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  • Main
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  • Contact Me
Chic Stylings
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  • Life & Style
  • House & Home
  • Experiences
  • Partners
  • About Sandy
  • Contact Me
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Blogging First Year Reflections

· Instagram Do's and Don'ts ·

February 9, 2018 30 Comments
blogging first year reflection

It’s been ONE whole year since I started blogging!  So to embrace this milestone I want to share with you my personal thoughts, and experiences about the blogging world on Instagram this past year. When I look back it’s been an awesome and rewarding journey so far but not without a whirlwind of learning and do’s and don’ts.

As most of you know, Instagram can have a mind of it’s own and it’s forever-changing algorithm is a mystery to most to say the least.  Instagram can certainly be challenging and frustrating so I found it best (although by no means easy) to try and stop worrying about the things I could not control like the algorithm, and instead focus on the areas I could control.

Quality Photos

dyi quality photos

My photographer is mostly Me, my IPhone 8 plus, and my Tripod. Taking quality photos doesn’t mean you need to be, know, or hire a professional photographer.

I knew nothing about photography when I started blogging.  I don’t even own a basic point and shoot camera.  Taking quality photos was and still is a DIY experience and was the biggest trial & error stage of the game for me.  It may seem intimidating at first, but invest in practice and it will come to you before you know it.  The most valuable thing I learned is that more important than what I am wearing or the products in the photos is how good the photo quality needs to be.  For example no amount of editing or filters can fix a photo that is taken in bad lighting.  I can’t help but cringe when I look back at the quality of some of my first few photos – but hey, trial and error right?

Time Management

time management blogging instagram

If you’re like me you are not blogging full-time.  I juggle blogging with being a mommy and having another job by day.  My struggle is losing track of time while blogging. I get into this “zone” of focus and it is so hard for my mind to break-free in order to tend to my other responsibilities. This became a big problem for me so I needed to put a structure in place and make a schedule.

Once I budgeted and allocated certain time slots throughout the day/week for blogging it become much more manageable.  Most of my blogging work is done on the weekends – from photoshoots and editing photos to planning my grid, captions and hashtags.  By Sunday night, I aim to have my posts for the whole upcoming week all ready to go so I don’t need to worry about it while I’m at work during the day and when I want and need to tend to the rest of my life at night.

Engage from the Heart

engage good heart kind honest real instagram

I can’t emphasize this point enough. Engaging is NOT about the clicks to like and comment a few words on a post. It is about being genuine, honest, caring and truly passionate about other people.  You may wonder how this is possible in the world of social media where people can hide behind a few nice photos, likes and words pretending to be nice to others only to get something out of doing so.

If your heart is in the right place, people will notice. If it is not, people may not notice initially but they will eventually. More often than not people are feeling empty, used and alone in the social media world – starving and craving authentic relationships with genuinely good-hearted people.   So take the time to be in honest community with others on Instagram and/or in your world of influence.  Engaging from the heart and building relationships has truly been the best part of my Instagram and blogging journey thus far!

Be Inspired – Don’t Compare

blogging authentic honest

This is probably the biggest challenge about being a blogger on Instagram.  There are so many of us out there each with absolutely amazing content and style!  So amazing in fact that it’s difficult not to notice and that is where the problem lies.

There’s a fine line between feeling inspired and feeling the pressure to look like, do or say what others are doing. When scrolling through your feed do you feel positive or negative?  Are you inspired or discouraged? Are you complimentary or envious, suspicious or judgemental?  Is your mind saying, “wow, thats amazing she’s so inspiring, I’m so happy for her, she’s doing so well good for her”, or “I wish I looked like her, she’s so lucky, my work will never be that good, how did she get so many followers or sponsors, are her followers even real?”.  Don’t get me wrong, we should always strive to make improvements by learning from each other.  Where it becomes unhealthy and eventually toxic is when the comparisons result in negativity, deflation, judgement and ultimately a distorted view and insecurity about our own work.

I’ve seen bloggers completely change their entire branding and ultimately who they really are. I also know a few who fell into the depths of depression and/or gave up blogging entirely because of all the self doubt and pressures resulting from constant comparisons. Don’t devalue your own amazing work. Your work is awesome and unique to you, and the work of others is not better, just different and unique to them!  You will never be content or happy if you are constantly comparing yourself to others because your mind will always tell you there will be someone better. Again, be YOU, be true to yourself. Being authentic and genuine is the best recipe to success and happiness in the long run!

flowers blogger be yourself authentic

So there you have it – some first year blogging food for thought. Focus on the things you can control. Invest the time in taking quality photos. Organize and create a schedule to manage your time. Be in community and engage from your heart. And most importantly, don’t compare yourself to what other’s are doing but rather focus on being authentic and being your amazing self!

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30 Comments

  1. Reply

    Amanda

    February 9, 2018

    Love these tips! I’m a new blogger as well, and I’m glad I’m not the only one who struggles with comparisons…Have a great weekend!

    Amanda

    • Reply

      Sandy

      February 17, 2018

      It’s in our human nature to compare! But it can become a debilitating if we do it too much !

  2. Reply

    Emily Fata, www.EmulatingEmily.com

    February 9, 2018

    Congratulations on your first year blogging! You’ve put together amazing content and I love reading your posts!

    • Reply

      Sandy

      February 17, 2018

      Aww thanks so much Emily!

  3. Reply

    courtney byers

    February 9, 2018

    AHh this is amazing! Congrats on your first year. I just celebrated mine. These tips are amazing and I will have to try them. Keep up the fabulous content.

    • Reply

      Sandy

      February 17, 2018

      Thanks and congratulations on your first year too Courtney!

  4. Reply

    Emma @ theweekendabroad.com

    February 9, 2018

    I just really got back into blogging over the past year as well and agree with a lot of what you’ve learned! Congrats on making it to one year by the way! 🙂 Quality and persistence are definitely so key. I’ve been finding myself comparing as well, and it’s like a muscle we have to train not to 😛

    • Reply

      Sandy

      February 17, 2018

      Glad you are back at it, Emma! Yes, it’s so hard not to compare!

  5. Reply

    Yalda from Tri Us On

    February 9, 2018

    Sandy,
    I loved this post! Just like you said, it’s about being genuine and your posts exude that!

    I loved your tips, and it’s so true as new bloggers it’s easy to get trapped in the comparison game. My sisters and I are so new sometimes it feels like you need to conform to be accepted, but even recently when we changed the look of our page we said to hell with that! We are going to make it look the way we want, and if people like it then great, if not ah well, we’re still having fun!

    Can’t wait to see all the cool posts and stories to come from you!!!

    Hugs

    • Reply

      Sandy

      February 10, 2018

      Hi Yalda! Thank you so much for reading my post and I’m glad you enjoyed it. Blogging is hard work but worth it if you can have fun and be yourself too! You and your sisters are beautiful from the inside out and I really enjoy your content too – can’t wait to see more from Tri Us On!

  6. Reply

    Tim

    February 10, 2018

    This is a great post Sandy! Keep up the fantastic work, and thank you for your advice the other day!

    • Reply

      Sandy

      February 10, 2018

      Aww thanks so much Tim! I always appreciate your support, feedback and our lovely our chats!

  7. Reply

    Dee Jackson

    February 10, 2018

    Congratulations on your first anniversary. These are all great reflections and I stand by alot of them.

    • Reply

      Sandy

      February 17, 2018

      Thank you so much, Dee! I’m glad you agree!

  8. Reply

    maritza

    February 11, 2018

    i have been blogging for a few years now but just recently got more serious about it over the past year. These are some tips that I learned along the way as well.

  9. Reply

    Melanie

    February 12, 2018

    Yay congrats on one year of blogging -may there be many more. Great read this and yea as a blogger you deffo need great time management skills haha x

  10. Reply

    candy

    February 12, 2018

    congratulations on your first year of blogging. Wonderful to look back and see how far you have come and all the improvement and things you have learned.

  11. Reply

    Brittany

    February 12, 2018

    Glad to see you had such fun blogging in your first year!

  12. Reply

    Luci

    February 12, 2018

    I just celebrated my one year of blogging. I also only taking pictures with my iPhone, it takes really great pictures you just need the perfect angle and lighting.

  13. Reply

    Caroline

    February 12, 2018

    I’m a couple of months away from my 1-year-bloggiversary so I can relate to your post. There are times I wonder if it’s worth all the effort! But I agree never lose sight of your own style and voice, and it’s best to ignore what everyone else is doing. Just do you and have fun with it!

  14. Reply

    Emily

    February 12, 2018

    Congrats on year one! I just passed my first year, and its amazing how much I have learned. Goodluck during year 2!

  15. Reply

    Natalie

    February 12, 2018

    Congrats on one year of blogging! These are all great tips- and definitely quality content/photography is SUPER important.

  16. Reply

    Jenn

    February 12, 2018

    Time management is a huge! I’m approaching my first year anniversary and that was my biggest lesson!

  17. Reply

    Iman

    February 12, 2018

    Congratulations on your first year! This is such an amazing list! It’s so honest and truthful. Staying consistent with blogging isn’t the easiest thing, but it’s wayyy easier when you aren’t comparing yourself to anyone!

  18. Reply

    CJ Moses

    February 13, 2018

    These are some really good tips. I’ve been consistent with blogging since the start of the year, but fell off the bandwagon last quarter. Juggling being a mom and blogging along with everything else can be challenging. This is definitely the year of learning to not worry about being perfect and just being consistent.

  19. Reply

    Erica @ Coming up Roses

    February 13, 2018

    Time management can be such a struggle, even when you do blog full time! Great reflections, girl!

  20. Reply

    Amina Quraishi

    February 13, 2018

    Not a new blogger but the pressure is always there. I have a great supporting family who is always helping me and I can’t thank them enough for their support. the tips are great and we have to constantly remind ourselves why we started to blog in the first place.

  21. Reply

    Karen

    February 13, 2018

    I agree 100% with all of this! specially engaging from the heart!

  22. Reply

    Mayuri Saxena

    February 13, 2018

    Congratulations on your first year of blogging! These are some amazing things you mentioned on the list and trust me, all of these will remain constant throughout your blogging journey. Best of Luck! 🙂

  23. Reply

    Jessica

    February 13, 2018

    Congrats on one year! Time management is a struggle- blogging is another full-time job!

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Sandy is a lifestyle content creator, wife, mother, and corporate career leader with over 25 years of life experience in these roles.

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