Why My First (few) Blogs Failed and What I'm Doing Differently

I've been blogging since October 11th, 2011.

Which is such an insane thought to me. I'm someone who is always doing something, and sometimes that something means changing my mind or changing up my hobbies.

But blogging is one of the few things I've consistently stuck with over the years and one of the very few things that I've decided to stop but eventually came back to (again and again).

But this also means that I had a beginning. A humble, somewhat cringey to look back upon, start to my blogging journey that I thought would be fun to look back at and learn from.

Here is a walk through of my blogging journey and some of the mistakes I made along the way.

Loving Your American Girl Doll (October 2011 to January 2012)

In my personal timeline of Life, 2011 was the year my love American Girl dolls skyrocketed. I was obsessed and after discovering Jessica's blog, American Girl Fan, I wanted to be exactly like her.

Basically famous with a million dolls and cute outfits.

This was my first mistake: creating with the intent of becoming someone else. While I did stay true to myself and grow a pretty good following, this is when my game with numbers began. It didn't matter how many people commented or followed - I needed more.

But my first blog lead me into the world of blog design. I began playing with colors and over the years I learned HTML and CSS that allowed me to create custom designs. But I loved playing around with everything so much that I redesigned my blog every week. Mistake number two: not creating a consistent, identifiable brand for myself. (But I was also 13 so...)

Near the end life of "LYAGD", I posted half-hearted content that I took from the American Girl Wikipedia site (GASP a horrible offense!) Now I know that plagiarism is one of the biggest mistakes you can make and it does NOT get you credit in the blogging world.

Self Known (December 2012 - June 2018)

Flash forward to young Rosie who discovered writing was a really wonderful way of expressing one's self. I created a new blog, originally titled "A Dancer's Pointe", then "Truly. Madly. Deeply." then finally "Self Known". Again, inconsistency in one's image just confuses people. 

At the same time I was putting out this new message of "discovering myself" and sharing my writing, I still wanted to be popular. I wanted my writing to be validated and adored by all, so much so that any success I had, I never truly saw as a success. Sometimes I celebrated meeting a monumental follower count, but in the back of my mind I was always looking forward to exponentially growing my views, my follower count, and eventually my blog profits.

The search for who I was as a blogger remained. I tried it all, from personal writing and journal entries to trying to help people design and grow their own blogs (something I wasn't quite qualified to speak in).

Nicole Rose Designs (June 2014 - June 2018)

My love for web design continued to grow and over the years I became better and better at it. However, I was churning out a solid dozen FREE complete Blogger redesigns every month and I wanted to make a profit. The issue with that was my current following was that of Self Known - young, pre-teen to teen girls. Not the best audience to convert into customers that would pay what my design services were worth ($150+).

Adding a price tag also changed the atmosphere around my work. Everything went silent. People would steal my work instead of paying me to do it. And for the few times that I did get paid to design someone's blog, I found it wasn't fun anymore and I had to do everything in my power to make sure this other person was happy with my work - or risk not getting paid.

There's also the fact that I had no idea how to run a business. I didn't know that I could use social media or SEO to drive traffic to my website. I didn't realize that if I wanted a flourishing business, I would constantly have to seek it out. I thought to post on my main blog and direct people to my designs would be enough. Then there was the fact that while I had an email list, it was stagnant and I didn't really use it to send anything to anyone.

Then there were all the blogs that never really got up off the ground...

Lack of passion is the biggest culprit when it comes to blogs that don't go anywhere (in my personal experience). One good idea isn't enough. You have to have some drive, curiosity, and a little bit of stubbornness to really create a blog that flourishes.

What I'm doing now

Statistics like views, follower count, and numbers following dollar signs are no longer what is MOST important to me. Yes, it's important to look at these occasionally to know that you're on the right track and that what you're doing with your blog is helping it grow. But it's not number one. It's not something to hold up in comparison to what someone else has. It isn't a reason to feel bad. Instead, every new reader is a win. Every comment I cherish. And every post I write is filled with a piece of myself.

I have a niche. On Two Point Perspective, the goal is to help readers take a new perspective on their lives and creative work. I've focused in on creating a "creative lifestyle" blog so that when people see my brand, they know right away whether or not it's something they want to get on board with.

I have a consistent brand presence. People are now better able to recognize me because I keep things consistent. No name changes, major re-coloring, or constant blog redesigns. Instead, I'll touch things up to keep my presence in line with the image I want to put out there.

My brand and social media profiles are all connected (at least, the ones I deem important are). I keep everything merged together so that there's no disconnect and people can get to know me through Instagram, Twitter, and my blog like it's a connected circle.

I keep it simple and REAL. Blogging has to fit around my life, not the other way around. This space is one for me to have fun and connect with others. And in the end, it's not a business but a site for self-expression.

What are some blogging mistakes you've made in the past?