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7 Lessons Learned in Four Years of Blogging


This year I’m celebrating my fourth anniversary as a blogger.

I can’t believe it’s be four years since I started this little corner of mine in the internet. The saying is true, time goes by so fast when you're having fun.

As you know, my blog journey started in 2013 with my obsession with makeup and skincare. I read a ton of beauty and lifestyle blog and got inspired to create my own. 

Blogging started just as a mere hobby. I enjoy writing and sharing my ideas on the internet. It became sort of my other world where I can just pour what's in my heart and in my mind out. I started without a goal or a vision and didn't even think that I will last this long.


At first my posts were seen by just 5-10 people on a daily basis. I bet half of those pageviews was even mine. There were also times when I question whether someone is really reading my blog or whether this hobby is still worth pursuing. I changed from template to template, theme to theme and platform to platform. Then I decided to take things seriously and slowly build a better blog that I can proudly call mine.

Fast forward to today I am much more confident to share my blogging experience to others. This blog as well as my other blog, SavingsPinay, are now an extension of who I am as a person. Both blogs became my identifier. I feel proud to say that I’m Izza of www.izzaglinofull.com and www.savingspinay.ph.

Over the first four years of blogging, I can say that I have a couple of lessons learned along the way. And so today I decided to share the top 7 lessons.

May each lesson serve as inspiration to you and your blog!

1. There's Much More to Learn in Life


Your role as a blogger doesn't stop once a blog post idea hits you. You are also required to research, to write, to market and to improve that idea. With the many processes involved in blogging you will appreciate the fact that there's truly much to learn in life. 

Every day I find blogs in Bloglovin' that gives information I never even knew exist. I will also find marketing techniques and articles that improve writing that will always be handy. Everything I know about personal finance is thanks to the research I do in every blog post I publish.



2. Invest in Your Passion!


It took me three years to set my mind and my heart in turning my blog from hobby to a passion project. It didn’t occur to me the importance of having a good template or buying my own domain.

It was only August last year when it finally hit me that I can’t remain as a free blog forever. I need to also invest in my blogs.

I consider buying my own domain through Pangalan the biggest turn-over of my blog life. That sense of satisfaction of having your own .com site is priceless.

Opportunities began to open up for me from collaborations to sponsored posts. People remember my website way better because it is easier to pronounce and search.

Here are some ways you can invest in your blog before 2017 ends:

  • Buy your own domain
  • Reliable web hosting solution
  • Attend training, seminars and workshops
  • New logo
  • Upgrade your equipment (i.e. laptop, camera, etc.)


3. Stay Consistent

Consistency is the secret sauce that turns you from an ordinary blogger to an extraordinary one!
It’s hard to master consistency especially if you blog with a full-time job. But it can be done nonetheless.

I guess one thing that helped me a lot in the process of achieving aconsistent schedule on my blogs is really planning ahead of time. My content calendar will have full month of blog post ideas so all I have to do is write, edit and publish.

Of course life happens and I have days even weeks when I can’t blog at all. It try not to pressure myself much compared to before. Bawi na lang next time kumbaga.

Another factor where you can actually show consistency is the quality of your posts. I decided last year to create a unified look for every blog thumbnail of both this blog and SavingsPinay. It turned out to be a great idea.

My posts are easily recognized by readers from its blog thumbnail plus I don’t have a hard time creating photos anymore. A win-win situation.

I also manage to stay consistent in terms of number of words for every blog post plus how the layout will be.

Photo from Unsplash

4. Blogging Makes You a Better Writer


Because of blogging I was able to practice how I write on a daily basis. I learn to improve my sentence construction, my choice of terms and my grammar. I believe that it is practice is highly important if one aspire to become a better writer. 

Not only are you exposed to a wide range of articles every single day but you will also find yourself in constant research for new ideas. If not for blogging I won’t even bother creating an eBook. I now follow a process whenever I write. I learned to plan, to have an outline first and to research for related resources to further improve my output.


5. Be Productive

It’s a never ending improvement when it comes to productivity. You can never really perfect this but only improve every single day.

I’m a big procrastinator. I can’t seem to find the right trigger to start a specific task without doing something else first. This has a domino effect on my productivity.

To really combat this disease of mine I use different tools that will help me become effective. Here are the ways I regain my sense of productivity:

  • Editorial Calendar
  • Batching similar tasks
  • Using a timer for every tasks I start

 


6. Learning SEO is important


For the first three years of my blogging career, SEO is such a foreign word to me. I didn’t know much about getting my blog on top of search results. I just blog whatever is on my mind.

But I realized that being in the first page of search results turned out to be helpful in getting any blog noticed and read. This realization led me to learn more about SEO and the steps that I could do to make some of my posts rank higher.

And so for 2017 alone I applied the different techniques I learned from my researches and manage to accomplish my goal.

If you search for “mumuso aloe vera gel” in Google, my post will be on top of the search results. This goes same for my other posts such as MaxipeelExfoliant Soap, My 2017 Bullet Journal Supplies and Perfect Skincare Routine forPinays.

Always check keywords or trending topics on Google. It won’t hurt your blog to have one post a month that’s well-visited, right?

Click here for all the other Popular Posts. 

7. Hard work always pays off


Here’s another great lesson I learned in my four years of blogging, your hard work will always pay off in the end.

I remember all the sleepless nights I had trying to edit and publish a new post. I remember the weekends I spent writing blog posts instead of taking a break. At first I thought nothing is happening out of my many efforts.

But this year is indeed a harvest season for me. I’ve been a speaker for iBlog 2017, co-hosted Bloggers United 2017 and even become part of Blogapalooza 2017.

I received my first ever AdSense payout last August. My blogs remain on top of Top Blogs listing. I also saw consistent earning month after month now that I’ve improved my workflow.

Just give it time for you can never rush success.

Don’t regret the amount of work you put in your passions because in the end you’ll see that it will all be worth it.        
My first Google AdSense Payout!!!!!!!

Below are other changes that I had seen in my life since I started blogging. I just want to quickly show you how a blog can revolutionize your life now.


  • You’ll learn to be an early riser.
  • You’ll adopt to other sites and apps such as Pinterest, Buffer, IFTT.com, Stumbleupon, MailChimp and many more.
  • You’ll learn to accept negative criticisms and embrace those who appreciate and believe in your talent.
  • You’ll realize that you have a powerful voice.
  • You’ll acquire more knowledge in less time.
  • You’ll recognize great works from others whether it is another blog post, an image, an infographic or a website.
  • You’ll develop great time management.
  • You’ll grow your social life 100%
  • You’ll be able to set goals in almost every area of your life.
  • And More

I have learned to love blogging as my passion. I know that I will find it hard to let go now. It has been part of why I wake up in the morning and why I find it hard to sleep at night. There is much that I still have to accomplish. I know that I am too far from the BLOGGER that I want to be.


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3 comments

  1. dionasapuntoTuesday, November 21, 2017

    hi! i am a newbie blogger and i want to learn more i have just started this month. i have been reading your blog to educate me, and be more knowledgeable. i want to be a apprentice if possible or a friend. thank you

    ReplyDelete
  2. frankieFriday, December 29, 2017

    Great.This is such awesome content i got to read after lot of time.Its so interesting as well as informative.I am sure everyone who read it got a lot to learn from it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. johnSaturday, May 05, 2018

    Hi, great to see your website. I like the content and the research done behind every aspect of your blog. It looks great Blogs Comments Servicesand very knowledgeable. Keep it up the good work.

    ReplyDelete

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