As the year winds down, I thought it would be fun to reflect on all the accomplishments that I have had in my blogging journey and what I have learned in the 5 months I’ve been blogging. I feel like I have learned so much, yet still have so much more to learn and I am so excited to see what I can achieve in 2019.
Before I started designing the web page for my blog, I had no idea how much time and effort I would put into it. I mean, the established bloggers make it look so effortless. Let me tell you, there is so much behind the scenes work that goes into starting a blog that most people don’t know about.
I have learned how to design a website, come up with new content consistently, what SEO is- Search Engine Optimization, how to edit pictures, market my blog, use pinterest strategies, apply to affiliate programs, understand google analytics, and the list could go on.
Before I get into my achievements for this year, I want to start by saying I have wanted to start a blog for years now. I look back at past New Years Resolutions, and almost every year, one of my goals was to “Create a blog.” I just had no idea where to start. This year was different though, I knew I would be graduating college, and would have so much more free time to dedicate to learning how to start a blog, so I decided to go for it! Like I said, I really knew nothing about designing a website or how to set up a domain name and hosting site, but I was so determined to learn.
I poured so much time and effort into my blog and I am so happy with the way it turned out! I can’t tell you how many times I re-did and changed the entire look of my webpage, until I found the look that I wanted. I am so incredibly proud of how it turned out and everything that I have learned in the process! Just starting, and putting myself out there is one of my greatest accomplishments because if it wasn’t for just going for it, my blog would not be where it is!
Side note– One of the best pieces of advice that I can tell anyone who is wanting to start a blog for themselves, is to just do it! There is never going to be that perfect time for you to launch. You have to start somewhere, everybody does, and you will continue to learn along the way and improve your processes. And please… don’t be afraid of what other people are going to think. I think this is what held me off from actually starting a blog for so long. I was afraid of what other people would think of me and my blog, my writing style, my pictures. I didn’t want people to judge me or get annoyed with me posting about my blog.
Once, I finally faced my fear and launched Sunday Mimosas, I thought to myself- why did I wait so long to start? It has been such an incredible experience and the blogging community is so supportive! I have had so many people reach out and share so many positive things about my blog and it is those people that really inspire me!
It is hard to put yourself out there, but if writing is something that you are passionate about, you should just go for it! And if you have any questions, feel free to reach out!
I actually have gotten a good amount of questions from you all asking about how to start a blog what platform to use, how to make money from a blog, etc. If you would like to see an in depth post of how I started Sunday Mimosas and the steps that I took to launch, let me know! I would love to talk about it!
Okay, so now that I got that out of the way- Let me share with you some of my greatest blog accomplishments of 2018! Enjoy!
*Decided on a name for my blog- Sunday Mimosas (this took me forever!) I am not good at coming up with names.
*Designed the entire Sunday Mimosas website myself! I started designing it in February and I didn’t launch until July. It took me months to prepare my webpage until I was ready to publish it!
*Launched my blog July 9th 2018! It’s been 5 months I can’t believe it!
*Have consistently posted a new blog post every Sunday since then! With a few exceptions haha.
*Learned how to create a Pin for Pinterest (this may sound so simple, but it took me a long time to learn how to create visually appealing pins that people would click on!)
*Published 23 blog posts!!
*Became an Affiliate Partner for Amazon, Target, and Share a Sale
*Joined a couple Pinterest group boards (Pinterest is such a great way to drive readers to your blog)
*Wrote a blog post for an online magazine!
*Upgraded to a business Instagram and Pinterest account and made a Facebook page for Sunday Mimosas
*Almost to 1,000 Instagram followers!
*Learned how to use Lightroom and presets to edit my pictures so I can have a consistent theme on Instagram
Looking back at how far my blog has come just within the short 5 months of starting is incredible! I am looking forward to another year of learning and growing Sunday Mimosas! For now, I will share with you a few things I have learned so far!
*There is so much behind the scenes work that goes into a blog post
There is so much more to it than just writing content. I spend more time marketing and sharing my blog posts on social media-instagram, pinterest, facebook, etc. then actually writing.
*Other people’s opinions should not matter
If they don’t like a post then they don’t have to read it, if they don’t want to see my instagram pictures they can unfollow me. I spent way too much time worrying about what other people are going to think of my blog instead of just being confident in my work. The people that enjoy your blog and want to read it will support you!
*It is easy to get discouraged
When you look around and see so many people working with brands and getting sponsorships, it can get discouraging because you see how much hard work you put into your posts and it seems like you aren’t growing as fast as you want. You just have to remember that it takes time to grow a large following and to learn what strategies work and what doesn’t. I always try to focus on the positive side of things and what I have accomplished so far instead of focusing on the negatives.
*Everyone started somewhere
If I even get slightly discouraged, I remind myself that every single person had to start from somewhere. You don’t gain a lot of followers overnight, it is something that you have to work at. Just like any hobby or job, nobody starts out at the top. You have to work your way up.
*It is so rewarding!
Connecting with other bloggers, sharing my story with the world, taking beautiful pictures, publishing posts, constantly learning, and doing something I’m passionate about are some of my favorite aspects of blogging.
*It gets easier!
You learn the more you do it and as you figure out what strategies work for you. That goes for anything! The more work and time you put into your blog the more you will get out of it, and the easier it will become!
I also wanted to thank all of my readers for following along with me and supporting me throughout this year! All the positive comments, feedback, and suggestions I have received have been so helpful to me and making content that you enjoy! It has been such a wonderful experience and I can guarantee I have a lot of great ideas for 2019! Thank you once again, and I hope everyone has an amazing holiday season!
XO
Cassie
