Last Updated on May 4, 2020 by ellduclos

How to Improve your Blogging Journey

Throughout my blogging journey there have been ups and there have been downs. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing, in fact most of the time it has been rough waters. Blog traffic is not always consistent, income in the beginning is constantly going up and down. I still have yet to hit my blogging ONE YEAR mark, so these issues are common because I am still starting out. My journey is still in the works!

Throughout my 9 months of blogging I learned what caused my blogging journey to struggle and I want to share them with you. Maybe you can take these points into consideration and try to improve your blogging experience and journey too!

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Worrying About Who’s Reading

This is one of the biggest issues I struggled with in the beginning. Here’s a little background story on my first blog name: “EllDuclos” When I first started my blog I was FEARFUL that people I know would find out about my blog, read it, and make fun of it. I look back and realize that I shouldn’t have cared. Unfortunately at the time I cared a lot. Instead of using my real name (Lauren) I turned it into a “pen” name ELL. Which stands for (L) in Lauren and my middle name is (Elizabeth) – ELL.

I know it sounds so silly now when I look back. Ell has grown on me though and I actually LOVE when people reach out to me and say “Hey Ell!” or “Love your blog Ell!”. It’s like a nickname that I am proud of because it started my whole blogging journey!

About a month or two in I got over the FEAR and shared my blog on my personal social medias (facebook, instagram, twitter, etc.) To my surprise A LOT of people who I wouldn’t have expected to support me, actually supported me! It was really great!

There were those who made fun, and still to this day will joke about my blog. I learned to just joke back. I am PROUD of how far my blog has come and it makes me happy so their opinions really don’t matter! Did it take me some time to come to that realization? Of course. But I can say I am so happy that I got over that fear because it has made my journey a whole lot stronger!

Always do what makes you happy, if someone can’t be happy for you, then they aren’t really worthy of your time or acknowledgement. 

Numbers Don’t Matter – Your Happiness Does

One trap that almost EVERY blogger falls for is the Numbers trap. Especially in the beginning. We focus so hardcore on our numbers, stats, etc. that we begin to lose sight of the main reason why we started blogging in the first place.

At least for me, I started blogging because I was depressed, I wanted to be happy, it was time for me to find my happiness. When we focus on our stats and numbers we lose sight of our happiness. I probably won’t be the first one to tell you that growing your blog traffic and social media is a SLOWWW PAINFUL process. It takes a VERY patient person to play the “waiting” game.

Don’t get me wrong, definitely put your blog out there and promote it when you can. BUT don’t sit there and analyze your every follower/ blog view. You may become unmotivated if your views are low. YOU SHOULDN’T CARE. I know it’s so damn hard to not care. You start to think, No one’s reading, why should I keep writing. 

HELLO DARLING BUT, YOU WRITE FOR YOU!!!! If writing makes you happy, why should you stop?! WRITE FOR YOU! The more you focus on putting out content that you love, that you write about from your heart… the more people who will be drawn to your writing, blog, etc.

Don’t let the low numbers stress you out. Even if it’s one follower or viewer, that ONE person CARES about what you are saying! So don’t let them down, and don’t let yourself down. 

 

Believing in Yourself Will Take You ALL the Way

If I could give ONE piece of blogging advice it would be to ALWAYS BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. It’s so true! The biggest reason as to why bloggers “fail” is because they give up! They stop believing in themselves and they take “hiatuses” and they never come back. All of their hard work goes to waste!

I’m sorry but I didn’t come THIS far to only come this far! That’s the way you have to think. You have to tell yourself, why should I let all of my progress go to waste. Don’t you want to prove those who doubt you wrong, and prove to yourself that you CAN be successful in your blogging? BECAUSE YES YOU CAN.

If you don’t believe in yourself, then why should anyone else? You have to make people believe in you, by having confidence in yourself and in your blog. That will take you to the finish line.

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Learn how I turned my blog into a full time job

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Find Your Voice

There is nothing more powerful than your voice. Being able to show it through your writing is POWERFUL. You want your readers to hear YOU through your writing. If they were reading a post, without seeing the author, they’d think: That’s YOU. I know it sounds crazy, and impossible to really tell who someone is just through the writing but, we all write differently. Stand out.

Finding your voice and making your personality come to life through your words is a POWERFUL ability. Make your writing, your words, your voice, standout from all of the others.

Community Over Competition

One thing that I have absolutely LOVED about my blogging journey is creating community with other bloggers. If you have been following me since the beginning then you probably know about Boss Girl Bloggers which is a community where female bloggers can come together, learn from each other, and support one another!

When it comes to blogging; networking with other bloggers is HUGE! If you can help support one another, you will succeed! Too many bloggers out there are in competition with one another. I get it…we all want to have “the most subscribers.” or we try to “outshine” someone else. BUT GUESS WHAT. Community beats competition ANY DAY. Instead of competing with other bloggers, engage with them, support them, be a friend. It will help your journey/blog a whole lot more than making enemies with other bloggers because you are trying to be “better” than them.

Note* It’s not to be BETTER than other bloggers, it’s to be DIFFERENT than other bloggers.

Personal Connections

I learned that getting personal isn’t always a bad thing when it comes to blogging. Others will connect on a deeper, emotional level. If you relate your blog posts to your own personal experiences it goes a long way. YOU are the face of your brand. Sharing with your audience who you are, what your about, what you’ve been through and putting your face out there, helps your audience to connect with you more.

It’s also important to communicate back with your audience. If they reach out to you, reach out back as much as possible. Don’t ignore their comments, make them feel special. If you communicate back, they will grow a connection with you and in return will be more likely to return to your blog! They start to CARE about what you have to say because you become relatable. It builds trust and believe me, you NEED an audience that trusts you.

Never Compare

The most harmful thing you can do for your blog is compare your blog to someone else’s. Everyone’s blogging journey is different. I constantly repeat this because it’s so important. You may make money blogging months before someone else. OR you may not make any money until 2 years in, where as someone else may make it a year in. It’s all about strategy and finding out what works for YOU! Remember what works for YOU may not work for someone else’s. 

It’s so hard to not compare but it’s necessary. This is one of the main reasons why I refuse to do income reports on my blog. Why is it necessary for others to know how much I make? It doesn’t mean that it will necessarily work the same for you. There are ways to make money but you have to find your own strategy to make that source of income work for YOU!

STOP COMPARING, STOP FOCUSING ON SOMEONE ELSE’S INCOME, & START FINDING YOUR OWN STRATEGIES. Point Blank. 

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All in all, blogging isn’t easy and a successful blog doesn’t happen over night. BUT it can happen. Believe in yourself, get over your fears, and stop focusing on competition. That will take you all the way.

Ready to start your own blog? – Here’s How

If you are looking for a blog coach, someone to help motivate you, find strategies that work for you, and keep you accountable, OR just someone to help you learn. Check out my services.

Until Next Time,

xx

Ell