7 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Blogging.

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After almost 5 years blogging and only until now did I write a post about blogging.  Let's just say it hasn't been that fun. It's a love and hate relationship.  It's that relationship in which you break up feeling glad you did, and a week after, you'll come back crawling and snuggle up to the old routine again.  And you do it regularly that breaking up has become a Sunday than a Christmas for you.

Why did I even start blogging anyway?  It has been a long time now that I have already forgotten the reason why, but I was sure that I had a set of expectations before getting in.  Some of which were true some I didn't expect.  So if you're planning to have your own blog, here are the things that you'll be glad to know before getting in to this bitter-sweet journey.

1. Traffic is a Bitch.  It's elusive if you do it wrongly, but it's awesome if you do it right.  Either way if you get into blogging you have to understand how to draw in traffic.  I didn't really bother to focus on that since my main goal here is to just share my experience to everyone and not for monetary reasons.

2.  Know what you want to write about and be different.  There are a lot of blogs online, so you have to set yourself apart from the rest if you want yours to be successful if that is even what you want.

3. Know the purpose of why you're writing and build your blog around that.  Some people do it for the money, some they just do it for therapy.  If you're aiming for the former, you have to be very strategic and knowledgeable about SEO and marketing, but if for the latter, anything would be okay.

4. Consistency is the key.  Sometimes our creativity drives us to paths that aren't really related to our goals and to the theme of the site.  Some bloggers have a structure for their post and that is one way for them to establish their brand and differentiation.  Practice control and discipline yourself.  You'll be glad you did.

5. Writer's block happens.  The frequency of posting depends on the purpose of your blog.  They say that if you wish to increase your traffic, you have to post posts, at least everyday.  So what if you have a writer's block and you can't bring yourself to think creatively.  I suggest you go outside and do something different.  Sometimes sinking your teeth into something different could be the birth place of creativity.

6. There is Money in blogging.  That is if you know how to find ways to make it profitable for you.  There are a number of ways to do this but before anything else, building traffic is where every blogger should start and focus on.

7.  Looks Matter.  As with everything, you can attract your readers by making your blog look pretty.  You can make them a regular if your content is great.  So make sure you got the first one covered.