Wow! I can not believe it has been a whole year since launching my self-titled blog. It seems like just yesterday I was doing research about how to run a successful blog and now we are a whole year in. PRAISE GOD!

Since it is my blog anniversary week (March 29), I decided to start a blogging series for future bloggers and website builders. What a lot of people don’t know about my blog is that I started it all by myself. I didn’t pay anyone to do my website, I didn’t have blogging friends I could run to, and I didn’t have big resources (other than Google and Youtube, which is really all you need, but we will talk more about that later). I did everything on my own by the GRACE of God and I want to share with you what I did, how I did it, the mistakes I made, and the wins I conquered.

A lot of people make you pay for this kind of knowledge but because I love you and want to see you win, I’m giving it to you for FREE, right here on the blog. I believe that there is enough room for everyone to shine and be successful even if we are in the same field/niche. No need to keep the knowledge to myself when I can share it with the world.

This series is great for anyone who wants to start a blog or build a website. Whether it’s blogging about food, school, beauty or faith, fashion, & lifestyle like me, this blogging series is sure to get you on the right track to starting your blog.

So, in todays installment of the #ChekwaBloggingSeries, I am sharing 5 things I learned in my first year of blogging.

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1. IT’S NOT ALL GLITS AND GLAM

Contrary to what people may think, blogging is HARD WORK… especially when you want to produce quality content. Writing a good-quality blog post often takes a lot of research and TIME. Not to mention, because I am a fashion blogger, I have to put extra time into finding outfit links so that you guys can get your fits. This TAKES TIME chile…A LOT OF TIME!

I usually never finish a blog post in one sitting. This is mainly because this is not my full-time job and I have other responsibilities that take up most of my time and come before blogging (just being honest). It takes me about 2 days to write a good blog post and then maybe an additional day to make sure all my links work and my grammar is good (sometimes I mess up with my grammar lol). I never want anyone to think that blogging is easy. It definitely takes time and dedication to do this with excellence, BUT when you are called, passionate, and have God backing you up, it won’t feel like a job. It’s actually a lot of fun to me. Not to mention, I truly enjoy writing, so although it is hard work, it is my why and passion that keeps me going.

So long story short, when you see that your favorite blogger has released a new blog post or you like an outfit they are wearing, please read it and shop through their affiliate links. It actually means a lot to us and gives us the resources we need to keep our blogs going.

2. YOU CAN MAKE MONEY WITHOUT A HUGE FOLLOWING

Although my blog is a creative outlet for me, my goal since launch day has always been to monetize it. I’ll teach you all about how I was able to monetize my blog in a future #ChekwaBloggingSeries post, but for now, just know that I did it only by the grace of God!

I thought it was going to take months, maybe even years before I start making money blogging. This was because I did not have a lot of Instagram followers or blog subscribers (in the beginning). I learned quickly that in order to make money blogging, you have to put yourself out there, be honest, build trust, and use the right platforms. I also think that producing good quality content helped me monetize my blog and gain followers/subscribers. My subscribers love my execution and authenticity, and I think that helped build trust among my community.

Furthermore, brands care more about engagement than followers. Yes, followers matter to an extent, but as I said earlier, I made money blogging with little over 900 followers on Instagram. Now, I haven’t made thousands and thousands of dollars like these big bloggers, but I made something (in the hundreds) and I believe that God is going to surprise me with even more in year two.

3. PINTREST IS GOALS

Pinterest played a huge role in my blog growth and page views. I would rather put more time into growing my Pinterest views than my Instagram followers because Pinterest is a search engine that many people use. Not to mention, they are notorious for growing blogs, and businesses. I have a viral post on Pinterest, that has averaged over 50,000 views and still drives major traffic to my blog. So yeah, I learned that Pinterest is the best way to grow your blog and following. BTW, if you are not following me on there, please do HERE.

4. FINDING A BLOGGING COMMUNITY IS IMPORTANT

I didn’t think that having a blogging community was important until I actually started my blog. I have met so many people and made some dope online friends just from blogging. Having a community of people who do the same thing as you is so important for your growth. Everything is not a competition chile. Let me repeat that again. EVERYTHING IS NOT A COMPETITION.

You can learn from other bloggers and bounce ideas off each other, especially if they have around the same number of followers/subscribers as you. Sometimes depending on these big bloggers is a waste of time because they just use you for your money (I said I was going to keep it real right?). It’s hard to find genuine bloggers who actually want to see you win, so making friends with smaller, local bloggers in the same/similar niche is essential for your growth. Also, this blogging world can sometimes get lonely, so it’s nice to have other friends who do the same thing as you and can understand what you are going through.

5. INVEST IN YOUR BLOG BUT DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST

I am a firm believer in researching before starting anything! You will be surprised how many things I got for FREE because I did my research and took my time before launching my blog. My blog email was FREE, my templates were FREE, and I learned how to grow on Pinterest before paying for any course for FREE. I also designed my own blog which wasn’t totally free because I paid $49 dollars to have premium addons (I do not regret this at all), but even that is nothing compared to what people spend or pay others to build a website.

Don’t get me wrong, I do believe in investing in your business, including your blog. I have spent money to make this blog look the way it does, but I also saved a lot of money and headache by doing my research. I know a lot of people would rather hire someone to do all the logistics for them, but I Iook at learning how to build a website and a community as a new skill that I can use in the future. Like I mentioned earlier, I’ll go more in-depth about this and other points in a future #ChekwaBloggingSeries post so stay tuned for that.

I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something from my first year of blogging. I’m not a blogging pro and I still have a lot to learn, but I still want to share with you the knowledge I have gained. BTW, if you have any questions you would like me to answer in my #ChekwaBloggingSeries, please leave them below or you can DM me on Instagram. I hope you have a blessed day and a joyful Resurrection Sunday!