BLOGIVERSARY | 6 Years Blog Anniversary – How I Started + Lessons Learned

6 years blogiversary!

I still can’t believe it’s been 6 solid years on this beautiful yet challenging journey! Blogging to some people is something one does as a hobby and shouldn’t be considered a full-time job, and while they might be right… They can be wrong too!

Just like anything in life, blogging requires full dedication, consistency, accountability, putting in the hours, and so on, especially when you plan on monetizing your blog. 

When I started this blog, I didn’t have a direction, a niche or even an idea on what exactly blogging was about. I was just winging it. Random posts every other week, no keywords research, no knowledge on SEO, just a girl with her laptop and phone posting pictures and throwing a few words then telling anybody interested she had a blog. 

Why did I start?

What was my long-term plan?

How have I managed to stay consistent?

Did I have a niche?

When did I decide to get serious with the blog?

What have I learned from this blogging journey?

These are questions I’ll be addressing in this post. Especially the part of being consistent -this has been one question a good number of my Instagram followers ask. 

Read my first ever blog post – 50 SHADES OF HAPPINESS 😉

Want to start a blog? Read this – How to Start a Blog in 6 Steps

How I started blogging

On the 22nd of October 2015, my family was watching TV -I was in the room, and they were talking about Linda Ikeji in the news, her being a blogger, what she was about, etc. My younger sister yells out my name “Ucheyy come and see this lady that’s a blogger” so I rush to the parlor and she continues “she writes about things and since you’re always the one giving us interesting gist, why don’t you start your blog”. 

And just like that, the idea was planted. I act on a decision almost immediately, I spent the night reading more on Linda Ikeji and by morning the 23rd of October 2015 I had created my blog on blogger. It was “gossipdiiva.blogspot.com” and I was going to be the next Linda Ikeji. Bear in mind, I did not know about blogging or anything related to being a blogger. My sisters said I could do it, so of course, I could!

What was my long term plan?

Nada!

Had no plans, I just knew I was a blogger and that was the most important thing. 

At the beginning, I started my blog as a gossip blog, and because it wasn’t my thing -talking about people and their personal lives, I eventually got bored of the blog, gave it a rest, and decided it’ll be a fashion blog! I took down old posts and changed the blogs name to “ufashionsblog.blogspot.com” got a domain name almost immediately while still using blogger and changed the blogs name to “ufashionsblog.com”

Had no directions when I started, but I had gotten a little hang in blogging. This was in 2017. 

Did I have a niche?

I honestly went with the flow, I just posted randomly, and even when I decided it was a fashion blog I was posting things unrelated to fashion. It was chaotic!

When did I decide to get serious with the blog?

2019.

Two days to my birthday in 2019, I had some self-reflection, talked to myself about a whole lot of things, and decided that was the year I was going to be serious with everything about my life -because honestly, I had been winging everything before then. 

I decided I didn’t want to be in a box, I wanted to share life on my blog, restaurants I go to eat, hair products I use, just me living life basically, and that was when “The Lifestyle Gal” was born -that was also the year I finished my service, the same year I moved to Abuja. The year I decided to do more and do better with my life.  By November of 2020, I moved my blog from Blogger to WordPress, got it hosted and secured! All by myself if I might add. 

How I have managed to stay consistent 

I finally started doing it for me, not because I wanted to be the next anybody or because someone thought I was a great writer, but because I wanted to. I had fallen in love with the blog, gotten monetized, started seeing some results from the blog, and in 2019, had over 80,000 visitors on the blog from different parts of the word, most sending me emails telling me they always looked forward to my posts, it meant a lot to me! 

I’m not as consistent as I’d love to be on this blog, but it’s something I am still making conscious efforts to do better. 

Lessons learned from blogging 

I’ve learned a lot from blogging, the most important being doing it because I love it and not letting myself be put in a box. 

Also, while it’s important to have a niche, it’s important to let yourself try out different things until you figure out what path you want to be on. 

And finally, have fun doing it! 

I want to add – don’t do it for the money, but hell no! Do it absolutely for the money! You’re putting in work, getting paid is expected. 

It’s my 6-year blogiversary! I’m so excited! I launched my first E-book today, but I’ll share it with you guys by Monday! 

I hope this post motivates someone to start something they love, doesn’t have to be blogging, but something you love. 

Finally, how can I make this blog interesting for you? What other topics do you want to see here? Tell me what I can do better here. 

Lots of love,

Ucheyy!