it a try. Maybe one day. Lol. My biggest blogging tip is to make a blog for yourself and no one else. Be true to you and most pictures of things relating back to YOU. 😀
Thanks for the tips and tricks! I am still in the newbie phases, but I love it. When I feel like I’m getting to caught up I take a break for a few days, then go back to it refreshed!
Happy anniversary!
Happy one year!
I agree with all these tips. My biggest blogging tip is to never give up and never get discouraged. Building readership takes time and you just have to BE YOURSELF! Flaws are okay and human.
Yay!!! Spoons and Davs share a birthday!!! August 27th is a great day if I may say so myself 😉 Haven’t been a part of your journey for the whole year but I am happy I found you sooner rather than later! So excited for the many years to come.
Ditto to blogging being like a part-time job! It’s a crazy world we chose to be a part of but I wouldn’t have it any other way 😉
(Happy Birthday again, lady 😉 )
Happy Birthday Spoons!!! Thanks for all of the useful tips, I could use them!
Happy One Year Blogiversary Amanda!!!!!! That’s SO exciting!!! I have to tell you that out of the many blogs I read, your is one of my favorites. I look forward to reading your posts everyday, and you’ve definitely given me some things to think about. And then…there are your awesome recipes…love them!!!! I’ve been making your cookie dough smoothie everyday since I got back from vacation. So yummy!!!
Love your blog tips, especially the one about keeping a blog notebook. I really need to start doing that and I need to keep it with me at all times. I find that blog ideas pop into my head during the day, and since I don’t have a pen/paper with me, I can write them down and I end up forgetting what they are by the time I can jot some notes down. A notebook by my side 24/7 is a perfect resolution to that problem.
Since, I’m fairly new to the blogging world, I think one of the biggest things I’ve learned is to be yourself, so others can relate to you. I want people to get to know the real (virtual) me, and writing honest and real posts is the way to do it.
That’s a really great tip, Holly, and actually one of the things that I love about ya 🙂
Happy Blogiversary!! Great tips, I especially like the one about filtering what you post. I always try to keep this in mind because you never know who will stumble upon your blog one day! I love the idea of keeping a notebook, right now I have no organization for my blog but think it’s time to start 🙂
Happy blogiversary love!! You know how much I adore you and your blog, so that basically goes without saying. I’m just so grateful that I found my way over here and was able to ‘meet you’ (which will be happening in real life in just over 2 weeks!! :-D). I definitely agree that blogging is something that you need to take semi-seriously if you want to go anywhere with it, and be prepared to put a lot of time into it. If I actually sat down and calculated the hours in my day that go into blog related stuff, I’m pretty sure it equals a part time job…or maybe even closer to a full one. Being able to dedicate that much time to it definitely indicates that you have to love it.
A tip I would suggest to someone would be to get into blogging for the right reasons. If you blog simply for the sake of being super popular and making money, you’re going to be let down and frustrated very, very quickly.
Girl, you don’t even -know- how excited I am to see you in two weeks. Well… maybe you do 😉 But… EeeeEEEEee! #happydance
Happy birthday, Ms. Spoons! 🙂 Your blog is one of my favorites and your honesty and sharing tips like today is what makes it awesome! I can’t wait to see what year #2 brings <3
Happy one year to RWS! I love all of your tips and completely relate to and agree with them. I love blogging and take it pretty seriously but keeping up with it on top of a full time job can get exhausting. I like the idea to take a break or post less often. No matter how much you love something, sometimes you just need a break!
HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY!!!!! I blogged for 4 years and I hope that you continue blogging for more years 🙂
Happy one year to your blog! I totally agree with your blogging tips and tricks.
I think the most important thing for bloggers is to have fun and enjoy what you’re doing – unless of course, you’re trying to make blogging and writing part of your career – but if it’s more of a side thing, I believe the important thing is to not get too consumed with blogging, live your real life so you have things to blog about, and keep it fun on your blog!
<3
Yes, yes, YES – the balance is super important. I used to feel so pressured to blog that I’d put off doing things in RL just to get a post up, and over time I started resenting it. Living to blog is definitely not the way to go.
Happy one year to Spoons! Like you said I think one of the best tips for bloggers is to post regularly on a schedule. It’s confusing when a blogger posts one day, none for a week, and three next week. When their posts are all over I forget to go back or end up not reading any of them.
Yay! What a wonderful milestone. Happy one year 🙂
These are such great tips — especially for a semi-new blogger like myself. I can totally relate to them all. I definitely don’t think I have mastered social media… although I love Instagram. The thing that I find the most helpful is to write what I’d want to read. If I find myself skimming through one of my own posts, how can I expect someone else to read it?! xo
Happy birthday to youuu, happy birthday to youuuu, happy birthday to spoooooonnsssss, happy birthday to you!
So happy you came back to blogging, lady <3. I love the tips. I had no idea how much time blogging took, but I love (almost) every second of it! And I also have a hugeeee list of post ideas. A lot of them end up going unused, but it's always smart to write down those ideas, or else you'll forget them and be pissed about it later.
xo
Great tips! I’ve been blogging for a little over 2.5 years (whoa!), and I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is to write about things that you are passionate about/interested in. That’s what keeps my blogging fire burning. Haha!
Wow i actually can’t believe it’s *only* been a year – feel like i’ve been reading your blog for much longer! I don’t usually comment but thought as it’s a special occasion i’d say *!*Happy Blogiversary*!*
Keep posting, your blog is one of my favourites 🙂
Jo x (@essentiallyJo)
Thank you, Jo 🙂
Great tips. I like the notebook idea. Also, because of blogging I’ve become obsessed with twitter and instagram. I haven’t made a facbook page for my blog though. I think that would be a bit overwhelming for me.
I was wondering if we could exchange emails. I am really passionate about getting my blog up and running (have been for years), writing it one of my greatest passions and to be able to help people would be amazing.
You do such a good job, I’d love to have your help with the little bits to improve my overall approach.
Thanks for the info!
🙂
Of course! Shoot me an e-mail at [email protected]
It’s been a year already-congratulations! Also love your blogging tips! 🙂
Happy anniversary!! That is so exciting! Love the tips and advice you gave up there. Super helpful and very true! You really have to love blogging and be dedicated to it because it really takes up a lot of time! I love to blog and let my creative juices flow…so that’s what keeps me coming back! Oh and the food, I do love food.
Happy anniversary! I am so glad you decided to hit publish last year because I love reading your blog everyday! It is totally a lot of work to keep up a blog but I so enjoy it that it doesn’t seem like a chore to me. If/when it does, I will take a step back because like you say, that is key and important for us and our readers. So so so true that we don’t know who is reading out blog each day. I always remind myself of that fact and make sure that anything I say can be read by anyone.
Happy Blogiversary! I just celebrated my one year yesterday and I never would have guessed that you’ve only seriously been blogging for a year. You are awesome!!! And you’re so right..blogging is A LOT of HARD work. I don’t think that most of my friends/family really get that!
Oh wow! Such close blog birthdays 🙂 Happy one year to you as well!
Happy Blogiversary! Those are really good tips. I’m just starting out so I love reading stuff like this from more experienced bloggers.
CONGRATS girl on your blogverssary!!!!
I am so glad you don’t see yourself giving it up anytime soon as I am a recent stumbleuponer of your space and truly enjoy your posts!
I am still new to bloggin (3 months on Sep 12th) so I am still learning – your points are very informative – I am HORRIBLE at writing stuff down and before my blog, used to try recipes but could never remake them-as I wouldn’t have the recipe written anywhere. Now I am forced to write stuff down (my counter and table can be a post-it mess) so I really appreciate the notebook tip. Such a simple idea but -for me – a definite AH-HA moment!
I do depend on social media – FB, Pinetrest, & Stumbleupon have sent quite a nice flow of traffic my way (am a beginner so if 50 people read my blog am like “yippee”!)
Thank you – another Great Post!
Happy Blogiversary!
I agree with every single one of these tips.
And I LOVE the Moleskine notebooks, so classic! I need to start writing my ideas down too, cause so many times something pops up in my mind and the next moment it’s gone. Ugh.
For me, as a Swiss Blogger there are different things that makes it challenging is that I am the only one here 🙂 so I had a hard time getting my Swiss Readers on board, but meanwhile they do well 🙂 plus, writing in English which is not my first language gives me a LOT of insecureness every day. But it is also a great chance to improve the language.
That’s exactly why I carry my notebook everywhere – the ideas disappear in an instant otherwise 😯 And girl! You do SO well writing in English! It’s almost impossible to tell that it’s not your first language.
happy 1-yera blog birthday hun!! i think anyone thinking about starting a blog, and anyone whos had a blog for 5 years should read this post as a refresher. its literally my other full time job, and i love it. im not sure its possible to sustain if you dont love it. also remembering that ANYONE can see it is great advice. i love your reason for 9 instead of 10 🙂
Happy birthday to Spoons :)! I am so glad you returned to blogging- yours is definitely one of my favorites to read daily! These are all fab tips and after blogging for 3+ years, I couldn’t agree more…especially about taking it seriously! While blogging is a hobby of mine essentially, there are times when I’m putting in enough work for it to be considered a part-time job! The pay-off (i.e. in terms of friendships and relationships built) is more than worth it though! I like to think as my blog as my little corner in the Internet that reflects me as a person..not the HLB mold that has been created! I found that once I found my voice, I started enjoying blogging so much more!!
HAPPY BLOG ANNIVERSARY! I cannot even begin to tell you how happy and blessed I feel to of come across your page months and months ago. It has been an absolute pleasure learning more about you day in & day out. Your posts have always brightened my days, even when I found it hard to smile. I love your tips, especially keeping a journal. There will be so many times where I think of an idea while laying in bed & BAM I forget it by the time I wake up.. #bloggingproblems.
Anyways, continue blogging for YOU and no one else <3
Awwr thank you hun. It’s definitely been a blessing to “meet” you as well 🙂 xox
Happy first anniversary! I cannot believe that it is a year already, seems like I read your being-back-post just yesterday. *turning the granny mode off* What a seriously great idea to share a few blogging tips. Though no news for me, I bet they are great for newbies and you managed to give a great outline to start with. I needed over 2 years of blogging to figure out most of these points by myself.