Okay… Big news!

I’ve taken the plunge and bought the WordPress URL for my blog. This means I am the official owner of the http://www.keepingupwiththewalkers.com web address. Yahoo!

Since starting my blog in July, I have been overwhelmed by the amazing support and the interest shown in what I have to say (3 000 hits in such a short time). It’s been such fun and I thought I’d pause and just share with you some of the lessons I’ve learnt so far.

Number 1: Speak to other bloggers. Read other blogs.
Some of the best advice and support I got was actually speaking to other bloggers. They are so willing to share what worked and what didn’t work for them and gave me some awesome tips and hints. It also helped checking out other blogs and finding the ones I enjoy reading.

Number 2: Spell check. Then check your spelling. And then spell check again.
Do not rely on spell check. An epic example is where I was blogging about a serious issue and wrote ‘lunch’ cancer instead of ‘lung’ cancer. Trust me, it was a few days later before someone told me and by that stage, over 40 people had read the blog post. I wanted to die of embarrassment!

Number 3: Experiment. Play around. Learn and grow.
I was so nervous when I changed my WordPress template. I thought that if I changed it, people would not ‘recognise’ my blog. How silly. It’s more about what I’m blogging about that (hopefully) makes people want to read it than what the site looks like. Besides, change is good and my blog should reflect the changes in my life. (check out the manual I bought! Totally screams geek but I’m learning so many cool things!)

Number 4: What I think people are interested in reading… is not always what people read.
My biggest surprise was the day I posted 13 arb photos from my holiday. Not thinking that this would even interest people, I had over 400 hits. And some blog posts which I did not think would be that interesting to people have received so many comments and stirred up so much emotion.

Number 5: Make sure your boss knows about your blogging schedules.
After some clever research, I realised that by publishing my blog in the morning and evenings would ensure maximum traffic, especially since these are the times when Twitter and Facebook are most active. So I prepare my drafts in the evening and then schedule them to go out at different times. The problem is that my colleagues (some of whom subscribe to my blog) would receive my blog and think I am sitting at my desk all day blogging. I’m not… (Although I am constantly writing my thoughts in a little moleskin book which I carry around with me everywhere! Nerd alert!)

… and the biggest lesson I’ve had to overcome is …

Number 6: Exposing myself is tough.
It’s a funny thing. I somehow don’t mind strangers reading my blog. But when I get comments from family, friends and people who ‘know’ me, I do feel incredibly vulnerable and exposed. It’s as if they are getting insight into parts of me with the added benefit of actually knowing me. It’s weird to explain. I feel as if I am opening myself up when actually, I tend to be a pretty private person and do not easily share things (sometimes not even with KK).

I can’t tell you how much I am enjoying blogging. I still have so much I want to share and talk about and learn… especially now that my training for the 2012 Two Oceans half marathon has kicked into gear. *goosies*

To all of you who subscribe to my blog, thank-you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read my blog posts. I love sharing my thoughts, dreams, fears and joys with you!

Ps: @HayleyM_ thanks so much for inspiring me and your support. I love your blog! (everything inbetween)