My Blog: What I've Learned Since the Early Days
Sometimes, it's hard to believe that it's been nearly 4 years since I started blogging. In the summer of 2011, Anthony and I were getting ready to move into our very first apartment. As a junior Interior Design student, I was so excited to decorate my first place! We scoured every yard sale and thrift shop we could find that summer, looking for the perfect finds to help make our little Pittsburgh apartment feel like home.
Here are some of my favorite posts from those early days:
How to Paint Faux Wood Furniture
My blogging strategy back then was much more fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants. I would usually come up with an idea for a post, write it and publish it all in one afternoon. I was writing more for myself as a creative outlet and as a way to document my DIY projects.
Even though I've gotten more serious about blogging in the last year, it's cool to look back and see that my writing voice hasn't changed too much. From the beginning, I've wanted my blog to feel like a conversation between friends, so I try hard to write exactly the same way that I speak, corny jokes and all. If you are someone who's been following my blog for a while, I hope my weird sense of humor has given you a LOL or two ;)
My blog has evolved a lot over the years, changing names and domains not once, but three times. (from Lace & Paper Flowers to Stevie Greek Design to Young Tradition Studio and now Stevie Storck Design Co. I swear I'm going to stick with this one!) I've gone from posting intermittently to having some semblance of a regular blogging schedule. I feel like I am just now getting clear on the purpose of this blog, and why I feel compelled to share my work and life through this medium. (A post for another day!) If I could go back in time to those early days, here are 3 things I would tell myself:
1. Follow more blogs!
For the first few years I was blogging, I only really followed 3 blogs, none of which were in my "niche". I think it's so important as a blogger to dedicate time to reading other blogs and interacting with other bloggers. In my experience, it's the best way to stay inspired and motivated to write regularly. If you are just getting into blogging and are looking for some good blogs to follow, see this post. I also recommend that you try out Bloglovin', they use a news feed format so you can follow all of your favorite blogs in one place.
2. Carve your own path
It's good to feel inspired by what other bloggers are doing, but don't be an imitator. Be an innovator! There's no point in writing a blog if you aren't sharing your authentic self. I used to occasionally share outfit posts like this and this (don't laugh!), mostly because some of my favorite bloggers were fashion bloggers. I like clothes, but I'm not a fashion expert and I don't want to be. I wish I would have spent more time then thinking about how I could make my blog unique instead of just writing posts about anything and everything just so I would have something to share.
3. Don't skip the editing phase
Like I mentioned, when I first started blogging I would write and publish posts in the same day. As I've gotten more serious about blogging and learned about things like editorial calendars, I've found the value in taking the extra time to edit my posts. Even if I am writing a post in the evening that I plan to post the next morning (like this one!), that extra time between drafting and publishing is really important. Since I give my brain some time to mull over my post idea after the first draft, I will often come up with other things to add to the post. Plus, the next day I'm able to look at my draft with fresh eyes and catch mistakes I may have missed if I just hit "Publish" right away.
It's so cool to be able to look back at old posts and experience almost a time capsule of these past few years. I remember writing blog posts while sitting at the white table in our first apartment. On the $100 sofa we bought off of Craiglist for our second Pittsburgh apartment. While laying in bed before getting up for work at this apartment. So much has changed over the last 4 years, but this blog has been a common thread. I can't wait to make new blogging memories when we move into our first house later this month!
Are you a blogger? If so, how long have you been blogging? Is there anything you wish you could go back and tell yourself in the early days?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Want to peruse more posts from my early days of blogging? Visit the SSDC Archives. But first, promise you won't make fun of me...