4 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started a Blog

When I first started my blog, I was getting out of my Tumblr faze and wanted to start creating my own content. In my hours of scrolling through the internet, I found out WordPress was a great way to start a blog and that you could do it for free. Four years later, I love every aspect of blogging and all of the opportunities it has brought me. With that said, I’ve made countless mistakes over the course of my blogging “career”.  So whether you want to start your first blog, are a newbie at blogging, or just want to reminisce about your own blogging mistakes here are 4 things I wish I knew before I started a blog.

Shirt/Dress | Everlane Jeans| Shoes | Bag

You have to learn how to put yourself out there, quickly. 

Going to blogger events where you don’t know anyone, taking outfit pictures in the middle of public areas, and posting your content everywhere are all part of being part of the “blogger world”. Before I started my blog, I never realized how much I would have to put myself out there. Going to a blogger event alone was the first thing that really put myself out there. I’m not normally a shy person, however, when I don’t know anyone I can morph into a small turtle. Luckily for me, these blogging events have made me get out of my shell and are now something I always look forward to.

Some things that helped me: Confidence talks, a good support system, and practice. 

Develop a niche or purpose right away. 

Developing a “niche” for this blog was the hardest thing because I am interested in so many different things. For blogging, there are so many different paths you can go. Some of the different blogger topics I’ve come across on my journey are: fitness, vegan, discount finds, thrifter, street style, mommy, home decor, food, New England, music, DIY, and so many more. Picking just one topic that you’re interested in can be overwhelming, but it helps your audience know where you are coming from. For example, if I start blogging about the vegan dish I made it wouldn’t go with my sustainable fashion/lifestyle blog.

Some things that helped me: What to do when you can’t find your writing niche, How to Start a blog: Finding your Niche, and drawing a spider web of all of the passions you have and see if you can make a connecting line to them all.  

What the heck a media kit is and how to make one. 

I never heard the world Media Kit until Aubrey from the Coastal Confidence told me about it. Basically, a media kit is a tool influencers use to convey their brand, audience, and pricing to a company. That is a ton of information, but you can narrow it down on easy templets from Canva. The site lets you play around with these colorful templates and custom design the perfect kit for you. Creating your media kit is also a great way to figure out your niche and who your audience really is. When you do that, you are able to provide better content for them. It’s really a win-win.

Some things that helped me: Canva, Anatomy of a Media Kit, Blogger friends, and How to Put Together an Inspiring Media Kit

What SEO is and how to use it correctly. 

Thankfully, my job is partially the reason why I found out how important SEO is for a blog or website. Basically, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the reason on how to get your blog seen by Google. Every time someone types in sustainable fashion blogger I want to come up on one of those search pages. In order to do that, I needed to code the pages I have and make sure that each post (like this one) has a featured keyword. For example, the featured keyword for this post is “started a blog”. By putting the keyword in this paragraph and the other paragraphs it helps the ranking. Also, you can put the keyword in your pictures. The WordPress Yoast Plugin has helped a tremendous amount on making sure that my ranking is high before I post a post. Note: you need to have a business account in order to download the plugin.

Some things that helped me: WordPress Yoast Plugin, SEO Basics for Bloggers, and How to SEO a Blog Post: a Comprehensive Guide for SEO Beginners.

Overall, I wish I started blogging earlier. I’m so glad to find a hobby that lets me meet and interact with people all over the world. I can’t think of another hobby that lets you do just that. Just the other day I met up with Juliette from Julliettiful. I would have never of met her if it wasn’t for this little blog. Blogging a great way to get yourself out there, make new friends, document memories, and express your creative side. So, really, what is stopping you?

So if that hasn’t sold you on creating your own blog… check out this post to find out all of the reasons why I blog and maybe (hopefully) I’ll change your mind.

Do you have any questions about starting a blog? What was one of the biggest mistakes you’ve made on your blogging journey? Let me know in the comments down below. 

As always,

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