Y’all I can’t believe it, but my blog turned a year old on October 26th! I am a few days late posting this, but you know, working full time sometimes gets in the way of my blogging! But I am finally getting around to typing all this up and I figured I would share with you all a few things I’ve learned after blogging for a full year.
I am by no means an expert, and I feel like I still have so, so much to learn. However, I thought I would just try to share a few things in case someone was in the same boat as me.
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You Need to be Self Hosted
I think the most important thing is that you need to be self hosted if you want your blog to go anywhere. Sure, you can start one for free and not pay anything up front, but then you are very limited when it comes to monetizing your blog later on.
Thankfully, I learned this from the very beginning and I went with Bluehost. They have been great so far and anytime I have a problem or concern with my site, their customer service has been excellent.
You can chat online, call them, or email them with any questions or problems you have and they are really fast to resolve it.
Now, it does cost a little money up front to sign up, but honestly I have made that all back and a little more just from blogging one year!
Which I think is pretty good considering I’ve read it can take bloggers many years before they earn a single penny!
So I think it is definitely worth the investment to be self hosted with your blog! Also, when you break it all down, it’s only about $3.95 a month which isn’t bad at all!
You Need To Know Your Own Worth
This is another important thing I’ve learned after blogging a year. You really need to know your own worth and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Don’t accept collaborations for just free product only and don’t write a whole blog post for a company if you aren’t getting paid!
Blogging is a lot of work and you should be compensated fairly for your time and effort. At the beginning, I was guilty of doing this because I didn’t know any better.
I am here to tell you that companies are taking advantage of you if they don’t offer some kind of compensation for your work.
So in short, if it doesn’t feel right to you, don’t accept the collaboration. Go with your gut! If you don’t think it’s a right fit, then don’t do it.
And also, don’t be afraid to ask for payment either. I used to be terrified of that as well! But now when I get a collaboration proposal that I am interested in, I always ask and say something like, “Is there a budget for this campaign?”.
That way the company knows I expect to be paid for it.
I’m not saying to never accept free product only collaborations, because sometimes that is worth it. For example, I just got a furniture collaboration from Ashley Furniture.
Since the furniture was something that I really wanted, I accepted just that instead of payment. If it is a product you could really use and you were going to spend money on it anyway, then definitely accept it!
This all just goes back to going with your gut and knowing what feels right to you.
You Need To Have A Media Kit
If you want to work with brands and make money with your blog, then you need to have a media kit ready to go. You can make this for free off of Canva, or you can pay a few dollars for a template from places like Etsy.
When I first started off, I just made myself a simple free one. But as I have grown, I decided to buy a sharp looking template from Etsy.
I am not too design savvy on Canva so this made it much easier for me to just buy a pre-made template and fill in the info I needed to add.
You can find templates anywhere from $5-$20 too so you don’t have to spend a lot of money on it either.
Also, if you have no idea what a media kit is, it’s basically a resume for your blog and social media. You put all of your stats on there such as page views, visitors, and reader statistics.
You can also add pricing and things you offer from your blog such as sponsored posts and collaborations. My rule of thumb is to have a media kit ready, but don’t send it out to brands unless they ask for it.
Every blogger is different on this, but I like to see what the brand is looking for first before sending out my kit to them.
But, it is very important to have this all ready and keep it updated monthly. That way you don’t have to stress and try to update it all at once when a brand asks you for it.
You definitely look more put together as a blogger when you have a nice media kit available in my opinion.
You Need To Invest In Your Blog
This is something I wished I learned earlier on. You can’t just magically make money from your blog without investing a little in it at first too.
I tried to make mine the cheapest way possible (and still do honestly lol) but it is totally worth it to invest in a few things here and there.
For example, I spent some money and went to the virtual Haven Conference, and it was 100% worth it. I learned so much from that and there is no way I could have figured all that out on my own.
And, if you’re planning on attending a blogging conference in person, be sure to check out all my tips on what to bring to a blogging conference as well!
I like to try to do things all on my own, but there are just some things you need help with, and for me, blogging was one of them.
It didn’t come to me as naturally as Instagram did so it was nice to have someone there to teach me and learn from. If I took more classes from the beginning, I think I would be further along right now than I currently am.
I am still learning and trying to improve, but it has been such a fun year doing so!
You Need To Balance Your Time
After blogging a year, this is a very important thing that I have learned too. Balancing your time is so important. At first, I was trying to pump out 2-3 blog posts a week and literally no one would see them.
But I thought the more I posted, the better it was. And that is not necessarily true. Think quality over quantity. Don’t try to post content if you aren’t really feeling inspired to do so.
Now I just try to do at least one good quality blog post a week. Even then, if I am not feeling inspired, I may just wait awhile before publishing a new post.
There’s always other work that needs to be done on your blog as well such as updating links so it’s not always just writing that needs to be done.
Working full-time too prevents me from doing as much on my blog that I want to do currently, but finding balance is what is so important, that way I don’t get burnt out.
Also, don’t miss important time with family because of your blog and social media. It’s okay to take a break and it’s okay to take a step back.
Do what feels right to you and don’t worry about what other bloggers and influencers are doing right now.
I always try to compare myself to others, and that is not what matters. Stick to being your authentic self and you will see progress from that at your own pace!
Conclusion
So these are just a few things I have learned after blogging one full year. I could honestly go on and on, but I tried to just highlight a few things here and there.
If you have any questions about blogging or anything I could help you with, please let me know! I would love to try to see if I could help you out.
And if your a blogger too, how many years have you been doing it?! Let me know below and if there is any other advice you would give to a newbie blogger as well!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MORNINGS ON MACEDONIA!!!
My blog too just turned one so I know how hard you work on this. I enjoy receiving your emails with each new blog post. You always post something that is informative, useful, or inspiring. Hopefully we can meet next year at a non-virtual conference!!!!!
Keep up the good work:)
Awe tanks Maria! Happy Blog Anniversary to you as well! I am so happy we connected on here and started around the same time. I enjoy seeing your posts too and I hope we can meet sometime next year at a conference as well! That would be so much fun!
Happy Anniversary āØāØ
I love what you learned and you provided great insight into what I should do. Iāve been blogging for 3 months and I too realized the importance of investing in the blog and balancing your time.
Iāve also learned to find a niche, which is pretty important
Thank you so much! And yes all those things are so important! Good luck to you and growing your blog in the future!!
Thank you for all those advices. I think I will use them. x
https://www.serenbird.com
Thank you. I am glad you found it to be helpful.
This such great advice! I’ve been at it for just over 6 months now and could still use a lot of these tips myself š Congrats on your one-year mark!
Awe thanks Kalin! Your blog is beautiful too and it looks like you’ve been doing it for years now too!!
I love that you share many of the lessons you have learned along your first year blogging! Many of the things you have learned here are things I am still working at. š
Happy blogiversary!
Thank you so much! I appreciate that!
Happy Anniversary! I know that there are a lot of people in the blogging community that will say NEVER accept a collaboration for just free product. Like you, however, I will accept if it’s something that I really want and was going to spend my money on anyway. Assuming, of course, it’s worth the effort required in the collaboration. There’s a big difference between accepting a $5 product and accepting a $100 product. You need to weigh out the pros and cons in each situation and decide on the best answer for YOU and your time.
Exactly! I totally agree with that. Thanks so much for reading my friend!
Thank you for sharing this!! I as well as my family have a lot of web experience..im new to blogging, but have been writing for as long as I can remember. I could kick myself for now buying my own domain from the start. A lot of your tips were things I told myself I could wait on to see what happens with my site first, but now I realize (especially so early on) I should take thr plunge now…so thank you for this! I love watching your stories!!
Awe thank you so much! I am so glad you enjoyed it and found it to be helpful!
Great points! All true! Iāve been blogging for 8 years and enjoy it very much. It certainly has its challenges but I donāt plan on stopping anytime soon. Happy blogiversary!
Oh wow! That’s awesome! I plan to continue on blogging too. Hopefully I can learn even more as I go!
Happy anniversary to your blog! It’s great to read about your experience and learnings as a blogger. I actually am thinking of doing self hosting too!
Thank you so much! You definitely should, there are a lot more opportunities if you do so!
I will admit, I made a fair bit from blogging before I was self hosted. So it can happen. But self hosting is definitely the best option if you want to take it seriously š Congrats on a year of blogging!
Oh that’s good to know. I always read that it was best to start off that way so I didn’t know any otherwise. But Thank you!
Happy blogerversary! Great lessons learned and insights!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it Lisa!
Some excellent advice, especially for those just starting out. Everyone has their own reasons for blogging and many are under the assumption that they can make a lot of money quickly & easily. Wrong! It takes a great deal of time and effort to be successful. I blog for the enjoyment & interaction with other travelers, but I’m always learning something new each day. Great job! š
Exactly! It’s definitely not a get rich quick scheme lol I enjoy interacting with others too and learning as I go! It’s been a real fun experience so far!
Congratulations on making it another year! Balancing time is always a truggle with me.
Thank you so much! Yes, sometimes it is so hard to find the time to do everything!
Happy blogging anniversary! You have learnt so much from your first year of blogging which is lovely to see, here’s to more years of Mornings on Macedonia! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Awe thanks so much girl! I appreciate it!
Great post! I’m at a point where I need to invest in my blog but it’s daunting going for it! I’ll be doing plenty of research into what area of my blog it is that I want to grow and investing in that area for sure š
https://www.femaleoriginal.com
Thank you so much! It’s scary to take a leap, but I am glad I did and I will continue to do so!
I can feel the struggle of not being able to blog all the time haha. As bloggers, we definitely need all of these. Thank you for sharing it!
Yes! It’s hard not to be able to do it as much as you would like to!
Yes! It’s hard not to be able to do it as much as you would like to.
Happy anniversary! You’ve mentioned so many helpful tips. I definitely wish bloggers would know their worth and stop accepting things just because its free.
Thank you so much! Yes, I wish so too because that makes it harder for all of us who are actually trying to make some money with doing all this work!
Happy blogiversary! I definitely agree with most of your advice especially that you need to realize your worth & balance your time!
Yes that is so important for sure!
Thanks for sharing this post, it was very informative! Having a media kit is super important to work with brands and investing in the blog is beneficial to growth.
Thank you. I think so too! Very important for sure.
Wonderful post! Thereās so much one needs to learn that it can be overwhelming at times when you first start out. But with time and patience things can take a turn for the better!
Thank you. It is very overwhelming at first, but I am so glad that I stuck with it!
Congratulations for making it one year into your blogging journey & thanks for sharing the moment with us! Your thoughts around this being a personal path that we should manage at our own pace & schedule, & in healthy balance with family, friends, life (!) …really resonates with me. Happy anniversary, again, and cheers to year 2!
Thank you. I am so glad you found something that resonates with you too! I appreciate the kind words and am looking forward to year two as well!
Congratulations on a year of blogging…your blog is just fab!
So many helpful tips in this post, I couldn’t agree more with the self-hosted (although I have a different host), it gives you much more freedom with your blog, doesn’t it? Also the bit about knowing your own self worth is so important!
Looking forward to seeing what the next year brings for your blog.
Aimsy xoxo
Awe thanks Aimsy! Yes, self hosting is definitely the way to go and it is always so important to know your own worth!
Happy first blog anniversary, so many tips that you have learnt over the year it seems, hope you have another great year blogging
Thank you so much! I am looking forward to another year of blogging as well!
Isn’t it crazy how much you learn the first year? Glad to see I am not the only one who had no idea what I was doing or what I was getting into. You have a beautiful blog so you obviously have learned many marketable skills this past year. Keep up the good work!
Yes it sure is crazy! And thank you so much, you have a wonderful blog too! I always enjoy seeing your posts as well!
Congratulations on the first year! You’ve achieved so much.
Thank you so much! I appreciate that!
I couldn’t agree more with your post. Before I started blogging, I thought it was all writing and it would be cruisy. I was soooo wrong! Now I work super hard on my blog and treat it like a business.
Yes! Treating it like a business is so important!
I agree, I also think being self-hosted is important to building your blog and it’s definitely helped my traffic and my motivation to stay on top of my blog š thanks for sharing your thoughts, it’s so interesting to read the lessons other bloggers have learned- and maybe understand a bit more about how to blog more effectively
Thank you so much! Yes, I am always interested in reading other bloggers thoughts and tips too because I am constantly trying to improve mine and learn!