6 Useful Lessons I Learned From 6 Months of Blogging

Here are my six months of blogging lessons, which have been a learning process and a journey of self-discovery. It was both difficult and fun at the same time.

I can still remember how happy I was when I got my first followers and repins on Pinterest. And the first comment on my blog that said, “Enjoyed reading this,” truly made my heart flutter. That moment was incredibly gratifying—it made me feel that all my efforts were worth it.

For those of you who may not know, I started my blog during the pandemic. My dad’s business was forced to shut down, and we had no means of income. Because of that, I felt the need to think of ways I could help my family.

Before the pandemic, I never thought I’d want to be a blogger. But after doing some research, I realized, “Wow, this is a pretty cool job.” From that moment on, I made up my mind and told myself, “I can do this.”

And so, my blogging journey began. Here are the lessons I’ve learned along the way.

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1. Starting a Blog is a Lot of Work

Before establishing my blog, it all started with research, which lasted for a few months. During that time, I decided what I want to blog about and studied all about blogging. I also felt like I was drowning in new information that I couldn’t even process.

The next step is buying a web host and a WordPress theme. At first, I was very skeptical, it took me weeks of contemplation if I should buy a WordPress theme or not. Since it was so expensive from the point of view of a college student who doesn’t have any savings left.

But in the end, I decided to buy a theme from 17th Avenue Designs and was happy with the outcome of my website. I still remember how frustrating it was to design a website. I can’t find any video tutorials on YouTube, and all I have is a written guide from 17th Avenue Designs.

Thankfully, it was pretty detailed but the process was still confusing. that I even felt like banging my head on the table. But once you see that you’re site is complete, you’ll feel like it’s all worth it.

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2. Writing a Blog Post

Writing a blog post isn’t easy. You’ll have to do your research, create an outline, and figuring out what you’ll write about.

Normally it takes me 2-3 days of creating new content, but some other posts like outfit ideas specifically Halloween costume ideas and college outfit ideas took me more than a week, as it takes more effort but it’s okay the important thing is that you’re having fun during the process.

I am also genuinely impressed that some other bloggers can create a new post in a day, some even in a few hours, while balancing their other priorities. During this time, I’ve learned that the more you create new content, the faster you get at creating another one.

Like the first time I created a post, I didn’t know how I could express myself. I spent hours figuring out what I should say, but ended up deleting it. But as time passes by with practice, I am slowly getting the hang of it.

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3. Time Management is Important

Without time management, I might probably drown in stress, as I have been balancing college and blogging, which is very difficult. There were times when I would be so confused about what I should prioritize, and sometimes, because of the school workload, I couldn’t find the time to produce new blogging content.

I found that Time Management is very helpful, by blocking out distractions and most importantly planning, which was so helpful.

I have a planner like this one from Amazon, and I always place it on my desk where I can always be reminded of my schedule. Like for Mondays, Tuesdays, and Saturdays, I focus on school works and nothing else.

I make sure that I finish all of my tasks, that way I could focus on my blogging on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Lastly, it is very important to take a break, rest your mind, get enough sleep and relax on Sundays.

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4. Be Patient

Not seeing any progress in your blog is truly disheartening. I kept telling myself to be patient and not be discouraged. As successful and big-time bloggers have been blogging for years. It took them a lot of effort and time to get to where they are now.

Currently, I am far from being successful; my blog doesn’t have thousands of visitors, nor do I have any viral posts yet, but it’s ok. There is a lot more that I could learn to improve my blog, and that doesn’t happen in a short amount of time. So, my biggest advice is to be patient, take your time, and learn how to improve yourself.

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5. Affiliates

Affiliates are where you’re able to earn a little commission if someone buys the product that you’ve linked to. It is one of the income sources of bloggers, and one of my affiliates is Amazon. Amazon has a requirement that you must have three sales within six months.

At first, I thought that having three sales in six months was easy, but I was wrong cause it’s not when you don’t have any viewers yet. For six months, I’ve only managed to have 2 sales and my affiliate link will expire soon.

But it’s ok, I have already mentally prepared myself since the day I signed up for the affiliates program of Amazon. Besides I could register again, it might be a lot of work but the important thing is to not give up. It is normal to not have sales especially when you are just starting, and remember that it is perfectly fine.

From that experience, I’ve learned that you should first make sure that you already have viewers before applying for an affiliates program, for it to be easier and less hassle for you.

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6. You’ll Develop Your Skills

I’ve noticed in my six months of blogging, I’ve gotten better in editing, writing, and research. I’ve proven to myself that practice and persistence are the key to improvement. At first, I was struggling with writing but now, my writing became faster as well as editing post structures.

Also, when it comes to pins, my first time creating 20 pins took me hours, figuring out what color and font I should use, and in the end, I wasn’t even satisfied with my creation. But now, making 20 pins only takes me 30 minutes.

Blogging also made me discover new skills like making collages for outfit ideas, like this one. It takes a lot of work, but I am proud of it.

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Why I Stayed

Lastly, my blogging journey started for the reason that I want to help my family, but now I have stayed because I fell in love with the beauty behind the hectic world of blogging. As the simple things make me feel genuinely happy, like my first $0.01 earnings in AdSense, my first sales, the comments, subscribers, the viewers from different countries, and every moment of it, I feel grateful.

Blogging taught me one valuable lesson in life. That you’ll never know unless you try and dare to do so. I never imagined that I would have a blog because of self-doubts, I’m not a sociable person, I am also shy, and I hate going outside of my comfort zone. But because I dared to try blogging, I realized that “Wow I can do this” and that I should have tried sooner.

There you have it, six lessons from six months of blogging. I hoped you learned something new, and if so, I also want to hear your own story.

Note: It’s nice to look back on the lessons I’ve learned from 6 months of blogging. It’s been 5 years now since I started a blog, let me know if you want blogging lessons that I’ve learned from 5 years of blogging.