I've been writing...

It's been 3 months since I posted my very first blog post - Hello! What Niche? and its been a cool journey so far. I've reached several milestones in this short time...
2000+ page views... Almost 100 Facebook likes (Madame Dreamer Blog)... 30+ Google+ followers and I've even had one of my posts featured (Stress Overload! Rescue Remedy). I celebrate all milestones big and small.

I've learned lots! For example, 3 months ago, I had no idea what a blog hop or link party was. I've also made new friends and joined communities that I would have never even known about if it wasn't for blogging. There's so many things to learn in this blogging world and lots of interesting people to meet. Everyone has tips and tricks and advice to share. One thing I learned pretty quickly is that there is a blog about every topic under the sun. You name it, there's a blog for it. Maybe 10.

One question I've been asked a couple times in the last few months is "Why did you create a blog?".. truth is.. I've been writing for a long time. I was the girl who always had a journal/diary. Whether it was a spiral notebook, a binder, electronic, had a key or one of those pretty flowery ones with the page marker.. I had to have something to get my thoughts out. Till this day, I write. It's my therapy. Blogging has become an extension of that.

So, if you've ever thought about blogging, want to start a blog or just started one yesterday...Here's a few tips I've learned so far as a new blogger..  

~Newbie Tips~ 

Interacting & Sharing - I like to call this Networking. Reading, commenting, sharing on other people's blogs and pages is a very important part of blogging. Honestly, its the most important part (besides content). You have to participate in the blogging world to become a part of it. Blog hops & link parties are a great way to share your posts and see others. Social media networking is another great way to build community; just be sure not to try them all at once.

Don't Compare - While you're "networking", you will come across lots of awesome blogs with lots of page views, followers and beautiful themes. Your blog WILL NOT look like some else's who has been blogging for years. It takes time to grow, learn and develop your own style.

Go with the flow - You might not have something to blog about every single day and that's ok. Do what works for you. The quality of your post is much more important than how often you post. Set realistic goals for your lifestyle. Those times when you feel like you hit a dry spell, just remember there's inspiration every where. Blog about whats important to you. Your readers will enjoy it more, if its sincere.

Pretty Pics - The camera on your smartphone and a good photo editor can create beautiful pictures. You don't have to have a fancy/expensive camera to have good pics. The pic for this post was taken with my S3 and edited with PicMonkey. And yes, size does matter! Else, the pics will not show up well when shared to social media. 500-560 pixels in width seems to be the magic number. Finding free stock photos is also a good idea when you don't want to take your own pic.

Do you write? Have you decided to turn that into a blog? Got any tips? Do share...