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My Blogging Journey

As many of you know, I’m in the process of making the big switch from Blogger to WordPress (which is why things have been a bit slow around the ‘ole blog lately).  While I’m working with the incredibly talented Shauna Callaghan, who is doing all of the technical and artistic stuff, one of the most time-consuming tasks on my part has been re-categorizing all of my posts.  (I could kick myself for the haphazard way in which I’ve been categorizing my posts!!)

While this process is definitely a bit of a headache, it’s also been interesting to look back and see how my blog has evolved.  Here are some interesting tidbits:

I started my blog on February 20, 2007.  Yep, it’s true.  My blog is actually one of the older kids on the block.  And when I started my blog, it was originally called Addicted*2*Décor.  Just like most other newbie bloggers, I really had no idea what I was doing.  I found Blogger, set up my free blog, and was off and running in no time.

My blog started out very plain.  In fact, this was the first header I created for it, and at the time, I thought it was pretty spectacular!

After a while, I realized that I needed to step it up a bit, so I created a fancier picture for my header…

When I did this drawing, I really thought I was something else!  I was so proud of that header!

But I quickly learned that while I loved redesigning my blog, and trying to figure out the HTML (which fascinated me, because it was like a big jigsaw puzzle in my mind), I was struggling with the actual writing of posts.  I guess you could say that I struggled with finding my own voice.

I started out thinking I would share my wealth of knowledge about decorating.  After all, I was an interior decorator!  Surely people would want to hear what I have to say, right?  I tried to write with an authoritative voice, pretending that I had all of the answers.  I quickly realized that if I relied on my wealth of knowledge for posts, I’d run out of topics in a hurry.

From there, I tried to imitate some of the other big blogs I had been reading (and I hadn’t been reading them very long…this whole blogging thing was really very new to me).  But it didn’t take long for me to get bored of imitating others.  It felt stale, cold, and impersonal.  So for the next two years or so, I blogged off and on.  I would get really focused and stay consistent for a couple of months, then I’d lose interest for a few months.  Then I’d come back for a few weeks, and then disappear for six months.  Let me assure you, that is no way to grow a blog…LOL.

Then one day I realized, Kristi, you may be an interior decorator, but you don’t have to have all the answers!  Just be real and personal!

And that’s what I did.  At some point around the end of 2009, I started writing about my own projects, both at home as well as for clients.  I shared the successes as well as the failures and frustrations.  I loved it.  I finally felt like I had found my voice.  And interestingly, people responded.  I really do think readers can tell if a blogger’s heart is in it, or if someone is just blogging for more business-type reasons (to make money, to make a name for herself, to increase business, etc.).

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this journey, but it’s hasn’t been without hardships.  At times, I have fallen into the same pitfalls that many other bloggers have struggled with…frustrations over lack of comments, worrying over traffic numbers, comparing myself to other bloggers (and feeling unbelievably inadequate), and so much more.  But most of all, it’s been fun.  And looking back, seeing the progression, is also fun.

2007—The year I started my blog…and then walked away…then came back…then walked away again.

2009—The year I found my voice, and started loving this whole blogging thing.

2011—The year I made the transition from “Kristi Linauer, interior decorator who blogs on the side” to “Kristi Linauer, full-time blogger”.

I’m so excited about what the next year holds, and I feel like it’ll be another landmark for my blog.  My little blog is finally growing up.

This afternoon, I’m going to repost my very first blog post.  While it’s interesting that my blog has undergone so many changes over the years, I had to laugh about the fact that my passion and determination about one certain topic hasn’t changed at all.  So stay tuned for the post (and the topic) that got this A2D ball rolling.

 

 

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  1. Pingback: The Main Reasons Why I Made The Switch From Blogger to Wordpress