Oh my goodness it’s been 1 whole year! I can’t believe how fast my first year of blogging has flown by! I have learned so much & met so many wonderful humans in the blogosphere! I am so glad I took the leap in 2018 & joined this wild community of creators! Most importantly, I am beyond thankful for YOU! Without you, I would not be able to do what I love every single day & share my life with you all! In celebration of 1 year, I wanted to share with you all what takeaways I have from the last 12 months! I know many of you are thinking of venturing into the blogging world, kicking off your career, or maybe you’re just curious how it all works! Well, there is plenty of sun for all of us, so jump on in! I know it can be extremely intimidating & scary, but I want to help you as much as I can! Here are my biggest takeaways over the past year that I want to share with aspiring influencers & anyone who is interested in learning about blogging!
Authenticity is your secret weapon! There is no one else in the blogosphere that can write like you, has your creative eye, or can chat with your community on Instagram stories the way that you can! Everything about your brand should be a reflection of who you are & what you love. It’s so great to follow other bloggers & support their work; we can all inspire one another without mimicking something another influencer is doing. Coming up with your own, one-of-a-kind tactics and ideas to help engage your audience will help you stand out! In the age of social media, it’s all about being authentic & memorable!
Invest in Your Brand & Yourself. I’m sure you’re familiar with the phrase, “ You have to spend money to make money.” When I first started my blog I was apprehensive to put a ton of money into it because there was so much I didn’t know: Am I going to like blogging? Will anyone even read my blog? Will I be good at it? The whole blogosphere was one huge question mark in my mind, so I purchased the second level membership with WordPress.com (the first level with no ads), purchased my domain & called it a day. I thought I would be fine using the free layouts that were included, and I didn’t know how to use CSS coding anyway or even what the CSS stood for. After 8 months of changing my site layout about 5 times, rearranging site pages and trying to adjust colors, I knew this was it; if I wanted my brand to grow I had to put the time & money into making it exactly what I wanted it to be. I upgraded host memberships, purchased a layout that I loved and spent hours trying to decipher CSS coding with the WordPress support chat team (which is always extremely helpful by the way!) After a few days of building, I had a site that fit my vision & was simple for my readers to navigate! Once you’re established & financially comfortable doing so, take the leap! (More to come on where to spend & how to save, look out for that post soon!)
Network with your fellow blogger babes! I can’t say this enough; reach out to the influencers who share your niche and audience! Not only is it amazing to have friends via the internet who love the same things you do, but you can work together to get where you want to be! I have partnered with fellow Style & Disney influencers to do giveaways, guest blog posts, and so much more! You will find yourself in a new little family of Instagram/Influencer BFF’s that you simply do not know how you lived without! Being a part of the influencer community is not only personally rewarding, but it will absolutely help you grow your brand!
Focus on building YOUR brand, not on getting brand deals. Your brand should always be your number one priority, with or without a brand deal. In the beginning stages of building your brand, don’t get consumed with what other bloggers are doing or who they are working with; most of the influencers you admire have probably been in the game a lot longer than you. Your time to collab with brands & other influencers will come, and you’ll be glad you waited until you were more prepared to execute them to the best of your ability. Focus your time & energy into building and creating awareness!
Quality Over Quantity. Take it from me, the pressure to post everyday on Instagram, Pinterest, etc. & create new blog content multiple times a week is real! One thing I have learned from other influencers & social media professionals is to always post quality content over quantity. If you’re not proud of the material, don’t share it. It’s better to postpone a post until you have a quality photo for example, or whatever the case may be that could set you back. If you’re ever not sure, think about how well the post represents you & if it will properly cater to your audience. Quality is everything!
I hope you find my takeaways from my first year as a blogger helpful & informative! It truly is a full time job, but I wouldn’t have it any other way! I love sharing my life with you & I can’t wait to grow together for many years to come! Cheers to 1 Year!
XO Kara
Wonderful insight for all new bloggers, thank you for the much needed information.