my blogging journey
boy oh boy have i come a long way since i posted my first blog post on june 16, 2014. the reason i started my blog is pretty simple: i needed a creative outlet to help sort out what was going on inside my brain.
i didn’t want to limit myself to only talking about certain subjects and i also didn’t want to make money. i loved writing and taking photos and sharing things that made me happy. blogging can be quite complex when you really build an audience and start making a living from it, but that was never a goal of mine.
my first posts
as i read through my very first blog post >>> see here <<< it brings me right back to being 22 years old sat in bed, late at night, sorting all of it out. sometimes i’m so nostalgic for the days when i didn’t have a blogging schedule, or following, or anything at all. heck, i probably wrote for a good few months before anyone even knew i had a blog at all.
when i first started blogging, it was 90% poems and words and 10% photos. if you’ve been following along since the beginning, you may remember when i posted mostly just poems. those are still my favorites.
i also used to have “words of the day”. haha how fun am i!?
the first blog post i ever even shared photos on was a happy birthday post to my pet snake. haha you can see that >>> here <<< most of my old posts are still private, because they aren’t very good, but i love looking at them because i’ve come such a long way.
i’ve gone from posting poems here and there, to starting my very own book. which, if you haven’t seen my preview of click here to do so.
i didn’t start actually adding photos to my posts until 2015 – and even then, the photos were basically taken with my iphone. which is totally fine! but the quality of my photos has improved so much. below are a few posts from way back when – with those not so good photos –
taking blogging seriously
once 2016 came – thats when i really started making blog posts that others might find interesting like diy marble coasters, pistachio pie cookies, and a diy door mat. 2016 was when i really started thinking about building an audience and expanding on my poems to create blog posts about other things that tested my creativity and also gave me something to do on the weekends.
in august of 2015, i moved to grand rapids and lived with my (at the time) boyfriend – he’s now my fiance (awwww!). he worked (and still does) basically every single weekend, and i didn’t really have friends. so blogging kept me busy! and i think that’s when i really learned what i could turn this little space into.
if you don’t already know, dominic (my fiance) takes my photos for me! he’s literally been helping me take blog photos since 2016! what a guy! you can see some of his (and my) old work here:
2016 was really the year that we both started getting into photography and working really really hard to improve each time. for some reason, a lot of people think i just stand there and ask dominic to take pictures of me like he’s my instagram boyfriend, but that’s not the case. he actually enjoys photography and wanted to learn more about blogging and photography just as much as me. i’m lucky to have a boyfriend who enjoys these creative things because i know as a blogger, sometimes it can be difficult to get good photos when you don’t have the resources.
2017, almost exactly one year ago (march), is when my blog really took off. i started sharing more, improving my editing and photography skills, and really got into instagram. i blogged about “change” here – and i meant it. things changed for me a lot, in regards to blogging and i started working on it almost every single weekend.
where i am today
as you can see, i started basically with nothing but me and my laptop. blogging has taught me so much and honestly has been one of the best things to ever happen to me. i know not everyone sees it as a job or a productive hobby, but it has been a lot of work and a wild ride. i’m so grateful for that. i know instagram can make it seem like all i do is snap photos and post them for fun, but this is a huge part of my life. i love writing, and editing and being creative with my posts.
looking back on old posts and going through the history of my blog always reminds me that you have to start somewhere. that was a huge concern for me when i first started (and still is). you literally just have to start somewhere – ANYWHERE. i wanted it to be “perfect”and would always get so bummed when posts didnt turn out as good as other peoples. or my photos weren’t as cool or pretty as others.
comparison almost killed my blog. and that’s so annoying! because it doesn’t have to be that way. you should NEVER stop doing something you love because you think you’re not good enough, or there are other people that are better than you. my blog isn’t perfect and i’m not making hundreds of dollars, but that doesn’t really matter to me. i love it too much to let it go or to make money my main motivation.
faqs
i get asked a million and one different questions about blogging, so i figured i’d just get them all in this one post!
q: how did you figure out the name for your blog?
a: honestly, i have no idea lol it literally just came to me the night i made my blog. i love writing and poetry, and that was my main squeeze when i first started. so the title just kind of happened.
q: who takes your photos?
a: that would be my finace, dominic! as i stated above. he’s a cool dude, and loves it just as much as me.
q: what do you use for your emails and grabbing a list of emails from visitors?
a: i use mailerlite! super easy to use and integrates really well with wordpress.
q: what do you use for hosting?
a: i use bluehost. yes, i have to pay a bit for it, but it’s totally worth it. i bought my domain (wordsareforwriters.com) forever ago from godaddy and transferred it over to bluehost when i switched from the free blogging site from wordpress to an actual website.
q: what do you use to edit your photos?
a: i literally used to use pic monkey and vsco, but now i use lightroom! i have only been using it for like a month, i’m still a beginner, but i love it so far.
q: what camera do you use?
a: i have the nikon d4300
q: is blogging your full time job?
a: no! not at all. currently it’s just a hobby. i work full time in marketing!
i think that’s it! i’m pretty sure i addressed any other questions i’ve ever received above in my super long post lol if you made it to the very end, thank you! i know this is a long one, but a lot of you have been asking me to share my blogging journey.
the future
i really have no idea where blogging will take me or how long i’ll even do it. i’m hoping i can do it until i’m like 85 years old. there’s always something to write about, right?
to anyone that has been following along to the beginning, or for those of you just tuning in, all i can say is – thank you. from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for supporting me and cheering me on. i’ve taken breaks here and there over the last 4 years, but i am so glad you have stuck around. cheers to many many many more years of doing what i love!
if you have any other questions for me, or want to start your own blog – let me know in the comments below! also, check out my blog post on tips for starting your own blog >>> here <<<
now for the fun part, photos! i’m going to share some old photos from the beginning all the way to now. enjoy!
my VERY FIRST blog photo – ahh! 2014 *also, this was taken with my webcam lolll
being a rebel – 2014. i wonder if that’s actually still painted on there?
hello baby courtney with brown hair who used her iphone 4? to take photos. lol 2015
my old desk set up!! at my parents house. awww, i miss that. 2015
all of these are still 2015! so crazy..
a few from my trip to europe with a few friends! quality is getting a little better towards the middle of 2015 lol
i made a headboard! lol i think i used an app on my phone to edit this? how cute am i – 2015
my love for cacti began in august of 2015 lol this was when i first learned how to use pic monkey!
october of 2015 is when my mom gave me her nikon d40 and i started taking photos with good quality and gave up my iphone photos. i used her camera for literally 2 years! it was great for starting out.
i used to love taking photos of stuff i owned and doing like “favorites” posts – maybe i’ll bring those back.. – 2015
i took a break all the way until june of 2016 – and came back strong with new and better photos!
november of 2016 is when dominic started helping me with my photos!
i started doing more “styled” shoots in january of 2017
spring of 2017 is really when it started taking off! we learned so much about photography last spring – summer.
NOW
below are a few of my more recent photos! so as you can see, i’ve come such a long way since 2014.. it’s really crazy.
ok – officially the LONGEST post of my life – i hope you enjoyed! and maybe learned something? thank you again SO much for sticking along through the years. it means the world. catch you on sunday!
xo,
courtney raf
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