What 15 Bloggers Wish They Knew Before Starting A Blog: Part 2

When I first published Part 1 of this post, my hope was that you would come away with some new insight and perspective, no matter where you were in your blogging journey.

The reality is that the lessons learned in blogging are a perpetually revolving door; What I thought I had figured out a month ago, I've learned new ways to tackle since, and so it really doesn't matter if you've been blogging for a week, a year, or ten - there are always new lessons to be learned.

In today's post, I've rounded up a new group of seasoned bloggers to share their insights with you about what they wish they knew before starting a blog. You'll find a bit of everything in this post, but what I hope you take away this time around is that while it's important to acknowledge that we all have our own paths, it's essential to let others guide us along.

Also see: What 15 Bloggers Wish They Knew Before Starting a Blog (Part 1) and
6 Reasons Why No One is Reading Your Blog

A few more things I wish I knew before starting a blog

SEE MY TOP 3 THINGS I WISH I KNEW IN THIS POST!

I wish I knew the importance of cultivating a long-lasting relationship with a brand

When I first began working with brands, I was a fish out of water; making it up as I went, and learning with each new experience under my belt. One commonality in many of my early partnerships is that once the partnership was done, it was done; and I couldn't have been more wrong to assume that.

As all bloggers should, I would always send a follow-up email after completing a collaboration, thanking them for the opportunity and ending with "hope to reconnect/work together down the road!" - and that was it. Literally - it ended there.

Don't assume that your partnership is over once you've delivered your content. if your experience was positive, and it's something you want to continue to pursue, don't wait. Start the conversation immediately, follow up, and work to build an authentic relationship. Doing so helped me land the biggest brand deal of my career this past month.

I wish I knew that I would be proud of my success

The first year of my blog was a 24/7 hustle (I mean, I feel like it still is in many ways). Not only was it a physical hustle to grow my business, but it was an emotional one too. I was constantly criticizing myself and comparing myself to others. I would see the successes of other bloggers - landing major brand deals, reaching their 50k or 100k Instagram milestones, receiving PR packages from companies I'd only dreamt of.

Fast forward to now, and I've tackled not one, but all of those things - and man, am I proud of it.

In an industry where it is so easy to get down on yourself, you have to celebrate your successes (big OR small) and know that if you keep pushing, where you are now is only a fraction of where you'll be down the road.

 

Advice from other bloggers

(Thank you to all of the bloggers who offered their advice! I have condensed responses in an effort to provide the most relevant and diversified information.)

The biggest piece of advice I wish I would have heard before starting my blog was to have a clear vision behind what I wanted to accomplish with my blog. The market is saturated with bloggers, find what makes you YOU and what makes you different. Keep that as your filter for every sponsorship you take, every blog post you write, every IG story you film, and every caption you come up with. When you have this figured out, everything else falls into place and connects perfectly! YOU are your brand.
- Nicolle Howden, Topknots and Pearls

When I first started my blog, I wish I knew how to truly utilize Pinterest. I only recently started treating Pinterest as a search platform, rather than as a social media platform, anticipating trends and top search keywords. I've increased my Pinterest profile impressions from 30k a month to 500k, which has led to a nice bump in referral traffic to my site. Imagine if I started doing that six years ago when I first started my blog!
- Elise Armitage, What The Fab

I wish I would've known to stay in my own lane! It's easy to get so caught up in the comparison game, the number game, and so many other games, but keeping your eyes in your own lane is so important. Stay true to who you are and be true to your audience, because there is only one YOU!
- Torey Beerman, Torey's Treasures

I started blogging in 2011, before Instagram was even around. I wish I had paid more attention to emerging social media platforms. I was so focused on Facebook and my blog that I neglected my Instagram account. Running a blog can be very time consuming with all the social media platforms but its important to pay attention to trends or new platforms. Make sure you are building a following across platforms that really helps you engage more with your community. The blogging world and your community are constantly evolving and you have to evolve with them to make sure you are giving them the right value to what to come back and visit your blog!
- Whitney Powell, Whit Wanders

I wish that I had known to invest in my blog from the beginning. You have to spend money to make money! Set aside a budget for learning resources, building your website, a photographer or presets and a camera, giveaways, advertising, and mentoring. Having knowledge upfront is power!
- Lauryn Hock, Lauryncakes

I wish I was more organized. In the beginning, I didn't take social media very seriously and posted whenever I felt like it. Now I know I need to post every day at certain times and it has helped me grow so much. When I first started, sometimes I would post once a week, then the next post 3-4x. People like consistency and you have to have a plan!
- Nicole Leffew, Where Your Heart is Now