When I started my blog, I had no idea what I was doing, and wasn’t even sure if I was going to do it long-term. I was not a strong writer when I launched, and didn’t think people other than family would find interest in my blog, which could not have been more wrong. I have not been blogging on this specific site for very long, but I have been blogging on some platform consistently for seven years, and I have learned a lot through the years of being a blogger. My blog has taught me so much about myself and other disabilities that I would not have learned without my blog, which has helped me be more understanding of medical conditions. When you start a blog, it is a huge learning curve because there is so much to building a successful blog, and despite what most people believe, there is more to it than writing blog posts. As a blogger, I have made a lot of mistakes that I am not proud of, like most of us have, but throughout the years of blogging, I think my blog has evolved, and my writing has improved from the time I launched. What lessons have I learned through seven years of blogging? In this post, I am sharing a few lessons I have learned through years of blogging consistently.
Do not take blogging advice from non-bloggers- As a blogger, one of the things I have learned is not take blogging advice from non-bloggers because people who don’t run a blog have no idea what they are talking about and often give bad advice without trying. People sometimes try to be helpful and may think they are giving solid advice, but most of the time, it’s not good advice. If you are struggling with growing your blog, ask a more experienced blogger for tips, and don’t turn to people in your family who have never blogged a day in their life, because non-bloggers don’t know what it takes to grow online. I have had non-bloggers tell me that if I blogged less, I would get more views, which is horrible advice because blogs thrive on content, and the more you create, the more views your blog will get. People who aren’t bloggers mean well and probably think they are giving good advice, but personally, I think you are better off asking someone in the community for blogging advice who is actually doing it.
Try not to take troll comments personally– When you put content out online there is always the possibility of someone hating your content and making you feel bad about it when there is nothing wrong with it. As a blogger, I am fortunate that most people in my community are kind and aren’t unnecessarily rude and I have been blogging long enough that I am no longer affected by troll comments. When I started troll comments sometimes made me cry because some people can be really mean, and it takes a while to build a thick skin. If there is one thing that I think every new blogger should know, it’s that you can’t control what people comment, but you can control how you react to it. There are going to be times when a troll comment affects you a little more, but if you want to enjoy blogging, you can’t take every troll comment personally. Most of the time, trolls are saying things that are completely ridiculous with the hopes of getting you to quit, which they will successfully do if you take every comment personally. Try not to take troll comments personally because you will be a happier blogger, and people will bother you less when you don’t react to negativity. The only time I may take a troll comment personally is if it was from a friend or family member, but if it’s a total stranger being rude, I am just going to block you.
Don’t strive for perfection- Some of the most critical people of your blog aren’t any of your readers, but it’s yourself, because most bloggers are perfectionists. When I first started my blog, I was a bit of a perfectionist, and I spent more time editing posts after they had been published than I did writing them. I wanted my grammar to be perfect because I thought people would judge if there were mistakes, and I was overthinking things. I am still somewhat of a perfectionist, and I think I always will be, but I have gotten better at letting go of perfectionism because I know I am never going to have perfect grammar, and that is okay. There is no such thing as the perfect blog because you can always improve your writing, and sometimes you just have to write and be satisfied with your work because not every blog post is going to be your best one, and that is okay. You can always go back and edit older posts as your writing improves, but you will never post anything if you try to make everything perfect.
Have fun- Content creation is a lot of work and sometimes we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to get a certain amount of posts out and make a lot of money. There is nothing wrong with wanting to make money with your blog because you need some kind of income to survive but you shouldn’t become so serious with your blog that it’s not enjoyable. There are some parts of blogging that you have to do that aren’t going to be fun but for the most part, you should be having fun and if you are not, it could be a sign you are taking blogging too seriously and should be doing something else. If you want to make money from your blog you do have to work a lot, but you also should be having fun because if you are bored with your content it shows in your writing.
Know your worth- If you don’t know your worth as a blogger, brands will take advantage of you and will try to get you to promote their business without compensation. Brands often will offer you a lower salary than what you are worth and it’s okay to say no or ask for a higher salary because you don’t want to sound desperate as a blogger and make brands think you will take anything. Know your worth and never be afraid to say no to an opportunity and sometimes it’s better to pass up on an opportunity because a better one may come along. It can sometimes feel weird to have to tell a brand that you are worth more than they are offering, but you have to remember how much time it takes to create one blog post. Some people don’t understand the work that goes into your blog and will take advantage of you if you let them, especially if you are a disabled creator.
Don’t steal content from others- When you are a content creator, one of the most frustrating things that a lot of content creators have experienced at one time or another is people copying and pasting your content on their blog and taking credit for something that isn’t theirs. If you get an idea for another creator, it’s not hard to tag the original creator and give them credit because no one is going to be okay with their content being plagiarized. Don’t be lazy and steal content from other creators because your peers can help grow your blog, but no one is going to want to be your friend if you anger other creators by filling your blog with plagiarized content. It is okay to use a similar idea to another creator because it’s hard to come up with things that have never been done, but you should change it in a significant way and make it your own. There is nothing you can do to completely prevent plagiarizers, but you can call them out and not be one of those people.
Make your content accessible- If you want to reach as many people as possible your content has to be accessible to disabled people because if it’s not accessible, some disabled people will not be able to understand what your blog is about. There are a lot of ways you can make your content more accessible, and it can be as easy as providing image descriptions on your photos and making audio versions of your posts to support the blind and deaf community. Your blog will get more views when it’s accessible because you never know how many disabled people come across your site and leave due to the lack of accessibility, and there are probably more disabled people than you think.
My blog has taught me things about myself that I normally wouldn’t have thought about and has given me opportunities I would not have had without my blog. It takes time to build a successful blog, and you will probably make a lot of mistakes along the way because I know I sure have but it’s through these experiences that we grow and improve. I have been blogging for seven years, but I would not consider myself a blogging expert because I don’t make a lot of money from my blog and don’t work as much as I need to in order to build a successful career. You are always learning as a blogger because you can’t possibly know everything, and it’s okay if you have to ask someone for help on something simple, because we were all once beginners. We all start somewhere and your first post is not going to be your best one, but you will see your blog evolve as you write more. What lessons have you learned from blogging? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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My Rockin Disabled Life 
Excellent tips!
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