7 things I learned in my First Month Blogging.

How I made $2000 in the first month? How did I get to write a sponsored post in my first month?

Probably you have heard a lot of these headlines and clicked immediately wondering, how the heck is that possible! Well, at least I have! In fact, I have done it so many times, even before I started my blog. After reading all those overwhelming posts, I declared to make more than any of them. And did I? Well, not really…

In my first-month, I made a whopping $0000. Nowhere close to above-mentioned income report isn’t it. Of course, it was depressing, until I realised the mistakes I have made. My primary aim was making money rather than creating great content.

In this post I am going to share THE MISTAKES I MADE IN MY FIRST MONTH BLOGGING. This can be helpful for all of you who are NEW to BLOGGING.

If you are a new blogger worried about the mistakes you did or might do, I welcome you to read mine and try to avoid them.

7 mistakes to avoid as a new blogger

Mistake # 1 : Choosing a blogging platform without a thorough analysis

In the first month, I used Wix as my blogging platform. The drag and drop feature of Wix seemed easier than others. I was able to create a well- ordered website. However, as I started to explore other bloggers and join some discussions I began to question my choice. Interacting with other bloggers and watching some youtube videos helped me understand what are the different platforms available for creating a website. Eventually, I realized the ideal blogging platform for me would be Wordpress.org

Lesson learned: There is no right or wrong about any of these blogging platforms. Choose something which matches your requirement. Those of you who want to know about Wix and Wordpress I highly recommend watching this Youtube video!

Mistake # 2 : Getting discouraged easily and procrastinating

The most important part of blogging is getting things done, yet most of the time we struggle to keep up with the things. In fact, I often find myself discouraged after seeing all those bloggers with thousands of views and making thousands of dollars within the first three months. Ironically, all of those posts were discouraging. My blogging journey was nowhere close to them. Eventually, I labeled myself as an awful writer. Most of the time I hardly get motivated to write a blog post. Soon I realized that none of those blogs really matter. I just have to start pushing myself and keep working at my goals.

Lesson Learned: Constantly comparing ourselves with others can have a negative impact. The best thing we should do is writing down our goals and make it happen. I found three things really helpful to achieve my goals.

1. Creating a daily routine for writing/researching for blog posts.
2. Prioritizing the tasks.
3. Assiging time for Blog related Youtube videos or Podcasts.

Have a look at this blog post right here for ways to avoid procrastination.

Mistake # 3 : Not creating great blog posts / content

I always thought that writing a blog post was pretty much similar to writing an essay. You know the usual specimen of an essay we are taught in schools, things like Introduction- Body- Conclusion.

What I never realized until reading hudreds of other blog posts is that most of my posts were simply BORING. Instead of including my personal experiences in the posts I concentrated on internet surveys.

Lesson learned: Blog posts are not school essays. We should try to make it as interesting and informative as possible for our readers. Adding a touch of a personal element can increase the value of the post. Consider including a complementing image to the posts or share the personal experiences or worthwhile blogging resources to the readers. I found a really helpful blog post here!

Mistake # 4 : Spent more time looking at others content than creating my own (social media Vs My blog)

Many of you can relate to this one and are probably thinking what’s wrong with checking others’ content for inspiration? Well, let’s just say you want to write a post about “basic traveling essentials” but you are not sure how to start. As usual, we search on Pinterest. Mostly there would be 1000s of pins to choose from. Eventually, we land in some blogs and scroll around a bit. Many bloggers have lots of articles linked one after the other. By and by, you end by scrolling through all of the blog posts, forgetting your actual purpose of clicking the very first pin. You see what I mean? This is what I have been doing most of the time. Hours scrolling through other blogs and eventually not finding enough time to write my own post.

Lesson learned: Always put a timer for research tasks or inspirational tasks. Ideally, I spend 15 to 20 minutes before mornings or in the evenings. Reading this post right here helped me a lot as well!

Pro tip: While you read other blog posts, write down the points in a word doc simultaneously. (NOT copy-pasting the contents directly, but writing a quick summary.) This is a great way to save time during blog post research and invest more time in your posts.

Mistake # 5  : Worst time management for blogging tasks

I never knew how to have an ideal blogging day. Most of the time, my day began checking my traffic in google analytics. Next, I viewed my other social media stats; FB, Instagram, and Pinterest. Later I spend my time tweaking the design of the website a bit or just watching youtube videos for my next posts. Amidst of all these little things I forgot the main part. Creating THE CONTENT! Once I filled my day with little things I hardly got time to write new content. I was worried more about traffic than blog posts.

Lesson learned: Put the important things first then all will follow, this way I was able to manage my time and be more productive for my own Blog.

Mistake # 6 : No freebie before launching the blog

In the beginning, I always thought freebies are for successful bloggers with a full-time income. After reading so many posts about freebies, I realised the importance of freebies and how it can bring value to the blog / brand.

Lesson Learned: Freebies give a positive impact on readers about your brand. If your readers are pleased with the quality stuff you offer they will more likely trust other products or services you offer. Eventually, all of these can be a great source of traffic.

Mistake # 7 : Personal connection with the other bloggers

I have heard a lot about experts talking about making contact with other bloggers. But I never thought of doing it myself. To be honest I really thought that it’s just a waste of time. I was positive that the messages I sent to “successful bloggers” would be drowned in thousands of messages from others. However, that was not always the case. I have got responses from bloggers whom I contacted through Facebook and Instagram. Not only they helped me to identify the problem, but also they encouraged me to get going.

Lesson Learned: Don’t be judgmental about other bloggers. Always try and see it yourself. You can reach out to the bloggers. Even if someone ignores you, there are many out there to help you. Sometimes, some words of encouragement and appreciation can rock your world.

Final Thoughts:

Patience and consistency are the two things you should keep in mind if you want to become a blogger!

Let me borrow the words of Darren Hardy, an American author and speaker, for a sip of inspiration!

“ You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of you success is found in your daily routine”.

Time for your action:

What do you think of my post? If you are a blogger leave me a commend about your first-month blogging!

Always eager to hear from you,

Your bosom friend!