I read a post the other day that shared how one blogger creates a weekly wrap-up post about their week and I thought it was a great idea! I am brand new to blogging, so I thought it would be helpful to share my journey from the very beginning.
I’m a full-time stay-at-home mom of five boys. Thankfully, they all attend school Monday through Friday! This gives me time to actually focus on my blog and grow it how I intended when I started it MANY years ago.
In 2021, I rediscovered that writing is my passion. It got put on the back burner because I got distracted by activities I thought I needed to do to be able to fit in at school. My how our priorities change from childhood to adulthood!
I dabbled in blogging when I rediscovered my passion, but this time I’m brand new to blogging in a different way.
I was previously using the free version of WordPress, but this time I thought, “If I’m going to take this seriously I need to upgrade to a paid version so I can reach the people who need what I have to say.” I didn’t search around much because I have had my hosting site on my mind for years! I quickly signed up with SiteGround and claimed my domain name.
I am in the process of learning how to monetize my blog, become an affiliate marketer, and increase my traffic. My mind has been a mess, but thankfully I know how to manage it these days! My biggest source of research has been Pinterest. Did you know Pinterest is a search engine and it’s GREAT for increasing traffic to your blog? I’ve been using Tailwind to create and schedule my posts because I would rather not spend a whole lot of time in that area. Creating my posts is way more important.
The biggest question that comes to mind is, “Where do I even start?”
I went straight to Pinterest and typed “blogging” in the search bar. The one site that came up over and over again was Boss Girl Bloggers! I just HAD to see what they had to offer. I thought, “If they’re this committed to their Pinterest strategy, they must have a decent size blog and have some sort of idea of what to do with a new blog!”
I clicked on the first pin that came up: How to Look Like a Professional Blogger From the Beginning. Immediately, I noticed how LONG they had been blogging, since 2017! Then I thought about the first time I wanted to do blogging full-time… I could have been GOOD at it by now, but instead, I’m just getting started. *deep breath to process*
Instead of sulking about what could have been, I sat down and wrote a five-year plan. My numbers mostly included income from my coaching business since those are the only cement numbers I know right now. Where we are is NOT where we are going.
As I started to work through the steps and build my blog, I felt the expectations fall away. I love writing and I love having a place to do that AND share it with you. I’m writing for me in the hopes of inspiring you to do what you’ve always dreamed about.
How can I blog without getting overwhelmed?
When I started this blog, I was able to transfer my posts from the free version of WordPress, so I wasn’t starting from complete scratch. The first thoughts that came to mind were, “How am I going to come up with topics? How am I going to write? What is this SEO stuff?” There’s a lot to learn and do when you’re brand new to blogging, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
Here are a few tips that have helped me tremendously in this first week of blogging:
- If you’re researching and creating simultaneously, take notes. Write down the thoughts that come up. Write down the questions that come up. There is time to learn it all. There is no deadline for anything. Take your time.
- Don’t try to force topics and allow yourself to write anything and everything that comes to mind. I started a whole different post before this one came through. That’s why there are drafts. Save it and start a new post.
- Share what YOU want. I know, professional bloggers tell you to stick to a specific topic, but I feel like there’s no way to know what your specific topic is if you don’t allow yourself to work through all of the thoughts running through your mind.
- Find your flow. As someone who can’t write well if I’m not in flow, I have to find how to get into my flow. It starts with mind-dumping. I dump EVERYTHING that is on my mind and then a topic will spark and I can write for longer periods of time.
If you’re brand new to blogging, I highly suggest sticking with only a couple of professional bloggers’ advice.
Another blogger I have been learning from is The Side Blogger! They have a sweet tool that allows you to calculate how much your blog will profit today, in 6 months, and 1 year from now! I have signed up for multiple freebies from their site including an email course, a 52-point checklist, and more!
I found their post, 5 Primary Tasks During the First 100 Days of a Blogging Business very helpful as someone who is just getting started. I appreciate when posts are straightforward and share exactly what I came to learn!
With that being said, I’m going to wrap it up with this:
– allow yourself to be a beginner,
– spend more time DOING than researching,
– if it’s on your heart, try it out,
– everything is temporary.
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