If you are just joining my story, read Part 1 first.
I left you in Part 1 at the beginning of 2008, when I set up my own home business of decorating and blogging. I had hoped to launch my decorating business and get in person consultations as well as online business.
I did get a few jobs that year, some in person and some online, but I wasn’t burning it up with my new business venture. I worked with a local designer in Birmingham on a few jobs and enjoyed learning from her. She stayed busy and hired me to help her on a few jobs that year and it was a lot of fun. And I had about 3 redesigns of my own in the area during that time and it felt good to help some other women pull their rooms together. I enjoy that creative process and seeing the Before and After results was exciting.
Here’s another little sidenote about deciding what to blog about. From the very beginning, I knew I would share DIY home projects and decorating ideas, that is what I’m passionate and excited about. But since that is not all my life entails, sharing other topics seemed to be the best way to pull it all together, so recipes, thrifting, gardening, travel, and family were added to the mix too. Talking about decorating every single day would be too much for me and thankfully, all my readers seem to like the mix!
So, I kept blogging and sharing all the projects I was doing in my house at the time. Around March of 2008, I found out about a blog ad network that I had seen on other blogs, BlogHer. I checked them out and applied to get into the network. I figured I wouldn’t mind having their ads on my blog just to see what would happen.
There was a lot of discussion back then among bloggers about advertising. To advertise or not to advertise, that was the question? I had no problem with it. I figured if someone works hard on a blog, then what is wrong with getting some money from that. Blogging takes a lot of work to keep up with it all, so why not enjoy some perks from it?
I wish I had kept a record of my blog stats back then too. When I set up my free blogger blog, I added Sitemeter to it and it was free, but it only keeps records for one year at a time. So, that is how I knew how many people came by my blog. I’d say that first year, I grew to about 25,000 visits a month and that was about where I was when I joined BlogHer ad network. The first year’s growth was slow and steady. Not a big explosion, but I kept growing and attracting more readers by the time 2008 rolled around.
I didn’t install Google Analytics until I moved to WordPress in July of 2009, so I’ll get to that later. To me, it’s the best tool for tracking your blog stats and will tell you so much information if you get in there and look.
My first check with BlogHer was $84.00, certainly nothing to write home about, but I was giddy with excitement over making a few dollars from my blog. I will say too, that I’ve been completely happy with my association with BlogHer and can’t say enough about how they have treated me well and given me opportunities along the way. I’ll talk more about them later on too, when I break down the business side a little more.
Along with my decorating income, making a few hundred dollars here and there, it was a small part-time job. I made $3,000 in 2008, not much, but it was a start. I still wasn’t sure where it was all going, but I kept doing what I loved to do and that was sharing my decorating and DIY passion with my blog readers.
In September of 2009, I shared my Top 10 Tips for New Bloggers and that post is still a good one to read if you are brand new to blogging and want to learn a few things to help you get started. I didn’t have a lot of help when I got started and I like to pass it on, so hopefully my story and these tips will help you out. So go back and read that post too, it’s got some good solid info on starting a blog.
So, back to 2008. Married at the time, I considered my blog and the decorating just a part-time venture and wasn’t really trying to grow it huge. I was fine with making some extra money for the household and doing what I could to work from home. I hoped that it would grow, but didn’t have a lot of goals in mind for helping it along.
2008 rocked along with sharing projects, recipes, life, most anything that I figured would be interesting enough to recap on the blog. I really fell in love with blogging and it became such a part of my life into that year.
Let me make a stop here and do a little recap on my views of blogging and how the process worked for me. These 5 bullet points are my thoughts and ideas on how blogging works:
- First and foremost, be yourself! If there is anything I could stress the most, it is this one. I have many blog friends that I look up to and admire. They do a fabulous job with their blogs. I’m not going to try to name them all, they are numerous and all unique. I can look at all of them, their style of writing and how they present themselves on their blogs and wish that I was more like each of them. They do wonderful projects, take beautiful pictures,and show it all off on their blogs with such impact. There is always going to be another blogger out there who just does it all better than I do, from creating projects, to taking pics, to writing eloquently, all of it! How can we compete with all the fabulousness that is going on at any given time in the blogosphere. The simple answer is this: We can’t. I can’t! You can’t! But, what we can do and be is OURSELVES. We all have unique talents and skills to share and that is what makes the blogworld so multi-faceted and fun to hang out in. I’ll admit that I have sometimes struggled over the years of blogging with wanting to be more and wishing I was more like so-and-so or had her talent and expertise. Fill in the blank with your favorite rock-star blogger. Sound familiar? I have finally realized that my blog is a representation of me, my unique abilities and skills and that is why all of my readers come back day after day, week after week, year after year. I am no better than you or anyone else, but somehow I’ve presented myself on my blog in a real and open way and I do believe that is why my audience has grown as much as it has. I am not the biggest or the best blog on the block. Never will be. But, I’m so very grateful that God has allowed mine to grow to where it is now and allowed me to share from my heart, the good and the bad. If you are passionate about what you are blogging about, I truly believe that will come through to your readers and they will love YOU for YOU and what you are sharing. They will come by to see what you are up to and it will become part of their lives.
- Don’t ever start a blog with the idea that you are going to make it BIG and make a lot of money. Chances are you will not. The bigger blogs who are making a living from their blogs have most likely been at it for several years and it simply takes much time, energy and a lot of hard work to turn a blog into a business. It has taken me 5 years to get to where I am at the moment. Yes, I’m very happy I started when I did, there were not nearly as many blogs out there and that alone helped my growing process in the beginning. There are a lot more opportunities out there now, than there were in 2007 when I started and yes, lots more companies are working with bloggers, so that is the good news. There is room for all, but you have to find your way. The best thing that has happened is that large and small companies are realizing the power of social media and how much influence that bloggers have online and that has opened many more doors for all of us who do this blogging thing. I’ll talk more about advertising in another post, but I do want to stress that I see too many new bloggers trying to advertise in the first few months of blogging and in my opinion, that is way too fast. Time is needed to build up quality content and to find your rhythm and blog voice, so don’t rush the process. In fact, it can’t be rushed! Very few bloggers will become superstars in the first year of blogging.
- You have to find your own group of friends in blogging to connect with. Those first couple of years, I didn’t have a group of blog friends like I do now to bounce ideas off, share with, connect and learn from. That has been a growing process to make real life friendships out of blogging. Those girls who want to see you succeed and do what they can to help and vice versa. We look out for each other and share ideas along the way, all in the spirit of friendship and helping each other grow. If one succeeds, then that will only help everyone who is blogging and trying to make it a business succeed. I hope that by passing along my experiences with blogging, it will help YOU with your journey too. Back then, it wasn’t as easy to connect with others in my niche, but that has changed and grown too. Now there are so many in the home decor/DIY/thrifting niche. I am so grateful for my group of blog friends, many of whom are on the Haven Conference 2012 team with me.
- It is hard when you start blogging not to feel competitive with others in your niche. You will not be best friends and connect with everyone in your niche. It’s sort of like high school or college in that regard. You probably only had a short list of friends who you really connected with and felt close to. It really took me a good 2-3 years to feel that I had a group of other women around me who I trusted and considered in real life friends. As hard as it is to admit, that competitiveness is there. You look at other blogs and wonder why they are bigger than you are. You see others grow and take off at a rapid rate and wonder why that didn’t happen to you? I wish I could say that there is not a competitive spirit or envy and jealousy in blogworld, but that simply would not be true! It happens to all of us. I’ve experienced my share of envy and feeling left out and like I didn’t belong with a certain group. I’m sure others feel that way about me and my friends sometimes too. (see point 2!) Blogging can feel so cliquish at times! But, one of the best things I’ve done is form friendships with other bloggers and that most of all, has helped me to grow in blogging. We support each other and truly want the other to succeed. I always want to be the blogger who will stop and help other newer bloggers with questions they may have and I have always made it a point to do that.
- It takes so much more hard work than most people realize to write and maintain a good blog. Some may think that blogging could be an easy way to work at home and make money. It certainly can work and has worked for many of us, but on the other hand, it’s not always apparent how much hard work goes into maintaining a blog and doing it well. From writing blog posts, to taking pics and editing them, to coming up with fun and interesting content to share on a weekly basis, it all takes lots of time and energy. Now, the big perk to that is that I work at home now and love it. I don’t have to run out the door in the a.m. heading to a corporate job. I love that! Working for myself has become the most fulfilling job I’ve ever had. I am still writing what I’m passionate about and it is working for me. I’m so thankful that so many people stop by to see what I’ve written or what I’m doing on any given day. I’m grateful every single day that I have my own business and can run it the way I want. Blogging has opened that door for me and I have to pinch myself every single day.
So, those 5 things in a nutshell are some of the most important ideas I’ve learned in my years of blogging. I didn’t learn them all the first or second year, but it has been an accumulation of knowledge that I’ve gained and I’m hoping that some of this will strike a chord with many of you and help you in your own journey as well.
By the end of 2008, I had made many great friend connections on line, but 2009 would introduce me to my first blogging conference, where I would meet many of those women in person, who I connected with early on. 2009 was another big year of growth and learning, so I’ll end here and begin Part 3 with year 3 of my blogging journey.
I really hope you’re enjoying my journey so far! Lots more to come. I decided to make these posts pretty detailed and just let all my thoughts out at once and hope that it is beneficial to many of you.
Continue Reading Part 3.
Barbara aka Pink Overalls says
Rhoda — What I notice about your blogging is that topics that might appear boring, irrelevant or boastful coming from someone else (your Grandma’s sewing, your Dad’s garden, a trip to California or Florida, a reunion, a contest you won), come off as fascinating when they come from you. I attribute this to the bond you have built with us readers, one built on honesty and mutual respect. Your kind heart and spirit always shows through, and that is a rarity in the world today.
Looking forward to more Rhoda in 2012. Thank you for the example you set for the rest of us.
Rhoda says
oh, Barbara, thank you for saying that! I do have amazing readers too. could not ask for more support & care from all of you!
Terri says
Thank you Rhoda for sharing … I so want to start a blog but have not had the nerve… so to speak… yet!! :)….. I love checking in on so many of you in blog land and have picked up sooooooo many good ideas!!!! I really feel like I know some of you …. LOL!!! Thanks again!!!
ColleenwithMurals&More says
Rhoda, this is so wonderful. You are eloquent, yet articulate. I wish I had read this 2 years ago when I started – would’ve saved me a LOT of frustration. But now I believe that being frustrated, feeling left out, etc., etc., is all part of becoming a good blogger. You have to WANT to be good and then search for what makes YOU a good blogger. Certainly what works for one does not work for others, imho.
It’s so true, our online blogging friends (of which I consider you one) become hugely important. On Christmas Eve at a friend’s party, he asked me if I needed to get on the computer because I looked like I was having withdrawals, heehee. He was right! But I resisted until I got home =).
I feel truly blessed that I have gotten to know you this year. Our stories are slightly similar, yet different. Another great thing about blogging, finding others of same heart and experience.
Bless you, Rhoda, for having the courage to share and for encouraging all of us. ♥
domestiCate says
Rhoda, I am so grateful for your honesty and openness! I’ve just started blogging myself, and your advice is beyond helpful. I am so looking forward to Haven and connecting in person with other bloggers. If there are any other Haven attendees out there who want to connect, I’m here!
Cate
carol@houseandhomedefined says
Hi Rhoda, Thank you for your very generous sharing. Blogging is NOT easy, and thanks for hitting on so many emotions that come with it! I started mine as sort of a living portfolio for my clients, something to refer them to as a way to get to know me quickly and see my work. I would love for it to grow, and I have my goals, but the reality of the time commitment is something I have to keep in check. I’ll never forget as a new blogger you wrote a note to me introducing yourself, which you had already done once before. I wrote back to say we’d already met, meaning to make light of it. Little did I know at that time how hard it is to keep it all straight! I had no idea how many people you or other bloggers in general reply to, and how hard it is to keep up with it myself! Your generous spirit of sharing is definitely what keeps you growing. I admire your success. And I wish for you all blessed things in 2012. Looking forward to the next install of your story…
ritajoy says
Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your blog story with us! I’m a relatively new (about a year) blogger, and I learn so much from those of you who’ve been doing this for a long time… 5 years…congratulations! I’m looking forward to hearing the rest of your story. Many blessings to you…
Arlene @At Home with the Grimms says
I am enjoying your blogging story…I can identify with your thoughts about blog envy. I have had some of the same feelings but then I have to remember why I started blogging in the first place…just for the fun of it and to keep in touch with family and friends. Thanks for encouraging bloggers to just be themselves!! I am finding that most of my blog friends are ladies like me who love their homes and sharing everyday life. I do have to say that I have learned alot from your blog. I have enjoyed all your projects and I have “copied” a few of them. In fact, the color I picked for my laundry room is the same color you used in your Bham office area. Keep up the good job Rhoda…I look forward to clicking on Southern Hospitality every day.
Sita says
I am really enjoying reading about your blogging journey. I appreciate your honesty and candor about the things you have experienced along the way. I also love that you want to be the person that new bloggers can look to for advice and support. As a new blogger myself, I have “met” so many lovely bloggers who have extended me support and kindness, while others have not. It has made me realize that as my blog grows (hopefully), that I want to be one of those that is a supporter and cheerleader of the new guy on the block! Thanks Rhoda! I enjoy your blog so much!
Jenny says
Thank you so much for being so candid and honest. It’s always inspiring to me to read established bloggers thoughts on the whole process. Love your blog!
Carrie - The Corson Cottage says
Thanks so much for sharing your journey & insight Rhoda! I love reading posts like this from bloggers I look up to. Best of luck in 2012 in life & your blogging journey!
Julie@gosimplysavvy says
Rhoda,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story, advise and tips. I enjoyed this as well as looking back on your previous blog sharing posts. Lots of notes taken!
Warm regards,
Julie
Summer @ Made by Munchie's Mama says
Hey there, I am a new reader and a new blogger. I am really enjoying reading your blog story and soaking up all these great tips you are sharing. So glad I stumbled upon you!
Sharon in Chicago says
Rhoda — as always: interesting, informative, insightful, and inspiring!
Pam says
Dear Rhoda, t
Thanks for sharing from your heart. There is much we can learn from your experience. I have been blogging since the summer of 2008 and am now considering some big changes. This series is just what I needed at this time. Your blog was one of the first I read faithfully and looked forward to each post. Thanks so much, Pam
Linda @ It All Started with Paint says
Oh yes, keep them coming. The more details the better. I’m new and spent months researching before launching and in the end still have so much to learn! It’s a ‘you can’t possibly know what’s in store until you’re in the mix.’
And yes, there are so many of us newbies that I’m worried the niche has become over-saturated. But for me, it’s the best non-paying job in the world! I’ve finally found a way to combine my passion for creating with my passion for writing …
Looking forward to year 3 and thanks for sharing your experiences and insights!
Lee says
As a new blogger (only starting in May this year), I am finding your posts fascinating. I agree entirely about not adding advertisers straight away and its pointless unless you have the traffic. I absolutely love what I am doing, it started with my art and has gone way beyond and is a eclectic mix of what I love most in life. I am growing very slowly but excited to see my visitors increasing.
My family wonder why I take so long over a post, how can you spend all those hours on a short article my son said. Only bloggers know the amount of research and effort that goes into that “one little post”…for me hours and hours.
Thank you Rhoda for sharing, I am learning a lot and keenly look forward to the next update.
Lee
JaneB says
Hi Rhoda, this is really interesting, and sparks an interest that i would love to maybe take up the challenge with. However, u did say you were quite savvy computer wise. Do you think a technically challenged gal could master the blog world and all the technical stuff about affliliates and all that jazz?
Jane B
Rhoda says
Hi, JAne, I have always been pretty computer saavy, as far as how to operate programs and all, but the technical side, when something goes wrong or breaks, That stumps me! But, if you start a free blog on Blogger that is the easiest blog platform to learn and they really walk you through things. If you know the basics, I am sure you could learn Blogger. I started on Blogger & stayed there for 2 1/2 years, moving to WordPress in 2009. There is a lot to learn with html and how to do things, but you can do it!
Pam says
I’m so glad you are doing this series. I read your Top 10 Tips For New Bloggers the first week I started blogging and keep coming back to it occasionally. I’ll look forward to the next installment of this series.
Brenda Kula-Pruitt says
I’m really enjoying this series, Rhoda! Lots of good info.
Brenda
Eva says
Rhoda
Thank you for sharing yourself as well as your ideas, humor and tenacity. What a gal!