Blogging in 2012 is so different from present day 2019. When I set up Fashion and Style Police, I knew I was in the for the long haul. I was passionate about writing and this blog was and is still like one of my children. So I put in my all from day 1. My early blogging days was full of plenty mistakes. I wasn’t really sure what I was doing (shoutout to bloggers that share blogging tips). It was all trial and error, and I had a lot of learning to do. My photography wasn’t great. I was still finding my writing voice so my posts were short and not as good.
Blogging has been a learning curve for me. I am still learning and there is no end to this education thanks to the many changes on the web. Like I said earlier, blogging in 2012 is so different from how it is today. Here are some of the many differences I have noted.
You can’t afford to ignore social media in 2019 like you may have done in 2012
Social Media has really changed in the last few years. There were so many platforms available back then that are no longer available now, and there are now new kids on the block. The way we use social media has also changed compared to how we used the platforms in 2012. To succeed as a blogger, you have to keep up with social media pretty much. Ignoring the popular platforms like Instagram and Facebook wouldn’t be smart. A lot of traffic comes from social media platforms. I get a lot of traffic from Facebook in particular, which is why I make sure my Facebook page stays active.
Brands and PRs take into account the amount of followers and engagement you get on your social media platforms. So if you plan to make some money off your blog, you need to start paying attention to social media. Bloggers could afford to neglect their social media platforms in 2012 (I know I did), but definitely not in 2019.
New bloggers want their blogs perfect from day 1
Now this is not really a bad thing, it could actually be a good quality depending on how you look at it. However, wanting your new blog perfect from day 1 isn’t really possible. What is blog perfection really? What could be perfect for you, may be amateurish for me. I believe in working to be better than I was yesterday, everyday. I don’t believe in perfection, so it is not something I long for. Which is why I worry when I see new bloggers wanting to get thousand of views, sponsored post opportunities and all after blogging for a month. These things take time, effort, quality photography, good SEO, and a bit of good luck to come most times. In 2012, when I started blogging, I didn’t worry about these things. I just wanted an outlet to create and create is what I did.
New bloggers in 2019 don’t have the patience for that. They want it all from day 1, which is why blogging usually frustrates them because it doesn’t happen that way.
More lifestyle blogs
In 2012, blogging was all about niche. A blog had to have a niche and stick to it. Fashion and Style Police was purely a fashion blog where I wrote about fashion and shared my daily outfit. I had a job in an office in Manchester then. So I took outfit pictures every day and shared them on the blog. Along the way, I incorporated beauty and lifestyle, and now I talk about my twins and travel, because we like to do these things. I also share freelance tips as as a self employed freelancer who works from home, and blogging tips; which is why you are reading this post.
In 2019, there are lots of lifestyle blogs around. I think there are more generic lifestyle blogs, than niche blogs, but I may be wrong. This was not the case in 2012. It was all about 1 blog for 1 niche, which is why many bloggers then started off with multiple blogs to enable them write about a variety of topics. I know many people still run niche blogs today, but they are no longer the norm.
How long have you been blogging for? Have you noticed any of these changes? Do you have any blogging tips to share?