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7 Lessons About Blogging I Learned This Year

I really haven’t been blogging that long compared to so many other bloggers out there. 2016 was the first year that I blogged from January to December. It’s when I really started figuring out what I wanted to do with it, how to find my groove, and just what made me happy and what didn’t. I’m not a perfect blogger by any means, but I think I’ve figured out a pretty good system from now.

So, here are 7 lessons I’ve learned over the past year:

#1. It’s okay to go off schedule – This one took me a long time to learn. It wasn’t until about halfway through this year that I realized I was feeling overwhelmed and stuck in my current schedule. So, I became more lenient, in baby steps. First, I allowed myself to publish certain posts whenever I wanted, instead of on the same day. Then, I removed any weekly posts that I didn’t enjoy doing (like the Sunday post becoming a bi-weekly chat). Then, I said, “screw it, I’ll post whenever”. Ironically, I now post more often since I let myself relax. Funny how that happens.

#2. There’s productivity in consistency  This is an extension of #1. I realized that if I take random breaks that only last a few days, I’m less motivated to come back. However, if I’m consistent in my blog-related activities, I look forward to it. This doesn’t mean I write posts every day, but thatactively think about my blog every day (sort of). I look around my world and think of post topics & write them down, I think of goals I may want to reach in the future, I tweak a few design things here and there. If I’m consistent in my activity about my blog, I look forward to writing posts for it.

#3. Mix things up if you want If you aren’t happy with something, go ahead and change it. Chances are, no one will even notice, or if they do, they’ll love it. If you change something and realize you don’t like it anymore, change it again, and again, and again, until you’re happy with your blog. It is yours after all. However, make sure that whatever you change is still appealing to your readers (as in no hot pink font on a black background, our little eyes can’t take that).

#4. Let others inspire you – If you’re lacking motivation or ideas, let others be your inspiration. This has come in handy for me the past few months as I talked about in 6 Blogs That Inspire Me. This community is full of like-minded people who are intelligent and creative and can really get your creative juices flowing. Don’t be afraid to write a response post to someone else’s, don’t be afraid to use other people’s designs as inspiration for yours, and don’t be afraid to reach out to people for help if you’re questioning something. (But please do credit those posts you use if it’s a response post, keyword here is inspiration)

#5. There are negative people all over – No matter what aspect of your life we’re talking about, there are Debbie Downers out there. While this community is usually awesome, there are a few times that negativity creeps in. Whether it has to do with you directly or not, sometimes it can get you down and discourage you. Don’t let it. When you start feeling that way, reach out to the people in this community you love to talk to, read a book, unfollow, ignore, whatever you need to do to keep the positivity up in your life.

#6. You don’t have to do everything – There is a lot of blog advice out there, I even share some on my blog, so I’m here to now tell you that you don’t have to do everything people recommend! Find what works for you. Don’t like certain social media platforms? Don’t use it. Don’t usually schedule ahead of time & are more of go-with-the-flow? Keep going with the flow! It can become overwhelming when there are so many people telling you how you can blog, but it doesn’t mean you have to do it a certain way to be successful. Find your groove and own it.


What lessons have you learned from blogging this past year?

Have you made any big changes with the way you blog or your blog itself?

21 Comments

  • Reply Mahriya 12/29/2016 at 7:18 am

    100% agree with all of these! And yes, me too! This is my first year of blogging consistently! I found that a schedule doesn’t work for me, so i ditched it. So many bloggers recommend it and I did try my best, honestly, but it didn’t work. like you mentioned in your last point, Find your groove and own it and that’s exactly what I love to do.
    I love the GIF there, so funny but I agree! I mean changing things up is always a good idea! It just gives that uniqueness to your blog.
    Wishing you theBest for 2017!

    • Reply Molly 12/29/2016 at 10:53 am

      Exactly! Finding what works for you is so important. I tried to do TOO much for a long time trying to apply all the advice out there but it just didn’t work. It’s important to take all the blogging advice out there with a grain of salt, you know?

      I hope the best for you in 2017 as well! 😀

  • Reply Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf 12/29/2016 at 8:22 am

    So true…it is very easy to get burned out book blogging but I think your tips if applied take a lot of the pressure off.

    • Reply Molly 12/29/2016 at 10:53 am

      Thank you! I hope they help you if you do apply any of these. Blogging is like a full time job without the benefit of a paycheck! hahaha it can get stressful xD

  • Reply Grace @ Rebel Mommy Book Blog 12/29/2016 at 8:53 am

    All very good lessons!! I think my biggest lessons is week or two breaks is what I need to recharge sometimes and that is ok and my followers will still be there.

    • Reply Molly 12/29/2016 at 10:54 am

      Very true! I found for me that taking a long break without doing ANY blog related stuff makes me not give a crap about my blog hahah. I’ll say “well, it’s already been 2 weeks, what’s another week?” So I DO have to do something, even if it’s not posting blogs.

  • Reply Geraldine @ Corralling Books 12/30/2016 at 3:17 am

    These are the best lessons to learn! I especially like how relaxing about blogging makes you more consistent with blogging – it’s great to hear! <3
    This year has been pretty tumultuous with blogging for me too – and hearing your lessons, reading them, I think I'll have to take a couple of your tips, like actively thinking about the blog, every day! 🙂

    • Reply Molly 01/01/2017 at 6:05 pm

      Thank you! & yeah, I think it just takes the stress off so it actually makes me WANT to blog rather than feel like I have to.

      & aw, well I hope it helps! For me, thinking about my blog just helps me get inspired. Don’t stress about it, though. What I do is I have a notebook near me, or OneNote on my phone, and whenever something inspires me I write it down. Even if it’s something simple during a conversation with my husband & I have a sort of “AH-HA” moment lol

      • Reply Geraldine @ Corralling Books 01/02/2017 at 5:40 am

        Haha, I know what you mean! I’ve been trying it out recently, and it’s actually REALLY helpful! I’m getting all sorts of ideas for posts…now to actually write them! xD

        • Reply Molly 01/02/2017 at 11:26 am

          Yay! YES YES YES you really need to get something to write down when you think of them, or you might forget. Just carry around a small notebook, or use the notes app in your phone, OR OneNote is great because you can sync it to other devices.

  • Reply YA and Wine 12/30/2016 at 5:11 pm

    This is soooo helpful! I’ve only been blogging for a month, so I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing, but it’s been so much fun!

    • Reply Molly 01/01/2017 at 6:03 pm

      WOW. a month?! I didn’t know that! Welcome to blogging then! 😀 <3 You'll get the hang of it. There's tons of advice out there as well so that should help 🙂

      • Reply YA and Wine 01/01/2017 at 8:30 pm

        Yeah, it’s been a crazy month, but a SUPER fun one too. It’s amazing how much there is to learn about it.

  • Reply Lizzy 12/31/2016 at 7:45 pm

    These are all such good points! I’m still trying to find “my” groove in book blogging, as well as connect with other bloggers. I’ve had a couple reading slumps that resulted in blogging slumps as well, but reading other blogs and book recs helped me break out of those.

    • Reply Molly 01/01/2017 at 6:01 pm

      Finding your groove will be a constantly evolving thing. At least it is for me. What worked this time last year for me, doesn’t work now! I think connecting with bloggers is one of the hardest things for me. I tend to vanish from the community for days at a time because of life haha I’m going to try to work on that this year though 🙂

  • Reply Lauren @ Wonderless Reviews 01/01/2017 at 3:35 am

    Great post, Molly. The schedule one is something that’s super relevant to me, haha. I’ve never really been able to stick to one because real life just hates me, haha. At first I got really stressed out about it but now I’m just like “oh wellll” hahaha.

    • Reply Molly 01/01/2017 at 6:00 pm

      Thank you! Yeah, scheduling can be hard to keep up with. For me I have a bit of a balance of schedule & no schedule. Although, I’m envious of those who can write posts and be like a MONTH of ahead of schedule. HOW?!

      • Reply Lauren @ Wonderless Reviews 01/02/2017 at 10:39 pm

        Riiiiight!! I know some people who have like an entire month or two scheduled and I’m just like HOW?? What kind of black magic hahaha.

        • Reply Molly 01/04/2017 at 7:28 am

          SERIOUSLY. I’m rarely a week ahead of schedule. I need to know their spells.

  • Reply YA and Wine 01/01/2017 at 3:08 pm

    Your blogging tips are amazing! Your blog is going to be like the blogging 101 course I so totally need!

    • Reply Molly 01/01/2017 at 5:58 pm

      AW Thank you! I hope they’re helpful for you. I try haha

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