A Behind the Scenes Look at Blogging

 

This post is slightly different from my usual home decor and DIY posts. I thought I’d share a little bit about what goes into running a blog. I think non-bloggers will be interested to learn just how much goes into running a blog, and bloggers will be able to relate.

You might be surprised by how much time gets invested into keeping a blog up and running. I would say most blogs are run by only one person, mine included. Many bloggers also have day jobs outside of blogging. I usually post 2-3 times a week. Each post requires first an idea, followed by planning, execution, writing and photographing. Speaking of planning, I always have project ideas running through my mind. Sometimes I feel like Lucy in “I Love Lucy” cooking up some plan to get my husband on board with a new DIY or renovation.

Anyway, once a blog post is out there, you’ll need to promote. Blogging experts say you should spend more time promoting your projects/posts than you do completing it. As a natural introvert, I struggled with that in the beginning but if we don’t promote ourselves, who will?

 

I would compare running a blog to those last few hectic weeks leading up to Christmas. There is SO much to do, and no matter how much you get done there is always more you could do to make it better. Now that I’ve been blogging for over 2 years, I have gotten better at prioritizing. Keeping a simple planner* helps me to focus on what to do next. I write my post ideas on the dates I plan to publish them in pencil. Once they are published I will fill it in pen. This way I can plan ahead, as well as look back for reference.

 

I’ve also learned I can’t be an expert at everything. Being a blogger requires you to be a writer, photographer, a social media expert, a marketer, a web designer, an analyst…and the list goes on. Many of these things you can source out for a fee, but many blogs who aren’t making tons of money do all of this themselves. It helps to try to focus on only one thing at a time, and just get a little bit better with each post. Having the right tools helps too. Up until a few weeks ago all of my blog photos were taken with my cell phone. I learned that using a lighting kit helped to improve them tremendously. This year for Christmas my husband bought me a Canon Rebel T6 camera. Now I’m working on learning to use that to its fullest potential.

 

There are so many different types of bloggers, from food bloggers to travel bloggers. I would imagine choosing a DIY/Home Decor blog is a little tougher than the rest. We need to have creative ideas and DIY projects going all of the time. That being said, I should mention that is my favorite part about blogging and why I started doing it in the first place. I had a lot of ideas and projects going on prior to blogging, so it only made sense for me to start sharing them. Actually working on the projects and room makeovers is really when I’m in my happy place.

How people react when they find out you have a blog is interesting too. I have some friends and family who read every post, and give me lots of encouragement and feedback. Which is appreciated more than they know. Others are kind of confused by the whole thing and don’t say much about it. One thing I think a lot of non-bloggers don’t understand is that pretty much every website they visit is a blog. A blog is just a website that gets updated often instead of a static page.

I’m sure many people wonder about how blogs make money. Making money from a blog is a full-time job in itself! There are many diverse ways to do that such as becoming an affiliate for a product or company, writing sponsored posts, and selling your own products. If you are on Pinterest you may have seen pins that say “How I made $30,000 in one month from my blog”. That is amazing, and I’m sure it can be done. I’m hoping to figure that out one day! However, 99% of the bloggers I know are not earning anywhere near that amount of money. I also wanted to mention sponsored posts; often times bloggers will promote a product or brand in a blog post for some form of compensation. You should know that to a blogger, our reputation is everything and I don’t know any bloggers personally that would promote something they didn’t truly believe in.

Speaking of my fellow bloggers, my friend Tara from Just Call Me Homegirl is also sharing a behind the scenes look at blogging today, be sure to check that out! Bloggers are really supportive of one another. I am amazed at the friendships  I have made online in the blogging community! Last year, I flew to a blogging conference is Georgia where I got to meet some of them in real life and it was amazing to be surrounded by people who get it and love it as much as I do!

 

I also wonder sometimes what a typical day is like for other bloggers. I think this will be as varied as the bloggers themselves and dependent on their lifestyle. Because I have a day job outside of blogging, I usually spend a lot of time on nights and weekends blogging. For example, yesterday after work I made dinner as I usually do. Once that was cleaned up and the laundry was put away I worked on a furniture build! That is a pretty typical day for me, and I love it! Overall, blogging is a pretty fun side job that I hope to make my full-time job one day.

 

Thanks for following along with my little blog! I hope it inspires you to make your home a space you love without spending a fortune to do so!

 

*This post may contain affiliate links, read my full disclosure here.