What I Learned in My First Year Of Blogging

Hi, Lovelies!

I’m sure by now you have all heard the quote, “Take pride in how far you’ve come. Have faith in how far you can go, but don’t forget to enjoy the journey”.

A year ago, I officially launched Style Her Strong Blog. It was a huge leap of faith for me. Putting my words out there for everyone to read, learning how to design a website, figuring out how to link and monetize my efforts. It took a lot of learning, reading, researching just to get the blog up and running. I don’t think there was one ounce of the beginning that was easy or fun, but I found myself up into the wee hours of the night grinding out the necessary and hard parts of the blog so I could get to the “fun stuff”.

You see, I wanted this. Bad. A little backstory, I had a blog in college called Preppy In Pittsburgh. It was a fun little creative outlet to help me endure my Biochemistry major. Back then, there were no real ways to monetize (make money) off of the blog, so when I got a “real job” Preppy In Pittsburgh was forgotten.

I still longed for that creative outlet though. Right after having my daughter in 2014, I decided to become a mostly Stay At Home Mom. I was teaching a few fitness classes but that was about it. Around this time, I brought up the thought of perhaps starting a blog to my husband. My husband, being the realist that he is, laughed and said, ” if you have the money to fund the start-up of it go ahead”.

That may have postponed the timing of the blog, but being the dreamer that I am, I was not done with this big plan of mine. A few more attempts to get my husband on board, and there I was in January of 2016 writing a business plan for the blog in order to seek my financial planning husband’s approval.

Fast forward six months and there I was at my first job interview in 8 years with Stitch Fix. I officially started working for Stitch Fix in September of 2017 (work and blog anniversary month for me, yippee!). Why do I bring this up? Because my husband was nice enough to allow all of my earnings from my new job to be put towards starting my blog.

So now that you know the backstory, I want to first start by sharing ten things that I learned in my first year of blogging.

Ten Things I Learned In My First Year Of Blogging

1. It is time-consuming. Let me break it down for you. First, you have to plan the posts out. Then comes the composition of the post which requires planning the outfits, finding the location, staging/styling, taking pictures, and editing those pictures. Once the pictures are edited, you must upload them to your website dashboard, label them to help the SEO (search engine optimization), then there is the actual writing of the post, editing of the post, and then linking any products or sites used. After that, there is then the stage of cross-posting across all channels of social media. When it’s all said and done it’s upwards of 3-4 hours on a good day. The thing is, I enjoy each step of this process, so even though it is time-consuming I love transitioning a post from my creative thoughts to actually existing on my blog.
2. You will be uncomfortable. Do you want to know the weirdest part of blogging? Taking the pictures. Especially living in a small town where you know everyone, it’s a little weird to be posing for pictures with your husband as the photographer, you get a lot of “I saw your husband taking pictures of you” or you run into someone you know and they ask what you are doing or if you want them to take a picture of both of you (thank you but no…I just want my husband to awkwardly take pictures of just me). You also have to learn to be uncomfortable with the weather. This past winter was brutal. I was shooting spring outfits in the middle of snowstorms. I was cold. A lot. I would have to say that I love the end result of pictures but sometimes the process is well…uncomfortable.
3. You can make money blogging. But you won’t at first. I have gotten countless messages asking me if I actually make money blogging. The answer is yes. At this point, is it enough for me to support my family? No. Is it possible for me to get to that point? Yes. This is a loaded answer because there is so much that goes into making money with the blog. Algorithms and privacy policies have increasingly made it harder to make money blogging, unfortunately, but as my following has grown, I have seen an increase in my profits. But if we go back to my first point about how time-consuming blogging is, I make pennies compared to the time I put into it. I would love to get to the point where I am making a supportive income with the blog but it does take time. I know this sounds a bit negative, but it’s reality, and it hasn’t stopped me from loving every second of it and enjoying the process of growing and monetizing my blog.
4. Be prepared to receive feedback. Because I post on such a public platform, people feel that it is fair game to share their opinions of my work with me. Most of the time, I am all ears and love to hear what people would like to see more of or what outfits they liked/didn’t like. But sometimes you get a “That post was so much better than the rest” or a “well I let my daughter dress herself because I want her to be her own person” and it kinda stings a little bit.
5. For every ounce of negative feedback comes a wave of positivity. One of my favorite parts of blogging is meeting fellow bloggers. I have this whole little community of supportive and amazing people all over the country and even the world that I met through my blog. People I would have never met otherwise. I mean how cool is that!? The same thing goes for working with brands that I would have never known about without the blog creating that open door.
6. It’s okay to say no. I stink at saying no. I usually get roped into all sorts of things because I don’t know how to say that word. One thing I had to learn this year is to use it. Whether it was my social calendar or working with a brand that just didn’t fit with my life, I found that it’s okay to not overcommit and say no. Politely of course.
7. Blogging will transform the way you think. I have always been a dreamer. But something in my brain clicked on that makes me really appreciate the simple beauties of the world around me. Of course, I am always looking for my next location to shoot, but it has transformed me from a Type A go-go-do-doer to a stop and smell the roses person. I admire that hydrangea bush someone trimmed so perfectly or the white picket fence or the blue skies a little bit more now.
8. You will be happier. It doesn’t have to be blogging, but I can 100% guarantee that when you do something that you love, you are a better person for it. I feel more centered when I write. When I focus a little bit of time on the blog and writing before my family wakes up in the morning, I feel like my day is more balanced and fulfilled because I gave myself that “me-time”.
9. How to be efficient on social media. My neck started hurting me a month into blogging last year. To the point where I hated looking at my phone screen. I started using a planning app that helped me link and plan ahead all of my social media posts so I didn’t have to spend so much time looking at a screen.
10. There is no one you-er than you. I love that when it comes to blogging, there is no cookie cutter blogger. Sure many share similar outfits or workouts or recipes, but every blogger has their own style of writing, designing, styling and I LOVE THAT. It eliminates the competitive aspect of the job and allows you to be inspired by others while still creating in your own way.

Highlights from my First Year of Blogging:

• Collaborating with Brooks Brothers twice
• Working with Lilly Pulitzer on the Lilly for Pottery Barn Kids launch
• Lilly working with Rockets of Awesome for one of their advertisements
• Being featured on Jack Rogers, Sperry
• Collaborating with Shoot My Travel
• Getting approved as an influencer and featured with LIKEtoKNOW.it
• Working with so many amazing brands I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to without my blog

Thank You

• To my husband. Who forced me to look at the business side of the blog; who has been my warrior of a photographer and supporter. Who always brings me back to reality but lets me dream big.
• My daughter. Who brings all the sass and pretty much is the reason my blog is a success.
• My family. Who share my blog posts relentlessly and are my biggest fans. I love you.
• My followers. Your kindness and support mean the world to me and constantly reminds me why I love blogging so much.

This has been one of the best and most rewarding years of my life. This little blog has brought so much happiness into my life. Thank you for following me on this wild journey and for your love and support. Here’s to wishing Style Her Strong another year!

HAPPY ONE YEAR SHS!

I love you guys so much!

xoxo,

Kalyn