Blog rules? Don’t make me laugh

It would appear my first post of 2014 is going to break an unspoken rule of blogging: never blog about blogging. I’m not sure if this is a rule I once imposed on myself but, having broken it several times already, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.

Anyway, as 2014 begins I wanted to take a moment to look ahead to the new year and make some plans blog-wise. It seems as good a time as any to commit to paper some of the thoughts I’ve had over the past couple of weeks. Non-bloggers may want to skip this post…

Next month will mark my third year of blogging. I started this blog back in February 2011 while sleep-deprived and a bit confused. Emerging from those chaotic newborn days I knew I needed to make some big decisions about my career and starting a blog seemed a good place to begin. Mainly, I wanted to see if I could still write. It turned out having a baby didn’t spell the end of my ability to string a sentence together and, ultimately, I ended up leaving my full time job as a radio journalist to go freelance. Blogging played a huge part in my confidence to make that decision, so thank you blog. 

And here I am. Sitting in our brand new family home 200 odd miles from where I started this blog. We changed addresses from Berkshire to Devon. We went from renters to home-owners. We switched jobs and work patterns and the security of what we knew for something totally different. But the blog remains. To ensure it stays a faithful part of my life, there are some things I need to remember for 2014. Things I know now that I didn’t know back when I started. Things I have remembered since my enforced internet break.

1) Blogging is fun

I write this blog because I like writing, sharing photographs and, generally, having a place to be creative without the constraints of an editor or a client brief. It’s a place to share family memories and musings on parenting. Blogging is fun and, for me, remembering why I enjoy it is key to continuing to enjoy it.

2) There are no rules

You don’t HAVE to set up a G+ account. You don’t HAVE to run your own blog Facebook page. Not all bloggers are on Pinterest and there is no golden rule that good bloggers blog every day. The only rule I follow is to disclose commercial posts, the other things I pick and choose to suit me and my way of blogging. This keeps it fun.

3) Every blogger is different

Different people blog for different reasons and are motivated by different things. I plan to remember this throughout 2014 and not get bogged down in the, “My stats aren’t as good as her stats” or, “They had a better PR opportunity than me” trap. These were things that used to matter to me in the early days, as I discovered the UK parent blogging community and the discussions around blogging on Twitter and Facebook. Comparisons are a slippery slope though and, I tend to find, don’t a happy blogger make.

That’s it. Three simple statements for a fulfilling blog year (I hope). What would you add to the list?

PS. I will be sharing pretty things and little interiors projects from our new home over at my other blog Play Love Grow If you like cushions and Annie Sloan paint then do pop over and say hello.