A Day in the Life of a New Blogger, Confessions
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What is a day in the life of a new blogger like? Confession, I’m calling myself a blogger these days, which leaves me wondering who am I, how did I get here and what am I doing!?
I’ve dabbled in blogging before, for fun. But this, my friends, is a totally different beast. You see, I really want to make a go at this. I am trying to create a full-time job as a full-time blogger. It’s a little weird to say that out loud, but that’s the deal.
I started to wonder if anyone might be interested in what a day in the life of a new blogger looks like. But then I thought even if you’re not interested, I just really want to write it all out-a sort of blogging journey therapy session. Because it’s a lot. A LOT. So grab a cup of coffee, or whatever, and let’s get into it!
The Blog Idea
How did it all come about? Some really exciting and new things happened in 2022-selling our house, Bob “retiring” and moving to the cabin. This has given me a whole new perspective on life. I can’t explain the happiness I feel while living at the cabin. It is a calmness…have you ever felt like you were exactly where you were meant to be? That’s how I feel. I love it here.
So here we are; young (50s are the new 30s, right?) and free (no kids at home, no day job), but we can’t retire yet, nor do we really want to. What can we do, what can we do? While thinking about our lifestyle and the unique position we found ourselves in, I was spending time online. I found myself reading about others who were living in cabins when the answer occurred to me.
I Can Do This!
My thoughts began to race. I can do this…a blog–I’ve always enjoyed writing! I can write about life in a cabin in the woods, about our adventures, share what makes Mt. Hood such a spectacular place, etc. Sharing and learning is right up my alley, and I live in a great place; I can totally do this! And then we can get a GoPro and film and have a YouTube Channel! And, and, and!
Whoa, hold up, sister! is what I should have been thinking. Anyhow, it’s too late now. I’m in it!
Going All In
So I immersed myself in blogging platforms, social media, keyword research, SEO (Search Engine Optimization for those of you who are like I was just a few short months ago), Affiliate Links, Lightroom, GoPro, YouTube (Yep, I’m really doing it!) and so much more!
The Blog Courses
The first thing I did was sign up for a course. Actually two courses; 1-Create Your Blog Dream on how to blog and 2-YouTube Success Academy on how to YouTube, both taught by a very successful blogger. I learned about niching down, identifying your target audience and developing your brand (still working on that!). Next, I decided on and purchased what I think is a good domain name (website name), Cabincore Living. Then I found a theme (basically the framework/building blocks of the page/blog at Restored316 and a Host(the space where everything on my blog lives)BigScoots is the best!
Unfortunately, I’ve never been great at tech. Usually, I can push some buttons here and there, or press restart, and eventually get where I need to go on a computer. However, that just covers the most basic of tasks. I have a pretty big deficit to overcome as I dive into full-time blogging. The courses have been a great help, in addition to their corresponding Facebook Groups.
Getting Connected
In addition to the course Facebook Groups, I started The Systematic Blogger-a List, Learn, Do Accountability Group on FB which is helping me to slow down and start to thoughtfully and methodically grow my online presence. I think one of the most important things to do when starting up a blog is to connect with other new bloggers, as well as more experienced ones. It’s kind of lonely out there sometimes and, as with anything, it helps to have friends who are experiencing and learning the same things.
Hence, as a new blogger a large portion of my work day is spent watching the courses and corresponding with other bloggers and YouTubers on Facebook. As an aside, I think it’s probably wiser to start with either blogging or Youtube and become comfortable with one before opening the next can of worms. But that’s not how I operate.
The Blog Post-SEO and Keywords
Content creation is the next big hurdle. My morning routine begins with journal writing, and I will often jot down ideas for a new blog post or two. But if you’re trying to make a full-time gig out of blogging it doesn’t just come down to new ideas and writing skills! You’ve got to consider Keywords and SEO. So that’s another portion of my day. Plugging post ideas into keyword generators. I have tried a variety of programs since I started the blog and have settled on two that work well together: Keysearch.Co and RankIQ.
Aside from trying to find ranking keywords for your article, headlines, titles, descriptions and more can influence where Google ranks your post(page 1 or 151). Who knew there is so much to think about? I’ve written some A++ posts, and I’ve written some that didn’t make a great grade. I get the need for all the SEO/Keyword stuff, but sometimes I just want to write. And that’s how this post came about. However, I do want to make an income through blogging so, like for any professional blogger, SEO/Keywords needs to be a priority!
The Photography
In addition to writing new posts on a regular basis, there is photography to consider. A whole other level of learning for me! You may find me watching Lightroom tutorials trying to learn how to edit photos or trying to figure out how to get my photos renamed, condensed, moved from here to there and uploaded at the correct size for whichever medium they are going to.
Google wants 1200×1200 pixels, IG wants 1020X1020 p, Facebook posts are 1200X628 p, etc. Did you know that? I didn’t! Another learning curve and more time on the computer trying to figure all that out!
I am taking a photography course! Pretty Focused is teaching me how to use my camera and how to take stunning photos of food. I think the lessons will help all aspects of blog photography. I am very excited to share more as I continue in the course. I learned about it through a blogging podcast. And that is another way I spend time as a new blogger. Listening to a lot of podcasts. There are a lot of people out there making a lot of money! Wow. So many ways to make a living that I never knew existed. Back to photography though.
A lot of time is spent trying to capture moments throughout the day. And then I second guess myself about one thing or another-the room is not perfectly clean, it’s a little dark, I think I look a little weird-and so I have to get over those hurdles. It’s quite time-consuming! The Pretty Focused course will alleviate the stress and cut way down on the time spent taking and editing photos. I think it will be well worth the money and time spent!
Social Media
After the blog post is written, the photos are added and I’ve gotten two green lights from Yoast (another blog rating program!) it’s time to publish! Whew, we did it. We got one done. But hold up…it is time to do some more work on the computer! It’s time to hit the socials. A day in the life of a blogger is full of social media! Pinterest, in particular.
I think I will eventually take a course on Pinterest, as well. But for now, I’m happy if I can get a pin made and pinned for each post I write. Create Your Blog Dream recommends 10 different pins per post! Once everything becomes a little bit easier, I will make that a priority.
Blogger Expectations vs. Blogger Reality Confessions
I thought a blogger’s life would be drinking coffee, jotting my thoughts down for a post, snapping a couple of photos here and there, and Boom! I’d have myself a winner. It is not exactly what I thought it would be.
So far on any given day, as you can tell, I spend a lot of time in front of the computer! This is okay, as there are several feet of snow outside and not much else to do! It has been full of early mornings, late nights and a lot of hard work. Currently, an average work day is about 8-10 hours between research, learning opportunities and working on a new blog post or a good, quality YouTube video.
Blogging Goals
Ultimately, I want Cabincore Living to be a lifestyle blog. The blog content will have space for new recipes, adventure opportunities around Mt. Hood, the beauty of the area, the changing of the seasons, things I’m learning or reading, and perhaps features on cabin rentals in the area…I’m open to suggestions if you have some.
I am in the process of creating an editorial calendar in order to schedule and coordinate posts and social media. Of course, any successful blog has to have readers! The content has to be something that people find informative and/or entertaining.
In It For The Long Haul
The more you do, the more you know. When I get frustrated with how much time and effort everything seems to take, I think to myself I only have to learn the hard stuff once. All of the above, what I’m doing right now, every single day, is the hardest part.
So where do I see myself six months or a year from now? After six months I will have developed a work schedule that makes sense for me. I will have a routine posting schedule for the blog and YouTube. The socials will be coordinated and automated so I don’t have to think about them so much.
After a year of learning and doing all the hard stuff–when it doesn’t take me a full day to write a post, or four hours to edit a few photos when I actually can upload and edit video without having to think about it for hours and search for tutorials every ten minutes…that’s when the real fun will start. I will have to revisit and create a new day in the life of a blogger post; It will be so different.
What do you think?
Not exactly how you pictured a day in the life of a blogger? I must confess, me neither! But I know I can get there.
What do you think of when you think of blogging? A jet-setting travel blogger or recipe developer and food blogger, a lifestyle blogger, beautiful homes and real-life DIY projects? There are so many different directions to go with blogging. The online space still offers a great opportunity to create a side hustle and be your own boss.
I am excited to be on this journey and I would love to encourage anyone who is interested in giving blogging a try. The best part is that there are a lot of options to get started blogging and it doesn’t have to cost much money. For instance, Blogger is a free blogging platform. If you’ve been thinking about starting a blog or have one you’ve stalled out on, jump in! Blogging is a low-risk, high-reward opportunity.
Please let me know if you have any questions. I will be creating a blogging resource page full of the specific courses I take etc. Learning and sharing with people are two of my favorite things, so drop a comment below if you’d like to know anything else about a day in the life of a blogger.
If you enjoy this type of content and would like to learn more about anything I’ve written, please let me know in the comments.
Pin for later…
Thanks for reading-
