Well I can't believe I've done it! November 20th is I'm Not a Beauty Guru's first birthday. In people years it would still be considered a babbling little baby, but for blog years I'm happy. :) My first post, Beginnings, can be found here.
This is going to be quite a chatty post, just a warning.
I've been thinking about this post for a very long time, and I'm so happy to be writing it. I'm proud that I was able to get to this point. I was one of those people that always started off writing journals with the best of intentions and then abandon them. This little blog I have kept up though, which I am happy and proud about. :D
A notable thing I did this year was that I joined the CBB Network and was able to meet a lot more beauty bloggers. It was so nice being able to go on my bloglovin and get a constant stream of awesome content! :) Also through the network I was able to start great conversations with other beauty bloggers which I love! I find the network is one of the funnest and unexpected parts of my first year blog journey.
Now for some reflection. Why I started the blog, where I feel I am at, and where I hope to be in the future. I guess in all honesty, I really enjoy where I am at. I started this blog with the intention of it just being a beauty diary. A place for me to keep track of my purchases, if I liked or disliked something, and the works. I never thought I would join a network of blogs, or even set up a bloglovin page. I know many many blogs that have been able to 'achieve' much more than my blog was able to in a year or less. I know I have not been a constant poster, but I'm cool with that. I didn't start this with intentions to try and become an internet celebrity or anything (quite the opposite). Even as I start to learn the ins and outs of beauty blogging, I've shied away from some aspects. I'm not saying I am not open to PR or promotions, but that has honestly never been a driving force behind my blog. I knew that I would only stick with this blog if I did it on my own terms.
This has been a hobby for me where I am able to produce something and look back on it. I am able to benchmark my progress and grow. But as any blogger I'm sure has experienced, it's so easy to get caught up in the numbers game. Even recently I can remember going through my Analytics account fiendishly going through report after report trying to see how I felt my blog was doing, awaiting a comment on my newest post, or even just looking at the follower count on other bloglovin blogs I follow. This is so easy to do, but I think it can turn so destructive. I can't lie and say that when I see my follower count decrease I don't feel anything. As I'm sure many know, blogging is very personal and I can't help but feel a little upset when I see that counter drop! I guess it's how you deal with the situation and move on from it is what matters. This blog is my space and I've been running it how I want to run it. I remember first thinking at the beginning of my blog journey about making the blog private, but then at a spur of the moment, decided to make it public. I've been able to meet some great people through my blog though, and for that I am thankful.
So as I move into my second year of blogging (I hope it continues!), here are some things that I hope to keep in mind and goals:
- I hope to continue to grow as a writer. This is a skill that I can improve on, and my blog enables this
- Try my best not to get caught up in the numbers. Remind myself that I am doing this for me and nothing else
- Continue and remember why I enjoy blogging. I hope that if I ever found that this blog was not what I hope it to be or is causing me any undue stress, I'd be strong enough to step back and even walk away
- I also hope to continue to work on my photography and potentially editing. The picture on this post is the only photo I think I've ever edited on my blog. I hope I'll have time to experiment more with editing.
- Be as active (or unactive) as I wish. I know if I push myself to do something that I don't want to do, it will just end up not done or done poorly
- Maybe potentially re=design my blog with HTML/CSS. I've been dying to code my blog for so long, but I just find it so difficult. I'm in IT too, the shame...
- Learn more about Google Analytics. I think it would be very interesting to actually understand these metrics, plus this seems like really good information to learn about
- Remember to enjoy the ride!
Hopefully what I've said in this post is in no way controversial. This is honestly just a a personal post and applies to my blog experience!
For those that read my blog, I just want to give a sincere thank you. I love having active discussions about products and beauty items with others. :) I hope you are able to enjoy your time on my little slice of the internet.
So here's to 1 year, and hopefully more in the future!
PS. I thought I would ask this at the end as well. Any tips for me going into my 2nd year of blogging? Any critiques of my blog? Thanks for reading! :)
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