10 Things I Learned in My First Months of Blogging

I can’t believe Little Looks & Big Pictures launched almost two months ago! It has been such a fun and rewarding experience thus far, and today I wanted to share a little bit on what it has taught me.

Here are ten things I have learned in my first months of blogging!

1.The learning never (EVER) ends.

And I love it! I love to educate and challenge myself, so blogging is the perfect creative outlet to do that. Just when I think I have mastered one thing, something else comes up and its time to learn about that. This is partly due to the ever-changing technology and social media scope, but it is also due to the fact that there is just so much to learn about people. Why do people click on certain things? What catches someone’s eye? How do people respond to narratives versus lists? Learning about people is so fascinating, and it makes you realize the actual blog posts themselves are only a small fraction of what goes into producing a blog.

2. You could spend your entire day working on your blog, and you’d still have a lengthy to-do list for tomorrow.

And that isn’t a bad thing at all! If you didn’t already know this (which if you even remotely know me, you definitely already know this), I am the type of person who hates to be bored. Actually, I am not sure if I hate it, because I can’t remember the last time I was bored; I just don’t allow it. Staying busy is exciting and fulfilling, and I can’t picture life without a little craziness.

Blogging feeds right into my desire to be busy. There is always something to do with the blog, whether it is creating evergreen content, photographing outfits or lifestyle pieces, engaging with other people on social media, learning new marketing strategies, educating yourself on SEO, updating your website, or researching trends to write about. I don’t think there is ever a moment in time where I have felt like I didn’t know what else to do when working on my blog.

3. Blogging is all about community, not competition.

This is absolutely one my favorite things I have learned since joining the blogging world. Bloggers are amazing about engaging with each other, building each other up, sharing tips with each other, supporting each others’ social media accounts, and so much more. As a blogger, you are primarily competing with yourself. You are challenging yourself to grow as a writer, marketer, designer, photographer, etc. The focus is much less on competing with others blogs because people can follow and read as many blogs as they would like; they are not limited or forced to pick and choose! Sure, their time is limited. But realistically, you are going to attract your own group of followers that is different from others, because you have your own voice and style!

4. It is so addicting!

When I first started blogging, my biggest fear was running out of article and social media post ideas. Once I started, I realized I shouldn’t have been afraid at all, because the more you do it, the easier ideas come to you, and the more often they do! Blogger-brain is a real thing!

5. But it is also surprisingly scary.

Blogging can make you feel very vulnerable. You are voicing your opinions to who knows how many people and risking ridicule and negative feedback every single time you post. It is so easy to say, “Who cares?” but it is very challenging to actually believe that. So as silly as that might sound, it can be scary to put yourself out there the way blogging makes you, but it also teaches you to be confident in yourself and your abilities!

6. It is important to set your goals high…

The higher I set my goals, the more excited I am to tackle them! It is fun to envision your goals coming to life and it can be very motivating to have goals that challenge you every day.

7. …But keep your expectations realistic!

I constantly need to remind myself that gaining a following isn’t a rapid process. It takes time and a lot of hard work. I look at influencers that have thousands and thousands of followers and think, “How do they do it?” Then I look and see that they have also posted thousands and thousands of times, and that doesn’t happen overnight. Having shorter-term goals gives you excitement along the way and also makes you think realistically.

8. Don’t try to do everything.

I learned this one in my first week of blogging. After I launched my blog, I wanted to be on every social media platform. But I quickly learned that it takes a LOT of time (time I could spend doing more productive things, as well) to try and do everything and not all platforms are ideal for your blog! I personally found that Twitter wasn’t working for my blog; it wasn’t driving traffic and it wasn’t reaching my target audience. However, Instagram was doing both of those things very well, so I spend majority of my time there! I also use Facebook and Pinterest, since those platforms drive a lot of traffic, but they aren’t as engagement-heavy, which doesn’t require as much time.

9. The point of blogging is to connect, inspire, and creatively communicate.

So what’s the point of “blogger cheating?” Many social media influencers will buy followers or follow people just to get a follow back, and then they unfollow them. It doesn’t take long for that to drive you crazy. Initially, I would watch my follower number fluctuate heavily because of this, and it was frustrating! Now, I have just accepted that people do use social media that way, but I am choosing not to be one of those people. It has been proven that doing that is not the way to successfully build your brand. It doesn’t provide you with engaged, long-term followers. Blogging is all about connecting, inspiring, and creatively communicating, so it is best to do that with a passionate, caring heart! Which leads me to…

10. I am so thankful for everyone who is reading!

Thank you for taking the time to check out my posts and letting me be a part of your weekly reading!

Hope you enjoyed this post! Have a wonderful weekend! XOXO!

Lace Up Flats