Guest Post: Things I've Learned About Blogging

Hello there boys and girls, my name is Mrs. P. But you can call me Kylez.

I usually blog over at A Study in Contradictions, but today am I here, doing a wee little guest post for my awesome friend Kelly.

I take full credit for getting Kelly totally and utterly addicted to blogging. I guess you could call me her blog pimp. Which would make her my blogging ho'. Yep, that sounds about right!

Old-aged blogger Kylez (Kelly was here) LMAO

So anyway, Kel and I thought it would be fun to swap blogs for a day and do a post on each others blogs. She's over there right now blogging her motherly confession for my series Confessions of a New Mum. Not that she's a new Mum anymore, but once upon a time she was and that is what she is gabbing on about over at my blog. So if you can't be bothered reading what I have to say here today feel free to pop on over there to read Kel. I won't mind. It will increase my traffic! Hehehehe!

I've been blogging now for about 3 and a half years, which in Australian blogging terms makes me an old-aged blogger, bordering on ancient! When I asked Kelly what I should guest-post about, she said I should blog about blogging. So here goes!

Things I've Learned About Blogging #1 - Blogging is addictive. Really addictive. And it's not just the writing of blog posts that's addictive, it's the reading and commenting on other people's blogs that becomes addictive too. And getting comments on your own blog. I remember when I first started I was constantly checking my emails to see if anyone had commented on my blog and when they did, it made my day (I didn't have a lot of followers or readers back then so to get a comment was a huge deal! There was also no linky's for just about every day of the week like there is now to really build a community).

Things I've Learned About Blogging #2 - There will be times when you just have nothing to blog about and no desire to blog. I know while you are in the throes of early blog addiction it feels like this will never happen to you, but trust me, it will. Blogger's fatigue, or Blogger's Block, whatever you want to call it is a very real thing. Sometimes it may only last a day or two, other times it can last for months on end. Don't stress though if it hits you. Sometimes it can be a very good thing to take a step back from blogging, clear your head, spend some time hanging out with people in real life (real life you say? I'd forgotten what that was!) and just generally not worrying about blogging. You'll feel better for it and you're readers will almost always still be there when you return. Well, the ones who really get you will.

Things I've Learned About Blogging #3 - You won't make a lot of money from it. Unless of course you create an ultra-uber-ginormous website, ala Mamamia, or you were already semi-famous before, you will not make much money from blogging. If at all. In fact it may even cost you money. But that's ok. Like any hobby, sometimes you have to spend a bit of money to create something, and really, I like to think of blogging as just another craft like knitting, scrapbooking, needlework. You're creating with words instead of yarn, paper or thread. I read a blogger recently said that someone said to them "If blogging isn't fun you're doing it wrong". And that is so true! You might as well get your own domain name, because it only costs maybe $10 a year and that's nothing compared to what you might spend on some hobbies. I bought my name as a domain name because while I may not still be blogging as A Study in Contradictions in 10 years time my name will certainly still be the same. Whether you register your name or the name of your blog, it's worth it, in my opinion.

Things I've Learned About Blogging #4 - You don't have to spend ridiculous amounts of time on all the social media platforms to be a good blogger or to get readers to your blog. Yes, I have a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a Google+ account, a Pinterest account and an Instagram account. But out of all of those, the only one I am really active on is Instagram, because I am a total photography addict and love having somewhere I can share the millions of photos I take with people who appreciate them. My facebook friends and family don't, so I share them there. I am not hugely active on my facebook page other than posting links to my latest blog posts, and I have linked the facebook page to my twitter account so every time I post something to the fb page it automatically posts it on twitter as well. But that's just how I roll. Some people love twitter and use that a lot and I say pick you poison and stick to it. I dabble and dip in and out of Twitter when I am feeling in the mood. If you were only going to have one social media account for your blog however, I would recommend it be a facebook page. I love to follow blogs on facebook as that is where I spend most of my time online and that is true for the majority of people. I am more likely to read your blog post if you link to it via your facebook page because I hardly ever read my feed reader because I have so many blogs that I follow. 

Things I've Learned About Blogging #5 - Always give people a way to subscribe to your blog by email. And make sure that when they do, the email they receive is the whole blog post, pictures included, and not just the first paragraph. I subscribe to lots of blogs by email as it makes it really easy to read a blog post in between dealing with the munchkin and other domestic duties, or when I am taking 5 at work, and then be able to come back later and easily find the post to then post a comment.

Photo by Kylie Purtell

Things I've Learned About Blogging #6 - It's always nice to have a picture or two with your blog posts. Sometimes the only comments I get on a post are about the picture I've included, whether it's one I've taken myself, or one I've found and nicked off the interwebs (thank you Google Image Search). But remember, if you do use an image that is not your own, that you have found via Google Image Search or some other way, always, always provide a link back to where you found it. It is the height of rudeness not to do this and it can also get you in trouble. I have no problem if someone wants to use one of my images on their blog or for a post but I would be mightily pissed off if there was no link-back or credit given so I always try to do the same.

Things I've Learned About Blogging #7 - It doesn't matter how many followers you have via Facebook, Google Friend Connect, Google+, RSS, Twitter or whatever. In the end, for me, what blogging is about first and foremost, is making connections with people and getting to know someone. The number of followers you have will never accurately reflect the true number of people you are really connecting with. I have 186 followers via Google Friend Connect but that doesn't mean I have that many people reading and commenting. I have a loyal core of readers and that is what matters to me, they have been reading my blog from the start, and even when I have had long breaks, they are always the first to comment on my latest post and that is what blogging is all about for me. Don't get hung up on a number. Get hung up on the people interacting with your blog and you'll be a much happier and relaxed blogger for it.

So that's it. I don't know much but I do know a bit. hat have you learned about blogging? What be your best tip to someone just starting out?

Kylez and Kelly