"5 Things I wish I knew when I started blogging"

As most of you know, I started Thrifty 101 just over a year ago. I had never blogged before so I jumped right in and had some great "blog friends" reach out and help me out when I started. I thought I would "pay it forward" to someone else with a list of "Things I wish I knew when I started blogging"

1. Blog about what you love. I love to find deals and DIY projects. There a PLENTY of both of these type of blogs out there, but not many that combine both. So when I find good deals I blog about them and when I find DIY projects or I do a project I think someone might be interested in I blog about that. If I didn't enjoy Blogging, I wouldn't do it.
2. Marketing is HUGE. When you first start out you only have family/friends as followers. It can get discouraging very quickly when you put so much into your posts and only 15 people are reading them. Leave your link back on comments you leave on other blogs or on facebook. Add your web address to your email signature, send bigger blogs your ideas and join in link parties to get your name out there.
3. Don't worry about you statistics. Early on I noticed a fun little "Stats" button on the top of my page. This tells you the number of viewers you've had that day/month/week/year/lifetime. It's encouraging when that number is going up, but when it drops it makes you wonder what's happened to your readers. If your content is interesting to them...they'll be back. Don't get caught up in the numbers game.
4. It takes a lot of time and effort to run a blog. I spend endless hours blogging every week. I take weekends off to be with my family, but during the day I'm usually on my blog. There is a balance you must obtain to stay sane.
5. The pay non existent, then minimal until you build a LARGE following. If you are getting into blogging to make money, plan on it taking a long time before you see any real profit. Google AdSense is an easy addition, and directly working with advertisers is a way to "cut out the middle man" and get a little more money. But most of these advertisers work on a "per click" or "per page view" status. The more links/views you have the more money you will be paid.

One of my favorite sites, All Things Thrifty, is doing a 10 week series titled "The Blogger behind the blog" and it starts today. She's got about 8 blogs answering 1 question per week. This will be a great resource for those of you thinking about getting into blogging or those of you wanting to kick your blog into gear.
Click HERE to go check out the series.