My thoughts and experiences with personal blogging for fun a year later.
Last year, I began and completed a resolution to give blogging a try for at least 6 months. I just recently passed (and forgot about) my one-year anniversary of personal blogging. I thought I’d share my thoughts on blogging as a hobby.
Please keep in mind that my expressed thoughts may not be shared by other new or experienced bloggers.
Short Background
If you haven't already done so, check out My 1st Blog Post and Personal Blog: 3 Months Into It. In the very first postdated 5 March 2020, I discussed my reasons for giving blogging a try and my hesitancy in doing so. Three months later, I shared the steps I took to make personal blogging a reality.
Six months after my first blog post, I needed to decide if I wanted to quit or continue my personal blog after I Completed a Resolution! Obviously, I continued personal blogging even though my website analytics were extremely low.
Revisiting Questions I've Pondered
Now that a year's gone by, I thought I'd revisit the questions I asked myself before I launched my website:
Would I want to quit this so-called hobby before going a full 6 months?
Is this a waste of my time and money?
Will anyone visit my website?
What will people think and say?
Will people like my posts?
I didn't quit blogging before completing my 2020 resolution. In fact, I don't have any intentions of quitting any time soon. I'm enjoying this hobby because it's become one of the Ways I Personally De-Stress. I either write about what's lingering on my mind at the time or about something that takes my mind off the problems current in my life.
Because I enjoyed writing and uploading a blog post twice a week, I don't see this as a waste of my time and money. If I didn't write blog posts about my experiences, interests, or feelings, I'd spend that time writing about the same things in my journal/diary. At least by making some of my writing's public, others could read, relate, or find joy in what I share. The annual cost of renewing my domain name and web hosting is worth it to me.
My subscriber count for this website increases weekly, but the traffic and post views are still low. Unlike last September (the six-month mark) when there was an average of two views per blog post, I'm now seeing an average of five views per blog post. My website is receiving visitors, just a few at a time depending on what I post.
One friend informed me that my journal design posts were her favorite to read. Otherwise, I don't know what my visitors think or say about my personal blog. I choose to believe they find some of my content interesting, otherwise I wouldn't continue receiving "New Subscriber" email notifications.
Based on the analytics, it seems most are interested in my personal thoughts and experiences. This is surprising to me because I figured blog posts within this category were so personal to my life that nobody would find them relatable or interesting. Seeing that these posts receive the most views makes maintaining a personal blog worthwhile.
Will I Adopt a Niche?
During my online research about starting a blog, having a niche was strongly encouraged. There are online sources about personal blogging, but they suggested narrowing the focus and topics of personal blog posts. To me, it seemed like a general niche was still strongly encouraged.
I realized my website traffic and post views are low because I don't have a niche. If you've browsed the categories I've created, you may have noticed that I write about a variety of topics including arts and crafts, journaling, dogs, tech, holidays, and personal thoughts and experiences. My personal blog is all over the place!
However, my reason for personal blogging is not to make money (although that would be nice) or promote my brand (although that would be nice, too). I write because I enjoy doing so.
This is my public journal initially created to complete a resolution but transformed into a creative outlet that allowed me to de-stress, learn new skills, improve my writing skills (still a work-in-progress), and entertain or inspire anyone interested in what I share.
As of now, I'm not looking at adopting a niche. I'll continue writing about random things that pique my interest at the time. With that said, I may write more often about my personal thoughts and experiences about various things. It seems to be something most of my visitors find interesting based on post views. I welcome the opportunity to share my stories with anyone who may enjoy them.
My Thoughts
I enjoy personal blogging. It's a way I de-stress and relax. Blogging was especially beneficial in maintaining my mental well-being during the craziness of the current pandemic.
Personal blogging is worth it to me.
There may come a day when I make changes to the types of posts I upload or how often I upload new posts. This may be the case if I decide to earn passive income from this website or when I take on a full-time job.
As of now, I don't see a need to change what I enjoy doing.
What's Next?
The best part about personal blogging for fun is not knowing what I'll share next. Sometimes I have a plan for the next blog post, but currently I'm open to whatever piques my interest on the next blog post day. Check back later to see what I share next.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam
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