Six Truths From My First Year of Blogging

I can’t believe KariSkelton.com is officially a year old! Boy oh boy, has it been an amazing, crazy-busy year of ups and downs, victories and mistakes, and a massive learning curve. First off, I want to thank you for popping in, reading, commenting, sending me questions, and supporting this venture of mine. It means so much that you choose to make this one of your stops through the day. It’s exactly why I started this blog: to create a community of like-minded people who love to share ideas and great finds!

Reflecting back on this past year, here are six truths from my first year of blogging:

Many people don’t realize being a blogger is a “real” job: I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked, “Do you think you’ll ever go back to work?” Pardonne-moi? I say this with a smile on my face because I know some still don’t realize blogging IS a career that can generate actual money. Influencer marketing is still fairly new (and growing fast), so I give people a pass on not knowing that, in fact, this is my job.

It’s way more work than I thought: I’m game for hard work, but I didn’t quite realize how much was involved with being a blogger. I have a whole new respect for the profession. One of the promises I made to myself when I started KariSkelton.com was consistency. I always wanted there to be fresh, new, and exciting content when you popped in. That meant posting at least three times a week. I didn’t always make it there but I tried! To give you an idea of what’s involved in one of my blog posts…you come up with the idea, you explore options of potentially collaborating with a company on your idea, you plan out the content, you pick up (gather) the content, you take the photos, edit the photos, write the post, edit the post, and then promote the post on your social media platforms. All of those steps for just one post. It’s a LOT of work! Plus, the business side of the business. Emails, pitches, invoicing, analytics reports…but don’t get me wrong, I love being able to do this job while being a stay-at-home mom.

I Compare Myself to Others Bloggers All the Time: I’m working on this. I’m reminded often that I’m only one person, one year in on this journey, running this little empire and I don’t have a team of people helping produce content. Like with anything you love, I just want it to be SO fantastic, so I want to do it all.

I Don’t Miss My Old Job: I worked in radio and television for 13 years and I loved it, but much to my surprise, I don’t miss it at all. At this point in my life, I know I’m exactly where I should be, doing what I really love.

Sometimes I feel like a bad parent: There are days Wyatt watches TV all morning so I can answer emails, send out invoices, or edit photos. It happens. You have to do what you have to do when you’re a Work From Home Mom! In the moment it feels yucky, but we make sure he gets time outside, taking art classes, reading books, etc.

It’s a Supportive Community: I’ve been blown away by the support of the blogging community, especially locally. Everyone I’ve met is truly cheering for one another to succeed in this business. Of course, there’s a bit of healthy competition, but mostly just support. I’m happy and honoured to be part of it.

So, friends… I raise a glass and cheers to you for your love and support. Here’s to year two!

xx