Hi everyone,

Today’s post is dedicated specifically to YOU. Here, we are celebrating 1 year of So Effortless, and I could not have done it without you, the readers. Knowing me I would have given up by now, and with some hiccups along the way I have to be honest and say there were times where I wanted to just stop writing. But you the readers and with the encouragement of my friends and loved ones, I carried on and got to 1 whole year! I hope for many more years as my enjoyment for writing, art and photography grows with each post. I also wanted to give you some pointers and things I have picked up along the way, so today’s post I will also be discussing things I wish I knew when I started blogging, 4 main things. Someone may read this and it may help them with their blog, or some of you may already have your own blog and be a bit lost, so I am here to offer my advice to you.

Here are my main things I wish I knew when I started blogging:

1. Be more active on social media: When I first started my blog, I was only active on my blog account on Instagram when I wanted people to know I just posted a new post, and that was it. This was a huge mistake as it showed that I only cared about my followers on the platform when I wanted them to read what I have written, which was not the case but it came off this way. This lead me to stay at the same amount of followers and reads months on end, and eventually, I started dropping in both too. The way around this is to post more, simple. I have been doing this for a while now, I gain around 3-4 follows a day from it (it may not sound like a lot but for a small blog like me it is growth!) I guess it is a lot easier when you keep only one platform in use, but I aim to post on Instagram bout 2-3 times a day and a few times on my story. It keeps people interested, shows I am interested in my audience and that I am active and open for my followers to know me. It does not have to be anything specific, I post on my stories and account about just my daily life or if I go on a road trip, the photos I take on it etc. I also obviously post when I have a new post out too here on WordPress but you can’t just post then, be active and show you care.
2. Use ready-made themes and aids, such as Canva: I started my blog from scratch and I was not completely happy with it as it was very plain and boring, I also only used PowerPoint to edit my images and icons etc, which was also a mistake due to the quality. I soon came to realise that there are ready-made themes I can use that allow me to edit almost anything, this is great to use as it makes your blog look professional but also at the same time unique to you as you can change anything and everything depending on what theme you chose. There are paid themes here too on WordPress but that is up to you to decide if you want to purchase them or upgrade to a better plan on WordPress. I have also started using aids online for logos and illustrations like Canva, which is free mostly and makes great quality stuff. I use it for my logo and all of my cartoony images on my blog. Another thing that’s also great if you want to use images and other illustrations from creators, use websites such as Pexels and Pixabay, they were provided to me by my lecturer at university for my web communication unit and they offer royalty-free images and illustrations of almost anything, just check the description of the image or illustration you want to use for the creator’s rights and use away.
3. Check your posts and whole site for grammar and overall appeal: Always check your posts for grammar and punctuation, it is something so basic but often I overlooked as I just simply write and read too quickly. simply reading your post back slowly, giving them to someone else to read first before publishing or even putting it through a program such as Grammarly can help a lot. Also check that your website is appealing and professional, as mentioned in the last part. Make sure it is not only appealing to you but also the audience you aim for to read or watch your content. This does not mean that you should create the content of your blog just to your audience taste, as this is your blog, in the end, you just have to be considerate as this is produced by you, but for them.
4. Be creative and out of your comfort zone: Make sure to have fun with it! some of you may be creating a professional blog or just one for a personal benefit, make sure it always shows the true you and everything you have to offer. Treat it as an online portfolio of your appearance in a way, it needs to represent you and your content just as you want people to see it. Don’t be ashamed of your creativity or idea, no matter how big or small they are, you might just start a new trend!

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post here for our So Effortless birthday, still a lot of growing to do and much more creative and new post to get out to you and I hope I still get to keep every single one of you readers with me for another year and more! If you are just starting out and want some help or advice or anything at all, visit my contact page, I am always available to help.

Love, Kasia x