A lot of bloggers won’t tell you about their first few months of blogging unless they were incredibly successful.

But the thing is, most people won’t see incredible success in their entire first year of blogging.

I am not a blogger who has found any measure of success yet, and so I want to share my journey with you as authentically as possible so that other beginners like me can be encouraged by it! This article is all about my fourth month of blogging, but if you’re curious about how my previous months went or want to know how I got started, you can check out my other posts here:

• What My First Month Blogging Looks Like
• Blogging Secrets: Know What the Second Month Looks Like
• Secrets of the Third Month Blogging: Encouragement to Beginner Bloggers

Who I am and why I started a blog

My name is Genesis, and I have an intense passion for teaching and writing.

For four years, I had been a teacher in elementary schools around the world. As much as I loved teaching (and travelling), something was definitely missing from my life. I realized that my passion for writing was getting ignored due to the demanding nature of my teaching career. I decided that, unless I was willing to give up writing, I was going to have to find another way to use my teaching skills.

And that’s where blogging comes in!

This blog has become a way for me to teach others about things I value while having the opportunity to write every single day. It is a place of true joy, and I am determined to make this into something real and sustainable. I’m now four months in, and I definitely still feel good about blogging.

Why am I sharing my progress? 

Though I occasionally put stuff up about blogging, I don’t typically blog about blogging. So why go through the effort of sharing all of this with you? I have three main reasons why I choose to share my blogging experience with others each month: 

I need to set an example to the people who read my blog

Here at In Its Season, I talk a lot about the importance of being true to who you are and creating a life that reflects that. In my own journey, I have felt a strong pull towards blogging, but it has not been an easy journey. I get stressed and overwhelmed. There are a lot of days where I wonder if it’s worth the effort, or if I should just take the easy route and go back to teaching.

But I believe in the things that I write about, and I aim to follow my own advice.

I want to share my progress so that people can see that the journey to authentic living is not an easy one, but it’s worth it in the end. I want to share my story before assuming that I will succeed because I want people to know what’s really going on in my head. This is my chance to share the struggles that inevitably come with this path.

I want to encourage others to be comfortable with their failures. 

Every month, I consistently fail at something, but I look at those failures as a chance to share the value of error with others. I want people to read this and feel encouraged and comfortable with their own mistakes. They are just learning opportunities, and there’s nothing to be embarrassed about!

I want to show that progress still happens even when you don’t feel it. 

When you finally achieve something big, it can be hard to look back and remember the struggle it took to get there. You can’t remember all of the little things that used to be so difficult for you. Every day, I am learning something new and difficult about blogging and all it entails. But when I look back at my journey, I have trouble remembering what things were difficult at the beginning. To benefit me and those starting their own blogs, I want to share the struggles I faced each month as they end so that I can be reminded of how far I’ve come.

My Setbacks and Successes This Month

My fourth month has actually felt pretty steady! I feel like I’m finally starting to get the hang of things, and nothing big has really happened. I’ve got a few things I can still share, though:

Success: I got approved for Google Adsense

I’m still going back and forth on whether or not I want to actually use Google AdSense. However, the approval was a huge motivational thing for me regardless!

The first time I applied, I was denied because something was wrong with my site. Unfortunately, I wasn’t informed of what that problem was. In my head, I started freaking out about what the possible problems could have been for my site, and it made me feel horrible!

After a lot of changes and quite a bit of time, I tried again, and this time it was a success! Now that I am approved, I can at least feel good that the site is seen as something legitimate enough to have ads.

Setback: I am still formatting my old posts

I have been struggling quite a bit with going back to my old posts and formatting them to fit the best practices for blogging. It has left me feeling a little overwhelmed by how much there is to get done.

I mean, I still want to maintain my three posts a week, but with all of the extra stuff that requires my attention (not to mention life getting in the way), it can be hard to meet those goals. So far, I have still been able to keep up the consistency with my blogging schedule, but the site maintenance for old posts is getting a little forgotten. I’m hoping to find a decent solution for that this month.

Success: I got my first four subscribers!

I’ll be honest, I sometimes have trouble seeing this as a success because it’s only four subscribers, but I know that I should really be looking at it as a positive thing.

I’ve been having a lot of trouble getting people to join my email list, but it was still exciting to get those four subscribers over the course of this month. I am hoping that I can find some good strategies to get more in the coming month, but we’ll have to wait and see!

Success: I have been starting to network with other bloggers

This was probably the most exciting thing that has happened to me this month! Up until now, I have been a lone wolf, simply writing my posts and moving on with my day. But at the beginning of this month, I went looking for Facebook groups that could help me on my blogging journey.

I have found a few that are really great places for collaboration and have been helping me get my name out there a little more!

It has done wonders for my motivation, as well, because now I have people to talk to that have been where I am. It has been a great experience overall!

Setback: Not much else has been happening, and I’m losing steam because of it

This one was an odd setback I wasn’t expecting in my fourth month, but after reading about other people’s experiences, it seems like I should have expected it. I thought that my fourth month was going to show more growth, but it feels a little like everything close to the end of the fourth month blogging has just stagnated. In my head, I get nervous that it’s just going to stay stagnated like this forever.

I don’t know what a normal blog looks like after four months, but I have read a lot of blogging advice that really encourages me to stick it out for an entire year before making any big decisions. I’ve read that it is common for people to give up after six months of blogging, and I am determined not to be one of those people. I am feeling a little discouraged, but not enough to throw away the dream, yet. I plan to stick with it and try my hardest for the whole year!

The results

Traffic Report

Despite the fact that I feel like nothing is happening with the blog, the traffic report says otherwise. Every area of the blog saw an improvement- even the session duration and bounce rate! At least that is something I can celebrate!

Top Referrals

Everything on my referrals stayed about the same. Pinterest is bringing in the most traffic, and Facebook is now sending more people, too. Otherwise, it has been about the same as the previous months.

Top 5 Posts

People are still loving anything about simplicity, routines, and helpful systems that make life easier. I am perfectly happy to continue writing about these topics in the future! These were my top 5 posts this month:

• How to Use Your Phone With Intention and Purpose
• Your Perfect Fall Morning Routine for a Better Season
• How to Prepare for Next Month Like a Boss
• Morning Pages for a Better Day
• 80 Ways to Calm Down Your Anxiety and Worry

Income

Last month, I had decided to wait before looking into affiliates, as they often won’t consider you unless you are an established site, anyway. This next month I think I will be looking into it a little bit.

Expenses

This month, I actually didn’t spend any money on anything. The blog feels pretty well established at this point, and I feel like I know what I’m doing in most areas now. I need to learn more about SEO, but there are a lot of free resources for that.

Total Expenses: $0

Where the blog is headed

This blog is still headed towards a niche-lifestyle blog that focuses on self-improvement, simple living, and chasing authenticity. I am getting a better feel for the things people like and I am putting more focus on those things as I move forward.

My thoughts about my fourth month blogging

This month was still a lot easier than the second month, though I’m not sure it was easier than the third month. I had two completely different emotions during this time.

For the first half of the month, I was on a high. I was watching the stats climb after I had shared my blog with friends and family on Facebook, and I was engaging with the comments section because of my networking. Pinterest was steadily climbing and improving, and things looked like they were going well!

The second half of the month, however, was discouraging. The statistics inevitably got worse as my Facebook post lost steam, and the networking didn’t feel as novel as it had before. I started to feel like the blog wasn’t going anywhere, and now I’m a little discouraged and worried that my blog won’t amount to anything.

I’m certain that I will need to look for motivation outside of myself this coming month.

I can feel myself losing confidence in my blog, but I have another part of me that is determined to chase this dream no matter what happens. I have committed to a year, and a year is what I will give! It has already helped to read from other bloggers that the first six months are difficult and that most people give up by then.

I feel encouraged knowing that I will not be one of the people who give up too early. Lots of bloggers say that you need to simply remain consistent and stick with your schedule and you will eventually see a return for your effort. I am already intrinsically motivated to continue writing because I genuinely believe it will help others, so this makes things a little easier.

November and December will likely be a little difficult for me, but I am ready to venture on and fight whatever battles come my way! I pray every day that God will make the path clear to me and will help me continue forward.

My Personal Goals

This month was a nice one for goal-setting. I nearly reached all of my goals (I fell shy of my mailing list goal by only one person). Here’s an overview of how my goals went this month: 

• Pinterest Goals: The number of link clicks bringing people to my site was 310, which is 86 more clicks than last month.
• Traffic Goals: I saw an increase in visitors to my site and an increase in the length of time they spent there. My bounce rate was much better, too!
• Product Goals: I created two more freebies, though neither of them was a video course.
• Mailing List Goals: I got four more people to join my mailing list. I almost reached my goal for this!

Now I have to create some new goals for this coming month: 

• Pinterest Goals: Maintain the number of link clicks to my site
• Traffic Goals: See an improvement in the bounce rate. Find ways to keep people looking at more pages on the site.
• Product Goals: Create one freebie per week.
• Mailing List Goals: Get five more people to join my mailing list. 
• Income Goals: There is still no need to make money, but join two more affiliate programs this month. 

Blogging resources I would recommend

You can see that I’m not a blogging expert, yet. I’m still in the baby stages of learning how to do it. But there are a few resources that I have tested out and found to be extremely helpful! I want to share the ones that have helped me a lot in my blogging journey so that you don’t have to waste time trying to find the best resources alone.

(Please note that I am an affiliate for these three programs, so I do make a small commission on purchases you make through these links. However, I want to make it clear that I would never recommend something that I don’t use and appreciate myself. I truly love these three resources and believe that you would benefit from using them, as well!)

Resource #1: ConvertKit

I would recommend ConvertKit to anyone looking to build a mailing list. Not only is it easier to use, but the support offered to you as a creator is just so helpful! They offer weekly workshops to help you grow as a creator, concerts and inspirational stories to watch, free templates, community networking, and one-on-one support. Honestly, I have nothing but good things to say about them!

---

If you’re looking to grow a mailing list, you should sign up for ConvertKit.

---

Resource #2: Legal Pages Bundle

After quite a bit of research, it was clear to me that Amira’s Legal Bundle was the most cost-effective way to protect myself fully on my blog. Within one day, I had purchased the bundle, customized it, and placed it on my site.

Amira’s bundle makes me feel so much safer about my blog, and I want you to have the same thing!

---

If you are a freelancer or a blogger, then don’t hesitate to buy Amira’s Legal Bundle. It is the best use of your money and time to get her help!

---

Related Post: Where to get the Best Legal Bundle for your Blog

Resource #3: Divi WordPress theme

I opted for Divi because it promised a lot of customization without having to know all of the coding lingo.

Now, I want to be candid with you and explain that, for me, the learning curve was still really tough. Additionally, a lot of the customization I wanted ended up slowing down my site enough that I had to sacrifice beauty for functionality.

I might not recommend this theme to everyone, but I would recommend it to beginner bloggers like me.

I really appreciate the personal support I get from them and that is the main reason why I would recommend their product for you. Though my more experienced future self might move on to a new theme eventually, I couldn’t have asked for a better beginner theme!

---

If you want to try Divi out for yourself, you can check out their products here!

---

Conclusion

I hope that this personal journey of mine can encourage you on your own path. If you’re a fellow blogger, I hope it helped to show you what it’s like to be a beginner blogger. Remember, whatever it is you’re aiming for, the process is just as valuable. Let yourself take your eyes off the main goal long enough to enjoy where you are now. Every little move you make towards that goal is worth celebrating! 

What goals are you reaching for this month? What are you learning that you can celebrate today? Tell me about it in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!