My Biggest Blogging Mistake (so far)

   

   Before the launch of my blog and for about the first year I would spend hours and hours pouring over blog posts, Youtube videos, magazine articles, etc. that all pertained to growing your blog or overall internet presence. Now, this wasn't me wanting to be famous (definitely not cut out for that!), but I knew I wanted to be noticed and somehow make a difference. What I mean by noticed was that I wanted to have a following of engaged readers that liked the content I was putting out. I'm really passionate about what I write about! As a result of this, I wanted to people to read and enjoy it.
       My desire for people to consume the content I was putting out on to several different social platforms started to distract me a little bit. I stopped posting as much as I was before because my time was being spent doing this "research." I got so caught up in what other people were doing that it made me really self-conscious to post something. Very quickly a day or two turned into a week or two, there would be one post, and then the same thing all over again. Of course, no one saw this "research" I was merely just not present. The cold hard truth of not being present in this day and age is that you'll just be left behind.
       One of my biggest fears of making a blog was that it was just simply too late. There were already so many other bloggers out, there talking about hundreds of topics. Why would anyone care about what I had to say? I was wrong in a sense because everyone has slightly different views and things to add. One thing I was right about is that there are so many other bloggers. So if you stop being consistent your readers will begin to look to other bloggers.
       My numbers began to drop every single day. Before I knew it I had lost hundreds of followers. In return, I did more research. This was just extremely useless when I had all the answers I needed just by looking at the numbers on my Google analytics and Instagram. People, numbers do not lie! My followers like when I'm consistent, I like when people are consistent. It all adds up!
       Moral of the story is just that my #1 blogging tip is consistency. It seems so simple when I type it out when it's really not. I have multiple jobs, a social life, and school that I also need to balance. I'm not using this as an excuse, I just know that many of you are in the same boat. Perfecting the balance is most difficult at times I have finals, travel, and so on...
       The only thing I have really found to combat stress during these busy times is planning ahead. I don't write any blog posts or take Instagram pictures during a time like finals weeks. I do still post though! Everything is pre-planned out. It's not as much work as sounds, it all just comes down to knowing what busy times are approaching.
       I think we could all use a step back from everything and a deep breath every once in a while. Having a perfect posting schedule, perfect sleeping schedule, and perfect social life is not always possible. I've been really anxious this week for no particular reason other than just feeling the weight of so many things on my shoulders. I had to remind myself of all this today so I thought it would be nice to share with all of you as well. Post what makes you happy and the rest will fall into place.