Recently I made a Facebook page to link all my bloggy and designy things to, a sort of central platform to my other social media. After debating long and hard I sent my friends an invite to like the page and now it's been sitting there for a week with nothing on it as I've been a bit too scared to show my non-blogger friends my blog.

Today, however I decided to do a blogging theme post to upload and link to my Facebook page, a way to sort of warming my friends up to the idea of me having a blog.

Here is a list of things I have learnt since I started blogging, because it also just so happens to be close to my One Year Anniversary since I started my blog! Anyway, enjoy!

Set goals... but don't get upset when you don't reach them

Hitting the next big number of followers, likes or shares is something we all get some kind of satisfaction from in this digital age. Heck, I remember hitting my first 1,000 views and being over the moon about it! But when we let these become the main or only focus, it's hard to stay true to yourself and not be overwhelmed with having to stick to these figures each time we upload.

Photos tell a thousand words... but don't let them speak for themselves

Photography is something I've really gotten into recently, and I love sharing my photos that I feel look really nice. It's just so tempting to say "here's a bunch of photos I took, no context, just like them" and expect people to be really interested in them. I always like to have a little caption on what I was thinking when I took the photo, or what was happening behind the scene.

Remember your audience... but stay true to yourself

It's a great feeling when you realise that there are people interested in what you have to share. I like to ask on my Twitter what people are interested in reading from me, but wholly relying on your audience to decide the content on your blog can turn your blog into not longer your blog. 

Upload that post you're nervous about... but don't be down on a poor reception

The whole reason why I started my blog was to have somewhere where I can voice my opinions, ideas and share my loves. Often when I write "diary entry" posts where I share what I have done in the day I feel like nobody would be interested, but more often than not it's the complete opposite! Like I said earlier, your blog is your blog.

Don't be ashamed of self-promo... but don't go OTT

If you want to widen your audience; whether that's to your friends and family, to other bloggers or readers, you gotta share your blog! I remember a friend asking me how I got people to comment on my blog without linking it on your Facebook or Twitter, and the fact is that it is almost impossible to get an audience without sharing. There is a line that you may cross if you send everybody personal links to everything you upload everyday, remember to share and not spam!

Upload consistently... but don't feel bad if you've got a mind blank

A way I have found to get my readers keep coming back is to not leave my blog with no new posts for a long time (I've found any time over 10 days people get bored). With summer holidays being here I am blogging almost twice a week, which I get a lot of satisfaction from. When I get stuck for ideas and nothing seems to be interesting enough to upload, a little Tag post is great to do. If none of the blogs I follow have done a Tag post recently, then I just head on over to Google to find or start one myself!

I hope you enjoyed this whee post about what I've learnt this past year. If you're a blogger yourself, what have you learnt along your blogging journey? Do you agree or disagree with what I've said? And let me know if you're a Facebook reader!

- Louise x