I'm Blogging While Everyone Now is Vlogging

I really love to talk. People who know me well will certainly prove that I really do. Every day, I always have fresh stories to share that usually come from my encounter with people, strangers, my funny experience inside the jeepney, my breakfast, and a lot more. But behind the laughter and joy that my stories bring, there lies a little voice deep within me that is often disregarded and unheard. 

I kept that little voice underground for a long time because of fear that the world might misinterpret me and judge me in a way, I think, I don't deserve. This voice summarizes the stories of my pain, failures, frustrations, and fears that I don't usually speak about. I encased it deep beneath my skin because I thought it's going to help. But no. It didn't. 

One day I suddenly realized that it's about time to let it out. Maybe not in a typical way when I'm narrating my crazy commuting experiences, but on a particular platform where I feel secure and comfortable to be myself, where I can be the real me. 

And I found blogging. 

Let's Start

I know that there are many questions running now in your mind about my blogging experience. So here I am, I'll try to answer some FAQs about blogging with my full honesty and knowledge. 

Why blogging and how did you start? 

Simply because I really love to write. Growing up, I always had a small notebook with me where I used to write all my childish and simplistic feelings and hatred. It was automatic that when I'm sad or frustrated or downhearted, I would write. Similar thing with what I'm currently doing in blogging. The only difference is that I'm now a full-grown Joe who knows how to efficiently use an online platform and make my sentences more professional and clearer. 

I started in 2019 when I was attending my internship in Manila. During that time, I really felt alone and homesick. I got no one near me to talk to. So like magic, I landed on Tumblr, a microblogging website. I created an account there and I then designed my blogsite. Using a free yet tidy blogging theme, I started publishing content. 

It was a relief to have this platform because it unconditionally sheltered my thoughts and my heart when I felt that nobody was there to listen to me. I enjoyed this privilege so much, and thus I continued publishing more. 

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I could say that somehow, it was growing. My first ever blog post I shared on Facebook garnered more than 40 reactions and several comments. I felt more confident and happy when my classmates approached me in the hallway and congratulating me for the launch of my blog. Their words such as "It made me happy," "Please write more," "I found it funny," "Thanks for those tips." lifted me up. I also remember when I caught my best friend, who barely reads long and detailed articles, reading my post while she was on her OJT duty. I was totally shocked and flattered at the same time even if she told me that I have numerous typo-errors across my post. 

But I temporarily stopped when I began working as a full-time content writer in a digital marketing agency here in Batangas. Obviously, it was because I got no time to do it at all. On weekdays I'm in the office, on weekends I'm in the house but I really just want to rest. I must say that back then, I was still adjusting to corporate transition thus I wasn't that knowledgeable yet on how I could manage my time efficiently. 

Fast forward to March 2020 when President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire Luzon on lockdown. I was afraid. I was hopeless. I was helpless. There I opened my blogging account again and started writing and publishing content just like before. 

Is blogging still relevant today? 

In this age where we can easily post our feelings on Twitter, our OOTD on Instagram, and a day in our life on YouTube, I would say that blogging has stepped down a bit compared before. 

But despite the harsh reality that blogging has now been overshadowed by today's advanced technologies, I still believe that it's still there and it's still working its purpose. Just like before during its peak, blogging still brings people out of the box. And so I come to believe that it's still relevant today. As long as there's at least one person reading your post, we can feel assured that our blog is still alive and we should continue. 

Of course, there's some little realignment of strategies but the very essence of blogging remains. 

Did you hire someone to build your website?

I didn't. Thanks to YouTube for easy-to-manage assistance. It was my decision to keep my website plain and very simple so that I won't need to hire someone who will code and things like that. 

I just employed a free theme available, then I updated the web content and information, dragged some elements up and down, and it's up! I have now a website that can cater to my blogging needs. 

I didn't invest that much on the interface of my site. As long as it can embody my content and present them in a neat and decent manner to my channels, I'm ok with it. 

Also, I love the design because it's loading fast enough to make my visitors stay and go through my entries. 

You can read the full details of my Hayme to The Jaime Times Online migration here. 

Do you earn money from your blog? 

I'm currently serving ads on my blog, but as of this moment, they're not generating that much yet. I think my blog is still premature to be used as an income resource. Let me wait for a little more or longer. 

Relatedly, my focus now is improving my readership because it's the ultimate key for my blog to perform well in various monetization opportunities out there. At the present, I'm exerting much effort on social media promotion, SEO, email list, and some other more strategies. 

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Moreover, I don't want to compromise my content just for the sake of advertising and sponsorship. I want people to find me for who I am and for what I really am doing. I don't want to forget my original blogging goal and incline to a more profitable niche in which I know I don't have knowledge and expertise in. 

For now, I would say that I'm happy with the current status of my blog. 

Do you really believe that you have readers? 

I do, and I want to extend my deepest gratitude to them. Thank you so much. 

Based on Google Analytics, my blog's monthly page views, as of writing, are around 3,000 to 4,000 with 200 to 300 visitors. Most of them are coming from the Philippines and the United States. Additionally, few figures show that my blog also reaches other countries such as South Korea, Singapore, India, Ukraine, United Kingdom, etc. At a glance, the data may look huge but if you're going to rank my analytics along with well-established websites that are garnering millions of views every month, my blog is somewhere in the nth place down there. 

However, the low-ranking figure is not a good excuse for me to stop doing the thing that is making me happy. I believe that great beginnings start from scratch so I'll keep going and see what lies ahead. 

How do you manage your time to be able to stay active on blogging? 

For me, being active is not measured based on the frequency of publication. It's just a matter of a good scheduling strategy on how you can make the most of your blogging week. Basically, I'm reserving my Mondays to Thursdays for the creation, preparation, and finalization of my blogs. During these days, I don't post new content on the website to give myself enough time to write and prepare the blogs well. Friday until Sunday, there I will start posting these newly-written blogs. Sometimes, I automate the posting so it won't bother me much on weekends because as you all know, I have high respect for day-offs and rest days. 

What's Your Tip? 

Go for it. If you know you love writing and it's making you feel accomplished or it's giving you freedom, do it. Wade through the process because there's a lesson in every step you're about to take. I know that it's going to be difficult at first, especially when you're just starting to design your website and collecting loyal readers, but I can assure you that time will make you realize it's worth it. 

Cheers! 

Photo Credit: Caleb Minear