So, you’ve thought about starting a blog. Maybe you want to share your stories, experiences, or recipes! Maybe, you’ve got killer style or an enviable lifestyle. Before we get into the nitty-gritty of what blogging truly entails, let’s start off with a few simple questions.
- Is there something you want to share or write about that you think people will find interesting?
- Are you ready to sit at your desk and chug away on your laptop trying to figure out the secrets of blogging?
- Do your friends and family come to you with questions about a specific topic?
If you answered yes to these three questions, you could be well on your way to becoming a blogger! It’s one of the most rewarding, frustrating, and tiresome learning experiences I’ve had. But, it’s also become one of my passions! If you’re still thinking about becoming a blogger, here’s the honest truth behind what my blogging days consist of. And a sneak peak into a few of my projects, from conception until BIRTH (just kidding).
Weekday Schedule
Since I do have a day job, my blogging schedule can really vary, depending on what time I get home. I work full-time for a large company with offices all over the world. My “day job” schedule requires me to be in the office from 8:30am-4:30pm. When it gets busy, there are a few days where I won’t leave until 5:30pm or 7pm. Of course rush hour traffic adds to my commute, so a 20 minute drive home will usually be 30-45 minutes. After getting home, I get started on my blog immediately! I will usually have a to-do list of things I need to get done, for example:
- Finish Wednesday’s blog post
- Follow up with social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc)
- Plan out the upcoming weeks’ Vlogs
- Reach out to other bloggers and companies for collaborations
- Read other content and articles from bloggers
- Read online newspapers for any news related to travel, women empowerment, or international couples to incorporate into future blog posts
I work on my blog from the time I get home (usually 5pm or 5:30pm) until I get ready for bed (10:30pm). This may sound like a good amount of time to get a lot of work done; but trust me, when you’re working on your computer all day in the office and come home to sit in front of your laptop to create content, it is tiring. There are a lot of breaks in between that are filled with checking Instagram, scrolling through my Facebook feed, or helping my parents cook dinner. With all of those things put into account, and the hour I have for dinner with my family, there isn’t much time! I am also easily distracted, so that means there are days I try to get work done and end up watching a lot of videos on YouTube (oops).
Weekend Schedule
My weekends are devoted to blogging. I plan all of my photoshoots, recording, or projects for the weekend. My mornings are usually for catching up with social media, engagement with other bloggers, and responding to email inquiries. While I’m enjoying breakfast, I’m also reading up on other bloggers and the content they create. Afterwards, I try to get a head start on the next week’s blog post or editing a video for Sunday’s vlog. Y’all, it never stops!
During the afternoon is when I head out to get my photoshoots or recording done. If I have a friend I’m working on a project with, we try to meet early to catch the most sunlight. My Lookbook shoots usually take about 3 hours to record, which means I don’t get home until 5pm to only finish blog posts or brainstorm content ideas. If I don’t have a project I need to work on, I am chugging away on making edits to my blog on the backend, growing my Instagram following, or brainstorming new ideas! I usually stop working on my blog around 11pm on the weekends, and if I have plans, I try to get as much done beforehand as possible.
Here’s an idea of what my full-day blogging schedule looks like on the weekends:
8:30am – Wake up, scroll through Instagram and respond to comments, engage with new accounts, follow accounts that interest and inspire me, check Facebook for updates, share interesting articles or save them for future shares, go on Twitter, respond to retweets, retweet other articles from other bloggers
9:30amย – Get up and get ready for the day, head downstairs to make breakfast
10:00am – Breakfast and commenting on interesting articles, drafting a new blog post (finish at least half of the post), start drafting ideas for new projects and finishing projects, emailing potential collaborators to work together
11:30am – Realize what time it is, head to the shower, actually get dressed and ready to leave the house, go back to finishing what I had been working on before I showered
12:30pm – Get hungry, ask my sisters what they want to eat (this can usually take an hour), in the meantime, watch some YouTube videos for Vlog inspirations, continue drafting blog posts, continue brainstorming ideas for campaigns or monetizing ideas
1:30pm – FINALLY GOING TO EAT LUNCH
2:30pm – Back home and going straight to blogging, take a break to work out (this happens occasionally hehe), chores, and more chores around the house
4:00pm – Freak out because it’s 4:00pm and I feel like I haven’t done any work or gotten anything done, get back to work for brainstorming and flushing out ideas for monetization
5:00pm – Edit vlog posts and create graphics for social media promotion, blog posts, and vlog posts
7:00pm – Dinner with my family!
9:30pm – Home and relaxing
10:30/11pm – In bed if I have no plans and back to Instagram to comment on photos, respond to comments, and try to grow my followers
*Disclaimer: What you don’t see are the moments when I am extremely distracted and watching movie trailers on YouTube, insta-stalking a fellow blogger, reading random articles online, getting sucked into the Facebook funny video vortex, or sitting around and hanging out with my sisters.
Why blogging?
I started blogging when I was 13 or 14 years old, in 2002/2003. To be honest, it all started with Xanga. I wish I remembered what my Xanga was called, so I could link it for y’all! Well, maybe not, because it was full of teenage angst and a lot of very weird posts. I think I’ve come quite a long way from all the teenage angst, I hope! In 7th grade, Xanga became huge, and I loved the entire concept of it. There were groups we could join to “meet” other people, similar to the Facebook groups we have now. My Xanga was mostly used as an online diary, but I enjoyed being able to customize my site by learning simple coding. After Xanga died, I moved on to Myspace. It wasn’t necessarily the same as Xanga, because I don’t think we could write posts (or could we, I don’t remember!). After Myspace, I moved over to Tumblr. I still have my Tumblr now, but barely use it!
At 13/14 years old, I also had my own side blogs on Blogger that focused on my day to day life. I then found out that I could start making money with my blog, so at 14, I started researching it. I devoured through lifestyle, style, travel, parenting, and food blogs. Everything about the blogs captured me, and I wanted to have a platform to share my opinions and experiences while helping people as well. So, I started blogs, and then I shut down my blogs. I think in my blogging lifetime (over 10 years), I have had a total of 7-8 blogs until I stuck with The Quirky Pineapple.
Blogging allows me to share what I know to help other people. I cannot say I know everything, nor my advice tried and true. But, I do love being able to share my experiences with others to give them a new perspective, help them, and ultimately encourage and inspire. My blog is my platform to invite you to share my adventures, while having the courage and fire to pursue your own adventure along the way!
Still want to blog?
Let’s go back to the three questions at the beginning of this post:
- Is there something you want to share or write about that you think people will find interesting?
- Are you ready to sit at your desk and chug away on your laptop trying to figure out the secrets of blogging?
- Do your friends and family come to you with questions about a specific topic?
If you STILL answered yesย to these questions,ย what are you waiting for?! Having a blog opens doors to opportunities, allows you to connect with people from all over the world, and is a place to share your knowledge and experiences about a subject! It’s a passion that fulfils me creatively, where I can learn something new every day. It’s challenging, worthwhile, andย is my way of expressing myself!
Blog Mentoring with The Quirky Pineapple!
I am excited to announce that I am now offering Blog Mentoring! With over 10 years of experience in blogging, writing, and social media, I want to help newbie bloggers start and maintain their blogs. I am offering three different blogging packages for bloggers at different stages of their blog life:
- The Basics of Blogging (for the newbie blogger who has never blogged before) — 1 month of mentoring
- The “How To’s” of Blogging Seriously (for the blogger thatย wants to take their blog to the next level) — 1 month of mentoring
- Building Your Blog’s Brand (for the social media influencer who wants to make an impact) — 2 months of mentoring
Want to learn more about these packages and if working with me is the right fit for you? You can email me directly at: cassandra.le17@gmail.com. If you’re curious, but not sure if creating a blog and keeping up with it is right for you, join my Pineappler family to keep up to date with Blog Mentoring information and special discounts, tips, and love!
With these sessions youโll have the confidence to start AND MAINTAIN your blog, so it won’t be just one of those hobbies that you tried out and then lost interest in. Everyone wants to feel important, and everyone else is a nosy motherf*cker – so if youโve got something you want to share, chances are people will want to read it.
I am stalking through your posts on your blog now (hehe) and can’t wait to connect with you more!
Thank you for the honest and detailed post. I’m still new to blogging, but I can already see it’s time commitment and constant work in progress. How cool that you started so young!
xx
Courtney
http://www.thedaringdarling.com