At the end of last year I made a spontaneous decision to become a blogger. I was looking for my strengths and one of them occurred to be writing … so I had a thought why not? You only die once … as we often say. Unfortunately, it’s not so easy for me to put words into actions, and it’s not really because of my extreme laziness … no! I’ve just always had problems with believing in myself and my own potential, that’s why the craziest of my actions were always restricted to activities which weren’t potentially too risky.
Since I had a feeling of non-fulfillment, I decided to change it. I shared my thoughts with a friend, who also came to a conclusion that it was a good idea to set up a blog. I tried hard to come up with a catchy name for my website and it was the moment when the first problem had occurred … I didn’t hit on an idea that there are thousands of bloggers, who had already taken the names which I was thinking about, and which I thought to be just ideal for my blog. What can I say? The earlier mentioned friend, knowing the subject area of my future blog, came to my rescue again. In the blink of an eye he proposed Passion Piece. I fell in love with that name at once, and since my blog was supposed to be bilingual, I couldn’t decide on the name which would be written only in my mother tongue. Luckily, the name occurred not to be taken by anyone else, so I could buy my own domain without any obstacles. My trusted friend helped me again with getting my domain … and at this point I’d like to thank him warmly for everything he has done for me.
You probably keep thinking that having my own domain and a good idea for my blog would end all of my problems for good, but you couldn’t be further from the truth! While being so excited with my new adventure … I forgot about the fact that I have absolutely no idea how to create websites. Since I didn’t really know whether my enthusiasm would be long lasting, as it could have also turned to be a short-lived one, I didn’t want to invest too much money in designing my blog. Unfortunately, I didn’t really know where to seek assistance, and the truth is that when someone isn’t offered money for his work, he often doesn’t deliver on promises made … and I truly understand that, however I really dislike people who are unreliable … and in this way my project was on the line. Later on, purely by chance, I found a good person who took pity on me and helped me creating my website in the way you can see right now. I’d also like to thank him a lot for his help. So having my own domain bought in Australia and a website prepared by my friend in Poland … I could finally bring my ideas into existence.
I always try to publish good texts … of course sometimes they are better, sometimes worse depending on the raised subjects, but overall as far as possible and as far as the time allows me, I try to do my work in the best possible way. After publishing my first article I was waiting breathlessly for what was going to happen … and I must tell you that at the beginning nothing really happens … how possibly anything could happen … if no one knows about you! It’s been three months since I posted my first entry, and I must admit that I wasn’t really diligent when it comes to promoting my website. For about two months there wasn’t much going on … I finally started joining groups created just for bloggers, where I could promote my work and step by step the traffic on my website and the number of interactions between me and my readers started growing slowly. It’s extremely important to take good care of social media, thanks to which you can promote your articles, as well as cooperate actively with both fans of your website and other bloggers. Unfortunately, working full time and promoting myself in social media almost everyday (in my case these are facebook, instagram and twitter), there is very little time left for creative actions on my blog, which should be the most important after all. However, you should believe me that it’s worth making some effort, as in this way you can find faithful readers and with time you can also meet people with whom you’d like to cooperate in the future.
Another important issue is graphics which goes together with your posts … in my case it is a little bit neglected. I’m not really ashamed to admit the fact that I’m not a born photographer. I always lack the time to take new pictures for my articles. I promise I will try to do better in this matter! Fortunately, there are lots of websites offering free and paid image databases, which you can use as you want on your blog.
Thanks to taking an active part in various groups, I had the possibility to get to know different blogs of various aesthetics and subjects. Since my website deals with passion, lots of blogs occur to be a treat for me, because they show different perspectives on life and passion. As it also happens in the real world, there are blogs maintained by bloggers who steal my heart at once … but there are also some websites, which for some reason … despite being well written … put me off, because of some personality features of their authors, people who I wouldn’t normally like in my private life too. I respect all the bloggers and at this point I’d like to send them my love. However, as I’ve already mentioned, there are bloggers who steal my heart at once, and there are ones who literally drive me nuts! I’d like to present the characteristic features of bloggers who I truly like, as well as the features of bloggers who irritate me a bit.
The kind of bloggers who I love:
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they post honest and comprehensive articles, related to the subjects they are interested in;
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they leave reliable comments in response to their readers and other bloggers;
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while cooperating with other bloggers they play fair, and they don’t keep thinking only about their own self-interests;
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one can depend on them, as readers love being well looked after;
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they are friendly and they are willing to share their own experiences with other bloggers, without worrying too much about the fact that thanks to their advice they will create competition for themselves.
The bloggers who raise my blood pressure:
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they write about everything and nothing, because the only thing that counts is the number of articles and not their quality … describing a jam sandwich which they ate five years ago and while drinking their morning coffee they noticed the face of Elvis on its surface … shortly speaking, don’t really try to find the topics for your articles at a push, it’s worth waiting with the new post until the time when you have something interesting to write about … since well written articles build your brand;
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they don’t leave reliable comments in response to their readers and other bloggers, and they keep doing it on and on … their comments look like ‘That’s cool’ (even without a full stop, why should they overdo their comments after all …) or ‘Inspiring!’, this kind of comments don’t really say anything. It’s good to leave well written comments and to show your genuine interest, as in this way you can also build your blogging career, as well as make your brand stronger;
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they want to cooperate with other bloggers, but they don’t really give anything in exchange, they just want others to work in their favour;
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they comment on other bloggers’ articles without reading them before or at least having a look at the text content, which results in mistaken conclusions based only on the title of the article;
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they are not too much willing to share their knowledge with others, despite the fact they would love to get to know as much as possible from others.
I’m truly happy that I had a chance to start my adventure with writing … I’m at the beginning of my path and there’s still lots of work ahead of me, but I really believe that my efforts will pay off one day … and I’ll gain not only faithful readers, but also friends with whom I could share my passions.
To sum up, if you want to set up your own blog, you should remember about a few issues:
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be imaginative, but don’t forget about being just yourself, since readers really count on genuine articles, which will touch upon matters they are truly interested in;
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choose the name which will be positively associated with your blog;
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spend some time on promoting your website, be friendly as this way you can really gain a lot;
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take care of good content and the graphics accompanying your articles (I must still work on that);
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don’t get too stressed when sometimes you don’t really have something to write about, it happens to everyone from time to time;
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be patient, as Rome was not built in one day!
I hope I didn’t bore you to death with this article and I hope that some of my comments will occur to be helpful for you. What experiences do you have with blogging?
See you around!
Yours,
Passion Piece
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash, Photo by ian dooley on Unsplash, Photo by Gabriel Matula on Unsplash, Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
Appreciate your honest tips. You are so correct - Rome wasn't built in one day! Your sentiments and mine are similar. I find that blogs that are authentic and stick to a point, with useful advice "meat" or an underlying purpose appeals to me too. I am seeing you get better and better each day! xo Evelyn, PathofPresence.com
Evelyn thank you for your warm words! I always try to write about the things I truly believe in and having my own blog helps a lot in expressing myself. That's true that practice makes perfect and I always try to improve myself. :) I also think that your blog touches upon important topics. :)
This is really honest writing. I particularly liked some of your points about bloggers that frustrate you - I can totally relate. I made my blogginf schedule to be every two weeks, otherwise I just can't publish quality work and everytime a fellow blogger reads my work (that isn't vegan) mostly decide to get defensive and just tell me that I'm wrong, rather than actually talking about the topics of my articles. I think you've done a great job and it sounds like you have a few nice friends around you supporting you :)
It's true that I should also think about making my blogging schedule, as being a blogger could also be a full time job, but with other responsibilities I just run out of time. I think that your blog is quite controversial, but in a positive way. The topics are much deeper than just being or not being vegan. Thank you very much for your positive comment. :)
I completely understand where you're coming from 100%. When I started, I was clueless because lets be real, I had no idea how to create a website either ha! <3 However, I am slowly building with my blogging and can't wait to see how you improve and continue to do in your journey!
I think that learning how to blog is fun, and I enjoy the time spent on writing my articles and editing them on my blog, even though I must still improve a lot of things. I think that it's always difficult to start new projects at the beginnig, but with time we feel less lost and more self-confident. It's worth working hard to follow your passions. :)
I can definitely relate to these ups and downs. I went through them all in my first year of blogging too! I wish you much luck and success with your blog!
Thank you very much for your encouraging words! I think that everyone goes through similar steps, and the most important is to stay motivated and continue working on the things which we really enjoy. :)
Uff na szczęście Cie nie denerwuję :) Dla mnie blogowanie to również pasja. Lubię pisać. Lubię robić zdjęcia a ostatnio nawet „pozować” do zdjęć. Blog pozwala rozwijać skrzydła. Poznałam wielu ciekawych ludzi. Mnóstwo wartościowych wpisów. Ps.prowadze bloga 2lata i również co jakiś czas coś zmieniam w jego wyglądzie. Ściskam Cię mocno i życzę satysfakcji z pisania :)
Warto mieć w życiu pasje, ja przez jakiś czas nie podążałam za marzeniami i szczerze mówiąc w tamtym czasie było mi dość ciężko. :) Ja chciałabym zacząć robić fajne zdjęcia do postów, ale ostatnimi czasy brakuje mi czasu na napisanie samego testu. Chciałabym kiedyś móc skupić się tylko na pisaniu. Dziękuję ... no i oczywiście Ty nie należysz do blogerów, którzy mnie denerwują. ;)
Honesty is always the best policy. I love your willingness to share your expertise and experience with blogging. It boggles my mind how some bloggers don't want to share information with others. Best of luck to you on your blogging journey!
Thank you for your kind wishes! Of course, honesty is the best policy, as when the readers get to know that, they will be more willing to follow such bloggers. :)
I love this post! I remember when I first started, I was clueless and was at a point I was going to give up. But eventually got in the groove of things and met some awesome peeps that helped me along the way. 6 years later and I am very proud of what I have created.
A blogger with such a long blogging experience should be proud of her work. I hope my blog will last the same long and even longer. :)
I am years into blogging but only few months into having my own domain so still feel like a rookie and found myself nodding my head in response to the points on your post.. and i hope to write posts that are useful to someone (and eventually posts that many will be able to use in some way or the other)... good wishes to you as you continue your blogging journey
Thank you for your warm words. I think all bloggers would love to have faithful readers, some will have, some won't ... but the most important is to be satisfied from your own work. :)
I get bothered by people who leave vague answers in response to reading my blog, too. I like to leave as thoughtful comments as possible on others' blogs, because I understand the thought most writers put in their blogs. The only time when this is difficult for me is when I don't know much about the content that is being written. I love your post too, because your writing shows honesty and vulnerability. I love genuineness--not only in writing, but also in people...people who are not afraid to share their heart with me and who trust others. I strive to do the same for my readers.
Patricia, I noticed you always leave great comments, it's my pleasure to read them! It sometimes happen that I also don't know what to write in my comments, but the most important is to make some effort. :) Thank you for your warm words!I also wish you good luck! :)
Hi, reading your post made me remember my initial efforts in writing. I find persistence is the key. I've started and stopped many times, but this time, I've pledged to continue. As you say, passion is important!
I'm glad that this time you didn't give up! You're right persistence is the key to success. :)
Definitely a good point to just be yourself. Those authentic bloggers are the ones that I like the most.
Honesty turns to be a great asset of a good blogger, especially with time when the readers get to know him/her a little bit better. :)
I agree with you, but gotta admit that there're all kinds of bloggers. So I feel the best thing to do is to not compare with one another, just do whatever you can to be the best version of yourself. That's what I always remind myself. And of course, stay positive!
As you said the best way to gain success in blogging and not only is to be the best version of yourself. I'm quite positive when it comes to work on my own texts and my blog. Have a great day! :)
Nice article. Same here, I love who post honest and comprehensive articles, related to the subjects they are interested in. Also it's not always about SEO. Its all about quality.
Thank you, you're right. First we should take care of good content, and then work on SEO which also helps. :)
Zdecydowanie zgadzam się z Twoimi spostrzeżeniami. Ot, choćby też nie lubię kiepskich komentarzy wymienianych w ramach grup blogerskich. Dwa słowa, często gęsto bez logcznego związku z treścią wpisu. A ty człowieku przykładasz się i wywiązujesz sumiennie. Ale wiesz, nie warto sobie podnosić ciśnienia. Nic na to nie poradzisz, a taki komentujący sam sobie strzela w kolano - bo przecież to kiepska wizytówka, która świadczy o braku polotu i kreatywności. Życzę Ci powodzenia w blogowaniu :) Pozdrawiam!
Myślę, że tego typu blogerzy nawet nie zdają sobie sprawy z tego, że ciekawy komentarz może zachęcić innych do odwiedzenia ich strony, a tym samym mogą zyskać wiernych czytelników. Każdy ma inne cele, jedni zbierają like na facebooku, inni pokazują się na instagramie, żeby świat o nich usłyszał ... moim skromnym marzeniem jest to, żeby ludzie z chęcią czytali moje artykuły, a tym samym regularnie powracali do mojego bloga. Również pozdrawiam! :)
It was an honest writing and yeah, you are doing great! I checked your other posts too but this one is particularly unique. Great job!
Thank you very much! I love writing and I'd love to find more time for following this passion in the future. :)
I love this! I especially love the part about sharing with other bloggers! This is something I often see as a problem, and don't understand WHY. Why can't we help support each other in our endeavors?? Great post.
I think that it's just related to the need of being best and unique at doing something ... related to my newest article about the problem of narcissism in the modern society. :)
Well.. I just wish to work hard and put myself under the blogs you may want to read in the future :) I am not very good at writing like you but I have some knowledge of other things. I try my best to put my opinions into words. Visit me sometimes. Enjoy blogging :)
I love your blog! It's a great source of information related to cosmetics and beauty ... and despite the fact that I'm a girl ... I don't really know much about that! :)
Inspiring. Ahahah Just kidding, this post was so fun to read, I hate the same kind of bloggers haha
So it seems we have something in common, bloggers are just like people, some we like ... and some we don't. :)
Creating a site is definitely not easy but yours looks great, definitely your friend did a good job with it, blogging is so trial and error and same with blog design, don't be afraid to experiment with it!
I'm glad you like this design. I had to change it, as it looked quite primitive at the beginnig. :)