This post's overview:
Learn from my mistakes – here’s what I have learnt from 4 years of blogging. Here’s to the common blogger mistakes and things you should do from the start.
I might be a bit late to the party, but the saying tells me that it’s better late than never. So here I am, two months later, trying to put my thoughts in writing about what have learnt from 4 years of blogging. If you’re just starting out and you’re not sure, where you see yourself in a couple of years, this post will be handy. I’ve written two more summaries (“What I’ve learnt in my first year of travel blogging?” And “What I have learnt from 2 years of travel blogging”). Somehow, I skipped the year 3, but here I am with year 4.
Without further ado, let’s get started with the main blogging and travel blogging mistakes.
What I have learnt from 4 years of blogging: the main blogging mistakes
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
The most recent takeaway for me has been “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. I think that many content creators and bloggers have changed their opinion of blogging during the Coronavirus crisis. My earnings went straight to zero and if blogging was my primary income, I don’t know what I would be doing now. I don’t know what my blogger friends are doing. I believe that it’s challenging times for everyone. Thus, my main advice – even if you manage to become successful, try to diversify your income. Launch a clothing line, an accessory store, a clothing shop, beauty salon, travel agency – anything that makes you happy. Don’t solely rely on your blog!
Networking is the king, not the content
In the blogging world, your numbers don’t matter as much as your connections. If you’re new to the industry, try to meet as many friends as possible, join various Facebook communities and try to get invited to more events. Learn how to be better at networking. I know people with a small following, who managed to secure amazing trips and brand deals because of their excellent networking skills,
Be professional from day 1
When you’re starting your blog, you need to be professional from day 1. Spend some time to create a beautiful logo that you would happily put in your signature and your business cards (or hire a designer on Fiver to do that for you). Make sure to start creating quality content from your early days, otherwise, you will have to go back to you early posts and rewrite them later. It’s a waste of time and recourses, so why not create something good right away?
Blogging shouldn’t be a chore
On the Internet, you will see a lot of advice on how to be a perfect blogger, how to plan your content and many more useful and useless tips. You can try various techniques to stay organised and be on track with your content. Many people find content plans working really well for them. For me, it’s the opposite. As writing is a creative activity, for me, it depends on my mood, how tired I am, and how fast do the words come to me at that particular moment. I’m a bit chaotic: I start 20 new posts and never finish them. In 15 months, I find these drafts and happily add more text and finally publish them. I’m an impulsive writer, so that works for me. That is the reason I could never do a content-related job (be a writer or a content marketing manager) – I simply cannot write when I am not inspired.
I tried to force myself many times to keep posts on this blog coming regularly. Well, when I go back to these forced posts, I really don’t like them. I don’t enjoy writing them, reading them and I don’t know how could someone else enjoy reading them. So if you can’t write – don’t force yourself. Read a book, watch a movie, go for a walk and maybe in a couple of days, you will be eager to sit down and write something.
Don’t invest time and money into Social Platforms no one is interested in
Let me save you weeks of work and tell you not to put any of your time into growing Twitter and Facebook. Yes, some bloggers manage (!) to make some money with these platforms, but apart from inflating your total follower count, they do nothing. If you’re a travel, lifestyle, fashion or beauty blogger – Instagram is the king. However, it takes unreal efforts to grow on Instagram these days. Youtube, in my opinion, is another excellent platform if you have a passion for video. Tik Tok is a third platform I would certainly pay attention to. Even though I don’t know anyone who makes any money from Tik Tok at the moment, I believe that in 6-12 months, there will be many people!
Alright, I hope that you enjoyed this post and found it useful. Should you have any questions, please, don’t hesitate to ask them in the comments below.
You might also enjoy reading these posts:
Why did I quit being a full-time blogger once again?
Travel blogger’s cameras – what do I use to take my photos and videos?