What Two Years of On and Off Blogging has Taught Me

On November 6th, 2018 I published my first blog post.

I was new to blogging, but it was something I had knew I needed to pursue. Though I love academic writing, I missed the freedom and fun of putting pen to paper in a more creative style.

From the beginning, I craved blogging about local historic sites and tucked away treasures. Museums skirting cities or historic villages in seemingly the middle of nowhere. Backroom displays and temporary exhibitions.

Blogging was the perfect opportunity to combine my love of writing and history.

I yearned to share these adventures not only because I find them fascinating, but to help boost these off the beaten path museums. To inspire people to travel to new places and learn about different historical perspectives.

Perhaps engaging more with local history would not only encourage people to appreciate the places they live near or are lucky to travel to, but also to promote the importance of preserving and displaying history.

Reading, writing, and researching topped my list of possible writing topics as well. And as a coffee lover, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to throw in the occasional cup of joe. I envisioned myself as a history centered travel blogger.

The Beginning

So I decided to take the plunge. Though having your own domain can be a bit of an investment, I felt it was worthwhile. I was set on starting my blog by the end of 2018.

A lovely family friend helped me set up my blog in the fall of that year. Finally, I had my own little corner of the internet to write about my passions and engage with a community!

I wrote my first blog post about a museum I had no idea existed for years, even though I drove by it several days a week.

In January of 2019, I shared my blog with others for the first time. I received a lot of compliments and support in those first few days. Many clicked out of curiosity, while others would become regular visitors.

Fast Forward

I’m now writing this is February of 2021, more than two years since I started publishing on my blog and sharing it with the world.

Yet I let anniversaries for my blog silently float by for years.

Part of me thought celebrating anniversaries would make my blog seem all about me. Like it was self centered or I was chasing praise.

But I think the real reason that I didn’t post about these milestones is that I felt ashamed. In the early days of my blog (and sometimes even now), imposter syndrome hit me hard.

I felt like I wasn’t putting enough effort into this blog. Or that my photos would never be click worthy. That people wouldn’t be interested in the the things I enjoyed writing and researching about.

Mistakes

Mind you, there were mistakes that I made with this blog that contributed to this feeling. I wasn’t consistent with my content, which was a much bigger mistake than I realized.

How could I expect to create a community and discussions about history if I wasn’t telling my readers when I would be back next?

If I didn’t have a schedule, how could I keep pushing myself to create new content?

Who would tune in if I only posted every few months?

I also hadn’t considered what branding meant. I knew I wanted my blog to focus on following my history related adventures, but I didn’t give any consideration to how I would communicate this to my audience through marketing and social media.

Terms like SEO, alt-text, keyword phrases, and meta-descriptions meant nothing to me when I started.

How could I optimize my content for followers to find me if I didn’t even understand the industry?

These were all very valid criticisms of my blog. They were points of weakness that I simply had not invested the time in to resolve.

Making Time

Being a graduate student while often working part or full time, it felt difficult to prioritize my blog.

I’m a firm believer of the classic phrase “people make time for what’s important to them”, at least most of the time. Lots of us suffer from barriers that make our time difficult to manage or leave us feeling exhausted. Some of us simply have too many important things on our plates.

But if I wanted to become what I considered a blogger, I needed to make that time. I needed to become disciplined and simply put in the work to learn about the world of blogging.

Putting the Work In

To be honest, blogging is certainly more work than I ever imagined it would be. It’s not as easy as typing in a few words and pressing the “publish” button.

Picking up terminology and technology has been a bit of a learning curve. Carving out the time to work on my blog instead of gaming, watching Netflix, and sometimes even going out means understanding when to say no.

Is it hard? Yup.

Is it worth it? Definitely.

Being more consistent about my blog was a goal of mine for a long time. I want to be a blogger. It wasn’t about making a few bucks on the side or using the website as a digital portfolio (though these both would be nice bonuses), but to show my journey and share history.

I thought my platform could be a hub of history, where myself and readers could share what they are passionate about and learn something new.

And I wanted to follow through on my promise to myself to create this space.

I started watching Youtube Channels that were encouraging and informative. More of my spare time went to reading other’s blogs and diversifying the content I consumed.

I started adding subheadings, internal links, and creating pinnable posts.

Changing Perspectives

I felt more committed to my blog than before. By educating myself and practicing what I had learnt, I started to feel better about my blogging journey.

Instead of feeling like a failure for being inconsistent for years, I was now proud of myself for researching and learning new skills.

Instead of worrying about my photo quality, I slowed down to take better photos. I also invested in new gear.

Instead of stressing that no one else would find my content interesting, I reminded myself that there is a whole world filled with people and there was bound to be at least a few who found the same types of history intriguing.

There were a few times I fell off track. I committed to weekly posts without content prepared or fully fleshed ideas. I didn’t plan ahead or started at times where my schedule already felt like it was bursting at the seams.

But I got through those times. I made it work. I’m still here. I’m doing my best and I’m learning everyday. I’ve gained skills that I know will benefit my personal and professional life.

I’ve also connected with other bloggers and learnt from them, seeing museums and hearing stories from around the world.

Moving Forward

There’s so much to be grateful for through this journey. I’m lucky enough to be able to write this while my cat Wilbur cuddles on my lap as my dim lamp glimmers over his fur. There are many people; family, friends, and colleagues that have encouraged me to pursue this goal.

Even though I’ve had this blog for two years, I’m still at the beginning of my blogging journey. There’s no timeline I need to follow. Everyone’s path is different. In this hustle culture, it’s easy to forget that patience is essential and almost no one gains traction overnight.

The more I learn, the more fine tuned my blog will become. There’s no reason to feel ashamed or hide my feelings. That celebrating milestones, no matter how small they seem, isn’t selfish. I’ve learnt new skills along the way, and ultimately I feel proud of myself for continuing this pastime that I love.

So today, I’ll celebrate my blog. I’ll celebrate publishing over 20 posts. I am applauding over two years of running History with Kirby.

You may also be interested in:

25 Things About Kirby

History over Hot Drinks: Open Book Coffee

History at Memory Lane Heritage Village

Do you have a blog?

What challenges have you overcome?

What accomplishments are you proud of?