I’ve been blogging for close to 4 years now, which still amazes me every single day. During my time inhabiting this part of the Internet, I’ve learnt a few things so I thought I’d share them today.
Blogging will make you way more confident than you ever imagined you could be.
I was a shy 12 year old when I started my blog and I barely had the confidence to look people in the eye. Now, and this is also down to getting older but also through blogging, I can stand in front of large audiences and speak with the knowledge that the words coming out of my mouth won’t be utter rubbish. I love speaking at events so much – I’ve even said before that it’s the best drug a person can ever get. Although some nerves are inevitable, the buzz you get afterwards is worth it and the events I’ve spoken at will always be amongst some of my favourite memories.
Honesty is the driving force.
Be honest in everything you write. If you lie about reading a book or if you say you loved a book when you really disliked it, people will be able to tell. When you’re honest, you’ve got nothing to hide and people will appreciate that. Honesty is key!
If you want to do something that won’t take much time, blogging isn’t for you.
Whilst I think of myself as incredibly disorganised, I’ve often been told that I am, in fact, organised. When it comes to blogging, there are a few things I do in order to make sure I have control over all of the upcoming things on my blog.
Notebooks, notebooks and more notebooks
I have thousands of notebooks where I write down all of my blog post ideas, schedules and plans. I find it much easier to get ideas from my head on to paper than to write them down electronically, and I can arrange things easily too. Even though many of my notebooks are incredibly messy, I love seeing the progression from post to publish. It’s amazing how a tiny scribble can turn into a full-fledged post!
Calendars
Having some form of calendar or diary to write a schedule into is organisation at its best. Without mine, I wouldn’t have any idea when to put posts live and it’s also handy for blog tours, projects and Twitter chats. I know people who use Google Docs as a good calendar; I prefer to write big monthly calendars onto an A3 piece of paper, but I do occasionally use the calendar in my phone.
Bulk taking photos
Whether for the blog or to post on Instagram, I love taking advantage of a sunny morning and taking photos all in one go. Then I can edit them later and they’re ready to upload!
Time management
Spend one day a month focusing entirely on your blog, an afternoon a week commenting on blogs, or a weekend scheduling posts. Time management is key when blogging! Whilst Twitter is fun, it’s not always productive. Allocate yourself a set time, turn off any distractions, and get your blogging done!
Do what’s best for you
Create your own routine and figure out how you work best. Don’t force blogging or it will come across in your posts! Organisation is something all of us lack at times, so making sure you know when your productivity levels will be highest will hugely benefit you.
Since the start of September, I’ve been taking Business Studies lessons. Due to having such a passion for social media and marketing, I’m really glad I chose to take the class because I’ve learnt so much from it so far.
There are many principles in business that apply to blogging too (if not all of them!), and I’ve found that I’ve discovered so many ways to expand my blog and feel very motivated about blogging since September. I thought I’d discuss a few on the blog today:
Non-Monetary Motivational Factors:
Since learning about motivational factors, I’ve been able to change them up so that they affect the way I blog in a very positive way.
Job Rotation:By applying job rotation, where you switch between different tasks to reduce monotony, I’m trying to make sure that I’m not getting bored by a continuous routine of blogging tasks. I’ve created a rota of days to carry out different tasks – commenting on blogs, writing and scheduling posts, and creating blogging schedules, for example. It also means that I’m rotating the content going up on the blog, and the extra motivation means that it’s easier than ever to come up with fresh and original ideas.
Job Enrichment:When based on my blog, job enrichment means that I’m giving myself more interesting and challenging tasks to do. I’ve always been one for doing things that are wild and crazy, but I love having a small idea and developing it into something that is greater than I ever imagined it could be. Currently, I have a few of these on the go and I’m really excited about developing them further.
Promotion, Marketing & Research:
Market Research: It’s so important to find out just how much the consumer (or reader, in this case) is going to like an idea because that’s the person you’re catering for! The first person I try to make happy is myself; I won’t post something I’m not happy with and don’t have 100% faith in, but the second person is YOU. In the next few months, I’m going to be carrying out lots and lots of research to ensure that I’m growing my blog for the better, and not for the completely wrong reasons.
Direct Marketing: I want to try to make visiting my blog a personal experience for everyone who decides to click on, or type in, the link. I also have a few other direct marketing ideas, such as creating a monthly newsletter which I should be developing for the start of 2015.
Do you think it’s important to run your blog strategically, or do you prefer to ‘go with the flow’?
