It’s my 1 year anniversary of starting Primal Bliss this month! It has been a fun year for me, and I learned so much about blogging, and about myself. I wanted to share some of the things I learned as a primal foodie blogger 🙂

 

 

1. Don’t misspell simple words like soppressata. You WILL have a follower from Italy who WILL call you out on it. Sorry for offending you man from Italy. I am Italian too. I will work on my horrible spelling.

2. Don’t spell anything wrong for that matter. Spell correcting people are everywhere…and they will tell you. Yes I know, they have every right.

3. Be yourself. Haters are going to hate-simply because they have hate in their heart. Or they are angry about other things in their lives…or maybe they just really don’t like you. That is okay!  Everyone does not have to like me. It’s a good lesson to learn. I like me, and that is what matters. Which brings me to…

4. Develop a thick skin. There are a couple really mean types of followers. Feel free to block them. You should not have to deal with these people. You are not getting paid to deal with them. The first type are the angry ones who completely disagree with your lifestyle, yet still feel the need to follow your page and post angry comments. The second type agree with your lifestyle, but stick with it 100% and will call you out on anything that is not 100% the lifestyle. These mean people will tell you that you are poisoning your children because you posted a food item with an undesirable ingredient. Or they will tell you the butter you use is not 100% grass-fed. They will be relentless. They will try to embarrass you right on your page, rather than sending a nice message. Just block them. You don’t have the time or energy to feed that nonsense. Look…I’m far from perfect. I make many mistakes. Don’t get me wrong here…I appreciate constructive criticism. With that said, most followers are awesome and supportive. Most followers will like what you have to say, and are aware that you are not an expert and that they need to do their own research.

5. Instagram is not just “chicks” posting selfie shots and food. Okay, so you either love or hate seeing selfie and foodie pics. I never imagined myself using the words selfie and foodie. Most people probably dislike it. I get that. I kind of dislike it when I hear it. However, as bloggers we want our followers to connect with us, and see our lighter side. Instagram is the place to share funny pictures, pictures of your cat, inspirational quotes to motivate and inspire, or shameless selfies after a sweaty workout…because we want to connect with you, and we want you to see the real us. Some of us are funny, some of us are serious, some of us are quirky. We want you to connect with our followers and instagram is a place for that. If you don’t like it or don’t see the need in it…don’t use instagram.

6. You will post something short and silly and expect no response…and you will get a huge response. You will post something that you spent days researching and working on. You will put blood sweat and tears in it, and expect it will spread like crazy. You feel so proud and accomplished. It will get 1 or 2 likes. Go figure.

7. Bloggers need to support each other and stick together. We may have different views, different lifestyles, and different opinions and different number of followers. However, we are the most successful when we support each rather than knock each other down to make ourselves look better. You just end up looking like an ass.

8. It is not unusual to take like 100 pictures of a meatball in just the right lighting. It’s just not.

9. You better have a damn good idea of what you are sharing or discussing. People like to ask questions. They want to know more. They like learning from you.

10. You will reach out to some big bloggers who inspire and motivate you. Some will respond, but others will not and that may make you feel really small. You are NOT small. They are just “too big for their boots.”  Keep reaching out. The ones that matter will connect with you. The number of followers you have does not define how awesome you are. The content you post is what matters. Many bloggers pay to promote themselves or spend numerous hours “liking” pictures in order to get more followers. Others chose to do it organically, and whatever will be will be. Either way is great! There are benefits to having more followers. However, it does not define you as a “better” blogger.

Okay, I lied 11 things… You will learn a great deal about yourself. You will grow as a person and realize that blogging is a real passion. Don’t expect to get rich doing this. I do it because I love to inspire, teach, and motivate people. The money will come eventually.

I hope you enjoyed these. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year of blogging, and feel very lucky to have this amazing group of people in my life. Happy Blogging! 🙂