As of today, Monday, August 7th, 2023 I have been consistently blogging for a year!
I have written and shared a blog article every single Sunday.
While that may not seem like much, it’s a huge personal accomplishment for me.
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Some background
I thought about blogging for years since I learned about it in college from a social media marketing class.
But I never really actively pursued it.
I tried every once in awhile but never stuck with it until this past year.
Sometimes it’s just life circumstances that prompts you to start a new project.
In May of 2022 my grandfather passed away. We were very close and would talk every day at 7:30pm.
With his absence came evenings of silence. (My fiancé works nights so I needed a hobby to focus on after work.)
| Related Article: Why Journaling is Important
Learning how to blog
I dove into learning everything there is to know about blogging.
Podcasts, youtubers, facebook groups. Anything I could find.
I listened to podcasts as I commuted to work, and while I cooked and cleaned up dinner (of all tasks, and often still do)
Personal Favorites are:
- Cathrin Manning
- Jessica Stansberry
- Thrive Blogger Podcast
- The Ultimate Blog Podcast
I was enjoying the excitement of learning something new while also trying to do it properly.
So I started the process with the mind set of it being “successful” at blogging.
And over and over again I heard from bloggers to: be consistent, limit social media platforms, and to batch content (I still struggle with that last one)
First Year of Blogging
So on August 7th, 2022 I published my first article, with the determination to stick with it and see it through.
And every Sunday I have done just that!
Through full time working, holidays, vacation, and wedding planning, I still showed up.
I pushed myself to use my time wisely and plan ahead.
I knew no one else would care if I skipped a week, but I cared. Because blogging brings me joy while also serving a purpose.
It took me some time to navigate what exact topics and niche I really wanted to stick too as well.
If this is your first time on my site, I blog about Genealogy (Family history research) and Journaling.
Successful Blogging?
Earlier I referenced “success” in blogging.
That term, in all scenarios, means something different to each person who says it.
For me, I measure it by content being found and enjoyed by readers.
When you go to google a topic, chances are the answers your find are on a person’s blog.
That individual took their passion and knowledge to create and put it there for you to find and answer your questions.
Blogging income
With blogging you can earn an income, and that is a huge plus but I’m not really at that point yet. I am trying but it is a challenge to get to, but I appreciate the small steps in that direction.
Running a website takes time, planning, and there are costs for site fees, programs, PO Box, etc.
But truthfully any income helps support those expenses and allows the creator to make and share more content.
(Throughout this article may be Affiliate links and Ads. There is no extra cost to the buyer. RLS Photogenic may receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting my blog!*)
Vulnerable personal sharing of stats
So now I will share my accomplishments, no matter how small, to encourage other bloggers (or any entrepreneur) to continue moving forward.
This blog article is also in a way a letter to myself to show how far I’ve come with this project and to look back on in the future.
All small businesses start somewhere and this is my beginning!
Analytics from my first year blogging!
August 7th 2022-August 7th, 2023
- Blog website views: 9,670
- Google: 6.41K impressions, 49 search clicks, 26.8 search position
- Pinterest: 190 followers, 7.2K monthly views
- YouTube: 66 subscribers, 1,549 views, 34.1 hours watch time
- Email Subscribers: 20
- Launched an Etsy shop June 2023 and received my first 2 sales, earned $4.45. Views 556, visits 337.
- Google AdSense: earned $12.36
- Amazon Associates: earned $10.24
- Accepted in to: Google AdSense, Share a Sale, Amazon Associates, Newspapers.com Affiliate Program, and Rexing Camera Affiliate Program
I know that total of income doesn’t really amount to much, but it’s a start!
One step at a time to moving forward and trying new things.
| For more articles: Blog Posts
Future Blog / Business Goals
As I continue this path forward I want to set new goals for myself and the content.
But I also try to be realistic with the amount of time that exists in any given day.
I recently finally listened to blog coaches to narrow down my social media platforms and that seems to be working well. (Shout out to please follow me on Pinterest and YouTube!)
I’m trying to more about creating designs to sell printables on Etsy and being more consistent on YouTube.
My video postings are a bit sporadic and kind of take the back burner compared to other tasks.
2nd Year Goals:
Alright, here we go, if I put this in writing for the internet to see that makes it more official!
- Two articles a week
- 2,000 monthly views to my Blog
- 20K monthly Pinterest views
- 100 Etsy sales
- 500 YouTube Subscribers (yikes, we’ll see how this one goes)
- Build relationships with my email list
Some of these goals are awfully ambitious but I do want to try.
This past year I was also doing a lot of wedding planning so I will have some of my free time back come September.
So here’s to a new year of blogging ahead! Thank you so much for joining me on this fun online journey!
Journal with Me Videos:
New video shared every Monday and Friday!
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Etsy Printables:
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RLSPhotogenic.com is dedicated to Preserving Memories for Future Generations with tips for journaling, family tree research, personal sharing, and more!
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Congratulations on getting through your first full year of blogging! I personally appreciate you being so vulnerable and sharing your stats! For someone who has been blogging for only a year so far, they look really good to me! I’m most impressed though with you being consistent. I have no idea how you manage to put out a blog post once every week. I’m not very consistent at all. Lol. Coming up with ideas alone is part of the challenge for me. How do you come up wit he ideas to write about every week? I generally try to journal and that helps me, but it a lengthy process. Thanks for your vulnerability and sharing!
Thank you for your lovely comments! Your support is so appreciated! It can be challenging at times to get the blog articles complete with balancing all of life’s other responsibilities! I focus on two main topics (genealogy and journaling) so I try to rotate back and forth each Sunday. I keep one main notebook with all my blog post ideas and add to it when I think of something new. So once Sunday’s post goes out, I try to pick the topic for the following week. And then over the next couple days I work on putting together that post, and try to wrap it all up by Saturday night.
Sometimes I just sit outside on nice weather days and simply take the time to brainstorm article topics. I think that’s really what keeps me on track, because thinking of the idea is usually more difficult than the actual writing.
Thanks again for reading!
Congratulations on your first year of blogging! I enjoy reading your blog and wish you continued success in year two!
Thank you so much! So glad we connected in the blogger groups, I enjoy following your content as well!
CONGRATS on the first year of blogging!! You should be incredibly proud! Here is to an even better second year!
Thank you so much! and thanks for reading!
I’ve only been blogging for two months but I’m so inspired by this post. Excited for you and to continue blogging.
aww I’m so glad this article could help you! Thank you for reading and for your support!
I love that you shared your journey. I have no idea what to expect.
It is quite the experience! Thanks for reading!
Well done you, blogging is hard,I kept putting it off for 4 years, but once I got started, I was surprised by the learning curve, most of the time as a blogger, you are all alone, learning and doing things as you go with no one to hold your hands.
Yes you can go online and all that, but there are things you need someone to show you physically(or maybe I’m just old-fashioned).
What discourages most people from blogging is expecting results immediately but I always say this is not a half marathon or a sprint, blogging
is a very long marathon where you put in 100% every day in the beginning and not seeing ANY results, not even visits, but in the end, it`s well worth it.
Thanks for sharing your journey.
You are absolutely correct! There is certainly a learning process that evolves over time. Yes! It can discouraging at times to look at “the numbers/stats” but I keep reminding myself and other bloggers, to try to keep going. It all takes time and is a fun experience. Thanks so much for reading and for your support! Happy Blogging!