Seven Ways Starting a Blog is a Lot Like Becoming a Parent - DailyBlogTips

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Seven Ways Starting a Blog is a Lot Like Becoming a Parent Posted: 17 Dec 2013 01:42 AM PST What does blogging have in common with parenting? It's not a riddle: if you're a parent and a blogger, you might have noticed a few parallels  … and I'd love to hear about yours in the comments, whether they’re good, bad, or somewhere in between. Earlier this year, I became a "mum" (as we say in the UK) – and having my daughter, Kitty, was a life-changing experience that (surprisingly) has taught me a lot about blogging. #1: You'll Learn a Lot More by Doing than by Reading While I was pregnant, I read a ton of books about pregnancy and childcare. I promptly forgot 90% of what I read, and found that – in practice – I didn't really need all the advice. Of course it's a good plan to learn about blogging before you launch your blog, or before you take a major step like creating your first product – but don't let reading take the place of doing. #2: It's Easy to Focus on the Launch, not the Long-Term My one big obsession during pregnancy was labour. I'll be the first to admit that I don't exactly have a high pain threshold, and I hate not feeling in control. In the end, it all went fine, and I suddenly had a baby and wished I'd focused on getting ready for the first few days of taking care of her! Bloggers often pour loads of time and energy into launching their blog, obsessing over every detail, only to feel a bit daunted by the idea of actually blogging – day after day, week after week. It's a good idea to plan out at least 5 posts, preferably 10, before you launch, rather than obsessing over every detail of your site's layout. #3: You'll Want to Record the Early Milestones I vividly remember the first time Kitty smiled at me. She was five weeks old and I'd got up with her at 6am, exhausted after being woken several times in the night. That smile made it all worthwhile. Now she's 9 months, she smiles all the time, and I don't think twice about it. As a blogger, your first comment, first email from a reader, first guest post on another blog … all are worth recording and remembering. Months from now, comments and emails and guest posts might all be second-nature – but those early milestones are still very special. #4: You Need to Separate Yourself from Your Creation Something which my husband and I have tried to remember right from the start is that Kitty is her own person with her own personality. However much we stick with gender neutral colours, she may end up loving pink and glitter – and that's OK. Your blog reflects who you are, but it isn't you. Perhaps you'll adopt a slightly different voice because it suits your readers better, or you'll go with a design that's not quite "you" but gets a great response from your audience. #5: There's Often No One Right Way (But Everyone Has an Opinion) If you're a parent (or if you've even thought about becoming a parent), you'll know that there's a lot of conflicting advice. Co-sleeping vs controlled crying, purees vs baby-led weaning, cloth nappies (diapers) vs disposables… In the blogging world, there are also plenty of people with different opinions. Different bloggers and different blogs find that different techniques work. By all means consider each piece of advice you come across, but don't feel you need to follow it. #6: It'll be Hard (and Boring) Work at Times … Being a mum is wonderful, and I can't imagine a lovelier daughter than Kitty … but that doesn't mean that every single moment is perfect. I definitely don't relish the task of emptying the nappy bucket into the washing machine, for instance! With blogging, there'll almost certainly be times when you're bored or fed up. Maintenance tasks like moderating comments and updating plugins aren't exactly exciting. Even writing posts, answering comments and interacting on Twitter can be draining at times. #7: … But Every Single Day Will Bring New Adventures Becoming a parent has brought me so much more happiness than I could've imagined before, and every day there's something new to enjoy (today, Kitty learned to clap her hands for the first time). Blogging will bring you lots of exciting new adventures too. Perhaps you'll land a guest post on a blog you really admire, or get an email from a reader telling you how much they love your blog, or book your ticket for a major industry conference, or earn your first $1,000, or even make a new friend.   I feel hugely privileged to be both a parent and a blogger – both are hugely fun and rewarding (even if they do sometimes keep me up at night). If you've spotted a similarity between parenting and blogging that I've missed, I'd love to hear it. Pop a comment below.   Wanna learn how to make more money with your website? Check the Online Profits training program!

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