I made a whole lot of blogging mistakes in 7 years. My blogging has changed and so has my life and sometimes I wonder if it’s all good… or not. Some days, I wonder if the way my feelings about blogging have grown, changed and expanded with time is a really for the best.
While these thoughts have been on my mind lately, I thought I’d lay out all out there in the hopes that you can learn from my past and current mistakes and that you can, hopefully or not, relate to some of these, too. Feel free to let me know in comments below!
This blog post contains affiliate links. If you buy something on my recommendation, I will receive a small commission. Purchasing via these links will not cost you any extra and will help me cover the costs of book blogging. You will find more info on my privacy policy and disclaimer pages. Thank you!
I self-hosted my blog and it changed my blogging life…
It took me 6 years to self-host my blog and this is probably the BIGGEST way my blogging has changed ever since I started book blogging.
I’m not going to lie: it also was the SCARIEST way my blogging grew. I was terrified of everything breaking down and years of work and passion taking a sudden free dive. Thankfully (shout out to Lyrical Host, I adore you), it didn’t.
Choosing to self-host is one of the best decisions I’ve made and, to be completely transparent with you all, NOT self-hosting is one of my biggest blogging mistakes.
Taking this step changed the way I view my blog, the way I consider my work and, most of it all, the way I feel about my little platform whenever I look at it.
I feel proud, because I know it’s all mine. I feel excited, because I know there are so many possibilities, so many ways to blog I couldn’t even think of, on a free platform.
My blog’s 100% mine and I feel it it can go places, so… to answer my very first question: is it for the best? Right here, right now, it’s a big fat, yes…. until you continue reading this blog post and suddenly, it’s not.
If you want to self-host your blog, use my code DRIZZLEBOOKBLOG for 10% OFF ANY LYRICAL HOST PLAN!
You might be interested in: How To Self Host Your Book Blog: Sharing My Exciting (and Stressful) Experience
I didn’t think of blogging in a professional way… now I do too much
Book blogging started out as a hobby. Something I wanted to do because I just wanted to scream about books with like-minded people.
Slowly, blogging grew into something I got a tiny bit obsessed about, caring about the statistics too much, wanting to do it all at once, screaming and sweating because I just needed to draft this blog post or.
Or what, you ask? Nothing. The world didn’t set itself on fire (though… well. Maybe it actually did, now. Wow. Dark, Marie). My anxious blogging mind just told me that.
As the years went on and, most of it all, ever since I self-hosted my blog, my blogging and the feelings about this hobby changed and grew into something… complex.
I started seeing blogging as something professional. Something you can earn money from, yes (though, book bloggers aren’t really getting paid, are they, aerm). Something you can and should show off.
I got asked about my blog in job interviews. In EVERY. SINGLE. job interview I did, actually and I didn’t do just one. (Put your blog on your CV, friends. Seriously, DO IT.).
Over the years, from a tiny hobby, blogging turned into this passion, into this penny-less career I spend the same time on as my real, money-making full-time job.
I don’t think this switch is for the best. Sometimes, when I think about my blog, I feel like it’s too much work.
When I see people blogging today, I feel like they’re always chasing this: the professional way to blog. To have the perfect design, to look so professional they can earn something from it.
While there’s nothing wrong with it… personally, thinking this way makes me lose the little spark I got for so many years now. Thinking about being professional, ranking high on Google Search, trying sponsored posts and making money, just…makes me lose sight of why I’m here.
I’m here because talking about my books, my blogging feelings and a whole lot of other things with you all makes me happy.
If someone asks about it in a job interview, great. I’ll smile there awkwardly and pray they won’t read my words too much and find me a little weird.
If I make money from this, even better. I’ll scream and happily cry and will feel validated and worthy.
That being said: my blog isn’t something I want to view as “professional”. If I can gain something from it, great, but as long as I always gain something from it personally, that’s all that matters. As long as the spark is there.
Don’t lose the spark, friends.
Find all of the tools I use to blog in my book blogging resources page!
Social media’s importance in my blogging strategy changed
We all know how, little by little, social media’s taking over the world. When I first started book blogging, bookstagram wasn’t that big and Book Tok didn’t even existed.
Now, it’s all everyone’s talking about and if you’re not on it, you might as well not exist.
Sorry. That seems a bit harsh, but to me, that’s the truth. The growing importance of social media is so astonishing that some people don’t even have a blog anymore. I think that’s a mistake that I’ll mention someday, maybe, in a blog post, but well. All of this to day: social media matters today.
It didn’t matter as much when I first started. Obviously, to go with the flow, I started my twitter account and even got into bookstagram. I felt like I couldn’t keep up if I weren’t on those. I felt like I wouldn’t be considered as a real blogger and book influencer if I didn’t have a tiny presence on social media, as well. I still feel that way.
So I jumped into the pool and started tweeting, started bookstagramming later on and hoped to find a place there, too.
I don’t think this was for the best, for me. Of course, I had some fun on book twitter, but let’s face it: this place can be an absolute mess. Bookstagram was a lovely discovery, but I feel like I don’t find my place there, either. Spending too much time on social media is detrimental to my mental health. So, maybe I’ll get more retweets if I tweet more myself. Maybe I’ll grow my bookstagram more if I posted more.
I don’t. I’m not mad about expanding to social media and trying bookstagram. It’s fun every now and then, but I know it’s not something I feel as passionately about as my blog.
You might be interested in: Thoughts After a Year On Bookstagram
My blog’s identity, brand and design grew with me
Flashback to 7 years ago, it was in November and I started my blog with a design that, looking back at it now, looked kind of messy and all over the place.
I also didn’t think about my blog’s identity, or what you can call my brand, if you will. All I thought about was the content I put out there and just whether I liked it or not. Oh, simpler times.
I’m saying this, but I do think finding my way and what would make my blog stand out changed the way I blogged, too. Was not thinking about this earlier a mistake? I wouldn’t say so. When you first start, you don’t necessarily know it all. Like jumping on a bike, doesn’t mean you’ll know how to ride it right away. I needed time, I needed to blog and I needed advice and guidance, too, before I could find myself.
Could it all be different? Was it always meant to be Drizzle & Hurricane Books? I can’t say that it was. I might have woken up a day later and decided on a different name. I could be rating my books with cacti or have little planes to reflect my love for traveling on here, who knows.
I ended up with this. Drizzle, hurricane and books, all nicely put together into my WordPress Theme, my logo, my blog posts’ layouts and even my book ratings. I love how everything fits so nicely together and how unique it is for me.
Find out more about how to make your blog stand out!
Blogging interaction: I went from happy to overwhelmed to halfway there
This is the place where I’ve changed the most, I think.
I used to interact on blogs EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. I would log on after my day at work and scroll down my WordPress Reader until I caught up with ALL the blogs I followed. Like, 200 or something.
Needless to say, while I loved interacting, this was really bad for me, personally. I felt drained, like I was constantly running after a train that would always leave without me.
I would also prioritize doing this over writing for my own blog. Let’s just say that I was always putting others first and forgetting myself in the process.
A couple years ago, I realized this just couldn’t do. I was back from my dream holidays to Canada and had way too much to catch up on, I wanted to cry. It was time to change.
I revised my priorities and the way I manage my blogging time and I put myself first. I focus on what makes me the happiest. My preference lies in my writing, so I tend to prioritize it over blog-hopping.
Do I feel guilty about not spending as much time commenting and spreading the love on bloggers’ blogs as I did before? YES. Am I feeling more relaxed, content, on board a different train now? YES.
This is probably one of the best things I’ve changed in my blogging and my first mistake. I wasn’t prioritizing what made me happy. This doesn’t mean I’m giving up blog-hopping at all. I’m just doing it slowly, in my own time.
I found my pace… and learned to cut myself some slack
Remember that running after a train metaphor I had going on before? That was my blogging life for SO long. It still is, now, when I let myself fall off the track.
Running to get that post published on time, pushing even when I don’t feel like it because otherwise, I will be off schedule. Screaming because apparently, I’m unable to write a blog post in less than 5 hours. (Truth time…oops).
Over the years, I learned to cut myself some slack. It’s okay to skip a day if you can’t make it, or hell, if you don’t want to make it.
I understood that taking a break wouldn’t be the worst thing. On the contrary. It would help me love blogging even more.
You don’t have to post every single day or every week if it’s not manageable or if you don’t want to. All you have to do is blog for your own happiness and just put on the brakes when it feels like WORK. Because it shouldn’t feel like work. It should feel like happiness. At least it does, for me.
I’m not trying to be someone I’m not anymore
When you’re starting out, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of incredible bloggers out there. It’s so easy to compare yourself to them, to feel like you’re inadequate, your blog isn’t pretty enough, your blog posts aren’t original enough, your social media presence isn’t amazing enough.
You’re just not enough.
Thinking that way, it’s so easy to fall into a trap where you want to do what everyone else is doing.
Writing about something, let’s do the same. Don’t. That’s plagiarism. Don’t copy. Inspire yourself and read my post on how to find inspiration to blog.
Someone has an excellent WordPress Theme? Let’s buy the same one. Don’t. Or at least, make it your own. There are so many excellent WordPress Themes that you can make your own with colors and your own identity. Be yourself, everyone else is already taken, you know.
Check out some of my favorite WordPress themes in my Blogging Essentials page!
Your blogging voice, your identity is what makes you stand out. So I’m just trying to be myself in everything I write unless questioning everything. With work and finding my blogging voice, I’m just being me in everything I write now and… to be honest, it’s the best thing that happened here.
📌 Pin 7 Ways My Blogging Has Changed in 7 Years on Pinterest!
Do you feel like your blogging has changed ever since you started? If so, is it a good or bad way? How do you feel about being on social media? Let me know your thoughts in comments!
Twitter ☂️ Bookstagram ☂️Goodreads ☂️ Bloglovin’ ☂️ Support the blog
This was insightful, a lot of people change because they think they prove that they are “worthy” and they “exist”. I am glad you have touched on many points including money, I hope you eventually make money with your blog. The focus was mainly on your well being which was amazing to read, you kept circling back to your well being, I find that amazing.
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! I really think what matters the most is to feel happy with what you’re doing! 😀
I love this reflective post on how your blogging has changed and I have to agree with so many of the sentiments you’ve expressed here. Finding my pace and cutting myself some slack has been the definitive change this year. I still feel guilty about how little interaction I’ve been doing, but I also know that taking time away from the blog and checking in when I feel like has been the best thing for me mentally.
The ifluence of social media has probably been the biggest change in the blogosphere for me. I still marvel at how people find the time to be on every single platform. To me, I can’t do that, but I like the idea of social media being an extended part of the blogging community, but using it in moderation is the best philosophy for me.
Since I started the blog, I’ve always made a point to mention it on the CV. In my head, I might not get paid for blogging, but the skills I’ve developed through the blog alone is a brilliant talking point in interviews.
Thank you for this always insightful post. 😀
Oh Lois thank you so, so much for your comment, I’m so happy you can relate to some of my feelings here. It’s tough and the guilt is often still here whenever I step back, but I have been feeling better personally for it, so… I think that’s still a win, that’s what matters for us first and foremost. <3
I completely get that. I am amazed at some people able to juggle it all, I just, can't do it all ahah. Thank you so, so much, Lois <3
Excellent tips! I relate so much about being drained by diving into the community and interacting daily (mostly with Bookstagram). As an introvert social media is so draining, though I know it’s essential to grow my blog; I guess it’s about finding that work/life balance, which is difficult with a full-time job. I’m rambling now. haha! Lemme shut up and say bye! Have a good day!
Oh thank you so much! I completely get it, social media feels draining for me, too, but also necessary, in a way…Which is really frustrating ahah. Thank you for your sweet comment and please don’t apologize, I’m all here to read your ramblings ahah 😀
This is some great insight for someone as new as me to this. It truly is appreciated! And congrats on your amazing blog 🤗
Oh thank you so, so much, I’m so happy you enjoyed this, thank you!! <3
This is such an honest post about blogging. It helps us newer bloggers to know what you feel like after 7 years of blogging. Thank you!
I know it’s easier for me, as I’m retired and have more time. What is difficult for me is after 40 years in the workforce, it’s tough not think of the blog as a job and keep the hobby part in my brain. There is the stress to meet deadlines, and trying to keep “clients” happy, that most real jobs have, so it seems like a job in that respect. However, I have never enjoyed a real job as much as I enjoy blogging, so there’s that.
Oh thank you for reading, I’m so, so happy this could be helpful <3
I understand that, it can be tough not to think of blogging as work and, for some people, thinking of it that way actually helps/is better! I know personally, I need to think of it as something that makes me happy and isn't really work. So there aren't any real deadlines at all. Thinking that way helps me relax a little bit.
Thank you so much for your comment! :)
Great post, and I’m so happy to hear how these changes have helped you over these seven years. I agree with your thoughts on social media, and your last point is spot on – it’s so important to be yourself and don’t base your creative decisions on what others have done.
Oh thank you so, so much Stephen! I’m so happy you enjoyed this <3
I loved reading this! ❤️ So many good tips in here. I still need to implement the cutting myself some slack tip. I still freak if I don’t get a post that I want to post up on time – why do I do this to myself?! I’m a work in progress, so maybe one day I’ll be more chill about it. I would be lying if I said I didn’t check my reader every day after work, and I get how that can get to be too much, but I’ve come to like doing that and it really works for me – I do have to work on not doing it when I don’t want to… but again work in progress!
Amazing post! 😊
Ahh thank you so, so much Meghan, you’re so sweet <3 I get that feeling, sometimes I still get a little anxious about it all, too. We're all a work in progress, so we just need to take it step by step and do whatever feels best for us :D
You’re very welcome! 😊
That’s very true and I agree! We can’t expect to be other than a work in progress. 💕
It seems that you have grown with the blog and it has taught you a lot about yourself as well. Congratulations on making such a cool blog.
Thank you so much, you’re so kind!! <3
Do what makes you happy should be the mantra for all bloggers. It saddens me when I see some bloggers get worked up about their lack of followers or they are not getting as many free copies as other bloggers. They seem to have forgotten why they started blogging.
Exactly! Thank you so much 🙂
Your blogging posts have helped me a lot in my own blogging journey. I’ve been around for around the same time as you and I started my blog off really fabricated and fake. I felt the need to be witty all the time which just came across as forced. Finding my own voice has really helped for me to enjoy blogging more.
Blogging is very much a hobby for me, and I’ve learnt that whatever you want to do with your blog is valid. Nobody should feel forced to blog professionally, but everybody should be given the choice.
Oh this is so, so good to hear, thank you Emily, this made my entire day. <3 Finding the way you want to blog and your voice really is the best thing! This has helped me so much in enjoying my blogging adventure a lot more, as well :)
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3
I’m so proud of you…this post literally made me tear up because it was so relatable. Please stay true to yourself and thank you so much for all your honesty!! You’re amazing <3
Birdie 🥺🥺🥺 thank you so much 🥺
Ah, Marie. Like the kindred spirits we are, I connect with this post a lot: namely, how going self hosted changed my perception of my blog, shifting that focus looking more about stats and trying to learn things like SEO and making my blog something to be proud of in a professional way, instead of my passion project. I think it’s a hard thing to balance and I hope you know you’re not alone in this balancing act! If you ever need to rant about it (or just reassurance about your validity WITHOUT numbers), you know where to find me. <3
Oh thank you, Nicole, I’m glad to hear you could relate to this, too <3 It's so tough to balance it all and sometimes I question myself and the value of everything I do a little too much, too. Thank you <3
Yep, I feel like I’m drowning, currently (lolsob) trying to balance everything, so I hope life has been kinder to you lately, instead of accelerating!
Oh no! I’m here for you always if you need <3 <3
Right back at you!!
oh, i love this post and related to it so much!! especially with what you said about social media, interaction, and finding your “true self” (which sounds so cheesy lol). i honestly didn’t see myself starting social media and then only joined twitter to have fun with friends & not for blogging, but well… here i am ignoring social media lmao. but what you said about unhealthily obsessing over commenting on every single post and now feeling guilty for not interacting as much—me!!! i’m so glad we both are being kinder to ourselves even though there’s still some guilt 😭 and yes on finding who you are as a blogger! i think you of all people know very well what i was like when i was younger, as cringey as i was, and i’m very happy that i managed to find my footing and voice haha. but it really has been so amazing to see you and your blog grow these past few years, marie 💓
OH I’m so glad (and so sorry!!) you can relate to this. It really turns into this unhealthy obsession every now and then and… well, that’s not good, at all. We need to keep on being kinder to ourselves, even if it’s tough and if the guilt is always there somewhere. 😭 I’m so happy you could find yourself more and it’s been so, so wonderful to see you grow with your blog, too. I’m so grateful to have known you for all of these years <3 <3
I view social media as a way to connect with the bloggers behind my favourite blogs, also to keep up with those bloggers who are now friends. If it wasn’t for that, I’d probably just deactivate everything to be honest because social media feels like a rigged game of chess against an AI. It has many pros but more and more it feels like the cons are getting closer to outweighing those pros. That said I’d literally only miss social media for being able to keep up to date with things happening in friends lives and connecting with fellow book bloggers through it.
When I first started blogging, it felt like I was trying to fit this box that was ‘pre-made’ for us all I suppose. Book blogs should have book reviews being the biggest box I tried to shape myself into. It didn’t work. It caused me to slump massively and lowkey hate reading because I was starting to obsess over needing to take notes, to write a review after reading it. It drained the joy of reading for me. Even now, I’m still walking this fine line between reading because I want to and not because I feel obligated to so I can get blog content out of it. This line is super fine for me, even though I don’t deal with ARCs at all and I no longer do review requests.
I think more than anything though blogging has taught me that it’s ok to take your time. You can try and keep up with everyone else, with the fast paced social media world we live in. You will burn out. Even if you plan ahead. Burnout will happen eventually and it’s not a bad thing. My hiatuses have ended up with me being self reflective on how I blog, what I’m contributing to this digital world and am I happy with my contribution? Does it reflect me and the content I wish I could read? Social media would have us believe we need to be constantly ‘switched on’ the hustle culture is rife online and whilst I do enjoy watching productive vlogs or study with me vlogs on YouTube. I also know it’s not sustainable to be in that mindset 24/7.
I feel you on the blog hopping thing though, even now I am slightly overwhelmed by my backlog that I am determined to get through. Although I’m half tempted to just clear all the feeds and start a fresh for the sake of my brain.
Love this post so much Marie, you made so many excellent points <3
Thank you so, so much for your sweet words and my apologies for getting to this so late! <3 I'm so happy you could relate to this post in so many ways. You're so right, we can't catch up on everything and neither should we have to, if we don't feel like it. It's important to prioritize ourselves, because that's what matters the most <3
this is such a lovely post and i tihnk i read this at exactly the right time too. i hit the overwhelmed part with engaging sometime last year and then after a very busy 30 posts in october i hit a burn out… which i kept working through and pushing this burn out feeling even longer. i’ve slowed down now and whilst i feel bad about not having content going up consistently, i’m definitely healing and figuring out my own balance again! 🙂
I’m really happy that taking your time with it all has helped! <3 I feel like we're too often rushing to push out content and to just, be there, but... sometimes, we need to take a break, too. Otherwise we will burn out way too hard and might never come back from it!
Thank you so, so much for reading <3 <3
I can totally relate to your scale of happy to stressed to halfway between. That’s been my experience too. I get less blogging done and have less interaction lately, but honestly, I think I’m okay with where I’m at because I have other things I need to focus on too (for me, that means writing, but everyone has real life things to do!). I am facing the fact that I’m going to go through periods of less blogging and not worrying so much about what that means for my blog. I’m only human!
I love that you said that, Nicole and it makes me feel so much better, too. I feel like I’m not engaging as much as I used to and should, but I also know there’s only so much we can do in a day. It’s okay if it comes and goes, as long as we keep on enjoying ourselves. <3
I’ve only been blogging for 3 years or so, but even I can think of the ways my blogging methods and my attitude towards blogging has changed.
I had sort of the opposite experience with social media! I started out strong on Instagram posting daily or at least several times weekly, but now I post between once a month ad once a year! I’ve made my peace that I’ll never have a huge Instagram following, but I post on there when it makes me happy and I enjoy looking at everyone else’s creativity.
We also now have a theme and a brand of sorts, which I adore! I’m so happy we chose the name “Paper Procrastinators” and the artwork that Kat came up with really fits our brad perfectly! I’m always so happy whenever I get to use our logo or my little icon.
I think that while I am considering ways that blogging can make me some money, such as being Bookshop.org affiliates, or ways that I can increase the amounts of ARCs I can receive, I never want those side goals to affect my main goal of blogging to interact with other readers and to share my thoughts on whatever bookish thoughts come my way. Hopefully that goal never changes, no matter how many more years I continue to blog!
I’m so, so happy you found your brand and that you like it so much. I find this the hardest part of blogging, really, and it’s a bit scary to think about growing out of your brand, too. But well… if it should happen, it will, i guess! 🙂
I love how you’re feeling about blogging overall, it’s so inspiring. It’s easy to want more, I get that, I’ve been there and part of me will always want more. Try to earn a little something, for sure is on my mind, but I’d love to always be able to keep on thinking the way you do. Just, know that I’m here to share all the bookish thoughts with all the readers <3