7 Things I’ve Learnt As A Beginner Blogger

I’m more comfortable calling myself a writer than a beginner blogger, because I’m not “there” yet. For the sake of simplicity, let’s just call myself that. This blog began in November 2018. I was only writing and posting, so it was more like a journal.

In May 2019, I decided to give blogging a serious try. It’s really in the past 3 months that I learnt the majority of what’s written in this post. Anyway, that brings me to lesson 1.

Disclaimer: this post isn’t about how to improve your blog or traffic, it’s about how to help you stay encouraged on the blogging journey!

1. Build a support system for your blog, and keep learning and experimenting.

I had almost no visitors to my blog for the first 5 months. Having studied marketing, I knew that a product, whether good or bad, has to have some marketing behind it for it to generate interest.

The first thing I did when I decided to dive into blogging is to start reading and following other blogs on WordPress. Then, I created a Facebook page for my blog, and started Dark Blue Journal accounts on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. I wasn’t sure which social media would work better for me.

My Instagram account is a flop, considering that I’m a hermit without many fresh photos.

On the other hand, Twitter has been a great experience! I’ve even managed to make some Twitter friends – a feat for this little hermit. Three months ago, I was still feeling lost and confused in Twitter-verse. I’d never guess that I’ll be having nice interactions with fellow bloggers and writers three months later. I get most of my readers from Twitter too.

I’m still working on my Pinterest, we’ll see where that takes me.

In any case, the traffic is finally getting a little better. A little.

Read widely about blogging tips and keep experimenting to make it better!

2. Poor traffic may get to you regardless of your motivation. Keep writing!

Even though I’ve made it a point to keep in mind that my main aim in running a blog is to improve my writing, having poor traffic bugs me sometimes. It makes me question my work.

Am I doing something wrong? Is my writing bad? Am I boring?

It’s easy to feel overlooked. There’s just something about having stats that make you want to see them increase. Maybe it’s an inherent human trait, we want to be acknowledged!

But it’s important that we don’t take poor traffic personally. Aside from the fact that it’s normal for beginner bloggers to have poorer traffic, remember that traffic isn’t a good gauge of the quality of our work. The cyberspace is just so vast and cluttered. It could be that people simply didn’t come across your blog yet, or your subject of interest is on the niche side.

Of course, it could be that it’s a quality issue, but so what? You can learn to do better.

In any case, don’t let poor traffic stop you from writing. Remember your motivation for starting a blog and hold on to it. You have something worth saying, and you’ll only get better with time.

3. Blogging is a lot of work and learning, but it’s fun.

I don’t think one will understand how much work it is until one starts to blog for real. Let me list the basics:

• Researching posts
• Writing posts
• Keeping up with social media
• Creating pins for pinterest
• Reading other blogs
• Keeping track of posts and promotions
• Learning about blog maintenance

There isn’t a day when I’m not doing something for the blog. Yet I know bloggers who are also business-owners, full-time employees, Youtubers, and podcast-ers etc. Some of them create courses and freebies and newsletters. They’re super productive!

As a beginner blogger, I’m still at the learning stage. I’m learning to write, compile research, use social media, and run my blog. There’s still a million things I don’t know about blogging, but I’ll take it one day at a time.

That said, it is enjoyable work.

4. It’s possible to befriend people you’ve never met, and you’ll get encouragement from total strangers

This has to be one of the biggest perks of blogging. Being an introvert, socializing on WordPress and Twitter with “strangers” is more comfortable than socializing “irl”.

It’s fascinating and awesome to know that you can make connections online with seemingly random people. I love the friends I’ve made on WordPress and Twitter! They’ve made my blogging journey so much less lonely.

If you’re new to blogging, try to make some blogger friends. They’ll understand what you’re going through, and you’ll benefit from their company. It’ll help keep you inspired.

You’ll be surprised how many nice people are out there, ready to offer a kind word to you. So many times, I’d publish a post, feel that it wasn’t good enough, and still receive encouraging comments for it!

It tells me that people are more forgiving toward imperfections in my writing than I am, and confirms my belief that there’re more good people than bad ones out there.

None of them needed to take the time to drop the comment, compliment, or words of encouragement. Hell, they didn’t even have to read what I wrote. But they did.

I’m very thankful for everyone who took the time to read and/or comment on what I wrote. Few things are more precious than a person’s attention and time. I shall strive to make every post worth reading!

5. Be less critical, and more encouraging toward creators

Anyone who creates is a creator, be it writing, art, crafts, apps, or a meal. Creating and sharing work with the world involves a fair amount of vulnerability.

Each piece of work carries a piece of its creator, and he/she present it to the world with both hands.

Each piece we put out there is done with the best of our ability at that point in time. Yet, each piece we put out there puts us at risk of ridicule and heartbreak.

The more I write, the more I appreciate any form of creativity, and the more I want to encourage it or not criticize it.

Sharing something we really enjoy doing is frightening. If we’re less critical and more encouraging, we create a more nurturing environment that supports more creators.

We all know it makes our day to get a friendly comment or an encouragement. Be less critical and more encouraging!

6. You’ll feel a lot of uncertainty, but you’ll feel bouts of hope too

Your emotions will be tugged in different directions.

Even without external influence, you could self-sabotage if you get self-doubt. One moment, you could be worrying about the quality of your work and where the idea for your next post will come from.

Another moment, you could be beaming because someone complimented you on a post.

It makes things worse if you look at the numbers on your statistics and read about someone’s incredible view counts. I’ve lost count of the number of times I thought, “I’ve got a long way to go!” and “it doesn’t feel like I’ll get there…”

It can be very distracting and discouraging, and it can affect your motivation to write. Don’t buy into your emotions. Keep writing!

I find that setting up a posting schedule helped a lot. In all my previous blogging attempts, I never had a fixed schedule. This time around, I made it a point to post every Tuesday and Saturday. It has made me more consistent.

Even when I have a stretch of days when I’m very demoralized, I’ll make sure I have the next post covered.

Always keep your original intention of starting a blog in mind. It may be to spread awareness for a cause or an illness, to introduce good books to people, or to simply share your writing. Holding on to your original intent would help keep you going, and your sincerity would shine in your posts.

7. Your writing will improve, if you’re consistent

I haven’t been blogging that long, but I’ve seen some improvement in my writing thanks to the regular practice.

As mentioned above, having a schedule makes me write regularly. Before, I’d write only when I feel like it, or when an idea strikes me. That’s a really bad idea.

The schedule created a commitment, especially because I made a “promise” on my Twitter profile that I publish two new posts every week.

Having completed pieces every week isn’t just helpful practice-wise, it helps to build confidence too.

It sends the message to your brain that you’re capable of completing work and makes starting new posts feel less daunting.

If you’re also a beginner blogger, I highly recommend setting up a schedule. Apart from improving your skills, it also helps to establish a consistent presence and a good habit.

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So there it is, 7 things I’ve learnt as a beginner blogger. I don’t now where this journey will take me, but I hope I’ll be on it for a very long time.

Are you a blogger or a writer? Do share your experience when you’re just starting out!

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