Friday 29 May 2015

5 things I've learnt from Blogging Every Day

Today's prompt what have you learnt this month? Blogging every day can be hard work. What lessons have you learnt?
This month has been good for my blog and I. I've really struggled since last October to feel passionate about blogging, but setting myself the challenge of blogging every day again has really helped find that spark again. Maybe I should challenge myself every month?

I confess that I've been watching my analytics a little obsessively this month - while the numbers aren't everything, it's interesting to try and figure out what it is that I've done to make those numbers happen. And how to keep that growth happening.

But even more than that, knowing that the well of stories hasn't really dried up makes it easier to remember why I love blogging in the first place. So, in no particular order, here are five things I learnt this month
  1. comments matter. Life is busy, so I've been slack on the commenting front for far too long. But taking the time to comment on other blogs lets them know you're still reading along, even if it's only once a week.
  2. people are generous with their stories. Even people who didn't write blog posts for each prompt still shared their stories. People want to share their story and claim it for themselves.
  3. images set the tone for the story. Using my own stock photos sets the tone for how people read the story. Images are the first thing that draws the eye when reading a blog post, and people make assumptions about the story they're about to read based on those images. Make sure your images enhance your story.
  4. numbers only tell part of the story. My page views this month have grown by almost 200%. That's phenomenal growth for any blog, but especially for me. But those numbers don't tell the story of all the effort I've put in behind the scenes - commenting on other blogs, taking photos and editing them, even paying attention to the daily happenings in my life. I've started carrying my camera with me again, to try and capture those moments, and I'm inspired to try and remember how to actually scrap them.
  5. I can stick to the goal. I have mentioned over and over again for years that I don't finish anything. I pay for scrapbooking classes, but let them pass me by, I start projects that I never finish, I procrastinate. But at the end of the day, I come back again and again to my mantra. I finish the important things. (Maybe that means I need to change what the important things are?)
 If you've read along this month, what have you learnt?
Tomorrow's prompt share links to you in other places Sometimes as bloggers we forget to tell people about the other spaces we occupy. Today, tell your readers about your social media spaces, and any other places you can be found.

{life behind the purple door}

SHARE:

6 comments

  1. I couldn't agree more about how much comments matter!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such a great achievement to have been present here every day to share something of your life with us:). Clearly no procrastination here, then!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I still can't believe I've kept up with this Cate! Proof indeed that you are good at motivating others! Thank you for coming up with the idea, whilst I don't think I'll continue blogging EVERY day, I certainly intend to blog more often - and make the time to leave a comment, no matter how short, on other blogs. Comments are nice!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree with everything you wrote on your post today. I also wanted to thank you for giving us these prompts for the month. I hope we can do something like this in the future too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I agree that comments matter & I've enjoyed participating in the challenge with you this month!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Comments are everything. I joined an April challenge to write a post every day last year and it almost killed me. Congratulations on a monumental effort Cate.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for leaving a comment!

Blogger Template Created by pipdig