Monday, May 9, 2016

5 Things I Would Tell Myself Before I Started Blogging

Have any of you googled yourselves? Well, I have. And I've found out that I've made myself VERY available for anyone with the slight interest of figuring out where I live, where I work to how I hate bananas and hoard Bath and Body products. Which brings me to the 5 things I would have told myself before I started blogging- which hopefully, if you are ever interested in starting your own blog, you can learn from my mistakes!! 

1.) REALLY, REALLY, REALLY think long and hard on what your blog name will be. When I first started blogging, it was a simple, "Scholtes Family." I got the great idea to change it up and created "Three Gals and a Guy," a few years ago. Cute, right?! This would be the time that I wish I had a dirtier mind because if I would have, I probably would have reconsidered my blog name. I will spare you the details but if you search for my blog name, it does appear at the top in a Google search (thank goodness) but you won't want to scroll any further because yikes. And the interesting sources of page views I sometimes get? You don't even wanna know..

Don't scroll any further!! (insert monkey covering eyes emoji here)
2.) Your husband will roll your eyes because after anything significant happens, you are already planning how it will fit into a blog post. The wheels are always churning at how you can create the moment into a writable one. Not that I am so focused on that, that I miss the moment but you can catch me jotting notes after a certain conversation or situation has occurred. 

3.) An interest in photography- I never would have thought that I would care about how a picture looked. Snap, shoot and post. But one thing I've learned over the years is just how important a single picture can be. It can make or break a post. You can catch me now, carefully positioning myself or items to capture the moment just so. And then comes the editing. 

Just a few of the editing apps on my phone. I also really love PicMonkey, too but it's not available for mobile devices.. yet! 

4.) Keep a content calendar! Seriously. Without a doubt, if you want to keep consistent in posting however many times a week you've decided, this is an absolute MUST! The MINUTE I stop planning ahead and scheduling posts, is when I don't post for weeks. Why? Because so much does go into one post- it's not something you can really spontaneously throw together. I keep a monthly calendar and plan out posts to the day. However, sometimes an idea pops in and I start the draft right away. But this rarely happens.



5.) Blogging will become a source of stress and frustration at times, but always a safe place for me to reflect and connect with others. Whether I have 5 page views or 5,000, I keep on keepin on because of what it does for ME. Simple as that. It is my outlet for both creativity and personal growth, my joy and my therapy. I never imagined by simply sharing my thoughts and feelings would be such a life changer but it has.

Happy Monday all! I hope you enjoyed your weekend!