lessons learned from first year of blogging!

Somehow a year has passed! Can you imagine since I started my online blog on Instagram on 20th of March, 2018 then launched this blog on November 12th, 2018. 
Well, I can definitely say it has been a roller coaster! 
The mistakes, the choices, the lessons learned and the growth; it's all WORTH IT!
I say this with confidence. I would do it all over again. 

Anyway, I thought the best way to reflect on this year would be to talk a little about the lessons I learned and hope this will be of help to many!

Lessons learned from first year of blogging:

The past year was full of shaky moments and challenging times. It may all seem at ease online but in real life it's hectic. 

Lesson 1: There is never a good time. 
Okay so if you have been trying to figure out the best time to post this or announce that or start your own blog or find out the right path for you. This goes for blogging & real life: There is never a good time. 
How is that? Well every time you will pull yourself together to go for it something will have to happen but you should shake off that self doubt, get over yourself & just do it! I mean it. Life will always find a way to set you back. 
So give yourself a deadline, whether life is at your favor at that time or not; You will do it! 

Lesson 2: Planning is key. 
Okay so you just create content and just be spontaneous and post it right? 
No. If you want to have a life balance and get yourself together to avoid anxiety and stress (which can come very easily at any time) 
You got to set yourself up with a schedule. It's not an obsessive disorder or something; it's something you have to do to keep sane. Your key to succeed in this is to plan it (not all) ALMOST! 
Why is that? Well you are putting your heart and soul in your content whether creating or curating or figuring out what the hell you are doing. So to keep it in between and be spontaneous at times, pre-plan your content but give room to move around and have fun. I plan almost all my content ahead of time to make sure I still have a life, focus on my job, enjoy time with friends and just live. I don't want to always be in hassle or get stuck in the loop. So I plan my content most of it weekly or monthly if I can but I always give room for any creative ideas that pop into mind or any special events that take place. I also keep it flexible to bring out the best in me while sticking with it. 
PLAN PLAN PLAN AND THEN PLAN SOME MORE.

Lesson 3: Keep it real. 
The last thing you would want is to imposter someone else or copy anyone else's work. Also you might end up with 'Imposter syndrome' which is a real thing if you google it. If you aim to connect with people and build a true community then you got to be true to yourself. Being unique is an advantage for you so take that! Don't try to normalize yourself if you aren't. Stop following those trends or stereotypes. Be real and honor the person you are. I choose to bring my self with its different angles live and share that with people. No one has to accept it but I have. If i do, it will shine and others will see it too. So do yourself a favor and be true to yourself!
(If you have no idea who that is, don't make it worse by copying others. Put more effort and energy into knowing who you really are!)

Lesson 4: Community over competition.
This one is a huge deal! Never never see someone else in the same niche as you as competition. Put effort to build a community, interact without hidden intentions, show your best self but to make friends. Don't envy, don't envy, don't envy! This will only fill you up with hate and will definitely make you lose sight of why you started in the first place if you let it be like that. Choose to connect with others, genuinely. Because it does show if you're a phony or just doing it to attract their followers to be yours. So always, keep yourself in line with your intentions and why you are actually talking to that person or commenting or replying to their stories. Keep it real and the blog will build itself.


Lesson 5: It's not about the numbers!
Believe me, if you set it out to be all about the numbers; you are set up for failure! 
Yes sure the numbers are cool and are some kind of reward for your hard work that people are actually interested in your content and that calls for celebration but it's not about giveaways or collaborations to follow you and get all those ghost followers and definitely not about all those companies that buy your followers claiming organic growth because that's just BULLSHIT!
Instagram does find out autobots and if your account shows the chance of that you can get banned! So don't ever risk going for those 'organic growth' agencies and just put on the effort yourself! IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE. 
If you put the time and effort you have full control over your account and make genuine relationships with not only your followers but with the other bloggers as you. 
You are also responsible 100% for the growth of your follower base and this will help you get more on explore and reach out bigger audience. 
So no matter how convincing the number of followers they will get you is intriguing or how much you would love if you had thousands of followers, if you didn't put in the work for it then you don't deserve it and that's just shallow. 
I'm being honest here so I think it's best if you know it earlier than be the reason your blog fails. 
More likely: Focus more on those loyal followers and the rest will catch up on its own!

That's a wrap! 
My blog just turned ONE! & I can't still believe it. I hope this post gave you some insight on the world of blogging and helped you in any way. Feel free to comment below or contact me on my IG account @lameesshousha
Here's to many more years to come and many surprises along the way!

Always remember: Life starts at end of your comfort zone, so get out of it & set yourself free!