Welcome to Part 2 of One Year of Blogging, Blogging Regularly. This week I will be sharing some insights I’ve gathered over my first year as a full time blogger. I felt it was necessary to share my thoughts with others because its information I wish I had from day one. I hope you can gain something from what I have to say or relate to my journey in some way. //

Another great insight gathered from year one is that if you hope to grow your daily blog readership you must blog regularly (daily). By simply posting new content for your readers to come back and check up on, you are boosting your blogs online presence and in turn the amount of people coming to your site. It takes a lot of time for “the people of the internet” to recognize your blog name when they see it and more importantly, stop by to see what you have to say. They say repetition is good for creating/breaking habits, and in this case I believe that rule definitely applies.

Over the first year I have blogged a total of 385 posts, which ends up being a little more than one post a day. In the first couple months I would take the weekends “off” from blogging and I noticed that it took the entire week to regain the views I was hoping for. As my little blog grew and I had more of a loyal readership, those breaks became easier to take and my loyal readers would return. I can only assume that with time, blog traffic will somewhat drive itself and taking one day off blogging won’t result in a massive drop in daily views.

To help with keeping a regular blog schedule, I have created a flexible weekly post schedule with post themes in mind. Blogging seemed to become a little more carefree when I knew what topics to write about and when I should share. Keeping things flexible allows for you to change your mind without feeling like you’re breaking your own rules.

Insights from Sandi of Adalou Vintage
“Sticking to a series of scheduled posts has really kept me focus while blogging. It’s a lot of work mind you, but the consistency is something I’ve noticed my readers love. They are able to come back to my blog time and time again and find what they are looking for in a matter of seconds. My schedule is flexible, in the sense that I can add additional topics to my liking thru the weeks; but keeping focus and on track with a running list of “what’s next to post” has helped me stay consistent while building a healthy relationship with my blog and it’s faithful reader. ”

Read INRO to week-long series.
Read Part 1 // Staying Connected Socially

*All photos in this series are from Marco Suarez Art Shop on Etsy and all type was typeset by myself.

Welcome to Part 1 of One Year of Blogging, Staying Connected Socially. This week I will be sharing some insights I’ve gathered over my first year as a full time blogger. I felt it was necessary to share my thoughts with others because its information I wish I had from day one. I hope you can gain something from what I have to say or relate to my journey in some way. //

One of the most important insights I gained from one year of blogging may seem like a no brainer, but never occurred to me until I was knee deep in blogging. IT WILL BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL BLOG WITHOUT HAVING A SOCIAL NETWORK TO BACK IT UP! You say….duh, but really it’s not that simple. You would think that having a profile page on Facebook and a Twitter account sets you up for gold, but it’s how you interact with those platforms that makes all the difference. When I first started blogging I already had a Facebook page and thought a twitter page would be a nice addition. On Facebook I would occasionally mention something newly featured on the blog and Twitter was used mainly to hear what others were saying. It took me several months to catch onto the benefits of having social media outlets and how both could greatly increase my readership, blog growth, and quality of relationship with my readers.

I’ve realized that it’s not just about posting an instagram photo on Twitter and seeing how many people like it, or posting a link to some shoes you’d like to own, but posting VALUABLE content that is engaging enough to encourage people to click and read more. Twitter is a perfect place for a blogger to share blog updates with readers, but its a great place to just connect with your readers outside of your blog space. Use twitter to supplement your blog content and don’t just copy and paste content. Your readers will want to gain more information about you, your blog, and what you like. For example… Instead of only tweeting a link to your most recent blog post (which I am guilty of doing), try tweeting a link to that Etsy shop you mentioned within your blog post, or better yet…. a link to a different etsy shop with similar content. Use twitter to content with your readers on multiple levels. I’ve also used Twitter as my main resource for networking and getting to know other bloggers. By following others you are able to see who they interact with and its just a jolly ole snow ball from there. Without twitter and the relationships I’ve gained in that space, my blog would still be itty bitty and I wouldn’t have gained the friendships I have gained.  All the above also applies to Facebook, instagram, or Flickr.. It’s just a matter of which platform you prefer to use.

Insights from Liz of SRSLY LIZ
“In our generation, social media is everywhere & so easily accessible. You can check into a restaurant, tag friends you’re with and post a photo of what you ordered for dessert, to Twitter. Which is why it’s important to remember to unplug every now and then & just enjoy living life instead of documenting it. It’s great to be part of a network & community but I personally need to balance that out by stopping and smelling the roses–without posting them to Instagram.”

Read INRO to week-long series.

*All photos in this series are from Marco Suarez Art Shop on Etsy and all type was typeset by myself.

December 12th (TODAY) marks the first day I blogged for The Veda House and I want to commemorate this first year with a week long series all about the ups and downs of blogging. Last year I was not new to blogging. Throughout my college career, a classmate and I maintained a joint design blog that lived for 3 years. We both shared design content on a daily basis, but since we were design students, it kind of felt like part of the student job description. I really enjoyed it, but didn’t feel any real pressure to maintain the blog for traffic or growth reasons. Last winter, I realized that I wanted to blog more on a personal level and the joint  blog was no longer the place for that.

Last December I was a little over a year out of design school with a huge desire to get connected back into the online social community where I once lived and thrived. I was missing being surrounded by all my other designer classmates and sharing content dropped off soon after school ended. I was also yearning to leap into the world of documenting my many DIY projects and mini-adventures I embarked on. I wanted to get back into photography that I once loved so much and I wanted to try baking…why not? I will admit that The Veda House started with very little direction, focus or plan for the future. I just wanted to document, and document in my own space/on my own time.

I’ll start by saying that the first year was one nasty roller coaster, and I hate roller coasters. The climbs to the top were short lived and the time spend zooming down hill were long and excruciating. When I first started I didn’t know that putting together posts about personal content would be so exhausting and mentally draining. I didn’t know that I would want to constantly be validated for the content I was putting out there for everyone to see. It became a war between me and myself and honestly, I hated it. I wanted my little blog to be seen by others. I wanted others to like the content enough to share it, and I wanted my blog to grow at a steady rate. I blogged about recipes, diys, thrifting trips, homes I liked, music I liked, our trip to the zoo…everything. This was mistake number one and the biggest mistake I’d make in year one; not having any focus what so ever.

During the first few months my itty bitty blog grew slowly. There was a time when ten views a day was like winning the lottery and days were 5 views was like death. I became a chronic stat checking, because I am a human who yearns to succeed at everything I set out to do. I wanted the numbers to tell me that all the time I had spent pouring my soul to the internet was worth all the hard work. Numbers grew, but at an embarrassingly low rate. I kept going, hoping that this was just what it takes to make the blog a success. That’s what others were telling me at least. Success doesn’t happen over night right? I networked my ass off, paid for advertising on other blogs, left meaningful comments on other blogs, and filtered all my blog content throughout Twitter and Facebook. I felt like I was doing everything right, but what was my problem??

About half way through the year the numbers stopped. My blog was no longer growing, but laughing at me at the top of a very low plateau. My blog laughed at me for the next couple months. This is when I was certain it wasn’t worth my time anymore and that being a full time blogger on top of a full time day job was just crazy talk. But I’m super stubborn and I keep going because this is what I do. I complained a lot about, whined and pouted, and even stopped my feet some, but I kept going.

Three quarters of the way through this first year I decided that I needed to shift the focus of my blog content to something a little more manageable. I needed to make my blog more about collaboration and networking to help out with the pressures of creating original content. I started blogging more about what was inspiring me on a daily basis, and less about where I went last weekend. I realized that as a design professional who is surrounded by great design on a daily basis, I had access to sharable design content. I know “good” design. I know what a beautifully styled room looks like. And I know that blogging about these kinds of things is really easy for me. It flies off the tip of my tongue without a problem. Over the last couple months of this first year my blog finally stopped laughing at me. OMG! Finally! Numbers have started to slowly grow. They are growing at a rate that keeps me motivated to continue. And wahoo, I really enjoy blogging again.

So today The Veda House is a place where I document inspiring graphic design work, illustrations, photography, interior design, and design trends. My blog has become a collaboration with other online bloggers/designers/artists who share similar design beliefs as myself. It has become a place to grow my network and share my own design services with others. It has become a portal to my online design portfolio and other social media outlets. My blog has become organized and refreshing to read. Most importantly, I really enjoy blogging. It’s no longer a debbie downer on my to do list, but something I can spend hours and hours enjoying. I can’t wait to see how this next year goes. So excited…and relieved.

Over the next 6 days I’m going to share with you 7 tips/suggestions (one category a day) I’ve gathered from my first year of blogging. I have so much I’d like to share, information that I wish other bloggers would have shared with me when I first started out. I hope you find this information valuable, even if you’ve been blogging for years. Everyone has a different experience, and this is just my version. I also wanted to thank all of you who have traveled this first year with me. It is because of you that I have kept going….and going. haha

Stay tuned for Part 1 and some additional insights from some of my blogger pals.

*All photos in this series are from Marco Suarez Art Shop on Etsy and all type was typeset by myself.