How I Survived My First Year Blogging

Last updated on 27 May 2025

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Blogging can be hard. There’s no denying it. There’s a lot going on all the time, and sometimes, especially when you’re starting out, it can feel like a bit much. Like you’re in over your head.

I’ve been blogging since 2009, and it’s been a wild ride, let me tell you. That’s many many years of trucking on, of doing the * thing *, of connecting, of writing, of creating. So, how did I survive my first year of blogging without quitting and throwing in the towel like 20 times?

Sheer delusion and ignorance. 🤣

But in all seriousness, that absolutely helped. I had no idea what I was doing, but I kept doing it. And kept doing it and kept doing it. And eventually I cottoned on to what were better ways of doing things, and what I could cut out altogether.

These days, there is so much information out there that I think it can be easy to get overwhelmed and just grind to a halt. Back then? Back in ‘the day’? No such luck. I had very little information, which meant I was just doing my thang and hoping for the best.

And while that’s all true and good and fine, that doesn’t help you start out with your blogging journey today, right? Right. So here’s what I would say to those starting out today:

Learn one thing at a time
Find people you trust whom you can ask questions to
Go at your own pace
Have some grit
Work at it, but be patient
Be kind to yourself

Let’s break it down a bit more.

Learn one thing at a time

It can be really easy to just dive into blogging and being doing all the things – choosing a web host, picking and customising a blog theme, learning SEO and how to use it to grow your blog, understanding images and links and headings, trying to grow your email list, or getting started on Pinterest … the list goes on – and then get completely overwhelmed with it all.

Even if you’re someone who multitasks super well and works on different things, it’s good to stick to just one or two things when it comes to blogging. Don’t try and learn everything all at once.

Find people you trust whom you can ask questions to

When I started blogging, I only really knew two people who were also blogging – and they were both friends who had also recently started. I didn’t have anyone else I knew in person or online that I could turn to to ask questions. Yes, superstar bloggers absolutely existed, it was 2009 not 1999. But they didn’t seem accessible to me.

Nowadays? You have so many awesome options.

Find a handful of people who are doing what you’re doing, who are either at the same stop on their blogging journey as you, or, to mix metaphors, are a few chapters ahead. They get where you are because they’ve been there. You get yourself a blogging coach or join a group to get support, learn those new skills, and have access to someone who can help you.

💡 Check out How to Make Blogging Friends

Go at your own pace

There is zero point in rushing. Zero. In fact, if you’re trying to keep up with other people but you haven’t done your foundational work yet, or you haven’t actually learn the skills you need to be where they are … you’re more likely going to do even more harm.

Go at your own pace, whatever that looks.

That might be deciding to learn one new thing a month. Or it might be that your blogging schedule might be to post one blog post every fortnight. Or that you’ll tackle Instagram and when you’re really confident in that (or at least, you’re sustaining it well), then move on and add in another social media platform. Or setting really good blogging goals that are achievable.

Your pace is your pace for a reason. Don’t burn yourself out.

Have some grit

Some perseverance and passion go a long way. Having a bit of grit – “courage and resolve; strength of character” – is so important when it comes to blogging. There will be days/weeks when your views will drop, when the motivation will be non-existent, when you’re frustrated and angry at how things are going.

“We have to be willing to fail, to be wrong, to start over again with lessons learned.” – Angela Lee Duckworth

Being able to step back, get a bit of perspective, regroup, and keep going is going to help massively. Have some grit.

Work at it, but be patient

Blogging takes a dang long time. You’re unlikely to start a blog and hit hundreds of views in your first month. You’ve got to be willing to put in the work and keep putting in the work, even when you’re not seeing immediate results.

They will come, but you have to be patient. Especially in that first year when you’re getting your blog set up, and getting your systems in place.

Be kind to yourself

You’ve started a blog! That’s no mean feat. And honestly, sometimes that’s the hardest part – simply starting. Now you need to be kind to yourself. And if you can go that, and all of the above … things are going to turn out just fine, and you’ll step into your second year of blogging with a lot more confidence.

Was my first year of blogging what I wanted it to be? Unsure. That first year was more of me testing the waters. My second year was really my first year, to be honest, when I started what you see you today. But even then, I needed all these things to help me actually ‘make it’ (whatever that means) and get to where I am today.

If you’re starting your blog and you’re not sure how to stay sane, how to keep going, how to get that support … I’d love to invite you to The Blogging Room. A monthly membership where women from around the world get together to learn, to be supported, to ask questions, to grow their blogs … together. And you’re so welcome.