"If I Knew Then What I Know Now...": 10 Lessons I Learned in my First Year of Blogging.

​We all have those moments when we wish we had the wisdom and insight we possess now a few weeks, months, or years ago. However, the great thing about this world is we live amongst people that have all experienced life in various ways. The benefit of that is being able to learn lessons from their experiences, which may assist you with being more prepared for what’s to come in your life path. 
I’m a true believer that we are helpers one to another. I have so many AMAZING people in my life who I’m so grateful for that want the best for me and take time to give me advice and share lessons from their experiences. In return, I’d love to be that person for you today. Let’s dive into these lessons Pen and paper ready? Okay!

Lesson #1: JUST START.
This had to be #1. Since I was a young girl, my mother taught me to do all things with a spirit of excellence.
I thank her for that lesson, however, the extreme person I can be sometimes may have turned that excellence thing into being a perfectionist.
Perfection is the enemy of progress. JUST START. Listen, I started my YouTube video with a white sheet as my background until I could budget for a nicer one. I started my blog not knowing if I was going to have enough to write about but I just started. Did my blog look exactly how I wanted it when I first launched it…umm NO. However, I put myself out there and to see the growth from my first day to now, it’s been a beautiful evolution. Seeing your personal growth is a beautiful thing. JUST START.
(I gotta make these lessons shorter if we’re gonna get through 10! LOL)

Lesson #2: Plan Ahead.
I had no idea how time consuming blogging was going to be. From creating the email blast to creating Instagram and Facebook stories to market your blog, oh and actually taking the time to stop and write the darn thing…it is A LOT. No sugar coating it. However, if you get yourself on a schedule and have good time management, you will find your rhythm and it will get much easier.

Lesson #3: Automation.
This came after planning ahead for a reason but needed to be its own lesson. Automation is a blessing from heaven. Automating your blog posts, email blasts, and posts is such a time saver. Go ahead and save yourself a lot of time by investing in automated apps.

Lesson #4: Hire an Editor.
There’s nothing worse than saying you’re a blogger and having tons of grammatical errors within your posts. (Checking back to make sure I don’t have any. lol)
It’s so worth it. If you can’t hire an editor yet, at least get a second pair of eyes to read over your blog. Sometimes you may be writing at night, get a little tired and skip a word or have a run-on sentence. A second pair of eyes is always helpful.

Lesson #5: Engage.
Engagement is SO important. A brand will work with someone who has more engagement over someone who has a bigger number of followers with less engagement. Take time to read and respond to your supporters. We have all had that feeling of someone we look up to acknowledging us or replying back to our comment and it put a big smile on your face. Same thing. Always engage…only positive engagement by the way. Just block the trolls if they happen to show up.

Lesson #6: Don’t Write for the Size of your Audience.
Whew, this is a big one. Let’s just cut right to the chase, in the beginning of blogging, your audience may be all of 1 person, and that person may be your grandma. However, you need to stroke those keys like you’re writing for the New York Times!
Listen, it only takes one person to change your life. One brand to love your content and want to work with you. One supporter to say, you changed my life and perspective by writing this, thank you.
So never down play your work because you have a small audience and you are discouraged because no one is reading or commenting. You never know who will come across it one day.

Lesson #7: Be Consistent.
Once people have discovered your blog, they’re now going to look forward to your new content. If you say you’re going to post weekly, do that. Bi-weekly, stay true to that. Now, let’s be honest, sometimes life happens and we fall off of our schedule. That’s ok. Keep your audience updated, they’ll understand and then hop back on schedule as soon as possible.

Lesson #8: Be a Solution.
What your audience truly wants to know is what’s in it for them. Are they getting good financial advice from this post, a discount code on the cute skirt you're wearing, details about how you lost all that weight so they can do it too? When writing your blogs, always remember W.I.I.F.T. – What’s In It For Them? If you keep that in mind while you write, they’ll always come back for more.

Lesson #9: Stay Authentic.
There are a lot of other bloggers writing on the same topic as you are, but remember, there’s no one else like you and you’ll bring a different perspective to it. Don’t compare yourself to another blogger. That blogger may have been in the game much longer than you and is just now reaping the benefits of all his/her hard work. Stay true to who you are and if you ever have doubts, just remember why you started.

Lesson #10: HAVE FUN!
Yes, a lot comes with being a blogger. We are on a tight schedule to make sure we produce the best content for our audiences and that comes with a lot of responsibility. The one thing we have to remember in all of this is to have fun while doing it. Write about things that bring you joy. This is YOUR platform. You are the CEO. Remember to be nice to yourself and celebrate your hard work and milestones.

​*BONUS LESSON!*
Write your blog posts in a word document, save it, and THEN put it in your blogging platform. A lot of bloggers have been burned by NOT doing it this way. Always write in a document, SAVE, then transfer your information. J
 
Which was your favorite lesson? Leave a comment below!
Xoxo,
Abnormally Ab