MY BLOGGING ADVICE

Today I'm sharing six tips that I wish I had known when I started blogging. The blogging world has changed a lot in the last four years, but I feel if I had known some of these tips then life could have been a lot easier over that time. Blogging is constantly evolving,  I'm still learning vast amounts each day and I thought if I could write down some tips that I thought would have been invaluable to me over the course of my time with a blog then it might be helpful to someone else. Of course these are all circumstantial to me and other people will have different views and opinions.



#1 Decide what kind of blogger you want to be.
Is blogging just something for you to reflect on, or do you want to use it to make an income too? If you haven't quite decided yet that's perfectly fine but it's nice to have a little idea when you start off, particularly if you're leaning towards the latter option. When you want to make money blogging there a whole load of terms you need to familiarise yourself with, as well as some staple do's and dont's. It's not essential you know them all from the beginning, but it is helpful. Trawling back when you're years into a blog, fixing broken links in an attempt to improve your DA isn't fun and something you'll wish you knew from the beginning how to do.

#2 Find a friend.
I find blogging a lot more enjoyable now I have a couple of groups of really lovely, supportive ladies. These girls are often my go-to when I need a verdict on which blog photo to use, whether to delete a certain comment or not and if I just need a plain old bloggy rant. Chances are, a lot of people in your 'real life' won't understand your blogging woes so it is really nice to have a go-to group or pal that does.

#3 Set boundaries and stick to them.
It's really important to have integrity as a blogger and I truly respect so many because they have just that. One of my good friends doesn't put full frontal photos of her son online and though she's wavered occasionally and wondered if not doing that is detrimental to her blog, she has stuck with it because that's what she is comfortable with and I hugely admire her for that. If you have a flat rate for sponsored posts, stick with it, even if it seems nothing is coming your way, know when not to compromise your beliefs.

#4 Don't sell out - or buy up.
Never, ever be tempted to use the easy method of buying or paying for services that give you a false growth. I was incredibly shocked recently to accidentally click on the likes of someone I liked in the blogging community to see how painfully obvious it was that she had paid a company or bot to like any tweets with the word teething in them. I often receive emails of companies promoting these kind of services but I would never compromise my authenticity or waste my money by paying for such a thing. You have to work hard to gain a following, and there is something so shady about gaining followers this way in my eyes. The same goes for actually buying followers, it's glaringly obvious, just don't.

#5  Spread across social.
Make sure you're active on as many social platforms you can if you want to appear as a brand. It not only shows you're putting effort in but it gives the appearance you kind of have your shit together - even when you haven't.

#6 Be picky.
You're more than entitled to turn down whatever you like. Whether that's a charity campaign that just doesn't have a budget, a product that you're never going to use or a friendship that just doesn't seem real. It's ok to push things aside and move forward, it doesn't make you a bad person. BUT always be polite, (trying to remind myself of this quite often when faced with rudeness) don't kick someone on your way up because you might need them on your way down. It's also worth baring in mind when you're faced with a no budget email, to think what possibilities that relationship in the future could provide - if it's worth it to you then go for it.

#7 Be you.
Find your style and just go with the flow, don't try to be someone else because your readers will be coming to your blog because they enjoy YOUR style and content, not someone else's. Of course we all draw inspiration from others, there a lot of bloggers out there that I think are amazing at what they do and I could only dream to follow in their footsteps, but don't mimic. It's incredibly transparent when you're copying someones style though the blogging community is huge it can feel very small in other aspects. Recently I loved the way a friend had done something with her post titles and I swapped mine to similar, not realising it probably looked (hate to use the word) but copycat, I've since found something new that works for me and that's ok. If you see a post that inspires or provokes a thought in you that you want to discuss the same thing, then do, but always give credit where it's due and feel free to link the person who inspired such posts.