Blogging

My Blogging Journey #5

by Pooja G

My Blogging Journey And Why I Decided To Share It

I would recommend reading part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4 of my blogging journey before reading this one because you may feel a bit lost without reading those. However, they are quite long so I would totally understand if you want to skip reading the others and just read this one. Just a heads up- this post is slightly longer compared to my usual posts because I try to give a lot more details on my blogging journey and I just have quite a bit to say because I have to condense everything that happened in an entire year into one blog post. Also please excuse any typos or errors this post may have- my fingers are much better but still not fully healed and it is difficult to type.

For everyone that has been leaving likes and comments on my other blogging journey posts I want to say thank you so much. You guys have been so supportive of my journey and everything I’ve been through and I just want you guys to know that your comments really mean the world to. It’s also nice to know that a lot of you can relate to what I have been through and that I am not alone in feeling the way I do/did. You guys are awesome!

You guys may remember but a while back I took a survey and asked you guys what you wanted to read on lifesfinewhine and what I should blog about and I got so many amazing responses. Some people suggested that I should write about my blogging journey over the last six years. I thought this was a really great idea and a while back I did a sort of mini throwback post where I used a site to help me see what my blog looked like back in the day and how it’s changed over the years. I got a lot of great comments on that and again I got some people asking to elaborate about my blogging journey and talk about the changes I’ve made, how I’ve made them and what inspired me to blog and to continue blogging, etc.

I’ve decided to write six posts on my blogging journey. Since I began blogging almost exactly six years ago (it will officially be six years in about a month) I thought I would write one post a week talking about my blogging journey during each year as well as what was going on with my life and how it effected my blog. I will also be talking about the technical things like the updates I made, what plan I use, how I customize my plan, the SEO work I got done and more. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy sharing it with you guys and I hope it helps newer bloggers on WordPress as well. I would also like to give all my readers a heads up because my blogging journey posts tend to be a little longer than my regular posts so if you don’t like longer posts this may not be for you.

2019- Growth, Growth, Growth!

I’ll give you guys a little recap of what happened just in case you haven’t read the other four parts of my blogging journey or are a new follower and haven’t got a chance to read more of my older posts yet. The main thing I had been struggling with over the last four years was finding a balance. Between living in a different country every few months, having to deal with university and school work and just being kind of exhausted a lot I did not have much time left for blogging. However, blogging was important to me and I did not want to give it up so I tried really hard to keep posting- I just had not been able to do so regularly. I also did not have a lot of time to do more research and learn how to use all my blogging features to my advantage yet.

In 2018, I had decided that one of my goals would be to get out of my funk and try to blog as regularly as I possibly can. I had decided that blogging would be a constant in my life and therefore I needed to put more of an effort into making sure I wasn’t just doing it but that I was doing it write. If you know me you probably know that when I am passionate about something I will do whatever it takes to succeed in it. By the end of 2018 I had finally figured out how to use the WordPress features properly such as the tags feature, the categories feature and more. Now that I was using the features well, being active both on my blog and others blogs I was gaining traffic and followers pretty fast.

In January of 2019 I reached 6000 WordPress followers which was a huge accomplishment for me considering I didn’t think I would get past 100 when I first started out. I was so excited by this and it felt like all my hard work was paying off. I had exams in December but I had still worked hard to post as much as I could and it felt so good to see the results of all that hard work. I also had a couple of weeks off for Christmas break so I was really able to focus on my blog in the beginning of January and really plan things out and decide how I was going to make everything work. I also decided on some changes I wanted to make to lifesfinewhine. I also set some goals that I shared with you guys- one of them being reaching 10k followers by the end of the year.

Firstly, I decided to post every single day except Sunday. I like to take some time off from blogging so that I don’t end up feeling jaded with blogging or I don’t end up getting burnt out. These breaks can really be essential and help a lot with writers block. Even now I don’t post full posts on Sundays- just inspirational quotes because it’s easier for me and I get to help you start the week off with some positivity. Anyway, back to the story- I decided to post every single day except Sunday and I also tried to make a sort of schedule of what day I would post what topic/niche.

Another change I wanted to make was that I wanted to write most posts about mental health and I also wanted to share more blogging advice posts. I wanted to share more mental health posts because by this time I had learnt a lot of tricks that helped me deal with my anxiety and I wanted to share these tips as they could potentially help others who may going through the same or similar problems. I also wanted to write about mental health because I realised how little awareness there was about mental health and I wanted to be part of the fight to normalise mental health problems. I genuinely believe that the more we spread awareness by talking openly about mental health and my normalising mental health problems the better it will get for people who suffer from mental health problems.

As for the blogging advice posts- I wanted to write these for two main reasons. After hitting 1000 followers a while back I was constantly getting emails, messages, DM’s and comments asking me how I got my followers and how they can get more followers/traffic. I thought if I wrote posts with blogging advice they could simply read those posts instea dof me replying to every single person individually. Plus, I could write in more detail- obviously I can’t text like a thousand word message about why tags are important.

Another reason was that as I did my research the year before I realised that it was quite difficult to get specific, simple and quick tips and tricks on how to get more followers and traffic. In fact, some of the stuff was rarely even talked about. People focused much more on the difficult technical stuff like SEO- which don’t get me wrong is super important- but the small stuff is important too and in my opinion much more doable for a lot of people who may not be tech savvy or may just be starting out blogging. Therefore, I wanted to write much more simple, easy to follow, quick fixes that could help people out.

In April, I had summer break and decided to stay in Toronto for a bit and do a little travelling. Due to this I could not post as much in April or be as active on other blogs so my stats/traffic did suffer a bit. I had been getting thousands of views every month at this point but I lost about a thousand views in April which just goes to show you how important being active on WordPress is. If you pick up on one piece of advice from this blog make sure it is that you should be as active as possible. The trip was so fun and definitely worth it- I needed the break after a long semester and a harsh winter. You can check out my Toronto posts by clicking here. 

After my Toronto trip I headed home to Kenya for a few months for my summer vacation. It was so much fun to see my friends and family again and not having school meant that I would be able to spend some time focusing on my blog. By June, I had reached 9k followers and by August I had reached my goal for that year- 10k followers. I was growing pretty fast, I was getting thousands of views every month- things were definitely looking up for me and that’s why I finally decided to invest in myself which meant investing in this blog. I had promised myself that when I reached 10k I would update to a paid plan and change my blog from http://www.lifesfinewhine.wordpress.com to http://www.lifesfinewhine.com and I did just that. I upgraded to the Premium Plan because I thought that would be the bets plan for me at the time. I had gone from my blog looking like this:

I was so excited to customise it and to finally have the blog of my dreams! Of course I let you guys know about the changes and as always you were all so supportive about it. I also wanted to share more information on why and how I upgraded in case anyone else was planning to do so.

I loved the Premium Plan so much but my one problem with it was that it didn’t have plugins. I saw that I could further upgrade to the Business Plan which would have plugins along with some more features I thought may be beneficial for me to have. However, this ended up being the biggest mistake of my blogging life. I liked the plugins part of the Business Plan but hated everything else. It made my follow button at the bottom right side of the page disappear which decreased the growth in my followers, it was way too expensive for what it offered and at the end of the day I felt that it did not offer me anything I couldn’t get through the Premium Plan and that plugins weren’t enough to keep me on the Business Plan.

You would think that would be the end of that but of course it was not. I had to downgrade my plan from Business to Premium and for some reason this made my posts that I had created while using the Business Plan split into two posts- one containing my likes and one containing my comments. Because they were duplicates some of the posts got automatically deleted or turned into a draft which I decided not to republish since I didn’t want duplicate posts on my site. It seriously hurt losing the likes and comments I had worked so hard for- especially the comments- and it didn’t help that the WP helpers were not very helpful. Either way I am grateful it did not turn out worse than losing some of my likes and comments- could you imagine if I lost followers or all my posts. I would have been devastated. To read the full story of what happened click here. Thinking of upgrading your WP Plan but don’t want to go through what I did? Read this.

I ended the year pretty well though. Yes, these few incidents were sad and stressful but overall I had had a good year as far as blogging goes. I had kept most of my goals which I talked about in my “How Many Goals… Did I Keep” post. I had increased my traffic and following as I had hoped to do and this led to me meeting and interacting with lots of amazing people which was really the highlight for me. I, unfortunately, could not blog every single day except Sunday but I did try very hard and blogged for almost every single day I was supposed to. 2019 turned out to be a really good year for me in the end.

If you want to read my posts from 2019 you can do so by clicking here.

Thoughts

Does you blogging journey have any similarities to mine? Have you faced any obstacles in your blogging journey? What are some of your blogging goals? Do you have a blogging schedule and does it help? Do you blog about a particular topic or multiple topics? What WP plan are you currently on? What is your blogging journey/story? Let me know in the comments below I would love to hear your thoughts and your story!

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126 thoughts on “My Blogging Journey #5”

  2. My blogging goals are very modest, as I can’t be active as much as I would like. However I got 100 followers in my first year which was my goal. Now I’m working towards 200 by the end of my second year, hopefully! Thanks for sharing your story! I enjoy reading about your blogging experiences and congratulations on your huge growth!

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      1. Hii Pooja, just read through your blogging journey from part one to five and it’s truly and sincerely inspiring. I started blogging two weeks ago and I was amazed when you liked my posts, I decided to click and check your website and I’m super glad I did.
        Thankyou Pooja, really. You are amazing!

        Reply

  5. This is inspiring pooja ❤️ I still remember how I got you as my third follower a month back! I was so shocked and blown away that a person who has more than 17000 Followers is interested in my blog. You have really inspired and motivated me to do better! I never thought I would ever have 10 followers, now I am nearly around 500. This post was inspiring, If everything goes well and If I get more Followers in future then I will also upgrade to paid plan one day! I hope you will be there to help me if needed! ❤️ Lot’s of love to you and your blog 😄❤️

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    1. I am so glad I found your blog and I am glad my story motivates you! I’m sure you will get more followers and will be able to upgrade to a paid plan 😊

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  6. At this time I write a post every day because for me writing is relaxing and it helps me express my creative side. Interacting with other bloggers has helped a lot for growth in my blog such as commenting on posts by other bloggers, liking other posts. I have not been shy about trying new ideas. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t but don’t know until I try. Reblogging posts by other bloggers is a good idea too.
    I am happy for you my fellow Jedi that your blog is doing so well 🙂

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    1. Yeah I find writing to be very fun, relaxing and helpful for my anxiety. Interaction does help for sure and reblogging is a great way to interact too!
      Thank you so much and of course I always appreciate how much you’ve supported my blog!

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  8. I keep a blogging schedule which is really helpful for me. I’m so inspired by your journey. Thank you for sharing. You are an inspiration to me and countless others. I hope your fingers heals faster. Sending love your way dear💓.

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  10. Interesting blogging series😀, certainly one day I will also upgrade to paid plan. For now my goal is to keep posting informative and inspiring posts that helps. So hoping to get more followers is part of my goals. So maybe in future I will have blogging experience to share. 😀😀

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    1. Thank you! I am sure you will be able to upgrade in the future and it’s great that you are posting inspiring posts right now!

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  11. Your journey is like a textbook for every newbie blogger. You have given out so comprehensive information in such in depth detail. Kudos Pooja. You deserve every bit of the success you have received and trust me this is just the beginning. You have a sparkling future ahead. I admire you wholeheartedly. Thanks for sharing such invaluable details Pooja. More power to you. 🙂

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much- you are just such an amazing person! I am so lucky to have a successful blog and it’s only because of the support of amazing people like you that I have been able to achieve so many of my blogging goals. I am sure that one day you will achieve yours too!

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  12. Very interesting Pooj. I’m not sure I have a journey. I started five years ago – put lots of posts out and both my followers like some of them!
    Am I doing something wrong?

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  13. Thank you for sharing, the good bits and the bad bits. I plan on upgrading my WordPress plan at some point, as well as creating my author website (which will be linked to this blog so I can start connected with the awesome people).
    At the moment I blog about how poetry, ultimate frisbee, and other writing hello maintain my mental health. I struggle with depression but this blog and meeting the awesome people on here has been so helpful. Sharing that had helped me hopefully will help others add to their toolkit. At some point in the near future I plan on sharing poetry and stories too.
    Thank you again for sharing your journey. 😊

    Reply

    1. Good luck with all your future endeavors with your blog! I’m glad that for now blogging is helping with your mental health- I feel the same way.

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  16. Congrats on almost 6 YEARS of blogging!!! Your blogging journey has been soo inpisiring and I can’t wait to read your final post in this series! I love how blogging has always been constant in your life! You and your blog inspire me sooo much!

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  19. another wonderful post. You may have mentioned this before, but how far in advance do you write your posts? I write mine the same day I publish it…

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    1. Thank you! It generally depends on how busy I am. If I’m busy in the week days like when I have school I write the posts on the weekend otherwise I write them on the same day too.

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  20. Hi Pooja, thanks for sharing! I’m glad you wrote about your upgrade (and then downgrade) to the business plan because I was thinking of doing the same but now I won’t!

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    1. Thank you and I’m glad that helped you! I would highly recommend avoiding the Business Plan- it’s sort of a waste of money in my opinion.

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  21. Wow your blogging journey is so incredible!! I’ve made my goal for this year to network more and it’s been so beneficial – now I’d just like to adjust my blog style and brand but it’s taking a little while. You continue to inspire me thank you so much for sharing your journey!!! Xxx

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much! Networking is so beneficial when it comes to growing your blog and plus you get to meet lots of amazing people which is always fun. Good luck with finding your style and brand- it takes a while but it’s a fun journey and worth the destination!

      Reply

  22. This is so Inspirational that you switched to paid plan after achieving 10k followers! I started my blog recently and I’m worried receiving the poor traffic.

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    1. Thank you and that’s what I’m hoping- I really hope it can help other perhaps newer bloggers who may be going through something similar.

      Reply

  27. question –
    how do you see blogging on
    1. a particular topic
    2. A group of topics related/similar
    3. many different topics at free will.
    4. Writing review of different thing (books/devices/techs etc)
    How to get good audience if someone is writing of a particular genre only ?

    Reply

    1. Apparently from what I’ve read single niche blogs are more successful than multi-niche blogs. I think all the stuff you mentioned can work if you use the right keywords etc.

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  29. Oh wow such a fascinating journey. Bravo to to you to continue blogging even at the most difficult times. I see myself in parts of your blog. I have not reached anywhere really with my blogs. Hope I will one day. Good day ✌

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  32. Also, I love the fact that you decided to write more about mental health in 2019! Those blogs on mental health have helped so many people (including me)

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  33. This is a really awesome story to share with bloggers like eventually u do get burnt out when theres no real accomplishments coming up but we have to remember why we started blogging. Its like a diary and a personal one but also one to share with people?? I d k but i love it and sometimes i forget thats whats the best part about bloggging!! Great post again 💌💗

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much! I totally agree. I think when blogging is forced or feels like work it starts to get boring and that’s when you get writers block/burnt out. The best thing to do is just write what you feel like without worrying too much about the other aspects of blogging.

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  34. I commenced blogging soon after it became available on the internet and that was back when Yahoo360 was the chosen medium then they went in a different direction so I meandered through a couple of writers sites eventually to Multiply until that went belly up. A friend from India suggested I try WordPress so I’ve been on here since 2011. WordPress seems to be slowly evolving into a business web site rather than a blogging site. Let’s see what eventuates. I started writing primarily to store stories from my working years for family but I began to enjoy writing short story fiction and to my surprise gained a following outside of family.

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    1. Wow that’s really interesting. You’ve been blogging since the beginning. I guess it must have changed quite a bit over the years.

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          1. When it started out it was mostly homemade experimental videos but since its takeover by Google it has become a different animal. There is a wealth of good videos if you look hard enough but you described well the majority toxic stuff. I mostly watch it for different countries cultural music and dances of an evening or educational stuff.

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            1. Yeah the videos are good if you stick with the good stuff but I can’t even go to the comments section anymore. It’s crazy on there.

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              1. I don’t know why people feel they have to be so aggressive and rude in some comments on the internet. Not just YouTube but other sites too. We are turning into a dysfunctional society but fortunately there is still a lot of good people in the world. 🙂

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                1. Yeah I don’t understand why people need to leave so many awful comments but yes there are still a lot of good people out there thankfully!

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  36. I’m actually surprised that switching between two paid plans made you lose data. I’m thinking of switching to a self hosted woman on WordPress.org so your experience is scaring me! Congratulations on continuing to grow your blog and staying consistent 🙂

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    1. Yeah I was going to move to self-hosted since my plan is expiring but there are so many more risks to losing content when you move to self-hosted and it’s such a little complicated so I decided to stick with Premium for now. But if you do your research and everything you should be fine! Thank you!

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  38. Lovely reading about your journey Pooja and you’ve come a long way. I’m almost celebrating 1 year and 1000 followers, so I’ve got a long way to go before I’m anyway near as knowledgeable or good as you 🙂 Well done!

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  40. Its so nice to see how much you’ve progressed! Also give you kudos to maintaining your schedule and writing awesome posts each time! My blogging goals are to stay consistent with my schedule and so far I’ve been doing really well besides the month of my move but that’s obviously not a big deal 🙂

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    1. Thank you so much- it only took me like four years to get there lol! Yeah I’ve noticed you’ve been posting regularly and obviously that’s not possible when you’re moving. Has it helped to post more regularly?

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  42. I can’t believe I’m at the end of the journey posts. I only started following two months ago and these posts made me like I’ve been on this journey with you, your OG followers are very lucky.
    And what happened to your blog after you upgraded is so sad, I don’t know what I’d do if it happened to me…you handled it perfectly, thank God you didn’t give up. I’d have been missing all this. What you said about mental health is true, why it’s gaining awareness by the day, on social media, I noticed that it’s not talked about like it’s supposed to be and people with mental problems are still stigmatized in some places, like my country for example.
    Every one is expecting you to be okay all the time and enduring and tolerating everything because “things could be worse”, it’s so sad.
    I’m glad to be on the rest of your journey with you. Can’t wait for your 10th year anniversary😄. I feel like I rambled alot on these posts, it’s just so cool you shared your journey, you’re so genuinely inspiring.

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much- your lovely comments really meant a lot to me! Yeah I really freaked out when all that stuff happened with my upgrade/downgrade and it was kind of heartbreaking when it happened but I’m over it now and I think the Premium Plan was the best way to go even if it meant losing some comments.
      Mental health is seen as such a taboo topic in most places and it’s also so misunderstood- like you said a lot of people say stuff like it could be worse or you have nothing to be sad about. I feel like I need to do my part in changing that.
      Thank you again!!

      Reply

  44. Great post Pooja! I have a goal to not upgrade my WordPress plan from free until I exhaust the media storage. Lol! The most enlightening part of your article for me is when you spoke on wordpress plans, it can be really tricky if we think about it. Did you know that instead of the full posts, some persons can only show excerpts of their posts on wordpress reader and that affects stats? Have you heard of this before?

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    1. That’s a good idea- there really is no need to upgrade if you don’t want to. In my opinion you can do pretty much everything on a free plan too.
      Yes I did know that- I show excerpts on my posts on my site but I like to keep the full post on the reader because from what I’ve seen most people won’t click through and check out your full posts. Have you tried having excerpts of your posts?

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        1. Thanks for bringing it up! Most people think excerpts help with views but I always feel like it’s the opposite so it’s nice to find someone else who agrees.

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