By 
Wow. 3 years of blogging! I am not sure I would have anticipated this milestone when I first started out. Someone told me once that, “A million 20-year-old girls start a blog. Most only get to month three before they get bored and go back to their Revolve shopping carts.” This made me laugh but also worry about my ability to remain consistent on this website. Today, I am celebrating because I made it this far despite all of the obstacles and time commitments that came in my way.
It always blows my mind how much my blog has changed over the years. Year 1, I was such a baby! I only posted about my outfits and fitness (hilarious because working out is not a priority for me like it was then). I cringe a lot when I look back at what I was wearing and writing in those early days. Year 2, I had just gained so much expertise from my internship experience at ELLE Magazine. I expanded my writing to runway and trend coverage. I spent every waking hour of fashion week (even during class!) watching every single show and coming up with a recap. I thought I worked for Vogue!
Now here I am, scouring every clothing website for the best items for you based on a celebrity, brand, or just getting the most amazing look on a budget! I now call myself a professional online shopper. The best part is that everything I recommend is something I would actually purchase. I don’t have the coin to buy every single item but I can still live vicariously through my readers when they wear it. Having this platform is amazing because I get to pour my heart out into whatever I am interested in at the moment. And now that we are getting started on my fourth year, who knows what is to come (hint, hint: lifestyle?)!
I guess Year 3 of blogging can be defined as an absolute rollercoaster. I faced the highest highs and the lowest lows which put me at a halt for a few months. One of the major things that drove my blog to it’s highest numbers was meeting my colleague and friend, Maria. While in London, I found myself teaming up with Maria to help support her own blog. Doing this made me learn so many different ways to improve and monetize my own platforms. I learned how to edit video, which prompted me to start my own YouTube channel this year. I also learned how to successfully participate in the affiliate marketing side of blogging by using SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Major game changer!
For the first half of 2018, I was implementing all of these new strategies. This made me get numbers that were 10 times more than ever before. The blog posts that my new readers were delving into the most were Billie Eilish Style, Websites Like Fashion Nova, and Yeezy Clothing Alternatives. I never had numbers like this before—some of my posts were literally going viral! I was so honored and excited to have so many new people joining my blog family.
The new strategies I was learning took an immense amount of brain power to the point that I would find myself exhausted while doing just one blog post. This became impossible to work around when I found myself struggling with my mental health in ways I would like to keep private for the time being. It also was difficult for me because I started school again and picked up a new job giving me less time to devote to blogging. Due to my lack of activity on my website, I lost a lot of the traction I had built up. This made me feel really down on top of everything else—but I am getting back on my feet now!
I am trying to spend 2019 less focused on the numbers. I am so focused on them because it is a dream of mine to become a full-time blogger. This requires a significant number of readers and a steady income. With this in the back of my mind, I am always obsessing over my numbers trying to create new strategies to appeal to my audience while only writing and promoting products that I genuinely love. I will always be an analytical/numbers person so I can get to my goal of being self-employed. However, I just want to spend 2019 focused on creating content that creates those numbers instead. I also want to focus more on my blog presence than Instagram. There is so much more depth on this platform than could ever be on my Instagram page. Putting more on my website and YouTube will create more output for me and that is something that I want to have.
This year has been insane for me and I can’t believe I have done so much. I don’t think I will ever get to travel this much again which is why 2018 is so memorable for me. I visited 8 countries and lived in 3 places; London, New York, and Notre Dame. So many ups and downs with hundreds of tears but a million laughs to make it all worth it. Without you, I would not be able to write about the things that I love. Thank you so much for being supportive and following along, I appreciate it more than anything!
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
First Blog Post: Hello, Internet!
Follow Me On Instagram HERE
