Blogging Wisdom: What I Have Learned

No one else in the world knows or cares about the significance of this date, 4/12/12, but it has been exactly 6 months since I started blogging.  Hands down, the best possible thing I could have done in my life at that point.  God knew what He was going when He pushed me to type away that first day, exactly one month to the day after my grandmother’s death, 3 days after my sister’s wedding (I was so ticked at her that she was on her honeymoon and couldn’t edit my post for me), not-yet 3 mo. after my baby girl was born, 16 days before my 2 yr. old son would be put in a body cast and incapable of walking for 3 mo. and 4 mo. before my mother would die.  Some people think I’m crazy and don’t understand how I keep up with it.  I don’t understand how I could NOT keep up with it.  I love my blog, I love how it makes me LOL and just accept life for what it is.  I definitely went into all this completely blind, however, and have learned A TON.  All of what I’m going to recap is stuff that any blogger has read a million times over on blogging-tip posts world-wide, but now I’m just saying it in my own words:

1. You blog for yourself, not other people.  Some days no one will hit your blog and you will think it’s the funniest post in the world.  Step back, review your goal: have an outlet for my feelings and make myself laugh.  Accomplished?  Done.

2. The blogging world is a scary world.  You can get lost in it, easily…Best advice I ever got: time spent on a blog is sacrifice.  Figure out how much you can give, give it and be done.  For example, I wish I had time and understood Linky, StumbleUpon, all the top blog networks, etc., but I don’t.  I only have time to write my posts and check in on my other favorite blogs and that’s enough, for now.  Maybe someday, when I don’t have young kids and have less of my day dedicated to changing poop, I will get on board…but then I guess I’ll have less material for a blog about mommy-ing young kids, huh??

3. Remember who your audience is.  Mine is parents of young kids and empathizers there of.  I have a bajillion brilliant thoughts on money-saving tips, the political climate and holistic life maintenance, but this is not my blog.  I can incorporate elements of these interests in my posts, but they cannot be my posts.  When there is too much going on, it’s time to start a new blog, honey.

4. Pull from your life and be real. When you start to write about stupid stuff that you don’t really care about, your readers can tell–moreover, you can tell.  I know I am “blessed” b/c my life is so ridiculously chock full of stuff right now, good and bad, so I have yet to run dry of post-material.  I’m sure I will one day, but I can promise you I will never go fake.  My philosophy: life is hard enough as it is without a bunch of made-up BS.  Tell it like it is and maybe make another parent feel a little more normal in the process.

5. We all need to watch more Gilmore Girls in this life.  Not sure what this has 

Blog on, my friends.  Enjoy it, love it and love yourself.  This life is far too short for anything else 🙂