5 Things I Wish I’d Known When I Started Blogging

The day I started this blog was one of the most exciting in my life so far – I felt like I was creating something all on my own, and I loved every minute of it. There were a lot of minutes too – I probably spent a good 6 hours plus a day over the first few months of blogging on this site – I felt like there was so much to learn, too much to do, and I had to do it all this instant! Im pretty sure this is a common feeling though, and I know it can be all-consuming when you’re starting a blog, so I wanted to share some of the lessons I’ve learnt along the way to anyone else out there starting out, or thinking about it.

Here are the 5 Things I Wish I’d Known When I Started Blogging:

You Don’t Have to Be (Or Need To Be) Perfect

If you’re like me, you will find it hard not to want to make every single detail on your blog perfect from day one, but try to resist the urge! Aim to cross the main things off your list first, then move to the minor things later. Remember – 80% of your results come from 20% of tasks, not the other way around! It’s fine to want everything to look great, but get the main stuff right, then set aside a few hours later to work on the small stuff.

Be Organised, But Don’t Burn Yourself Out

Starting a blog is very time-consuming, so its good to be organised and write a list of everything you need to do – but don’t freak out at the size of your list and decide you have to do every single thing right now! Set yourself daily, weekly and monthly goals, and be realistic – give yourself days off or else it will start to feel like a chore after a few months, and you may reach blogger burn out stage – trust me, you don’t want to get to this point! Be patient, stick to your plan and don’t over-work yourself!

Give Yourself Room To Be Creative

This ties in with the above point – give yourself time to develop your site and take it in the direction you want to. You don’t have to do everything now, so be patient. Keep a notepad with you, or write any inspiration in a notepad on your phone so you don’t forget it next time you’re writing a post.

Think Before You Blog

You probably feel like you want to do everything yesterday when you start blogging, but there’s no harm in letting your thoughts settle a bit and give yourself time to think about the blog you would like to create and your long-term vision.

Write Things Down!

Starting a blog is a massive learning curve, so write down as much as you can about things like coding, your theme, files passwords, and how to do things. You may think you will remember it all, but trust me, 6 months down the line your mind can be a bit foggy when trying to remember how you uploaded a new header graphic to your site. I find Google Docs works well for this, and can be accessed from wherever you are in the world, just in case you need it!