What I've Learnt From Blogging So Far

Image sourced from Pinterest

 

In the years I have now been blogging I've never actually written any type of post like this. I know a lot of top bloggers have written posts about how they got to where they are and their personal tips and tricks. I have also seen and read a lot of these posts recently, which is kind of what spurred me on to write my own. I'm by no means the greatest or most dedicated blogger but I'd like to think that I've learnt some useful tips which may help any of you who are relatively new to blogging.

 

 

1. Don't stress
Personally I'm prone to stressing about pretty much anything so for me I find this one particularly hard, some of you may not. I don't like the feeling that I haven't produced something for you guys to read, for any reason, therefore this produces me to stress over it. I have however learnt to not stress as much. It's my blog therefore I can write and publish a post whenever I want. I tend to try and schedule a post every two days but there are times that this doesn't always go to plan. I can plan as much as I like but sometimes finding the time to actually write the posts can be tricky. I work full time and am also now in my final year at university so juggling the two can be difficult and time consuming. So my life is stressful enough without stressing over my blog. Basically I have learnt there is no point in stressing over your blog. It's yours, you've produced it, you've made it on your terms. If you want to miss a blog post out in the week then do it, if you want a week off let your readers know and go and recharge!
 

2. Remember that certain things take time
I have definitely learnt this one and it has taken me many times to get to grips with this one if I'm honest. Some blog posts will of course be easier to write than others but when they are rushed then I believe you can tell. I've 100% rushed many posts previously and when I've read them back, I've thought "wow, that doesn't even make sense!". I believe that if you're not in the right frame of mind to write a blog post, then don't. Your readers want to read good quality posts with a truthful review, or whatever it may be. This can also link into photos that you upload on your blog. I must say that this is something I lack and I think it's because I don't own one of the huge proper photography cameras, which of course I'd love too. I simply just use my iPhone which is good enough quality but obviously nothing on the good cameras. But the editing process can take time so again don't rush it as it's going to be something that stays on your blog forever, pretty much.
 

3. Make it your own
This one is pretty self explanatory - I've seen bloggers have their content taken and used by someone else which of course is not nice. Bloggers, including myself, take time to write and edit their content which is published on their blogs. You gain absolutely nothing from copying and pasting from someone else's blog. Putting your own personality and writing style into your blog is what makes it your own and therefore separates you from every other blogger. It gains you readers as people will understand you as a person and as a blogger.
 

4. Vary your content
Again this one is pretty obvious, personally I like to read blogs that showcase a variety of posts. Including reviews, lifestyle, fashion, life snippets, wish lists, etc. I'll say it again - it's your blog so make it your own but incorporate a variety of posts to keep your readers reading basically. Again some posts will take longer to edit and write than others but that shouldn't stop you, unless you literally have no time. Personally I find wish lists can take longer than most other posts but that doesn't mean I don't write them it might just mean that I don't do them as often. Variety keeps readers interested and will attract new ones. This also links to point number three as you vary your posts continue making them your own.
 

5. Do what you want, when you want, how you want
Finally I feel the most important and I have touched on it already. It is your blog, you can run it however the hell you wish too. If you want to run a blog focused on one area or you want to incorporate every area, then do it. Don't hold back when it comes to something that you have built yourself, from scratch. As I've said if you want to take a week off, then do, no one is there to tell you not to. You are the boss of your blog and you control it. It doesn't matter what other bloggers are doing; some bloggers post daily, some monthly but you should post when you see fit. As I've said I try to post every other day but if that doesn't work out for me then I've learnt not to stress about it and just continue with my life. I know I will next post when I'm ready to and when I have the time. Your blog should be something you love, not something you love to hate. You should want to post, interact with your readers and love it. 

365 Blog Topic Ideas by Dana Fox

As a blogger sometimes it can be difficult to always be creative and think of new and innovative blog post ideas. Sometimes this can leave you feeling uninspired about your blog which is something I know a lot of bloggers hate. Your blog is yours, it's something you have made and therefore want to keep going (hopefully). I'm pretty sure all bloggers go through this feeling at some point or other, hence why this wonderful book by Dana Fox comes in super handy. Dana Fox writes her own blog, Wonder Forest, which I have actually been reading for a long time now. If you haven't checked her blog out already then I would definitely recommend doing so.

This book is such a simple concept but on the other hand is such an amazing idea. There are 365 ideas over 365 pages, simple. An idea per page which is such a simple idea but so great. There is no other writing included just a wide range of ideas which can be adapted to your own style or add in your own niche. This book is aimed at lifestyle bloggers initially but I definitely think all bloggers would benefit from this book in one way or another. Like I said many of the ideas can be twisted to put your own stamp on things therefore could be aimed at all bloggers.

You can see from my photographs a few of the ideas included within this book and obviously they are literally only a few. There are so many other great ideas which you can instantly get inspiration from. If you're lacking motivation or inspiration then I 100% recommend this book, it will honestly give you such an insight into the various blog posts you can write.

Overall I'm so pleased I purchased this book as it's already given me ideas of posts just from the first couple of pages. Also from those pages I've linked to other new posts I can write therefore giving me even more ideas for my blog posts. Hopefully in the near future you will see some of the ideas from this book on my blog! There are definitely some in progress already, wink wink. You can buy this book from Amazon here for £10.80. Which I think is such a bargain considering what you're getting out of the book as a blogger. Let me know if you've purchased this book and your thoughts :-)

Life Lately

 

Image sourced from Pinterest

I didn't want to do a normal beauty review today, I'm not quite sure as to why so instead I thought I would give you a little update. Again not really sure what I'm actually going to talk about in this post, so I will warn you I may ramble. We will just see where this post takes us. I do really enjoy reading and writing lifestyle blog posts hence why I wanted to do another. I don't do them that often as I don't see my life as the most interesting thing on the planet, I mean you can go and browse Asos for that. It's just nice sometimes to step away from the beauty aspect of my blog and do some free writing, in this case typing.

This leads me on greatly to a new investment I purchased this week. After battling with my old one for so long which was just clearly dying on me, I caved and purchased myself a brand spanking new laptop. It's so darn pretty, it's white! I now own a white iPhone, a white iPad and a white laptop. I love white clearly. It dawned on me when writing my most recent essay for university that my old laptop was a pile of shite and soooooo slooooooow it was something that had to be done. The sooner the better, so I did it, the next day. I'm so glad I did, even though I parted with quite a lot of money, it will be worth it in the long run. Since then we've had payday which helped out, it just means no beauty or random purchases until next payday. I wonder if I will be able to do it, challenge accepted.

Now I say not to buy random things which I think I need but clearly don't. My car also went to the garage at the weekend and cost slightly more than I was anticipating. It was the last service, as such, before I finally take the plunge and purchased myself a brand new car. It's been on the side lines for a little while now and I think I just need to take that plunge and do it. I don't see how anyone can regret buying a brand new car with lots of gadgets to play with. I know not all girls will feel the same way, I've just always had an interest in cars. Don't get me wrong, I do not mean the mechanics of it or anything. But I do like to drive a nice car myself and I've always been like that since my first car. I've been through a fair amount of cars since I passed my test, I must point out this is not due to crashing them *touches wood*. Two of my previous cars I had to change as they were broken and would have cost some dollar to fix. So anyway back on track, I've always wanted a brand new car that I will actually stick with and I think I'm in a good position to do so. This excites me very much!

Another excitement is that there is only just over two months before another summer starts and four months off of university. I cannot wait for this year to be over and then I can finally say that I'm in my last year which is crazy. This is something I should maybe save until I've completely finished university but the journey I have been on is surreal. The friends I've made, mainly in the past year, have driven me through and I can honestly say I couldn't have done it without them *soppy*. But it is true and the friendships really do make the whole experience worthwhile.

Moving on it was recently my birthday a week ago today. It was a very chilled day, which was fine by me, and consisted of work then seeing family and friends. Then also a delicious meal out with my family. I am grateful for everything I received and was very lucky. I got some skin care bits including Liz Earle and Clinique, some clothing items, a Joules scarf and then some vouchers and money. This clearly means I need to go on a shopping spree soon. This may just be me but whenever I get vouchers I feel as if I need to spend them right away before I forget about them.

Anyway I feel like I have rambled enough so I hope you had your cuppa's at the ready for this post. I apologise if you didn't. I will say I loved typing all of this post on my new laptop, it feels so nice and new! I'm now off to go and read some more of my current book: Summer and the City by Candace Bushnell which is amazing by the way. There's a book prior to this one called Sex in the City and I 100% recommend both if you're into easy reading books, I may well do a review on them soon. This is something else I want to get into doing more often on my blog too - book reviews, I read so often that I feel I should. Rambling again... I hope you all had a lovely weekend :-)