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My first year blogging was an amazing experience. I learned so much about myself and what I am capable of. Starting a blog was taking a risk. It was trying something new.
I am so thankful for my blog and the intellectual challenge it brings me.
I truly do not think I can count the number of things I have learned this year. I am going to do my best though to name as many as possible.
We are going to start with some of the more tech-related things I learned and then we can end to more personal growth such as my commitment to blogging.
See if any of these are things you have learned or expect to learn in your first year of blogging.
Website Creation
Never in my life have I owned and operated a website. I did not know what Bluehost or WordPress was before I started getting into researching blogging. Every single aspect of both Bluehost and WordPress has been completely new to me and learned during this first year.
With Bluehost, I learned what a domain is as well as hosting. I learned the difference between HTTP and HTTPS. When I had difficulty making my site HTTPS Bluehost helped me out. They are great for beginner bloggers. If you are interested in starting a website with Bluehost use my link and I will receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
When it comes to things like servers and DNS all that technical stuff I still struggle. We will have to save all that for year 2 I guess.
WordPress has been a beast on its own. I learned about changing various aspects of my theme and how they change my homepage and posts.
The term plugins was not a part of my vocabulary before blogging. I quickly learned what they are and how helpful they can be.
I learned how to change my time zone and set my permalinks default. There are so many other background things that I am sure I am missing.
When it came time to publish articles I learned how to schedule them in advance and how to place them in categories that I learned to build on my website.
I learned how to manage a block of text, create a chart, or simply bold a group of words.
Before launching your website take a read of Steps to Take Before Launching Your Blog to Guarantee Success.
Logo/Favicon
I figured out how to create an image that I could use for my branding. I placed it on my site as a logo and made it into my favicon. I most definitely did not know what a favicon was before blogging. I had seen them a million times but never knew their name.
I learned how to use the media on WordPress to place my logo into an article.
I designed my logo in Canva. I am not a graphic designer, nor a creative person, but I figured something out!
Content Creation
I still have a long way to go on keyword research related to content creation, but man this first year I have learned a lot.
Some people say to use words like “I” and “me” to make the reader feel a connection, other people say to use words like “you” to make the article read like it was written for them.
I have learned that there can be conflicting information out there!
My content this year has drastically improved. I have learned that I am comfortable writing.
I have learned how to greatly improve my titles and the importance of doing so. You can see some of my progress and how I achieved it in this article Take These Steps to Create the Best Blog Post Title Every Time!
I have learned that on days when I am in the mood to write I can get quite a bit done. Other days or articles can be struggles though.
Another thing along that line is the ability to batch content.
I will take anywhere from 3 to 7 articles and work on titles and outlines all at once. Then I will hope for a day where I have some writing flow and knock out as much as possible. The number of days this takes varies based on the number of articles. Then I will take each article through Grammarly for a quick check.
The final step is to publish the article, add article and product links, images, and possibly an email opt-in.
Completing a large chunk of articles at once is great. I could do one to two months of work and then the next weeks more on to other tasks.
Placing Links
Something very important I learned during my first year of blogging was how to place links. These links could be to my other articles, affiliate links, or links to other resources.
These links are so important! You must learn how to link things!
Interlinking my articles helps my readers find additional helpful information. It can also keep readers on my site longer which is beneficial for ad revenue.
I have also heard that interlinking articles is helpful when Google crawls your website for indexing. Basically, it creates a web, or trail from article to article.
I use affiliates links for physical products that could be purchased off Amazon as well as virtual products such as hosting with Bluehost.
Before I was able to place these links I had to go through the process of signing up or applying to be an affiliate.
Before I started my blog I had no idea what it meant to be an affiliate marketer.
Placing links is not particularly difficult, however, when I first launched my blog it was completely new to me.
My only experience with Pinterest was as a user. I went on there to look at future home inspiration, beautiful hair and clothing styles, and then pregnancy information once my life was to that point.
I saw the pins, clicked, and read the articles.
I literally had no idea how that content was made and placed onto the platform.
Initially, I figured I had to get Tailwind. Everyone seemed to recommend it…along with their specific link. If you are interested you can read Would I Recommend Tailwind for New Bloggers?
Finally, I came across a YouTube video where someone demonstrated how to create a pin on the Pinterest platform and scheduler. This was free! Which as a new blogger I loved!
Helpful Guide to Publishing Your First Pin on Pinterest
With Pinterest came the early steps of creating an account, switching it to a business account once the website was live, and getting it all set up. This included my profile and boards. I worked on placing my logo on my business page and creating covers for my boards.
A lot of research went into trying to make my account strong from the beginning.
Recently I learned how to claim my website on Pinterest. It took me a while to conquer this task, but I finally did. Technically I learned how to claim my website 13/14 months into my blogging career versus in the first year. But it is something you should learn during your first year, in fact, your first month.
Claim Your Website with Pinterest Business Accounts in Only a Few Easy Steps
With Pinterest, I learned how to gather stock images, get them into Canva, and design them. I also learned about titles and descriptions for those pins. I am sure mine are still not perfect, but I make an effort to optimize them the best I know how.
I learned to create what I call Quick Pin Templates for all my articles. When I publish an article I create this by coping over all of my best title options. I then write 3-4 descriptions and place the URL. I will copy my list of boards and bold the boards that are most appropriate for that specific article.
You can see an example before. This article is not yet published so it currently say URL. I will replace this with the actually URL once it is available. My board list continues on to page two, but for simplicity only showed you page one.
During my first year, I learned this prep work makes publishing my pins much easier.
I do not write my pin descriptions on the fly. I would rather do it when I have the article open and know exactly what I focused on in the article.
The biggest thing I can say about Pinterest is I learned how to get my graphics and articles onto Pinterest. I never would have imagined those pins you see could be mine.
Canva Graphics
Canva is a great resource for young bloggers. In my first year, I learned what it could be used for and that you can get by with the free version.
I used Canva to create hundreds to thousands of pins, my logos, and PDFs for email opt-ins.
My journey with Canva is far from over. I will continue to use it hopefully in the future to create beautiful products and more.
On Canva I learned how to do all the steps necessary to create a pin. I learned how to download an image, resize it, adjust the brightness and so much more.
I learned how to place boxes and text and change the colors and fonts of those.
One feature I quickly fell in love with was the ability to change the transparency of components.
I learned how to create lists and make texts align.
Canva is very user-friendly. It does take time and practice to discover what is available to you. Look at an old pin versus a new pin and see your improvement over time.
Email Marketing
I learned about email marketing pretty quickly in my blogging journey. I was hesitant to get into it though. Blogging can be quite overwhelming at times. I used Convertkit for a little bit, then got overwhelmed, and didn’t use it again for months.
Recently I dove deeper into using Convertkit and am now comfortable placing email opt-in forms into my various articles. I now feel confident in my ability to create forms and PDFs to give my readers. I think the PDFs could better match my branding and overall just be improved. With time I can make improvements.
I am satisfied though with what I have as far as the ability to create the PDFs, attach them to forms, and get those forms placed in my articles.
Email marketing like any other task can be overwhelming. Wait to get into it until you have time available to fully learn and tackle it.
How Google Works
I have learned so much about Google and SEO through other bloggers. People talk about how Google ranks information, gives it various levels of authority and ranking, and how Google considers the reader.
For example, if people quickly bounce off your post Google may drop your ranking because your article does not seem to please the reader.
Along this line, I have learned about Google Analytics and Google Search Console. I am not a master of either but am learning along the way.
It is amazing to see which articles are performing best in which month.
I love numbers and could probably get lost looking and discovering what everything means.
Instead, I try to spend time on other tasks. This can be debatable. By looking at your analytics you can learn what is working best and replicate it. But by spending too much time looking at your analytics you are not taking actionable steps to move your business forward.
Everything in your blogging business is about balance and prioritizing. For example, you can’t just keep churning out content without taking the time to slow down and place ads and affiliate links. Otherwise, your content will never make you money.
Balancing various tasks has been a learning experience this first year.
What I Learned About Blogging
This year I have learned so much about blogging. I’ve gone through a lot of the technology already.
Now let’s talk about the other areas I have seen growth this year.
I have learned is just how much time goes into a blog and you may not see the results.
In my first year blogging, I made around $20 for hundreds of hours of work. I am hoping year two will turn a corner and my blog will start to grow. Blogging is not a get-rich-quick scheme!
It is a lot of hard work and dedication.
I have learned that you cannot do everything at once. You must focus and prioritize then once conquered move on to the next task.
I have learned that running two blogs is difficult. I don’t know that I would recommend it in your first year.
The first year of blogging is more difficult to start and run a blog than people say!
What I Learned About Myself
This first year of blogging I have learned so much about myself.
I have learned how much I need and crave mental stimulation. My blogs bring me a strong sense of purpose and fulfillment. It is something that is completely my own separate from my role as wife, mother and managing the home.
Blogging is my thing and I need it.
I have learned that new tasks overwhelm me. The way I seem to handle them best is to give them a try. If it not going well I take a step back for a while and then return to it again fresh. The second time around always seems easier because I have some base knowledge of how to navigate the task, platform, or technology. Trying to master it on the first go is simply too much for me.
I have learned how determined I can be. Never before have I stuck to something the way I have with blogging. I am so very determined to make this work.
While I am currently employed as a nanny I want this to be my next step. I want to be able to blog with my children at home and then later blog from home when they are school-aged. I want to be able to bring in income for our family while being able to manage our home and family life. I am so very determined with blogging.
Resources
I am not able to link to every resource I have used across two blogs and a full year of blogging. I will however say YouTube has been a great source of information. I watched a lot of the Income School channel.
I would listen to videos while commuting to and from work.
I would find helpful information from other bloggers and in income reports.
I will warn you though with resources always watch the date of publication. For example, Pinterest tips and strategies from 2018 are no longer relevant. Only use up-to-date information!
Conclusion
There are about a million big and small things you will learn in your first year of blogging. Hopefully, this list lets you know a bit of what you can expect.
I am astounded at what I have learned in my first year of blogging. Stay tuned for what I learn in my second year of blogging. Hopefully, it is a year of growth and development.
Check Out My Articles
Steps to Take to Have a Successful First Month Blogging
January 2021 Income and Traffic Report MWEL
Steps to Take Before Launching Your Blog to Guarantee Success
Why I Will Continue to Blog Despite Making No Real Money
Curious How Much Income and Traffic You Can Earn with a First Year Blog