I've been blogging for five years this December and I honestly don't know where the time has gone. I've learnt and developed a lot in those five years as a blogger and just as a person. For anyone who is thinking of starting a blog I'd say go for it! It's a great hobby to get involved with and a great way to express your views on subjects you care about and document your life in a way. But there are definitely somethings you need to know before you start. So I thought today I would share my top blogging tips to you guys.
Tip number one is to be yourself. It can be hard to feel 100% comfortable when you first start out, especially if you start a YouTube channel. It's normal to put on a front to create a barrier to feel comfortable when you start something so new. But don't be afraid to be yourself. One thing I've learned is people connect with people much more when they're real. People who talk about real emotions, real situations, real experiences, things that actually relate to peoples lives.
Speaking of things people actually relate to, create content you like. You don't have to stick to one thing. If you guys have been here since 2013/ 2014 then you might remember when I always did makeup tutorials. You also might've noticed over the past couple of years the amount of makeup tutorials on this blog has significantly decreased. I still love wearing makeup, playing with makeup, watching makeup tutorials, and doing makeup tutorials occasionally on here. But I noticed that my engagement became a lot lower on those posts overall compared to my Coffee Chats series or when I visit new and different places etc.
I don't want you guys to think that the reason I stopped doing certain styles of posts is because you guys don't like them or aren't interested in them. I took the decision upon myself to cater to more styles instead of just one because I personally saw a better form of engagement from making my platform more open to other ideas. I love all the content I make whether that's a makeup tutorial, a haul, a deep chat, a travel post etc. Which is what it is all about. If you're not creating content that you enjoy making, that you love, that you're passionate about, that you feel inspired from etc then there's honestly no point. The readers/ viewers can tell when you're not fully in it because I've been through that with my posts where my views were ridiculously low because I was just posting for the sake of it, I wasn't posting my posts to enjoy it.
In relation to views this brings us to tip three, the views aren't everything. I'm assuming the reason you've started/ want to start a blog/ YouTube channel is because you enjoy it. Even after five years of blogging I can say that my views aren't always consistent. I'm not afraid to tell you guys that my average views are between 70-150 which is a fair amount and I'm grateful for every single read. But compared to the amount of followers on my Twitter (2,887) and my Instagram (1,730) that's quite low. So don't let the view count get you down because as long as you're proud of your content that's what counts.
Let yourself grow. What I mean by tip number four is if there's something you're really into now and enjoy using for content and it makes you happy then keep doing it. But it's okay to want to grow into new things and let your platform grow as you grow. As humans we're changing all the time and that's okay. So why wouldn't you let your platform grow with you?
My final tip to you guys is it's fun but it's hard. As a blogger it can sometimes be hard to feel like you're doing a good job and having an affect on your readers when your post engagement isn't what you want it to be. Obviously in your own mind you set an expectation for yourself and that is kind of the same with everything. Blogging wise if I don't get my average views, 70-150, on each post I create and share with you guys I feel like I haven't achieved what I wanted to even if I love the post I have done. As I mentioned above I dealt with this a lot last year because I went through a stage of not knowing what kind of blogger I really was anymore. I kind of put myself in this box of content I'm restricted to make when in reality I am allowed to create whatever I want, regardless if I've made posts like it before.
You can work so hard on a post and if it doesn't do as well as you expected it can be hard to see past the view of you're not doing enough. I've been through that and this is not to say that I think I deserve more views than other people. Myself and other bloggers I've spoken to about this acknowledge how hard it is to get views and likes and comments and opportunities from blogging. In our world blogging and YouTube creates incredible opportunities but it isn't easy to get there. A lot of young people are opting to using these kinds of platforms to create a career from because a lot of people these days want to do things they like and make money from doing what they enjoy. Which again is awesome but not every one is going to be the next Zoella or Alfie Deyes. I'm not being negative just realistic. But that doesn't mean I don't think you should work hard and chase your dreams. You've just got to remember that you might not become rich and famous from a social media career because it's not easy, it's hard work. Also baring in mind the likes of Zoella, Alfie Deyes, Tanya Burr, Jim Chapman, Shane Dawson, etc all started YouTube as a hobby. They never expected it to become as big as it has and they've made incredible careers and had incredible opportunities across their lifetime which I'm sure even they only dreamed of.
Always have a backup because you don't earn money over night when starting a blog or a YouTube channel. I've been blogging for five years and I've earned literally nothing and only this year I've kindly been gifted a couple of things from some brands. So it really doesn't happen just like that. When I get into that rut and that mindset of my blogging isn't good enough I try to remember why I started and what I'm doing the posts for. Obviously the initial reason is because I enjoy doing them but the other reason is because I like to inspire people. If I've inspired one person or made one person happy or helped someone then I've done my job as a blogger. I've achieved my purpose which is why I enjoy doing this so much and that pushes me to keep going and working hard.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is if you're thinking of creating a blog or a YouTube channel do it because you want to and to make yourself happy.
Love,
Katie
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