My Blogging Journey and How I Stay Motivated 7 Years On

When people ask how long I have been blogging for, I only imagine it to be 2-3 years but I have actually been producing content since 2010. I started up a YouTube channel that year, around the time of Laura from Lollipop26 and Anna from Vivianna Does Makeup (now the Anna Edit) only had a few hundred subscribers.

I remember looking to Laura and Anna backing their honest reviews by purchasing what they recommended. Back then no one did it for the money or even dreamed of it being a job. People uploaded videos because they just loved to chat about makeup. You had to apply to be a ‘partner’ of YouTube back in 2010. If accepted, only then could you make money from your videos. This has all changed, as now you can make money right from your very first video!

2010 was also the year I started university, some of my housemates found my YouTube channel and teased me a little. I was quite sensitive at the time and just wanted to fit in, so I deleted my channel and all the videos I had. I really do wish I’d carried on, who knows I could have been as big as Zoella!

While at university studying journalism and online media, I was encouraged by tutors to set up a blog to practice my writing. Cherries in the Snow was born. I uploaded the odd article here and there but didn’t take my blog seriously until 2012-13 in my last year of uni. It was an excellent way to show my hobby and passion for writing and online media during job interviews.

I’d say I really started working on my blog around 2014, I bought my own domain and blog layout, as well as a DSLR. I tried to make my posts more structured but also improve the quality of my photos. I was previously taking small, crappy photos on my old phone.

Over the last few years, I have seen a shift in blogging and YouTube but also the way I blog. I do use affiliate links and Adsense to gather a tiny, tiny income but it’s not my main source of money. I work full time as a Social Media Executive, so I fit blogging around this.

I can definitely see a difference between full-time bloggers and hobby bloggers. The main difference is the time spent on content, photoshoots, press trips and assistants aren’t part of my blogging process.

I take my own photos, write my own content, schedule my own social media, and chat to brands myself. I prefer it this way!

So how do I stay inspired and enthusiastic about blogging after so many years?

I haven’t got bored of playing with makeup, whether I blogged or not, I’m sure I’d still be dropping £30 by accident in Boots when I just came in for one thing. There are endless amounts of brands and products out there just waiting to be discovered.

I still get that little buzz when a brand contacts me and asks if I would like to work with them. I appreciate every sample sent out to me.

I also like that people find my content useful, perhaps they only visited me once from a Google search but I provided them with a review or answer about a foundation or eyeshadow.

Seeing your peers create great content could make some jealous, but for me, I like to support those fellow bloggers and see them as a source of inspiration.

I’ve never been one of those popular bloggers, I do chat within the blogging community but never felt deeply a part of it. However, I have met some amazing people through the internet. Chatting to them about their blogs and seeing how passionate they are helps me stay motivated too.

I’d love to know how many years you have been blogging for. How do you stay motivated?