Lately, I’ve been receiving emails and messages from other bloggers asking for tips and advice on how to expand their blog, how to get more subscribers, how to take photos, etc. I thought I’d answer these questions and more in a series of blog posts. If you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me. I love to read and answer questions (and comments!).
When I first started blogging almost a year ago, I was looking for a way to relieve stress and to distract me from my personal and professional life. I had just finished my degree in dental hygiene and took my licensing exam. Unfortunately, because my patient had not qualified for me to work on, and I lost time looking for a second patient, I didn’t pass the exam and had to wait another year before the exam returned to my area. I was disappointed and devastated by the set back and needed something to distract me.
Around that time, I browsed so many food blogs, admired tons of mouthwatering photos, and had just begun playing around with recipes. I wasn’t completely new to the blogging scene, but I thought that I’d start a brand new blog dedicated to recipes.
When I first started back in November 2013 (just two weeks until one year!), I actually used Blogger because I was more familiar with it. I’ve played around with blogs before, but it was never anything that lasted long because I was always busy with school. I even had one post on Blogger for Cooking with a Wallflower, but that recipe never made it onto this site. At least, not yet. Go ahead, click on the link, and I think you’ll see why. =)
My friend, Emily, from Emily’s Daily, suggested that I try WordPress. So I did. After playing around with both sites, I decided that WordPress was a better fit for me. I liked that I had more control over how the site looked. It really depends on your preference. Some people like working with Blogger more than WordPress. I recommend trying both to see what you like.
Those first few months, I didn’t get many views. Then again, I wasn’t really consistent on posting either. I was just excited to get 5 views a day, then 12.
Soo much has changed since then.
As I created more content, more recipes, I began to receive more views and subscribers.
Some months you’ll do better than others. Some days you’ll have a post that goes viral as I did in May, and then there are other days when barely anyone views your post.
What really works is consistency. Make sure to post every few days to keep your readers interested. If you post, let’s say, every three months, your readers won’t know if you’ve quit or if you’re ever going to update, and you may potentially lose a reader.
I like to post every other day. That’s just my preference. Here’s a little peek at my schedule. I can only cook and take photos twice a week: Wednesdays and Thursdays. So I do what I can to make the best of the time I have. I like to store my photos on my laptop and write my posts the day before or the day of when the post goes live. They’re rarely ever scheduled far in advance unless I’m on vacation. I like pressing the publish button too much.
Everyone is different. What works for me might not work for you.
Writing posts isn’t as easy as people might think. Non-bloggers don’t realize how much work it takes to create content, to take photos, to write, to edit. Lots of steps, tons of dedication. But if this is what you’re passionate about, go for it! It’s a slow process. You’re not going to gain viewers overnight. But in the end, if this is what you’re passionate about, it’s worth the time and effort.
In the next couple weeks, I’ll be posting more to this series. Stay tuned!
You’ll get to see how I changed my technique and went from the first two images to the last image in less than a year using the same camera. You can click on the image for an enlarged view.
If you have questions, please feel free to message me. I’ll be happy to answer them to the best of my abilities and include them in my posts. Or if there’s something you want me to address first, let me know.
Wow! Thank you so much for posting this! I’m new to the blogging world, and this really inspired me to continue to work on my skills. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series. 😀
Thank you! I hope you’ll find my posts useful =)
Thanks for the great advice Andrea. Looking forward to the post about food photography.
Thanks, Michelle! I hope you’ll find the posts useful. I’m still learning as I’m blogging, but I thought I’d share with everyone what I learned my first year =)
Wow! Congratulations! That is a great achievement, looking at your stats- 15,000 hits is something I cannot even imagine.
I have a few questions: Does getting your own domain or blue-host make a difference in stats? WP keeps suggesting that I get my own domain. I have heard that moving to a blue-hosted domain can be complicated based on the size and media content in the blog. Would you suggest moving earlier or later, and would you recommend blue host or something else? And is it possible to revert back to WP supported blog from a self-owned domain at a later stage?
thanks in advance!
Hi, Apsara! So a domain name is just your website url. You can either register with WordPress.com, which i think is what you’re talking about. I remember that it was always telling me to register for $18 a year or something like that. Blue Host is a website host. It’s associated with wordpress so oftentimes it’s recommended by wordpress. But there are tons of them out there. You can do the research to figure out which is the best for you. I’ll write more in a post later.
As for when you should move your site, it’s really up to you. You’ll know when you’re ready. I spent awhile debating whether I want to do it. And then all of a sudden, I decided, “I’m going to do it.” lol. I’m not sure about reverting back to WP later. Um… You’d have to check the help forums. But I think it could work by importing and exporting your files.
I know that’s a lot of info. I hope that it’ll help you get started while I write the next post that includes all this info =)
thank you so much for the detailed answer, Andrea! It’s very helpful. I will look forward to your post on this.
This post is encouraging to me as a new blogger. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
You’re welcome!
thanks for this post, Andrea. It is as if you read my mind, because I have been wondering about how to get more followers. I have not been overly consistent, but have tried to post at least once a week. Working on publishing more posts. I like the idea of twice a week.
I hope you’ll find my posts helpful =)
Congratulations Andrea! That is such an achievement in such a short time! Look forward to reading more x
Thanks, Lisa!
Congrats on your success!!!
Thank you so much, Susan!
Great advice. I’m looking forward to reading more in this series. I feel like I still have so much to learn.
There’s always so much to learn with blogging. I’m still learning so much from other bloggers! I just wanted to share with everyone what worked for me this first year. I hope you’ll find the posts useful =)
I love your blog! 🙂 Thank you for the post. I just reached my first blogging anniversary and still struggle to get followers. I was inconsistent with my posting for a long time, so your comment is very helpful. I see that I get readers, but have trouble getting people to actually sign up for/follow the blog and comment. If you have any tips there, that would be terrific! All the best to you!
Hi Racheal! I’ll go into details what I did in a post, but definitely start by visiting other people’s blogs, especially other wordpress.com users, and start liking, commenting, and just interacting. It’s the best way to meet new bloggers and to gain readers/subscribers. Hope that helps for starters!
Thank you! I’m definitely enjoying your blog. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your blogging experience. I’m looking forward to reading the other blogging tips you’ll be sharing. And congratulations on the upcoming one year blogging anniversary.
Thanks, Rachel!