6 months ago today, I hit the “launch” button on my blog (crazy, right?!)  I had already spent weeks working on the website, started up my “blog Instagram” account, shot some outfit pictures, planned out some post ideas, and I was ready to go (or so I thought!) Now here we are 6 months later. Blogging has been so much fun, stressful at times (a lot of times), exciting, frustrating, rewarding, and a HUGE learning experience!!  I’ve been getting a ton of questions lately from readers and other bloggers on my experiences with blogging, and by NO means am I an expert (far from it!!) but I thought it would be fun to share a couple things I’ve learned over the past 6 months.

1. Blogging is A LOT of work

We are web designers, brand developers, content curators, PR/marketing managers, stylists, models, writers, photographers, editors, negotiators, social media managers, and so much more. It’s like a full time second job – I come home from work every day to spend hours more on the computer responding to blog emails and working on content. On the weekends I am waking up at 5 or 6 AM for photo shoots, followed by hours sorting through outtakes and planning. Managing a blog is so much more work than anyone thinks it is, but I really do love it. Also, MAJOR kudos to mom bloggers who also work a full time job!! I don’t know how you do it but you deserve an award or something.

2. Setting goals is so important

When I first started blogging, I set specific goals for myself (short and long term) and these goals are what help motivate me to work as hard as I do and to measure my personal progress or “success.” For example, three of my short term (6 month) goals have been to 1. Get accepted into RewardStyle, 2. Get to 10k followers on Instagram, and 3. Start only working with paid collaborations. Setting goals helps me to focus on hitting milestones I set for myself rather than comparing my progress to other bloggers (as much as possible) and my long term goals motivate me to keep working hard, even during the difficult moments.

3. Social Media marketing is key

This has been a huge learning experience for me, because I’ve never been big into social media. In the blogging world however, social media is everything and it’s something we spend A LOT of time on. In my first 6 months of blogging, I’ve focused mainly on Instagram because that is where my readers and where brands are spending the most time. I’ve learned that Instagram is not only a great marketing platform, but the (business account) analytics have been super useful in helping me to get to know my followers and what type of posts they like the best. Social media has also been a HUGE help in connecting with other bloggers, which brings me to my next point:

4. Blogger friends are the best 

I’ve gotten to know quite a few bloggers over the past 6 months, and I don’t know what I’d do without them! In an industry full of competition, it’s so nice to have met girls who support each other. They are the only ones who fully understand the craziness that is behind the scenes of blogging, and it’s been so helpful to have girls who I can go to for questions, advice, or when I just need to vent.

My plans/goals/dreams for the next 6 months (and beyond)!!

• Get more social! Meaning expand my social media usage, especially Pinterest and Twitter. I know that readers have different preferences in which social media sites they use to get information, so I plan to dedicate more time to updating my other social channels. I’m not quite ready to take on Facebook yet, but maybe in the next year? We will see!
• More travel: Traveling is my absolute favorite thing to do, but with the last year being so crazy I haven’t been able to travel at all. When I first started my blog, traveling was one of the main topics that I wanted to cover and with things calming down over the next few months, I plan on spending as much time as possible traveling and putting together some really fun travel guides!
• YouTube: Okay, this one seems a little crazy (for me) and it MAY be a stretch… but I absolutely LOVE watching travel vlogs because they give you such a good idea of what it’s like to experience a new place, and I would love to have videos (in addition to pictures) of my travel experiences to look back on one day.

What do ya’ll think? I’d love to hear your thoughts, questions, and any feedback on what you would like to see from me in the future. Leave me a comment below!

Shop the Post:

cozy white turtleneck // jeans // over the knee boots (currently 50% off!)  // leather gloves (that slipped into one photo)