10 Things Bloggers Understand

When you have been blogging a long time there are certain things that you learn along the way. Some of them are very technical and others not so much. There are a few things that you learn about blogging that only other bloggers will understand. I put together a list of those things that I realized along the way. Both the good and the bad.

1. Blogging is a 24 Hour Job

Even when you aren’t blogging you are thinking about it. Planning posts in your head, changing things on your site, going over all of the million things that you need to get done. Taking pictures, searching for the perfect picture, editing, the list can go on and on. No matter where you are or what you are doing, a blogger can weave something into a blog post. Even if it is just to describe the room that they are in, which leads us to the next item.

2. Any and Everything Can Be a Post

Talking with your friends and they say something amazing, visit to the doctor? You name it and a blogger can make it a post. I have been in the middle of the store and think “This would make a great post.” Of course I have had a horrible experience at places as well and think “I can’t wait to share this with my readers.” I have also had family and friends tell me that I better not blog something.

3.Email is Important!

Bloggers spend about half the day on email. Whether we are checking it, responding, or whatever. I now have set times during the day to check and respond to email. If not I would spend hours on it and get nothing else done. Not to mention being away from email is difficult. My vacation had moments of panic because I told myself I would only check my email once a day. Something might be sitting in that inbox waiting for me and I had moments where I couldn’t handle that. It is an addiction, I’m sure.

4. Pictures Matter!

This was something I didn’t understand when I first began blogging. Don’t think pictures matter? When I take a review picture I take more than a hundred shots of the same item from every possible angle just to get the few that end up in the blog post or on social media. I’m talking full scale photo shoot with all the gear and lots of yelling. I’m not the nicest photographer, especially when no one wants to listen to me. Then I spend hours editing and adjusting said images to get the perfect ones. In fact, you will be seeing my new camera and the experience that goes along with it over on A Lucky Grace very soon. Not to mention all the new photos that will be taken with said camera both over there and here.

5.Social Media is No Longer a Past Time

You check out social media in your free time, right? Well, bloggers are on there so much we give teens a run for their money. It seems like I always have to check posts, make sure things are posting, scheduling stuff, responding to comments, and so much more. I have an hour or two set each day to check my social media. If not I would get lost on there.

6. Negative Comments Hurt Like Mother

Yep you read that correctly. Negative comments hurt so much to this day. I don’t care how old you get you feel it. There have been times that I have cried over negative comments and told myself I would never write another post ever. Not as long as I lived. Then I put on my big girl panties and started writing again. I remind myself that everyone is entitled to their opinion and move on.

7. Blog Comparing

I can’t tell you how often I compare my blog to another. They have a feature that I like or their images seem so much better. Oh my goodness where in the world did they figure out how to get things to do that? It is an everyday thing and one of the biggest reasons there have been so many changes here over the years. As bloggers we are always trying to outdo one another whether we realize it or not. It’s easy to say don’t compare but the truth is you will. I have learned that I am uniquely me and that is okay.

8. Friends You Won’t Ever Meet

One thing about blogging is that you meet so many people. People that become friends that you will never actually meet.I could say this is true about a lot of web based work environments. I know that through the work I do with some authors I am friends with a lot of people that I know on site but have never actually met. In fact, there are a couple that I text with daily but we have never met in person. We most likely never will meet. That is also true of many of my readers. Some have become close friends but we haven’t met one another.

9. No Internet Will Make Crazy

This is so true. The Saturday of the Labor Day weekend my internet week out. I called and they said it would be late in the week before they could get someone out to me because of the holiday. All I kept thinking was that I had work to do. I was going to be so behind and I swear I cried tot he lady on the phone.

10. You’re Always On

There are plenty of times that I have heard I could leave the camera at home. Don’t bring the “blogger” with you when you come. Yeah that just doesn’t work that way. If I forget my camera something will happen and I won’t have pictures of it. Trust me when I tell you that this has happen more times than I could tell you. I do attempt to turn the blogger off sometimes. It doesn’t always work but I am learning to be more in the moment than working articles for everything in my head.