3 Things I Wish Someone Told Me About Blogging When I Started

It has been almost two years since I entered the blogging world, and I have learned a lot. I found some tips in articles, some I received from friends, and some I learned myself just through trial and error. No matter how experienced you are at blogging, there is always something more to learn. Blogging is an ever-changing phenomenon. One day a blog might go viral, and the next day it might be obsolete. The blogging world is much the same as the technology world is these days. Everyone is looking to find, read or review the next big thing, so if your blog doesn’t follow these trends, you will end up being left out in the cold. In order to stay out of the cold, I have had to pick up some pointers along my way to becoming a more seasoned blogger.

Here are just three of the things I have learned about blogging along the way. They are things I wish someone would have told me when I first started my blogging journey.

1. Blogging Is Addictive

Blogging is more addictive than web surfing and playing video games. It could be the most addictive activity I’ve personally experienced so far. First thing in the morning, I check my blog’s statistics and RSS numbers. I approve comments held for moderation (and post replies). If I have submitted a guest post, I check that as well to see who has read it, who has commented, who agreed/disagreed. In fact, I am usually keeping an eye on my blog statistics most of the time. After I post an article, I immediately start thinking about what I could be writing next, collecting my thoughts and getting my resources together. This is how I get a jump on other sites. I try to always be thinking, fine tuning and being creative.

2. Bloggers Can Experience Blogging Anxiety

There’s a new disease, and it’s called blogging anxiety. I suffer from it quite regularly, I believe. Some of the symptoms are asking yourself questions like these over and over: Will today’s post be interesting and helpful enough to get some comments? Will my blog get more traffic today than yesterday? Will my RSS subscribers number increase or decrease? Will my comment on someone’s else blog be noticed and replied to? These are just some of the many things a blogger thinks when they hit “post” on their computer screen. If you haven’t experienced blogging anxiety, you either aren’t a serious blogger, or you are a celebrity who gets a million hits just because of who you are.

3. You’ll Start Always Thinking Like A Blogger

The work of a blogger never stops. You must be constantly thinking, planning, writing and reviewing what you want to say. There are no set hours. Blogging is pretty much a 24-hour a day job. Everything you read, hear and see will have to be absorbed differently now – from a blogger’s perspective. I see many bloggers collect content from other sites, from media, from the daily conversations with their friends, colleagues, etc. and simply add their own twist to the stories and present them as originals. I’m not saying that’s unacceptable, I’m just asserting that it’s one of the things I’m still learning about. In the ever changing world of blogging, you must stay constantly up-to-date about what’s new, what’s acceptable and what others are doing. That is the secret to blogging success, or at least that’s what I have learned thus far.

What Blogging Lessons Have You Learned Along The Way?

Image Credits: [HubSpot] [The Gingerbread Gem]