When life gives you lemons, you can do many things. But one of them is lemonade. If you are lonely, you can have a lot of problems, but one result is you can start writing.
Research says most writers start writing when they don’t have enough people to talk to. Maybe that did happen to me back in 2014. Being the mommy of a two-year-old living in a small town with limited adult social interaction can affect you in different ways. With that, I lost touch with people close to me. It was a difficult time but the inner confusion spurted forth through the keyboard on my phone. For the first two years of my blogging journey, I wrote on my phone with the baby napping in my lap. Using the laptop was a luxury I didn’t have time for.
When you can’t help yourself, sometimes helping others helps us in ways beyond the usual.
Writing helpful content, in the health- wellness sphere was my way of doing more of what I did professionally but online. It was one way of giving back for all the help I received. Plus it was possible from home, at any time, while building a possible resource for the future. I didn’t know SEO, Keyword research, I was a non-native English speaker but I had a passion and the elusive Ikigai (which I didn’t know back then).
I published my first nonfiction book-the Fruits for Life ,the first in the Nutrition secrets series,that went on to help create a different avenue of opportunity. I was now also an author. It was a turning point and I am grateful to the self-publishing world of KDP for making this possible.
Then came the podcast in 2018 and there was no looking back. The blogging journey was influenced by Pat Flynn and Amy Lynn Andrew’s blogs. But the Podcasting leap was solely because of the Smart Passive Income podcast. The dream of future passive income, when you are active today was inspiring.
Then there was a surprise win for my second podcast with India’s first Voice of Anchor 2022, co-hosted by Anchor and Spotify India which made me brave enough to push for the launch of my first fiction Audiobook. None of this happened in isolation and everything happens for a reason. How did I grow my blog? What worked, and what didn’t? What do I wish I knew? That’s what this post is about.
13 Blogging Lessons I learned in eight years of Blogging Journey
The Lessons from eight years of Blogging were learned through sweat and grime and loads of time, learning, doing, making mistakes, giving up, and then trying again.
1) Writing helpful content with the audience persona in mind is crucial. Write the answers to questions people search for. Google Helpful content update says just that. Educate bridge the knowledge gap and level the playing field. Whether people will learn and what they do after learning, is another matter altogether. My blog, Podcasts, and YouTube channel are all a part of the content ecosphere. I believe in education to level the playing field.
2. Don’t forget search engine optimization but don’t let it weigh you done. Too much research can be mind-numbing.SEMrush and Yoast have several free courses so keep learning. Read a lot. Always.
3. Writing with keywords in mind but your unique take will help make you write better content. But this won’t happen overnight and even now sometimes I just write opinion posts when I don’t want to research keywords. That’s the good part of being a blogger. You are a writer, a change-maker, a teacher, a social activist, or anything you want to be. But Keywords are crucial if you want to reach the people who need your help.
4. Internal linking is an often ignored piece of backend work that can really help Google index your content. Just be careful about what you are linking to and avoid keyword competition within your own blog posts. It’s called Keyword cannibalization and should be avoided at all costs. That happened to me and I have to go back and correct my mistakes.
5 Sharing on social media will help even early ones. But don’t build your blogging business on a social platform. Rented land is rented land. Schedule posts to avoid burnout. Did you know Jetpack premium has a scheduler and now allows multiple sharing of blog posts from within your WordPress dashboard?I am a procrastinator when it comes to scheduling and forever struggle to remember to do it just right.
6. Start creating a podcast on a free platform like Anchor around your pillar posts to see how it works for you. Similarly, create a YouTube channel. Remember to focus on one platform at a time. If you are the only one managing all sides of your blog, then having a plan for each content type becomes even more important. Repurposing smartly according to the platform is the best way to extend the life of your blog posts and reach more people. Go for paid hosting for audio and video, after you are willing to go the extra mile.I am still not there and that’s for another post in the future.
7. Write the book or blog the book. Whatever works for you. Having your own book to share an in-depth topic you are passionate about will really help make you an authority in that field. That is a cool way to get you more brand work and opportunities. You can self-publish the book or offer it as an opt-in freebie. Either way, it will help you. I have a collection of nonfiction and cozy mysteries in Kindle Unlimited under Dr.Amrita Basu’s pen name that is free to read. Check them out.
8. Start the newsletter and this is where I am still struggling and regret not doing it in a more dedicated manner. I did start back in 2018, but life was too busy back then and I was barely managing. But now I am back to sending newsletters to my fledgling list. Start early. That’s my advice. Don’t make the mistake I made. Subscribe to my newsletter here.
9. Don’t compare yourself with anyone. It’s soul-sucking and will stop you from creating. Ignore the noise and FOMO
10. Be persistent in content creation. Be part of a quality platform like Intellifluence to help brands find you. It’s the best way to help support the work you do. While reading a lot will help you learn. Writing a lot will help you build that muscle memory and confidence which is needed to grow in your blogging journey.
11 Be mindful of your why a.k.a the mission statement. Every content piece is a chance to help another person. That’s my mission and if this helps you, I would love it if you subscribed to my newsletter.
12 Rehashing content without your unique take is a disservice to your reader. So remember to always create with your reader in mind. Their time should never be wasted.
13 Accepting new technology and marketing methods will help your mission and vision. Whatever you do, never forget to have fun while exploring the creative playground.
What helped me continue creating content?
I wanted to live my life, not die trying to prove a point. Blogging was my part-time income and continued working as a private practitioner full-time. I love being a doctor, and the flexibility of being self-employed is addictive, even if challenging. But blogging helped me spread my wings, have fun and help people in ways I never dreamt of. That is the reason that keeps me going.