[A BLOGGER’S LIFE] What does it take to be a better blogger? //E V E R Y T H I N G//

There are thousands of blogs out there. Thousands of people doing EXACTLY what you are doing. Punching words, copy-pasting pics, hitting publish. JUST THAT. But for some reason, their blogs are doing better than yours. WAYYYY BETTER.

How?

I have been thinking about it a lot lately. Observing other blogs. The behaviors of the minds behind them. All the best ones that I have come across till now have some things in common. WHAT ARE THEY?

It’s not like they have cosmic powers or anything like that! OR DOOOO THEYYY??? *gasps*

LET’S FIND OUT!

THEY ARE CONSISTENT

I started this blog in 2017. In September, to be precise. I was having so much fun meeting new people, making friends, sharing my opinions. But due to some reason I had to take a year off (as some of you already know).

Looking back at that time, if I am being honest, I didn’t really need to take a complete break. I realize now that even during that year, I had more than enough time to keep posting once or twice a week. But I sought the easy way out and shut my blog off completely.

I ask myself today, WAS THAT A GOOD MOVE? Needless to say, it wasn’t.

Had I stayed consistent even when it got a bit difficult, had I stayed the course and tried a bit harder, I would be in a better place than I am now.

IT’S NOT JUST A HOBBY WITH THEM

Now, I know some of you who have read my last post might think I am being a bit contrary here but I am not. Just hear me out.

Of course, the first and foremost rule of blogging is to do it for fun, to take pleasure in it.

But, in my experience, there comes a phase every once in a while when even the things you REALLY love lose their charm.

And when that happens, there are two courses of action before you:

•  You can either just go to the extreme and decide that maybe it wasn’t for you.

•  Or you can keep doing it for a little while more, hoping that it’ll pass (although you might have to work twice as hard for it.)

The first one is a very defeatist approach. You must never throw in the towel at the first hints of a struggle. Really, if anyone of you is a runner here then you know how fucking hard those first couple of miles are! But once your body adjusts to this new activity, it feels like you are flying, your lungs are on fire and you feel like you could just keep running till the end of your days!

Yes, that’s it. That rule applies to everything in life, including blogging.

Push through the proverbial pain. It WILL get better. And before you know it, you will be doing your best! And that’s all that REALLY counts, isn’t it?

So please, don’t fall down just yet. Hold it, for a little bit longer.

THEY COMMENT BACK

Do you have any idea how absolutely rude it is for you to just leave all the comments unliked and unreplied? (is that a word?)

Reading a post and then leaving a thoughtful comment TAKES TIME. And if your lovely readers can take precious time out of their schedules to comment on your posts, the LEAST you can do is fucking reply! I am sorry but I feel really strongly about this one.

DON’T TAKE THIS PERSONALLY!!! xDxDxD

And hey, I totally understand that commenting back feels like a full-time job sometimes.

So what?

Blogging is not ALL FUN AND GAMES. It takes ACTUAL WORK (as you already know) And who’s asking you to comment back immediately anyway? Set a day aside and engage with all the comments on your posts on then. Readers are not easily offended. If you apologize for taking a bit of time to reply, they will understand. But they WILL get pissed off when weeks go by, you have put more posts out there and still, their thoughts go unacknowledged.

The best bloggers out there always take this rule to heart. They may be late in replying sometimes but they NEVER forget it.

That said, while I was on my unannounced hiatus, some totally awesome people commented on my posts but since I was away, I didn’t know about it and I just discovered that I had unapproved ones and I FEELL SOO FUCKING GUILTY NOW! So yeah AGAIN learn from all the messed up examples (a k a ME) before you and DONT COMMIT SUCH BLOGGING SINS.

THEY RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF FRIENDS

Believe it or not, it’s always friends who will give you the acknowledgment you deserve and desire.

Every blog has those readers who like/comment on a couple of posts and then don’t come back for an eternity! 🤣🤣 And hey, that’s fine! They have their charm too.

But it’s only those who you have really connected to and made friends with who will always encourage you on every single one of your posts.

They will like them, comment on them, give you shout outs. ALL of these things are very important in the blogging community. And if you are thinking that you can survive without them, then you are so fucking wrong. Because without people reading what you write, you may as well stop blogging and go write in a fucking notebook.

But if you want genuine appreciation and support, then you better climb off that high horse and start being nice to people.

LIFE’S BETTER WITH FRIENDS and SO IS BLOGGING!

THEY GIVE BACK

When you visit a blog, like the posts, comment on them, the blogger isn’t automatically required to reciprocate it. There is no rule that says that.

BUT the best ones out there know the value of a community enough to not just be a taker. They give back TEN TIMES the love you offer them. Whenever and however their time allows.

They know that every single one of us is struggling out here and trying our hardest and they make sure that we know how much they appreciate our support. That’s a trait everyone of us should learn if we want to be loved in this community.

Listen, the ONLY way you move upwards in ANY area of life is by helping others, taking them with you.  And don’t you fear that if they get better, you might lose your place.

THERE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR EVERY ONE OF US IN THIS BEAUTIFUL WORLD.

Do you agree? Or not? Do you have any other tips to add to the list? Let us all know in the comments! ❤️