10 Things I Learned in my first 14 Days of Writing A Blog

It’s been 14 days since I started my blog. This is my interpretation of the experience.

 

1. Blogs are ADDICTIVE

It’s addictive. I’m talking “forget about feeding your children regularly” addictive! Now I’ve always known that I have a tiny section in my brain that latches onto something and doesn’t let go, so maybe I should have seen this coming.

But this is bad.

I can stay awake until the rooster crows if I am reading a great book. If I am researching a subject, like “is Blogging addictive”, I don’t stop until I have about the same knowledge as an uncited Wikipedia article. But I still function. This is completely different.

I’m pretty sure my children are starting to wonder what is “going on” because I’m putting ketchup in their oatmeal, while “checking on my blog”. They are down to shirts that are smediums on them and their ankles are showing because they are out of clean pants that fit. But who has time for laundry when you’ve started a blog?! I’m way too busy replying to every person who commented on my latest Instagram post, or pinning on Pinterest! Starting a blog is like being thrown into a world of SEO, rich pins, child themes, back-ups, plug-ins all while stumbling & flipping (Bloggers – see what I did there) through the day.

 

2. NUMBERS are everywhere

Blogging is super exciting for anyone who loves to play with or work with numbers. There are so many places and ways to check on the numbers! Pinterest is like my holy grail of numbers. There are so many options and things to learn – impressions and clicks and saves.

They have graphs! Graphs that either show you slowly going up, up, up or crashing quickly back down, down, down. I believe there are currently around 200 million active people pinning on Pinterest. I have a pin from one of my articles that has 200 repins! Do the math… that means 0.000001% of Pinterest has seen my pin! It’s going viral!

I. CAN. FEEL. IT.

Then there are all the other social media statistics you can watch grow, like Facebook & Instagram. Or not grow – Twitter. Still struggling with that one. Then there are my WordPress stats. Which are available in an app, so when I’m not on social media sites, I’m refreshing that app every minute waiting for another human to find my site. Oh! There’s Google Analytics too. I missed the bus on that one apparently and just set it up today. Totally looking forward to having yet another place to stalk once that goes through! I hope there’s an app…

 

3. It’s more than WRITING

Writing isn’t the only thing you need for a great blog. I don’t mean writing isn’t important. Its just that you can be an amazingly talented writer and your blog is going to live in Lonely Blogger Land if you don’t do some type of promoting. I was going to say some type of “SEO” but after 14 days that term still kind of makes my brain hurt and leads me to google searches.

I’m hopeful that one day I will feel confident enough to advise new bloggers “you need to work on your SEO to up your organic traffic”. This will be my copy and paste response (in all of my 50 Facebook Blogger groups), to the question “What am I doing wrong? I don’t get any visits?” And yes, I asked it. Remember? I’m a new Blogger! The nice bloggers who answered were probably chuckling as they debated if I would google SEO or organic traffic first. (It was organic traffic if you were wondering.) But they’ve been there before too & I only felt slightly embarrassed asking.

4. BLOGGERS are helpful

On that note, Bloggers are helpful. I didn’t see Blogger Land as a horrible place with flashing “Do Not Enter!” signs, but I didn’t think it would such a “social” group. Bloggers help each other.

They:

Pin.

Like.

Comment.

Share.

Stumble.

Flip.

Tweet (once they understand Twitter).

Celebrate each others victories.

Help others try to reach their goals.

Collaborate.

I’m really hoping my experience stays this way. It’s comforting to have a support group when your best friends in the new blogging world are your laptop, phone & coffee.

 

5. How I Made My First Million in a Month ARTICLES

Just stop reading them. It’s depressing. Ok, some people read these and find great inspiration or ideas and tips. They serve a purpose I know, and I really wish I could read them without feeling like “I’m missing something”.  I must see these titles and instantly see my glass as half-empty. After reading them I spend the next hour distracted by what I’m not doing, instead of focusing on what I should be doing.

So maybe it’s a little bit of jealousy mixed with some skepticism, but I had to stop reading them. They were ruining my excitement from my first Amazon sale ($0.10). Hopefully one day I can read them and follow along, but for now I am scrolling right over them.

Instead I find myself reading things like “How I Made Zero Dollars in My First 6 Months Blogging!” by Kate over at TearFreeTravel.com. I knew this article was more my type when she mentioned how much she had spent on a theme she no longer likes… Hand raised. Same Boat. Oops. Why do themes look different after a week of using them?!? I’m sure buying a theme right away was advised against in the Million Dollar First Month Club articles. Maybe I should give reading those another try…

 

6. My family no longer likes the word BLOG

“Just give me a minute while I finish this up on my blog.”

“Do you think a sharp or a bubbly font is better for my blog?”

“Did you know 6 people visited the blog today?!”

“The blog won’t let me go out for New Years. It wants me to celebrate with it.”

“I’m pretty sure Blog would like a new outfit… do you like this theme?”

“Why would you say I’m acting like Bloggie is one of our kids?”

“No Bloggie isn’t taking over my life. If I want to make my first million in a month, I have to spend a lot of time with Bloggie!”

 

7. ORGANIZATION is so important

I pride myself on being an organized person. I started A BLOG about helping others be more organized so they could enjoy the “good stuff” in life.

Holy tornado, starting a blog made me so unorganized. I started with an idea, a site & a note-book. It took me until today to realize I needed to implement a true organizational plan. Updating the planner, making an official Productive Pete binder, & setting up a calendar system to stay on track. As it seems to go in the Blogger Land, I’m sure there are hundred more things to organize that I currently have no clue about. I’ll add it to my Blogging To-Do List as item #1257 – add things I haven’t learned about yet to the Blogging To-Do List. But I really need to check in on my Facebook Blog Groups, so maybe I’ll work on it after that.

 

8. The need to tell others I’m a NEW BLOGGER

So I’ve started reaching out to others through Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. I have caught myself using the phrase “new blogger” at every-loving-last-chance. It’s like I feel that if I explain I’m a New Blogger than it won’t be nearly as annoying when I keep forgetting to “remove preview” on my FB Likes Instagram post. I’m pretty sure all the mistakes I am making scream NEW BLOGGER and everyone is highly aware. There is no need for me to clarify it.

But I will keep telling everyone in my quests to minimize the irritation my mistakes cause. At least until I go Viral & my blog becomes the number one in its niche! (Shoot – Add “Figure out my true Niche” to Blogging To Do List as #1258). And it shouldn’t be too long until my traffic explodes from that Viral Pin. Remember, I’ve reached 0.000001% of Pinterest users!

 

9. HUMOR is important

I learned that I can’t let the Blog take over. Burn-out is a real thing and my addictive brain is going 1000 mph through Blogger Land. So I’m going to have to remember to put on the brakes, enjoy the ride, and realize I’ve finally started working on one of my dreams. I’ll make mistakes, hopefully make some friends, and learn as I go through this process.

 

10.

Oh, and you didn’t miss the last thing I learned. There are only 9 things I could think of to write about. But one of the thousand starting a blog articles I read said having a list with 10 items was the best way to go. <WINK>

Thanks for reading my attempt at humor amongst my never-ending Blog To-Do List! Sometimes I find taking a step back and looking at something through a different perspective, helps me control my chaos.

 

Happy Blogging!

From a New Blogger

In case you couldn’t tell…

 

Still here? Check out my two top posts from my first Month Blogging and let me know what you think! The first one is about my Magic Elf on the Shelf Tongs (so you can move him out of the way easily) & my Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Crisp Hearts – A perfect Valentine’s Day Treat!