My Blogging Journey – The Lessons We Learned

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

This popular quote from Robert Frost’s infamous narrative poem, “The Road Not Taken” is all about being unconventional and defying traditions and mainstream practices.

This is our blog anniversary month. May 2021^st marks the 4^th year of Love. Eat. Wander.

We started this blog with the same idea of also being creatively unorthodox, that is, towards parenting practices for our daughter Skye. This initially simple traveling/parenting blog has grown into an online diary talking about different aspects of our lives as a family and matters that affect us – parenting, early education, finances, travel, food, etc.

An Archive of Sorts

While initially dealing with non-mainstream parenting advice and travel-related articles, this blog has expanded into an interesting archive of must-knows not only for parents and non-parents. We started targeting readers of all ages, too as we started discussing a wide range of topics including early education, finances, and employment.

Our Four-Year Blogging Journey Thus Far

It has been an amazingly four-year journey. Tons of readings, experimentations, unforgettable learnings, and outsized allocation of courage resulted in better stories to tell. We have been keeping tabs on every growth we made, and as someone who started out with no previous writing or blogging experience, we can say we’ve come a long way! Our online community has grown exponentially, with a combined reach of more than 50,000!

^{RELATED ARTICLE: Step-by-Step Guide on How to Start a Blog}

Hoping to help others who are facing challenges in their blogging career, we wrote 4 Important Lessons we Learned in our Journey below!

IDENTIFY YOUR LONG-TERM PURPOSE

This might be a difficult decision for a first-time blogger, but identifying your purpose is one of the essential elements to consider if you plan to start a blog.

Will you blog as a business? Will you blog as a hobby?

If you plan to earn some extra income, it would be beneficial to establish this at the get-go to ensure that your blog, as well as each post, are marketed, branded, and SEO-optimized. 

DON’T COMPARE YOUR BLOG TO OTHERS

This applies to everything in life. Comparing yourself or whatever you have with others will only bring disappointment which can take your focus away. It kills contentment. This is the same with blogging.

If you will constantly compare your blog to others, you will be blinded with the real issues that have to be addressed. Focus on your platform, your stats, your reach. Identify what works and what doesn’t and ground your strategies on your learnings. 

CONNECT WITH YOUR AUDIENCE

Do not just build your social media following, interact with them, too! Encourage discussion on your topics to foster reader engagement. Show your authority, that you know what you’re talking about, that you’re a master of your craft.

Answer their questions.
Provide advice if need be.

Acknowledge the presence of your audience and make them feel that they are interacting with a real human not bots.

SET YOUR EXPECTATIONS LOW AND YOUR GOALS HIGH

Blogging is hard work and time-consuming. Success does not come overnight. Actually, it took us years before we started earning a steady income from our blog. Motivation is also hard to find.  If you want a quick turnaround and easy money, this may not be the right place for you.

However, if you put your heart into it, if you commit to working hard on your blog, you will enjoy the fruit of your hard work. When you do things right, you can start earning revenue from paid ads, affiliate links, guest posts, or as a brand ambassador or influencer!

Thank you for dropping by!

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• Be part of Love. Eat. Wander. Community Page for more updates, travel, and parenting tips, or if you want to share your trip/parenting experiences with others. You can also visit our YouTube Channel for videos.