6th Blogiversary: Blogging Tips, Who Wore it Better & a Linkup

Six Years!

Jersey Girl, Texan Heart turns 6 today!  Time seriously flies, because 6 years is a long time.  I met up with my blogger bestie Ask Away a few times last year, and I even met Shelbee On The Edge for the first time!  My mom had no choice (you’re welcome mom lol) but to start a blog, 60 Plus Experience, and step out of her shell.  Over the past year I realized how much I love writing.  My posts became more creative so that I wouldn’t have to take as many blogging photos.  There have been many new things launched over this past year.  For example, my Monday Motivation Series (fairly new), Your Own Twist Linkup with Shelbee on the Edge, and so many Who Wore it Better posts with my mom.  I love that I have found such a huge interest in Photography and Photo Editing, especially over the last year.  Something that was jibberish to me only a few years ago.  If you would have asked me what ISO and aperture was in 2013 I would have looked at you like you had five heads.  It has been a whirlwind of a year and six years.

However, with the good, also comes the bad.  Since I’m always trying to keep it real with y’all, I can’t sugarcoat it and say that it has been easy and fun all year long.  Over this past year, I definitely struggled.  This is not meant to discourage anyone from blogging!  My personal experiences vary from others.

This Past Year.

This past year (give or take) I have thought of shutting down my blog numerous times, and have been extremely discouraged.  The blogging market is so overly saturated, more than before.  Because I didn’t grow as fast as some of the other bloggers who started around the time that I did, unfortunately I’m even farther away from being where I want to be.  There’s just so much good content out there!  I think it also had to do with my last job because I just couldn’t pay attention to my blog, nor did I have the energy to.

Blogging started to feel like a chore.  Sponsorships were few and far between.  Financially, last year was my worst year (for my blog), but I think this comes down to my lack of energy.

Thankful for the support I received.

My fiance talked me out of shutting it down so many times.  He’s had to sit there and listen to me vent about how I’m not where I would like to be.  Every “how to grow your following,” or “you need this to succeed” article, blog post, and Youtube video became a daily necessity.  Any conversation I had with my fiance over the past year consisted of blogging and social media; especially Instagram.  Instagram’s algorithm really hurt my engagement on that platform over the past year.

The Present.

I’m not trying to be a debbie downer or discourage anyone from starting a blog, but I’m definitely exhausted.  Becoming burnt out will definitely do that to you.  Unfortunately, I’m a perfectionist, and I get extremely down on myself when I don’t succeed, or don’t achieve my own personal goals.  This is one of my flaws, because it’s ok to be driven, but to become as negative as I do, is not healthy.

Even with the bad, I’m so happy that I didn’t stop blogging and that I’m still here.  I may be a little bit of a struggle bus right now, but it’s thanks to all of you who read my blog that keeps me going.  My hope is that this next year will be my best year yet.  Trying to get back in the game is a major goal for this next year; year number 7 (my lucky number along with 13).  For anyone reading this who is starting a blog, here are some things that I wish I knew, or would/wouldn’t do in my 6 years.

1.  Don’t Compare.

This is one thing that I’m working on.  After this past year with the growth of the blogging market and even with algorithms on social media platforms, I’ve just become discouraged.  When I see bloggers who started after me have such a huge following and readership, it definitely gets discouraging.  However, I have to tell myself to chill out and be humble.  The reason why these other bloggers are successful is because they have great content and have more drive than I do.  Going at a snail’s pace is my own fault.  No excuses will be tolerated with myself, because my success depends on only myself.  It has nothing to do with anything or anyone else.

2.  Keep Going.

As I mentioned above, I wanted to shut down this blog multiple times last year.  Shutting down this blog became a constant thought, more so than wanting to keep it open.  However, I kept going.  Quitting is not in my vocabulary, and when I’m not going crazy, this is actually something that I truly enjoy doing.  I love creating content and interacting with people.  Being able to say that I created this blog all by myself and everything I’ve learned is self taught is such an accomplishment.

3.  Collab with Brands the Right Way.

The reason why I didn’t get as many sponsorships or product reviews over the past year is because I started negotiating with brands.  Turning down brands was very frequent this year, due to knowing my readers and knowing this won’t appeal to them.  Also, the small size of my following hindered sponsorships.

Example.

An example that just happened not too long ago, was a hair extension brand had contacted me after they read my how to grow your hair post.  Now, in that post I said that I stopped wearing extensions because at one point I was wearing them every day and I needed to give my hair a break, and this did in fact help.  However, sometimes, it’s nice to have a little bit of extra length or volume.

Too Pushy.

They asked me to collab with them and pick out some extensions along with later gifting extensions to one of my readers.  It started to become a little awkward when they were super pushy about getting the post uploaded right away.  My photographer is only available on Sundays so I usually tell brands to give me 1-2 weeks.  They stated that they would contact me once they ship the product but would like the post to be uploaded sooner than my standard time.  A few weeks went by and I didn’t hear from them, so I emailed them.

Their response was “they decided to go a different route and instead wanted to write a guest post.”  Since I didn’t physically see the extensions I didn’t know what kind of quality extensions they are.  My email also said that I would refuse the post and I found it really unprofessional with the way they handled the whole situation.

Outcome.

Needless to say they didn’t respond.  This is something you will definitely run in to.  A lot of brands want you to basically work for free because it’s easy advertising for them.  However they don’t understand how much work actually goes into one post with at least 5 photos and social shares.

4.  Remember WHY You Started.

This is something that I have been telling myself over and over again.  Whenever I want to quit I just tell myself there is a reason why I started blogging.  I need to remember that before I get all huffy and puffy when things don’t work out.  Always stay humble too.  There are a number of bloggers out there who are super sweet and genuine, and some who are not.  Make sure you are the sweet and genuine kind.

When I started this blog it was a creative space for me.  Working a boring full time job can get monotonous.  This was a way for me to keep my creative juices flowing.  When you are a creative person all of your life and you get put into a box doing the same things every day, it can really crush your spirit.  It would be like putting a free spirit in one tiny little spot and telling them they can’t spread their wings.  A lot of people start for the wrong reasons because they want “free product,” but when they see how much work goes into it, they don’t follow through.  Blogs are meant to showcase a certain style and content.

5.  Not everything is what it seems.

So many times you see these bloggers who seem like they are living the life and have this perfect life.  You have to remember that there is always something happening behind the scenes.  Regardless if you’re a big or a small blogger, things will go haywire.  Your domain might stop working, or your website will crash.  Working as a full time blogger is not easy.  These are big time bloggers who have big collabs that need to be done a specific way.  There is one 3rd party company I work with, and they are very particular, so many times I was getting out of bed at 11pm to update my post.  Blogging is not easy.  This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t start a blog.

6.  Be Yourself.

In the beginning days of my blog I was definitely myself with my style.  Then I started to see bigger bloggers and I was almost trying to mimic them.  Wanting to grow was my goal, and it seemed that a lot of the bloggers who were similar were huge in the market.  I started to lose myself a little bit.  Within the past year, I have experimented with so many different styles because I wanted to be different.  Showcasing how unique and versatile I was, was fun for me.  My favorite style will always be more of a rock and roll type of style, but there are days where I prefer to be girly, or a tomboy, or a punk rock chick.  That’s what is so fun about fashion because you get to experiment and have fun.

7.  Most Importantly:  Have Fun (Lucky Number 7).

Blogging should be fun.  It shouldn’t feel like a chore.  Unless you are a full time blogger and it is your only source of income, it shouldn’t be stressful.  If this is just a side project, do whatever you want with it.  Sure, it will get difficult when you try to for example, migrate from Blogger to WordPress on your own and you’re not tech savvy.  There may be tears involved at some point, but there is a feeling of accomplishment that follows.  At the end of the day, this is your little piece of the internet.  Do with it what you want, just of course don’t be racist, discriminatory, sexist, that sorta thing.  That’s definitely not welcome.

In the End.

In the end, I do encourage people to start blogging.  It’s highly recommended to do research prior to starting and/or finding a mentor.  Blogging is fun and lots of work, but it’s work to be proud of.

Make sure to linkup below, and check out mom’s outfit for Who Wore t Better with this sparkly top!

xoxo Monica

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