10+ Important blogging lessons you learn when you start a blog

Good morning, lovely dreamers! and welcome to a new blogging related article, where we share our blogging secrets, stories, how to's and of course, blogging lessons that we've learned along the way.

Ah, blogging.

This was our(my fiance Andy and me, being Maya) new obsession 4 years ago when we got started. But before I can get to that, you need to know a little about us, and why we decided to create Dreaming of Butterflies.

5 years ago, our life changed from bad to worse quickly.

First, we found out that my beloved grandfather had cancer and passed away after just 6 months. Dealing with that pain is still a struggle, but now we're much better than we were a year ago.

Soon after his passing, Andy got a job offer that required him to move to another country, about 3000 km( about 1800 miles) away from home. Because we were still living on a budget, we couldn't afford to move at the same time, so he went first then, after a couple of months, so did I.

But, we were reunited, in another country, we barely spoke the language and needed to change something. I promised that we would make 2017 our best year so far because 2016 was so terrible.

In my struggles to find some work, I found blogging, or blogging found me.

I must say the idea of blogging came to my mind a few times before, but never on this level. It was just a thought, nothing more.

This time it's different. This time, I have gathered as much information as I could find out there about blogging and how to do it right. In the months prior to actually starting the blog, I began researching everything, from how to build it to how to make money with it.

We will be honest and tell you that we started this as a way to make some extra money, for sure.

But there are more important reasons why I needed this. I wanted to channel my energy, my thoughts, my knowledge into something. I wanted to help others, just like me. Jobless, penniless, clueless.

Because we like to share, here is a list of the most important lessons you will learn from your first weeks as a blogger and a bunch of good reasons why you should start a blog.

Related:

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The She Approach to Boosting Your Blog Traffic – Honest E-Book Review

But enough with the chit-chatting! Let's get to it!

10+ blogging lessons having a blog will teach you

1. It's a lot of fun

Starting your own blog is exciting. It's an important step to take. It's not as big as the first step on the moon, but for you, it kind of is like that! The joy you feel when you blog is so big!

Blogging is incredibly fun!

Researching a topic, creating great content, learning new things every day - it's amazing. If you are someone that absolutely loves to self educate and share new life lessons with others, then blogging is definitely for you.

It might be the Ravenclaw in me talking, but I, for one, never felt so good in my life.

2. It's hard work

Fun is fun, but you need to know that is also a lot of work involved if you want your blog to be a quality one. Quality is more important than quantity, so it's very important to focus on yourself, to be able to provide quality content for your readers.

We made up a posting schedule, organized every detail about the blog, we have blog related discussions every single week. It's work. It will not grow by itself. You will be the one that has to write the content and show it to the world.

If you want this to get somewhere good, to that point that you can say "Now I'm satisfied!" you need to treat it seriously.

3. It can get overwhelming

Sometimes, the workaholic monster inside me forgets that I am only human and need to eat and also sleep, to be able to continue the next day. I got myself carried away in my first two weeks.

I was up at 6:30 in the morning, and would not stop reading, writing, searching, posting, working on photos. Andy sometimes works late, and when he would get home I would be in the same position, stuck with my fingers on the keyboard and my eyes on the screen, and going, and going, after 12 hours or more.

This is the main reason you need a schedule.

Like in school.  There are so many things to be done with a blog that you may get lost, lose your focus or go crazy as I did at first, and try to do it all at once because you want it to be perfect from the get-go. (It won't be, btw)

You need to think about your needs as a human as well. I know you want it, and want it bad, so do we. But overworking yourself now can only damage your blog later.

Take breaks, exercise, go for walks, go grocery shopping at the market. Do anything that does not involve staring at your laptop or phone screen, for at least an hour every day. It might not sound so, but trust me, it will only benefit your blog.

I've had the best blog related ideas while washing the dishes, for example.

4. It's addictive

Blogging never stops, once you start it. It's like getting a tattoo. You get your first, then you want more and more. It's exactly like that. It's addictive, but in a good way, not the kind that can damage you forever.

The best part is when you get feedback from friends, family, and strangers about your work, and they tell you that it is good. That's when you know you have success.

5. It's constantly changing

Like everything in this world, blogging is constantly changing. You never stop learning something new - it might be about writing, SEO, site building, your needs, your reader's needs.

As your blog evolves, so will you. That's important. Let it grow, let it change.

6. Niche? What niche?

First of all, for those of you who don't know what a niche is, let me clarify. A niche is "a distinct segment of a market", according to Dictionary.com. What that means is that you need to define your blog, to find the main topic and build it around that.

For example, you are a painter and want to sell your paintings. Great. That's awesome. But, to be able to sell those amazing paintings of yours, you also need to make yourself known.

The best way to do that is to start a blog, on that topic painting- that's your niche. But don't just throw some posts with only your paintings in them.

TEACH people how to draw, paint. Give advice on what brushes are better, talk about techniques. I, for one, would love to read a blog like that. And like me, are many, many others that need guidance.

But sometimes, you find yourself kind of all over the place, regarding the main topic of your blog. That doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing. Look at the amazing Grace and Silas, from Chasing Foxes. Who knew that starting a blog with multiple topics could get so big?

Now, only under 5 years of blogging, they have one of the most viewed and well-respected blogs of all time. Do you know why? Because they create amazing content specifically tailored for their readers, after their needs. Amazing, right?

From their example, I learned that you need the courage to get out of your shell and find your own voice. That's exactly why our blog will never be focused on one specific niche. It will be focused on you, our readers, and your needs.

7. It's not about "me"

Let's get one thing straight. Do you want to ever make money with your blog? Like ever?

If your answer is "yes", then you need to be focused on your reader, not yourself. Yes, it is okay to tell people a bit about you, but you need to be focused on your readers, and their needs.

Nobody will care that your flower died, even though it's sad. But, if you can teach people how to take care of their flowers, they might be interested.

People need solutions to their problems. They need advice, even if they don't specifically ask for it.

Maybe they don't know how to do that - yet. You need to be there for them, through your blog.

They need to know that you are their friend, their mentor, their trusty helper. If you keep the focus of your blog on yourself, no one will care, and they will leave and probably never return. So let go of that "me", "I", "we" obsession.

It's good to give advice on a personal level, but not to keep your articles and blog focused on yourself.

8. It will change your life forever

Last, but not least, blogging will change your life forever. It will change you forever. You will experience so many new things, it's too hard to describe, especially if you are an introvert like me - you will feel things at a much more intense level.

Andy, for example, he's relaxed, and happy when he sees how the blog evolves, how or social media grows, and such.

Personal note:

At first, I was scared. The thought of exposing my work freaked me! A ton of thought came to mind: " What if I was too mean?", "What if no one will like it?", "What about trolls - and not the ones in WoW-?", "Am I actually meant for this?", "What if I make mistakes?", "What do I do if it looks like crap? (this one is regarding my own photos)" and so on...

Then, something happened to me. I started receiving great feedback from friends and family, telling me how great it is and that I should keep up the good work. That helped a lot.

That meant that I am actually helping someone with what I write. That meant that I, in my craziness, can actually impact someone's life in a good way, and that is the reason why I do this and want to do this for a long time from now on.

Your blog will change your perspective on so many topics and issues, it will make you get out of your comfort zone as well as enhance your skills. Because blogging is an ongoing learning experience, you will learn anything and everything from research, writing, editing, SEO, social media management, time management and so much more!

For that, it might even help you find a new career path.

9. You don't need a college degree to do it

Everybody knows how hard it is to find work without any experience or a college degree. I had my first job when I was 18 years old, and got it right after my birthday.

I didn't need a degree then, and my main concern was to be able to get experience. Of course, I went to college and went on to graduate in economics, but I never actually got my final exam or a degree.

I was young then, and a big rebel. Because my father made me go to economics, when I wanted photography and film, I thought I was making him feel bad, by not getting my degree. Boy, was I wrong!

Being young and crazy has its advantages, but this it also has its bad side. This one came up and bit me a few years later when I needed a better job. No one would hire me in a better position even though I had work experience and brains, because of the lack of a college degree.

The best part about this is, blogging doesn't require any qualifications. No one will ask for your degree to start a blog. It's all about your experience and the value of the information you are sharing with your readers.

10. Blog Traffic is CRAZY

The biggest problem with every new blog out there is traffic. This is mainly because you don't know how to drive traffic to your blog.

Read, research and try! This is my advice to every new blogger out there. Traffic will not happen by itself, and you will not see amazing numbers from the start. But that doesn't mean you should get discouraged.

Focus on creating quality content first, write and write and write. Give your readers something to read. An empty blog doesn't keep people interested, nor does it make them come back for more. And make sure you understand and apply the basics of SEO.

Once you have SEO friendly content, focus on driving traffic to your blog.  There are a lot of great resources out there that can help you with that. Just make sure to take one step at a time. A huge audience will not come to your blog without work, but overworking (and overstressing) yourself will not help either.

11. Making money blogging takes time, and that's ok

I don't think there is anyone who made a lot of money blogging in their first month, and if there is someone, I need to meet that person and congratulate them.

In the first month, your main focus should be to post amazing content, grow your audience, to research what your readers are interested in.

Don't be desperate for money, because that shows.

Focus on learning and evolving. The money will come later on, don't stress out about that for now - it will affect your content and your readers will see that.

Final thoughts:

Blogging is one of the best things anyone can experience. It's perfect for introverts as well. If you love to learn something new every day if you like to share your interesting findings with others, start blogging.

This is the best advice I can give to anyone right now. You never know how much you can change someone's life, with your simple words. Try it!

Think about why you want to do this, and create your path to achieving that goal.

Aaaand that's all for today, lovely dreamers! We hope you enjoyed our top 10 of important blogging lessons you will definitely learn when you start a blog. If you did, make sure to share it, pin it, tweet it!  

Question of the day: What did you learn after your first month of blogging?