Here’s the thing: I’ve been blogging for several years now but I can’t seem to stay on just one platform.
A thorough* online search of my name would probably reveal several of my old blog accounts for the past seven years. I’ve been on Multiply, Tumblr, Blogspot, and Wordpress. Yup, I’m basically everywhere. Oh and take note that I have multiple accounts on each site. You see, every now and then, I get a whiff of inspiration to get my life together and fulfill my childhood dream of becoming a successful blogger. So, just like any excitable teenager, I would always be inspired to create an account every time I feel the urge to be creative. My main issue, I guess, is that I always get bored of my own blog. Apparently, my younger self thought that creating a new account was easier than improving the old one.
Of course, this method proved to be ineffective as I’ve been left with nothing but a disorderly online footprint. My content is scattered around the web and I have no cohesive site to show. I’ve been so frustrated by my situation that I even stopped blogging for a while.
But then I realized that this whole blogging fiasco would continue to haunt me unless I do something about it. I love blogging so why should I stop writing? Besides, I feel like I’m in a much better disposition right now after my blogging hiatus. I believe that I’m ready to go online again as a gift to myself.
So, as an introductory post, I would like to share my long blogging journey beginning with the top mistakes that I made as a blogger.
Lack of originality - As a beginner, I tried so hard to copy the style of successful bloggers. I always compared my site to other blogs because I felt like I had to meet certain standards. I was convinced that if I followed their formula, my blog would also become popular. I tried every link-up, every blog button, and every gimmick that I saw.
Obviously, that particular mindset got me nowhere because instead of treating blogging as a passion, I treated it as a competition. I found myself posting things that I wasn’t really interested in just to gain traffic. I guess that’s where the incessant blogging burnout came from. Writing got tedious because I was pushing for topics that were not really my forte. I ended up with a blog (several blogs, actually) that I could no longer recognize or enjoy. I lost my personal touch because I wanted to impress everyone. I hate to admit it but instead of being unique, I ended up being boring.
The truth is, someone would always have a prettier layout, a better writeup, and a larger audience. You just have to have faith that your personal style is more than enough.
Lack of commitment - I was a lazy blogger. I would abandon my accounts for months (sometimes, even years!) because of lethargy. I got tons of ideas for future posts but I acted like I didn’t have the time to actually write them. I could have blogged instead of re-watching my favorite series. I could have focused on blogging instead of wasting my time browsing Instagram. I could have done so much more - but I didn’t.
After seven years and zero percent progress, I realized that blogging really takes passion and commitment. It’s easy to sign up and create an account. What comes after is far more difficult. If you want to be a blogger then you have to prioritize blogging.
Wanting to rush success - I am so guilty of impulsively creating a new blog with no concrete plan or whatsoever in the hopes that it would just magically receive overnight success. I made a Wordpress blog a few months back without knowing what to blog so I decided to just repost my Candy articles. What a huge mistake! Keep in mind that my articles for candymag.com use stock photos and gifs so when I finally compiled my 50+ articles I was stumped with an unfamiliar interface. Yes, it was my content but the borrowed photos made it look like it was someone else’s. That's what I get for being impatient, I didn't strive to generate quality content so my blog didn't really amount to anything.
P.S. If you want to see my other articles, just go to my online protfolio @ Candy
Lack of interaction - I feel silly for thinking that readers would just come to my blog without promoting my content. Sikat ka, 'te? Haha! Lesson learned: engagement is very very very important!
That's basically it! Hi guys! I am very excited for this blog. Thanks for dropping by and reading my first post! :)
* I said thorough because I'm in the process of deleting my old accounts
