This week is the 12th anniversary of my first ever blog post going live (aka–a “blogiversary”). Besides my faith, my husband, and my kids, it’s the longest I’ve ever been committed to anything. I have been blogging for nearly a third of my life! Every year to celebrate I like to share some blog tips, things I’ve learned, or just funny things that have happened over the years. Today I’ve compiled some advice, some tips, and even some of my favorite posts from over the years.
blog tips & favorite posts
6 pieces of advice
I have lots of blog tips and advice I could share. However, over and over again these are the ones I tell people who are interested in blogging. Blogging is not as easy as people think it is and these are important things to keep in mind.
You can’t make everyone happy.
There will always be someone who disagrees with you. Someone who thinks you didn’t say enough about a topic–or that you said too much. You’ll get random comments on social media from Trolls and even random emails from people who are displeased. I heard once that if you’re not making enemies, you’re not making friends. I’m not saying you need to be vanilla and boring (sorry to all you vanilla lovers out there), but make sure people can see your personality and know where you stand. That’s how you build your community.
You have to set boundaries.
Blogging is a weird job because it’s always with you. Your brain is constantly thinking of content ideas. Your phone is always in your pocket, with social media there waiting for you. You can spend all day on your devices and still feel like you’re not doing enough for your business. I used to stay up past midnight working on blog posts and Pins. However, there comes a time when you need to set boundaries for yourself. Consider “office hours” or days that you’ll take off from blogging or posting. Don’t respond to work emails on the weekend–people in an office job wouldn’t!
Invest in your blog, but be smart.
I’ve known bloggers who invest thousands of dollars in equipment and courses before they even start. This is sometimes an unpopular opinion in today’s world but don’t spend money you don’t have. One of my biggest blog tips is to start small and invest in what makes sense to you. For some people it’s investing in tons of Instagram giveaways. I personally don’t think it’s smart to invest a lot of money in a site you don’t own so I rarely participate in these anymore. I choose to invest in my blog instead because I own that. So I pay for a brand photographer, pay for a web designer, etc. Decide where your dollars are best spent.
Don’t sleep on Pinterest.
Pinterest has changed a lot over the years and those of us who have been blogging for awhile tend to wax nostalgic over how it used to be. Although it started out as purely a visual search engine it’s been going through an identity crisis the past few years as it’s tried to break into the social media world. However, that doesn’t mean you should ignore it! If you’re a blogger, content creator, or small business owner, you should be utilizing Pinterest. I believe that consistency is still key with this platform so whether you Pin manually or use a service like Tailwind make sure you’re using it.
To niche or not niche, that is the question.
In 12 years of blogging there is something that I have come to realize–niche accounts will grow more easily. I’m not saying that’s always true, but that is definitely the general guideline. However, I advise everyone to blog about what they love. So if that doesn’t fit a particular niche then oh well. Time and time again I’ve seen bloggers get burned out because they tried to niche to far down and they lost their passion for it. It’s also okay if your niche (or lack thereof) changes over time! I started out as a DIY blog, morphed to general lifestyle, and now I call myself a motherhood and family travel blog. I highly recommend you do what you love, otherwise you’ll quickly find you’re not liking the content you’re producing anymore.
Just because “everyone else” is doing it, doesn’t make it right.
There are a few things in the realm of blogging that I’m passionate about and one of them is ethics. Disclosing properly is big issue for me. I believe that integrity is incredibly important and it can be frustrating when you’re trying to do your best and you see so many others trying to be sneaky. Another thing that really bothers me is people that pay for fake followers or engagement. Lots of bloggers and content creators do these things and it’s almost always obvious if you look closely enough. Decide right away what your integrity is worth to you.
6 of my favorite posts
Truth be told–it is really hard for me to narrow down 1,000 blog posts written over 12 years to just six that I love. The standard I set for my blog is set high so I tend to be a big fan of everything I post. At least, that’s always the goal! What I finally decided to do is go back the past six years and pick one of my favorite from each year–although even that was tricky, lol.
2017: diy embroidery hoop map ornament
I just loved how simple but sentimental this idea was. It’s also very inexpensive and a totally child-friendly ornament for your tree. I’m a fan of maps so anytime I can incorporate them into projects it’s a win.
2018: nativity advent coloring page
I didn’t purposefully pick two Christmas-themed posts in a row but this free nativity advent printable really is one of my favorite blog posts EVER. We print it up and use it every year ourselves!
2019: LEGOLAND california tips you need to know
I have several LEGOLAND blog posts on my site, in fact there are seven. These have been some of my favorite travel blog posts to write and continue to be some of the most highly viewed!
2020: diy travel journal with free printables
I loved making this travel journal and I think it’s such a fun activity to do with your kids if you go on a big family trip together!
2021: Mexican hot chocolate cocoa bombs
There are lots of blog posts from 2021 that I love and I’m proud of. However, I was so impressed that I was able to pull off these Mexican hot chocolate cocoa bombs that they had to make the list.
2022: see these national parks close to Las Vegas
I love this series I’ve started on the blog this year. Each post highlights a major city and all the National Parks that are within easy driving distance.
You might also like these blog tips posts:
A few of my favorite (and least favorite) things about blogging…
8 (sarcastic) reasons why you should be a blogger…
10 blogging tips from 10 years…
Things not to say to a blogger…
Do you have any blog tips you’d like to share?
Brand images of me in this post was shot by Britney at Your Creative Counterpart:
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