Please Join Me At SMARTLiving365 “Ten Things We Should Have Known Before We Started Blogging”

Among Friends, Awareness, Blogging, Creative non-fiction, Creativity, Emotional wellbeing, Friends, Gratitude, Happiness, Inspiration, Kindness, Life's little moments, Meaningful, Positivity, Relationships 1 Minute

I love Kathy Gottberg’s sentence on how the “Ten Things We Should Have Known Before We Started Blogging” “….offer a glimpse into our personalities and how we approach both our blogs AND the world around us.”  This past year I was surprised to learn how blogging is actually a team sport.  I greatly appreciate all of the interesting, kind, supportive members of the team from all parts of the Globe. 

I am especially grateful for the privilege of meeting these amazing ladies.  I know you will appreciate the candor, insights and gems found in this post.

What things would you add to the list?

via Ten Things We Should Have Known Before We Started Blogging

 

 

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42 thoughts on “Please Join Me At SMARTLiving365 “Ten Things We Should Have Known Before We Started Blogging””

  2. I tried to leave a comment on SMARTLiving365 but the system wouldn’t let me do so. I followed the rules, I did the things– I’m trying to not take it personally. 😉

    Anyhoo, I like your points and think that it’d be interesting to revisit this topic when you’ve written a blog a few years more. To see what makes sense to you then. We evolve, you know.

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    1. Hi Ally, I think Kathy’s site goes through a “moderating” process and your comment will appear. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment:) You make a great point on how my points will likely change over time. Even 6 months ago, my list would have been different. I agree how we evolve and our philosophies in life evolve. Thank you for your insightful comment:)

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      1. Nothing came up to tell me that my comment was being moderated. I know I’ve commented on her blog before, but no harm, no foul. Maybe that needs to be a point: make commenting super easy for your readers. 🤔

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  3. Thank you, Erica, for sharing great insights from your blogging journey. I like that blogging gives me learning nuggets over time, from my own writing attempts to observing other blogs, or from my recent experience of switching from Blogger to WordPress. I also enjoy the freedom to shape my blog the way I like to, both in format and content. I’ve read what’s on Kathy’s blog and will try to leave a comment there shortly.

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    1. Hi Natalie, I admire your courage when switching from Blogger to WordPress. I have told you before how you have amazing energy. You accomplish a great deal and you stay very positive. You are an inspiration!

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  5. What a wonderful group of women who write. Inspiring. Such a gift to actually meet in person and get to know each other on a personal level. Tha I you for sharing the important tips and revelations. I have a long list of “if I had only known”.

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    1. Thank you for your lovely comment, Antoinette. One day if you are up to sharing your “if I had only known” I would love to read this. You likely have some unique gems, especially with all of your writing experience:)

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    1. Thank you Lisa, You have a great blog, visually and always interesting and fun to read. I am sure you could add many insights and a unique perspective. Thank you for your supportive comments, always:)

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  7. I really like your list, Erica. The one that spoke to me (and I think one of your other compatriots mentioned it too) was to be careful about the blog name you choose. If I had more energy (I’m incredibly lazy) I would somehow re-register mine now to “SNACKS in the Grass.” With a little foresight that might have been a better idea, but I was stuck on a few concepts when I created mine. Anyway, I’m glad you mentioned that. Your own blog’s title serves you very well, I think. Blog on! – Marty

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    1. Thank you for your kind comment, Marty. I am sure you could add many more gems to the list. I cannot imagine your name as anything else. The potential origin of “Snakesinthegrass” really lets my imagination go wild. Do you have a story written about this? Come to think of it, I have a specific reason I chose my name. Hmmmm…a future story. Blogging advice recommends shorter names. Which reminds me, I should probably lose one of the Erika’s:)

      Reading your blog has inspired me, Marty. Some of my takeaways from your site: not following rules, being genuine, entertaining, often a great deal of research and writing in your own voice. The learning curve never ends. Thank you for your support:)

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      1. I probably should have mentioned I had three rules for myself at the start of my blogging endeavor: (1) No writing about politics (oops, blew that one), (2) Never write what I call “crabby old man pieces” where I bitch and moan about things (i.e. waiting to get a haircut, the price of gasoline, long lines in the grocery store, etc.), and (3) never actually write about blogging. Except for politics, I’ve mostly stayed true to the second two, getting around the writing about blogging promise by doing so via guest-blogging stints on other people’s blogs. 🙂

        “Snakes in the Grass” was my attempt to talk about the odyssey I found myself in finalizing the divorce settlement with my ex-wife, plus also getting my former employer to resolve my early pension paperwork. Most of the divorce-related posts have all deleted at this point, so the name really doesn’t work so well anymore. But then, maybe it does. You seem to think so. 🙂

        Blogging is all about the collective community, really. We learn from one another, which is why I enjoy it so much. Good ideas inspire all of us.

        Keep both Erika and Erica. It keeps us on our toes.

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        1. Oh, interesting. I would never have guessed the original reasons for the name. Without giving it any real thought, I saw the picnic basket in your photo. Snakes and other surprises, good and bad can be found in the grass at a picnic site. It opens the field to a diverse range of topics and stories.

          I agree with learning from each other:) Erica/Erika

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    1. New points from you Janis, I can immediately implement into my day: Set notifications to once a week – brilliant idea, why did I not think of this:) Sharing your creative spirit – for me this is remembering why I began blogging in the first place. Thank you for the reminder, Janis!

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  9. All interesting lists! I agree with nearly everything. I started blogging for myself. to record my memories, and it was a long time before I interacted with people. As soon as I did I wished I’d done it sooner. That would be the main thing I wish i’d known earlier.

    I’ve so enjoyed reading the various posts about this meet-up.

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    1. Thank you Anabel for your kind comment. You remind me how the learning curve with blogging never ends. You have amazing content and photos on your site. I am always learning new things and living vicariously through your travels. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts:)

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    1. Thank you for reading and your thoughts, Sue. It is good for me to hear how our blogs are constantly evolving, just as we evolve, too. I greatly enjoy reading your site, always filled with interesting posts and interesting women. I also like how you share your vulnerability and your journey. Thank you for sharing, Sue:)

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    1. Hi Donna, I agree with you. I thought there would be a great deal of overlap, and yet I was surprised how many new points I can incorporate right away. Your “less can be more” resonated with a lot of readers, including myself. And, not needing to be perfect. This is a challenge I thought I had overcome and it continues to appear. We all know there is no such thing as perfection and for me, it can hinder my progress. Oops……no such thing as “perfection” except for our husbands, of course;)

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  12. Hi Erica,
    Just got done reading Kathy’s blog, then Donna’s, and now yours about the “10 Things” to know before starting a blog. Laughed reading everyone’s list, but nodded my head many times as well.
    It’s a lot of work, this blogging thing, but it has great rewards – doesn’t it?
    Particularly blogging friends like you!
    xoxox

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    1. Hi Nancy, You are getting this same article in your feed a few times, because of the friends you have made:) I read your response on Donna’s site and I like your additions to the list. “What is important to you”. “It’s an evolution.” “Remembering that life is happening while you are blogging.” I wonder what we will add to this list after five years of blogging, Nancy? Thank you for all of your support! xoxo

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  13. As you can tell, I’m behind as usual 😉

    I’m finally catching up with your reposting of this summary by Kathy!

    I like your comment how blogging is really a team sport. The more I think about it, the more the ‘rightness’ of the statement stands out. But of course only a blogger would get it 🙂

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  14. I loved reading your list – and those of the other bloggers. I have no idea what I’d put on mine, but your comment re naming your blog resonates with me – it’s one of the mistakes I made early on. I love the generosity of the community, but mostly I love how blogging dissolves boundaries – physical and otherwise. Have a fabulous week.

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    1. Hi Jo, Yes on the generosity of the community! And, yes on dissolves boundaries. I almost forget that we live in different hemispheres until I read and see photos of an entirely different season. Thank you for your thoughts. You have a great week, too!

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  15. I so enjoyed the post and all of the advice. I found it very interesting how similar, yet how unique the thoughts were/are. I’m very thankful our paths have crossed here, thank you for your continued support and for sharing the advice to other bloggers.

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    1. Hi Shelley, You said it well, how similar and yet how unique. You also make a great point on sharing the advice. I am finding this is a recurring theme in the supportive blogging community. You likely received this post in your inbox a few times, Shelley:) Thank you reading and commenting. I always enjoy your positive and visually beautiful site:)

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  16. I started out blogging to flex my creative muscles in retirement. I’ve written a little here and there, and even majored in journalism in college and worked in P.R., but I wanted to write from an inspired point of view. I wouldn’t write anything unless it came from a deep spot from within and so I only write usually, and still write, only about once a month. I would write long detailed stories because I really wanted to build the scene and give as many nuances of a situation as I could. It was as if I was asking my readers to go on a journey with me. Trouble is, not many people have time to read surplus material, and so for the most part I wrote for myself and as personal therapy, although I secretly longed to have more readers, ha ha. Of course I did!

    It wasn’t until I met Donna, of Retirement Reflections, that I steered my writing in another direction. I told her how I didn’t feel those closest to me, my own relatives and sometimes dearest friends, weren’t supporting me in my writing. She was so empathetic and told me that I would probably get more support from other bloggers. We supported each other’s blogs and it was from having been introduced to her style of blogging that *I finally started adding photos* (!!!) which made my blog more interesting and personal.

    So all I know is if I had to do it over again, I would shorten my installments and definitely add images and photos. I do that now and it gives me great satisfaction because the photos always mean something to me and readers seem to love them,

    Sorry for my late reply here and sorry for length of this comment, hee hee. Sometimes I have a bit of the Irish blarney.

    Warmest,

    Susan Grace

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    1. Hi Susan, Ironically, I was just commenting on your Alaska cruise post. I didn’t see my comment, so I thought possibly if we were commenting at the same time, it might not work? Anyways, the comment(s) may be moderating and you will end up with 2 comments:)

      I make sure to set aside some quiet time to read your posts, Susan. I know you usually speak from the heart and I want to be fully present to read your insights.

      Donna has had an instrumental effect on many bloggers and she is a wonderful mentor and very supportive. I am really at the one year mark of blogging. I experimented with putting a few thoughts online and whether a photo would work, just to get WP started before then. I was also surprised how it is mostly the blogging community that supports our writing and our personal stories. We may support friends and family’s photos and stories on social media. I find very few friends and family will read and support our stories and photos when they are written on a blog. Interesting.

      A longer comment, too, Susan:) You always give me lots to think about.

      Continue to share your voice, Susan. I “get it.” It resonates with me and I often continue to think about many of the points you bring up. XO

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