Today marks my 100th blog post. I can’t believe when I typed my first post back in September 2014 that I would make it to 100 posts. As I mentioned in that post, I am very slow to make change. Overthinking and perfectionism tend to slow me down. Eventually, and after much procrastination, I knew that if I wanted to learn and grow creatively, I needed something to hold me accountable.
Up until that point, I was taking classes online in everything from Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, Typography, Web Design, Branding and much more. All classes I wish I could have gone to school for to be honest. I could tell that even though I enjoyed the classes so so much, I wasn’t going to retain the skills unless I was applying them somewhere on a regular basis. That’s where blogging came in. Preparing graphics and taking photos for the posts keeps me comfortable with the Adobe Creative Suite and my camera.
Having just completed 100 posts, I want to reflect on what I have learned about blogging and myself since post #1. Special thanks to the talented Caroline from Made Vibrant whose daily affirmations inspire me daily for sharing her images with me for today’s post.
- Identifying your “why” is important. Whenever I lose my focus, I try to remember that the purpose of my blog is to provide a place to stretch and grow my skill set. By sharing my content with others, I hope that it can also help anyone who reads it. If I focus too much on how many people are reading, it can take me down a path that is not productive. Keeping my “why” front and center is a sure way to keep the joy in blogging.
- Consistency is key. I have so much admiration for those bloggers who post every day. I have learned the hard way that momentum works both ways. Creating a habit or a goal around the amount of posts per week has been helpful for me. My initial goal was to write one time per week. Having this as my target helped me find the time to make it happen. It kept me accountable. As this process has become a bit easier, I am ready to do more. My new target is two times per week.
- Creating a post takes much longer than I ever imagined. As an avid blog reader, I had no idea how long each post would take when I first started. I follow so many people who post daily and make it seem so easy. I assumed I would just sit down and type for a half hour each morning. In reality, each post takes me between 8-10 hours. Finding 10 hours in my week is a challenge for sure, but one that is worth it. My admiration for those professional daily bloggers is through the roof!
- Growth & learning happens…slowly. Plugging away week by week, I never really felt like I was getting better or things were getting easier. Maybe it’s because as I improved in one area, I started tackling another. Once I felt like I had the writing down, I started paying attention to things like tags, categories and prepping the post for SEO (search engine optimization). When I take a moment to look back I can see the incremental growth and improvement. Makes everything worth it.
- Mistakes will happen and they won’t kill you. Ironically, in writing this post, I hit “Publish” instead of “Save” when I only had written about 30% of the post. I could delete the post from the blog, but could not save it from being emailed to anyone subscribed. For about 3 minutes, I wanted to die. It is the first time that has happened in 100 posts. But it did. After letting the panic and embarrassment sink in, I came to the conclusion that the world probably would not end.
- Sharing what you know helps to learn it better. Blogging has been a learning tool beyond the creative skills. It also helps me to learn what I share. In Charles Duhigg’s book, “Smarter Faster Better”, he spends a good portion of a chapter about the concept of disfluency. It’s basically a fancy term that refers to doing something with new information for it to stick. Blogging is my way of creating disfluency for myself. When I read a book and just go on to the next, I can barely tell you what it was about a week later. But when I review it for a post, it forces me to dive into the content in a way that helps me as much as anyone who reads it. When I post about my favorite podcast episode from the week, I usually end up listening to it twice so I can dissect what made it so great.
- Blogging is a great connector. My introverted nature makes small talk and chit chat painful. Oftentimes that results in me saying awkward things or not saying much at all. If you are an introvert you may relate. Blogging has allowed me to share my voice and interests with others which in turn has fueled connections and a great conversation starter.
- Challenging yourself is a good confidence booster. Part of the reason it took me so long to write my first post is the daunting nature of not knowing anything about blogging and looking like a fool. Perfectionist tendencies, for sure. I knew I needed to do it for that challenge though. With each little step I’ve taken, I’ve felt a sense of pride for doing the work and pushing through insecurities about the work. It’s a similar concept to giving your kids challenges as well. If they only stay within the bounds of what they are good at, they will grow to fear the challenges more and more.
- Accepting praise is difficult. I mentioned above how I enjoy talking to people about specific topics or posts. What is much more of a challenge for me is getting straight up praise for the blog as a whole. My mind immediately goes to all the high-quality blogs that are ten times better. My first instinct is to tell people that they are mistaken or have low standards. Is that horrible? Kind of. The logical part of my brain tells me to accept the compliment, but it is much harder in practice.
- Finding your authentic blogging voice is important. Blogging voice refers to your tone and style of writing. It goes a long way with authentically conveying who you are, which is very important to me. Bloggers like Emily Henderson, Joanna Goddard and Kendi Skeen are my idols when it comes to writing with a voice that makes me feel like I know them. I feel like I am still finding my way here. I did read a good post that is helping me navigate in this area. The tip is to write as if you are writing to ONE specific person versus an audience.
I feel like the first 100 posts truly helped me learn and grow so much. There are still so many things I don’t know, and so much left to improve upon. But I will have faith that the next 100 posts will surely bring me closer to my vision. Thank you for coming along on this journey with me.
Jill
Yay Ale!!! Congrats on post 100!!! Im so inspired by you and excited for you and this venture! Best wishes!
Ale Post author
Thank you, Jill! I appreciate your kind words and support always!