Tag: blogging tips

5 Things I’ve Learned After 5 Years of Blogging

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5 things I've learned in 5 years of blogging

I am still in shock that I’ve been writing Life of Hayley for 5 years! This has been such a fun adventure and I hope to continue blogging for the foreseeable future.

One question I get asked is what are the things I have learned about blogging over the years. The blogging community is changing rapidly and it’s hard to keep up with all of the new influencers popping up every single day. I try not to take blogging too seriously which has helped me continue to love writing after all this time.

Here are five things that I have learned in my five years as a blogger:

  1. Not everyone needs or wants to be a professional blogger. I have no real desire to blog full time right now. I really enjoy having Life of Hayley be my hobby and because it’s not my full time job it’s okay if from time to time I need a break from it. If blogging was my full time job I would have to create a content calendar and stick to it. Some of my favorite posts are the random ones that I wrote when I was feeling inspired.
  2. The more time you put into your blog the more you get out of it. I have found that the more time and energy I put into a post the more views and comments it gets. The more I post the better my blog does but it’s important to remember that it’s not all about your blog stats! I blog because I love to and not because I like to see how many people are reading each day. I’d rather have one meaningful comment than one million page views.
  3. Being able to look back at your life is pretty cool. I’m terrible at keeping a journal and my memory isn’t the best. Being able to look back at blog posts over the last five years is really cool. I have been able to document my life and can see how much I have changed and how far I have come. I can be proud of my journey.
  4. You don’t have to be a web designer to have a nice blog design. When I was in high school I wanted to be a web designer so I took all of the web design/coding classes that my school had to offer. I am lucky to have a small amount of knowledge about web design but for the most part you really don’t have to have any prior knowledge to start a blog. WordPress is great because it has a ton of free themes and it’s easy to watch Youtube tutorials if you want to customize anything.
  5. Making connections is the best part of blogging. YOU are the reason I keep writing! All of my blogging friends and this community is what inspires me to keep telling my story. I love sharing my journey but I also love reading about your journey too.

What are your best blogging tips?

Lifestyle Blog, Life of Hayley

Photo by Arnel Hasanovic on Unsplash

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Mystery Blogger Award

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Mystery Blogger Award, Lifestyle Blogger

Hello and Happy Thursday!

First of all, I wanted to say a huge thank you for all of the love I received on my last Migraine Update post. I so appreciate all of the love and support during this challenging time!

I was nominated for the Mystery Blogger Award back in May by the wonderful Jess from Jess of Earth! I am so grateful to Jess for the nomination and have been loving reading all of the other nominees posts.

According to the award, the Mystery Blogger Award is “an award for amazing bloggers with indigenous posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging and they do it with so much love and passion.”

Here are the rules:

  • Thank whoever nominated you and include a link to their blog
  • Tell your readers three things about yourself
  • Nominate bloggers you feel deserve the award
  • Answer the questions from the person who nominated you
  • Ask your nominees 5 questions of your choice, with one weird or funny one
  • Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog

Three Facts About Me:

  1. I am really shy when I first meet someone and it takes me a long time to get comfortable. But when I do get comfortable I’m actually pretty sassy and funny!
  2. Coke Slushies are my favorite drink ever! I have made a list of the best and worst places around me to buy them.
  3. I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I love re-reading the books, watching the movies, and talking about the characters/plot as often as I can! Ginny Weasley is my favorite character!

The Questions from Jess:

  1. If your life was a book, what would this chapter be called?
    • This chapter of my life book would be called “Taking Back My Life.” I’m starting to fight for what I want and put myself first which I have never done before.
  2. What is your favorite form of self-care?
    • I have only recently started my self-care journey. I had my first massage last Friday and loved it!
  3. What is your go-to feel good song?
    • My go-to feel good song is Waiting by Green Day. GD has been my favorite band since I was in the fifth grade and this particular song never fails to bring a smile to my face! It also reminds me of the moments directly after saying “I Do” at our wedding because it was our recessional song!
  4. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
    • The best piece of advice I ever received was to do one thing that scares me every day. When I was in high school I had really bad anxiety and it was stopping me from doing so many things that I wanted to do. Somewhere along the line I decided to face my fears and I’m so glad that I did. If I was still letting anxiety and fear rule over me 99% of them time I would have never studied abroad, climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower, or gone down into the Catacombs of Paris. Today my life is way less exciting but I still push myself outside of my comfort zone by joining process improvement projects at work and studying for the CFA introduction classes.
  5. If there were no limitations, what would be your dream job?
    • If I didn’t have bills or responsibilities I would love to be a travel blogger. I am dying for another adventure! I would also love to write and publish a children’s book!

My Nominees:

My Questions:

  1. What’s the #1 destination on your travel bucketlist?
  2. What has been your greatest accomplishment?
  3. What’s the first thing you notice about people?
  4. What has been your favorite blog post to write? Why?
  5. What is your favorite quote?

Thanks again to Jess for the nomination!

Lifestyle Blog, Life of Hayley

 

Let’s Chat About Instagram!

Instagram, Blogging, Social Media Blogging
Hey, friends!

I’ve been thinking a lot about Instagram lately and I wanted to get your opinion on it.

I see SO many bloggers connecting with other bloggers on Instagram and I really want to join in on the fun. I have an account but I use it for my personal life and have friends and family follow me. I feel awkward promoting my blog on my personal Instagram. I go to post something and think “no one cares about your blog” and delete it. 90% of my Instagram posts never even make it to the public.

So, what I want to know is what is your opinion on having an Instagram account just dedicated to your blog? I’ve been blogging for almost five years and still don’t feel super comfortable promoting myself to people I know outside of blogging so I think I need to create a separate account.

Would it be okay to create a new Instagram?

Let me know what you think! I would love to discuss!

 

Lifestyle Blog, Life of Hayley

Image via Unsplash