Top 5 Things I’ve Learned From Starting My Blog

Happy Birthday Blog! I can’t believe You Had Me At Solo is turning one. I just renewed my domain and had a flash back to how hard it was for me to come up with a name for everything. I was so excited to get started and then I couldn’t get past the first step. I’ve come a long way since deciding to start my blog a year ago. To celebrate, I thought I’d write a post on everything I’ve learned from this past year. So much has changed since I started my blog. One year ago, we were in the middle of lockdown and I figured with all the free time I had on my hands, I would start some things I’d always wanted to try. If I wasn’t able to go anywhere, I would write about adventure. My blog has been everything from a fun hobby to a talking point on my resume. This is everything I’ve learned.

1. It’s a lot of work. Like, so much more work than anyone on the internet will tell you. There’s the brainstorming, content creation, and then promotion on social. And that’s the bare bones. I don’t post content regularly and I still think it’s a lot. I have a lot of respect for people who began from nothing and now run a successful blog.
2. Along the same vein, it’s important to love what you do. Because all of the above is so much work, maintaining the blog can become tedious if you don’t enjoy it. I write about things I’m interested in and chose platforms I enjoy being on (WordPress and Instagram).
3. Handling delicate situations. I recently graduated university and am currently working in public relations, the industry devoted to handling public facing content. Writing about traveling during a time where that was about the last thing anyone was condoning taught me a lot about how to approach sticky topics and get creative with my angles.
4. On a more technical side, I learned about web hosting, website design, branding, how to optimize SEO, Instagram and Google Analytics, Adobe Photoshop, and got hands on experience running social media marketing. It was great to get practice with what I had been learning in the classroom at the time and also gain experience in skills that are arguably essential for any successful website today.
5. Creativity is key! I am a huge advocate of local travel and finding adventure in your backyard. One of my favorite parts of running this blog is researching interesting, off-the-beaten-path places to explore and document.

My blog has taught me a lot but it has also motivated me to keep searching for adventures. It is so easy to fall into a rut and get comfortable where you are. Now that it’s been a year I’m reevaluating where I want to take You Had Me At Solo moving forward, but I know where ever it is will be exciting.