What I've Learnt From Writing 2000+ Blog Posts

Last updated on 28 December 2024

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Blogging tips formed from over 2,000 blog posts

It all started when a friend of mine began writing online back in 2009 and encouraged me to check out blogging and give it ago. As far as I know, he’s not blogging anymore. But it was that little nudge from him into a world I barely knew existed that has become one of my greatest joys and most rewarding hobbies.

This Splendid Shambles hasn’t been around for as long as I’ve been blogging, and the stories I told before TSS got off the ground weren’t great. They were ramblings of a 17-year-old who was new to the blogging world (perhaps many of us were) and who had no idea about design, engagement, how to grow a following and why, or Google Analytics. She thought HTML and CSS were code for things like Hello There Mighty Lemurs, and Chasing Silly Snorkacks.

She didn’t know that in 11 years she’d be writing a post about reaching that 2,000 blog post mark, or be reviewing books for five publishing companies, or telling you about this cool podcast she co-hosts with a blogging friend which she’s only met a few times in real life, or that she’s part of a collaborative book blog that has had writers and readers from across the world. She had no idea that a small nudge from a friend would turn out the way it did.

This isn’t a post about how much I love blogging – although it’s true and never take it away! -, nor is it a post about always listening to your friends when they discover new things (that might not always turn out well!). Rather, I thought I’d share some of the things that I’ve learnt along the way, in the hopes that you might find some encouragement or at least some enjoyment from the following points.

What I’ve learnt from writing 2,000+ blog posts

Write what you love

It may seem obvious, but if you’re not writing about things that you love then your audience and readers are going to pick up on that, and more importantly, you’re not going to enjoy blogging. While I’ve mostly always loved the things that I’m writing about, there have definitely been times when I’ve gotten bored of a particular style or I’ve written about things that have been popular at the time and I thought would be good to boost views but I haven’t really enjoyed. There’s no point in blogging and writing on things you don’t actually enjoy. End of story. Don’t do it. Write what you love.

Having a niche isn’t the be-all and end-all

Some bloggers start out with a niche in mind and totally rock that niche. I love these bloggers so much; they know exactly what they love (see point above) and are striving to create an online space that can thrive and grow in that passion.

Blogs that are purely for theatrical production reviews, or movie reviews, or beauty products; they’re all amazing in their own right. But having a niche isn’t the be-all and end-all. When I sort of ‘got serious’ (as serious as a non-monitory online hobby can be), I really thought about the niche I wanted to get into. Books perhaps, or travel, or just reviews. But then I realised that it was okay not to have a niche. Some of my favourite bloggers write about a vast range of things and they seem to be going fine, great even! I learned that it’s okay that I blog about a lot of different things; it means my wee community is vast in their interests, and I love that.

Taking a break is completely fine

Even if you’ve got a set schedule of days and times your blog posts are being published, it’s 1000% okay to take a break. It’s your blog, you do what you want. For a long time, I was posting something every single day. I didn’t realise how exhausting and soul-sucking it was until I stopped, stepped back, reassessed, and came up with a better plan.

Now I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (with the occasional bonus post thrown in!) and it’s a lot better. Whether you think you’re over-blogging or you’re just getting tired of thinking up content, you don’t have to keep going. Stop. Step away from your computer for a week, a fortnight, heck a month. Your well being and your sanity are far more important than your blogging, especially if it’s not your full-time job as it is for some.

You don’t have to spend big dollars

Even if you’re not so handy with the HTML and CSS coding, you can create a beautiful blog at very little expense. There are so many free themes out there for WordPress websites that you can download and adjust to suit your needs. This site you’re reading right now is a free template; I’ve played around with my colour schemes and the layout, added some plugins that add to the look and the functionality, and that’s about it. If you find a template that works for you, use it.

Of course, there’s absolutely no harm in paying someone to do it for you, or purchasing a theme or having one designed especially for you. In fact, that way you get exactly what you want. But if you’re low on the dough then a freebie is your friend.

Splurge on a few things

While I’ve often kept my theme free, there are a couple of things I’ve bought for blogging purposes that have made such a big difference. It is important, perhaps, to note that I don’t make much money from my blog.

On occasion, you may click a link to an affiliate program, but unless a reader buys something through that link, then it’s zero from TSS. This means that anything I spend on the blog is money from my own pocket and money that I haven’t blogged for if that makes sense. I’ve bought several things for This Splendid Shambles:

Hosting and domain name: I had a Blogger account when I was first starting out, and for what I was blogging at the time it was brilliant. No complaints. But when I moved to This Splendid Shambles I wanted more creative control and to be able to download plugins and have my own domain name. I changed to WordPress, got my blog hosted by Lyrical Host (highly recommend!), and bought the domain name. The domain name and the hosting cost me an annual fee, but I’ve managed to work out what that is each month, and each payday I simply put that money into a TSS-labelled account that gains interest over the year, which I then use to pay the hosting when it comes around.

Ultimate Book Blogger: This is a plugin that I use for all my book reviews. Head on over to my review on The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee to take a look. This plugin was created by NoseGraze and I can’t recommend it enough. I bought the plugin for a very reasonable price, and I would never go back.

CoSchedule: Which I’ll talk about next.

Scheduling blog posts and social media will save your life

When I was starting out I just hit ‘publish’ whenever I was done with a blog post. It took me a while to figure out that actually, I’d reach more people if I scheduled the times they were set loose on the world.

Once I discovered that things got a lot better. People were engaging more via comments, and the posts were being read more often. Then I discovered that I could also schedule social media posts and my life changed. It was incredible. I’ve been using CoSchedule for several years now and they’re amazing.

I do pay an annual fee for CoSchedule but I would never go back. Being able to see when the blog posts are coming out, and what social media posts correspond to those is not only an organiser’s joy but it allows me to see the gaps and see where I’m oversharing. It took me a while to figure this out; don’t be like me.

2,000 blog posts is a lot; they’re not all great, but they might have potential

Like any hobby or skill, you get better the more you do it. Practise makes … well, not perfect, but better. It makes progress.

Those first 100 posts? Maybe even 500…they weren’t good. I was still finding my feet, still working out what this crazy ride was that I’d thrown myself on, no safety harness or helmet in sight. Looking back on old posts makes me want to cringe. I have to admit that every so often I drag one from the Published pile into the ‘Private’ or ‘Pending’ pile so the public can’t find it. But even those so-called ‘bad’ posts back in the day have potential. They’re part of my story just as much as my favourite posts are. All they need is a little ‘now’ attention.

With all these skills and fresh views I have donned in my blogging toolkit, I should be able to go back through and see what I can restore, refresh, and release back onto the internet world. Some will need to stay as-is because they tell their own story, and many might not even be salvageable. But there will be those hidden gems that hold something great. I just have to be willing to give them a second chance.

Of course, there are many more blogging tips I’ve learnt over the years, but to list them all would mean you’d be scrolling forever. I hope this account of I’ve learnt from writing 2000+ blog posts has been helpful! Here’s to many more years.

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Updated: 2022