Blogtober 2014 {10 Things I'd Tell Myself When I Started Blogging}

I had moved to away from family and was newly married just over 3 years ago.  I wanted to document my journey as a new wife and keep my family posted on what was new.  I don't scrap book, but I love to save memories, so with that, Mason Jars and Peanut Butter began.

I'm no where close to an expert, I'd still consider myself new to blogging, but there are a few things I'd tell myself then that I know now.

From one rookie to another...

1.  Blogging is actually a lot of work...every post will take a lot longer to put together than you think.
2.  Blogging day-to-day is sort of stressful and not motivating - try thinking of prompts ahead of time and writing a schedule - those weeks will be your best blogging weeks!
3.  People can tell you use your iPhone to take your photos - start saving for a nice camera ASAP.
4.  Bloggers use a lot of weird terms like SEOs and HTML codes, it's very confusing.
5.  You should probably look into Word Press.  Blogger is easier, but eventually, it seems like every blogger switches to Word Press, so you might as well just start with it.
6.  Find your niche.  Blogs are hard to follow when there isn't a purpose - seek to find yours.
7.  Don't ever compare your process to someone else's.  It takes a long time to figure out your space in this strange blogland and some people have just been at it longer.
8.  Read other blogs daily!  It's amazing what you'll learn just from reading other posts and seeing other blogs daily.
9.  You don't always have to follow blog "rules," but some of them you must follow (like, don't ever center your text...PLEASE.)
10.  Be positive as much as you can and always be real.  Sometimes it's hard to do both, but no one benefits from constant complaining.  People want to see real, but they also need to be encouraged.

Don't stop.  Give yourself grace when you don't have time, but get back at it.

This blogland is weird and strange and non-bloggers definitely don't "get it," but it's really great for those of us here doing it.  So, to myself 3 years ago:  Keep at it.  It's worth it.

See all prompts here.