Hello you beauties!

So two days ago marked the 1st year anniversary of my blog! I can't believe I've managed to keep it up for a whole year - I never expected to stay so dedicated but I'm glad I have because I really do love writing my posts for you all. Deciding to become a blogger was one of the best decisions of my life and so I am going to share with you everything I have learnt in this past year through blogging.

1. It'll be hard to build up an audience
If you've been here reading my blog since the very beginning, then I just want to thank you, because honestly I was nervous about starting my blog. Knowing I do have readers is very comforting but, to be honest, you can't always expect to have a massive audience. When I first started writing my blog, I thought I would get tons of readers straight away. That is not how it works. It's going to be tough, and take a while, to build an audience, but as long as you love writing what you're writing about, then that's all that matters.

2. Creating a schedule is important for motivation
I have tried to create blogs before, but never managed to keep them going as I had no schedule. So I never had any motivation to upload any posts. But now, I have my schedule of Wednesday and Saturday at 9am, and this keeps me motivated as I am always making sure to have posts ready for you all. Planning these posts in advance really help too.

3. You won't get tons of brands emailing you for collaborations
This was one part of blogging that I was really looking forward to. Of course, free items are nice but that was not the only reason. Helping to promote brands that I love to help them get more customers will make you feel great too. However, I have not yet had such opportunities. I've written for a dating website, but that is all. Yes, I got recognition on their website but that was it. If you want to work with brands, you have to approach them. Which in itself is almost impossible as they're always looking for people that stand out, that have a massive audience. And there are so many bloggers out there which means that it is very unlikely that you will get to work with brands straight away.

4. Coming up with post ideas is not easy
It's hard to not repeat posts that you've already written when you upload so many posts for so long. You also don't want to feel like you're copying other people's posts, although you do really like the idea of putting your own take on something (which is completely alright, as the origin of most post types is not always obvious). This is why I spend an hour or so every so often planning a month's posts, and looking through posts that I have already written. There are some great generic post ideas on the internet too which I often swear by.

5. Not everyone will approve
While a lot of people seem to be blogging these days, there are a lot of people in life who will see it as a waste of time. Those calling it a hobby are at least bearable, as it is true that most people are doing this as a hobby, but, especially for those of us who hope to make a career out of writing one day, it can be quite insulting to have people be so dismissive. Just ignore these negative people - you're doing what you love and that's all that matters.

6. Your posts will seem worse than they are
You will definitely understand what I mean by this if you're a writer like me. Whenever you write something, you feel like it sounds uneducated and boring, but in reality a lot of people will enjoy your writing style. You learn to hate your own writing because you're forced to read it so mjuch and often end up criticising it more than you probably should. There is a reason why your blog has readers, and that is because you're a good writer.

7. Social media is key to promotion
While having well-written posts with interesting content is important to building an audience, how are readers going to know about your blog if you don't promote it? Social media is key for this - build a Twitter page and interact with readers. Create an Instagram account and post your favourite blog post pictures, linking your blog on there. I wish I used my Twitter page more - I guess this is something I should aim to do more within my next year of blogging.

I hope you have all found this post useful today, and I would also like to thank you all for reading my blog for this past year. I can't wait to see what this next year brings for me.

I'll be back on Wednesday with another post for you all.

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Byeee!