\What I've Learnt In One Year Of Blogging

So today officially marks one year since I published my first blog post and have posted around 110 posts since. I can't quite believe that I have not only stuck to this fantastic hobby, but also how much it has benefited me and helped me develop myself as a person. 

I am so glad one year ago I decided to go ahead with the idea of starting a blog, to push away all those worries I had a couple of months before, when I published posts and then deleted them days later, too scared to have them online for all the world to see. But now I couldn't really care what other people think. Blogging has enabled me to not really (excuse the language) give a sh*t about other peoples opinions on me or what I do. But this isn't the only thing blogging has taught me over a year. Here are some of the things that I've learnt in one year of blogging.

It's a lot of fun - I didn't actually realise how fun blogging would be until I actually got into a routine of doing it. It is honestly so much fun. I love planning posts, being creative, taking pictures, being able to express my thoughts and opinions through writing which is one of my favourite things to do, getting to talk to like minded people and form friendships, as well as build on skills and improve  my confidence. If you want to try blogging, I'd definitely say go for it!!!!

It's a lot harder than it looks - From the above point, I only listed a few of the tasks that blogging involves. It's simply not just writing and publishing a post, there are so many other things that you have to carry out that don't even involve your latest post, such as building a following and designing your blog. 

A massive confidence booster - I wouldn't say my confidence has grown massively and in person my social anxiety rockets, but online and in relation to my own content I feel super proud. I am confident enough now to approach brands, make conversations with other bloggers and share my posts online without that fear of judgement. 

You learn lots of new skills - Blogging is a great thing to put onto your CV and talk about in applications, purely because it gives you a great opportunity and experience to learn lots of beneficial skills for you to take into the working world. I know for sure that it has helped me to stand out amongst other applicants when looking for a marketing and social media apprenticeships, because I have already been putting the skills you need into practice through my own work of running a blog.

Helped me to figure out what I want to do in life - As mentioned above and before on my blog, I really would love an apprenticeship in marketing and social media. I have been looking for the longest time for an apprenticeship, but due to set backs and my own mental health, it's been a bit of a struggle. But blogging has only made me realise that this is the field I want to go into. I want to be able to take things further and apply it to more of a professional level.

Promotion is so important! - When I first started blogging, I had no idea how to promote nor did I even bother to. As I got more into it, I realised just how important it is to promote your posts to engage an audience. As much as I find scheduling tweets tedious sometimes, it is so beneficial to do and stick at.

It's very time consuming - It may sound silly or even a little weird, but I pretty much have blogging on my mind most hours of the day. It is highly time consuming. I am constantly thinking of new ideas and wanting to get on with creating posts. Because I work to a schedule, some posts are planned weeks in advance and I like to try write one week a head of everything. So you can imagine that I am always on go when it comes to my blog. It's very time consuming but every minute is so worth it!

Bloggers block really is real - I think any blogger can relate to this point! Even over the course of a year, I have found myself struggling to write or think of new ideas, which I personally believe is normal for anyone who produces content weekly. But once you get your inspiration back, there's really no better feeling!!

The reward when hard work pays off - One of my favourite things is working really hard on a post and it getting the exact or even a better response than you were intending for. I absolutely love reading comments on my posts, it's really encouraging and so lovely to read positive feedback. Also I love hearing that a post has been helpful to at least someone. That's all I could ever ask for in a response!

How lovely, kind and support some people are - Despite the dramas and disagreements that can happening in the blogging world, most of the time it is a supportive and positive environment. I have been able to chat to a few people who have been nothing but support, kind and lovely to me regarding things aside from blogging. It's always great to feel welcome in such a large group of people.

Before I finish this post, I just want to say a massive thank you to anyone who has ever read, commented or shared one of my posts or blog over the past year. It honestly means so much to me and I'm so happy that I have been able to blog for a year. Everyone's support is so encouraging and I hope my blogging experience can continue on for another year. Right, I'm going to stop being soppy now before emotional Lauren makes an appearance (hahaha). But thank you so very much!!!!!

What have you learnt from blogging?

Lauren x