Why I Blog: Reflections of My First 3 Months of Happily Blogging

A blogger's New Year's Eve poem reflecting on the past three months of blogging.

The end of 2019 marks my three months blogging anniversary.

It’s a great time to reflect on why I started this WONDROUS yet onerous journey. I hope that through this reflection as a newly minted blogger, I can provide some fresh insights for my readers and prospective bloggers.

But before we jump into why I blog, let me first share some juicy confessions!

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Confessions of a New Blogger

1. Umm, I never really liked writing UNTIL NOW

A bit embarrassing to admit, but I never enjoyed writing growing up. I succinctly remember the dread I had every time I have to write an essay in my high school AP English class.

But I’ve always loved reading. I love storytelling. I love poems (can you tell?). And I generally love blurting out words but just not in my AP English class!

Instead of writing, my passion lies in numbers and art. So it surprised me when I chose to start a blog! (I’ll tell you why shortly.)

2. I am a slow writer thus I can only slow-cook a post ONCE per week

With limited brain juice, I can only produce one quality content consistently per week. I know the ability to publish more blog posts per week can yield better results in terms of traffic and readership count, but for the life of me I just couldn’t do it without burning myself out (due to Confession #1).

The way I write is that I slow-cook a post. This means that whenever I have a sudden burst of ideas, I’ll quickly write it down or make a note of it on my cell phone. Then when I have full quietness and focus (precious time for moms), I’ll structure the post and develop it. After that, I’ll proofread it several times and ensure SEO “compliance.” Finally, I’ll load the content into WordPress and make it picture perfect. This whole process can take up to 10 hours.

At times I also feel like I’m an undercover writer because I can only write when Baby Boss is not looking or is soundly asleep. She remains my priority. Therefore the “slow cooking” schedule works for me because in addition to writing a blog post, I can also dedicate time throughout the week to perform other tasks that require less concentration – site maintenance, marketing, networking with other bloggers, graphics, learning, and continuous improvement – which are all critical to this blog.

However, this doesn’t mean that I don’t strive to write MORE, I just have to do it at my own pace. My goal is to be able to publish twice a week by the end of 2020. Baby steps.

3. I’m not a UNICORN blogger

I define a ‘unicorn blogger’ to be one who can turn her/his blog into a lucrative business or obtain a sizeable readership in the get-go.

Therefore, a ‘unicorn blog’ is one that exudes rarity, attractiveness, and desirability – basically one that every other blogger wishes to create.

For example, a blog that became an instant success story or lucrative business would have blog titles such as, “How I made $6,000 in my first three months of blogging” or “How I earned $30,000 per month in my first year of blogging.”

A sizable readership would have similar titles such as, “How I got over 10,000 pageviews after two months of blogging” or “How I increased my subscriber counts to 300 per month in less than a year.”

Unfortunately, you won’t find those kinds of exclamation in this blog, not for now at least. (But I think I might have figured out the secret and I’ll share it later!)

Instead, my would-be blog title might go something like this: “How I made $0 in my first three months of blogging but at least I got over 6,000 page views from more than 1,600 unique visitors (of which 10% returns). Victory dance!”

(I had very low expectation when starting out this blog, so any spike in traffic will not seize to surprise me.)

Five Reasons Why I Blog

Why I Blog: Reflections of the First Three Months of Happily Blogging

One crucial thing I told myself when I started this blog is to IGNORE the numbers for the first year – a tough thing to do when I love analyzing figures and trends for fun.

The rationale behind that is because I don’t want to get discouraged by any subpar results and just throw in the towel. The beginning of a blog is an experimental phase so there is no point to get disappointed by setting unrealistic expectations.

So instead, I laid a different set of foundation for which my motivation builds upon. Doing so for me is much more effective than setting up a measuring stick. Here are the reasons why I started this blog:

1. To leave some thoughts behind on the internet and for my daughter

We all have something unique in us that we can contribute. With the advent of the internet, it has become SO MUCH easier to do so.

Blogging is just one of the media channels where I can utilize my finance skills to inspire others to master their own personal finance and become financial independent.

In addition, I wanted to change the dynamics of money discussion at home. For example, growing up, my parents never really taught me anything about personal finance or money management. They were actually pretty bad at it, and so we had always struggled to make ends meet. (But they are great parents and I love them to pieces.)

It became so straining sometimes to live on a tight budget that I vowed to manage my finances better when I grow up. Now that I graduated with a few degrees (Bachelor’s in Finance and an MBA) plus having worked in the finance sector for over ten years, I gained quite some extensive knowledge with managing finances – both corporate and personal.

As a mom, I knew it’s important to teach my daughter personal finance skills someday. Since most schools don’t offer any curriculum on money management subjects, it’s then up to the parents to do it. Unfortunately, many parents are still reluctant to talk about money at home because it’s one of those ‘mushy subjects.’

Because society tends to label money as good or evil, we attach it with great sentiments. I want to change that view by teaching my daughter that money is merely a TOOL and it’s best to use it with a rational mind than an emotional one.

Starting this blog is just a small step I take to change this dynamic by sharing my financial knowledge and money concept online. This will also form the basis for teaching my daughter on how to better manage her own personal finance in the future.

2. To improve and perfect my craft

They say the best way to really know if one has mastered a topic is to teach it effectively. Therefore my ability to teach and inform about financial topics on this blog will not only validate what I know, but it’ll also help me improve and perfect my craft.

In this blog, I intend to produce well-researched articles pertaining to personal finance topics such as budgeting, investing, saving, and reaching financial independence among other things.

This will not only provide value-added resources to my readers, I’ll also expand my knowledge along the way. Plus, with the commitment to write regularly, I’m sure my writing will improve overtime.

3. To make an impact

Whenever I see headlines such as “Retirement Crisis” or “Most Americans Are Working Into Old Age,” it always baffles me.

Actually, it’s more like a swirl of fascination sprinkled with all shades of dismay. I just couldn’t believe how many people either cannot manage or mismanage their finances. Even our government fails to balance the budget.

I believe to truly live a wealthy life is to live amongst a wealthy society. Can you imaging the cost of having a large population who cannot afford retirement? It’s certainly going to add unnecessary cost to our community as a whole – think higher crime rate, increased health risk, and declining quality of life.

Certainly there’s a whole variety of finance blogs, news outlets, and programs to educate the general population. But if that’s so then why do we have such gloomy statistics about retirement and savings rate?

Perhaps adding one more blog to the internet won’t hurt. If there is just something I can do (however small) to help another person to avoid “retirement crisis,” then I’ll feel pretty great about this contribution.

4. To experiment with business ideas and ventures

Today, we are in the mist of the fourth industrial revolution where artificial intelligence can rapidly replace jobs – including mine as a Financial Manager.

Just like we won’t be able to predict the next recession, we also can’t foresee when a job will be eliminated. But that doesn’t mean I should sit around and wait for it to happen. In fact, the previous two companies I worked for have either outsourced the entire finance department to a lower salary country or cut off some of the teams completely.

This means that our jobs are constantly being threatened by the advance of technology. But hey! When one door closes, another opens!

We now live in an unprecedented time where an individual can become a shop owner through setting up an Etsy account, a teen with a phone and a laptop can craft a career via Youtube, and a blogger can build a business by unlocking the potential of content creation – all in the comfort of one’s own home!

Today, our technology has brought tremendous opportunities for creative individuals. Since the uniqueness in one’s creativity cannot be outsourced, this brings new possibility for those who want to embrace them.

For the longest time, I had just been putting my head down and work a 9-5 job because it was stable and it yielded a steady cash flow. But as I see layoffs happening left and right around me, I can’t shake the feeling that my job is not really as stable as it might seem.

If I have to take a bet on my own career, I might as well carve one out myself while I’m still young and can afford to fail. That’s why I started this blog – to discover the possibility of starting a new business venture.

It’s not going to be easy as the chance of failure is exceptionally high. There are 500 million blogs out there after all! Standing out and getting notice at the beginning will be a challenge.

But luckily (or unluckily) I grew up in hard knock environments where the only way to survive is to keep going, so naturally I developed a strong resilience of a tardigrade (a.k.a. water bear). Side note: If you look this up, you’ll find that tardigrades are fascinating creatures!

In addition, the startup cost is exceptionally low for starting a small business online comparing to other traditional businesses, so why not give it a try? The only loss I might incur is the loss of my time. But if I write for my daughter, then the effort will never be truly wasted.

Related: Building a Side Income via Blogging from Home

5. To become financial independent

Financial independence (FI) is more of a journey than a goal. One can reach FI by calculating her/his financial target, but this target is constantly moving.

Now that I have a daughter, my FI target has undeniably edged higher because I want to provide more for my Baby Bear. Some of the things I wish for her to have are options to live in a better neighborhood (than the ones I grew up in), to attend private school or change school if needed, and to participate in activities that she finds interest in (including expensive hobbies like ice skating or skiing).

In addition, my dream is to watch her grow and I can’t do that if I have to constantly trade time for money. Therefore, starting a blog presents an interesting proposition for developing a new stream of income online.

Who knows, maybe this blog might just be that ticket to help me reach financial independence? And if not, it would at least document my journey – I know I’ll get there someday!

In any case, the goal of this blog is to explore new investment and entrepreneurship opportunities, embrace successes and failures, and document the entire process along the way. Not only do I seek to inform (and occasionally entertain) about financial topics, I also want to show you what can be done to increase your net worth and become financial independent at your own pace.

Lessons Learned as a New Blogger (A Preview)

So far running this little blog has given me a lot of joy as it keeps my brain active. Plus I’m in too deep. I already paid for three years of web hosting and I’m gaining momentum, so I can’t stop now.

In just three short months, I have already made TREMENDOUS progress despite having very little clue of what I’m doing. For starters, my knowledge about the blogosphere has gone from 0 to hero (okay, maybe 30?), I’ve made bunch of blogger friends, and I published a total of 16 blog posts (including this one)! Wowzers, right?!

I want to share everything that I learned about blogging (especially when it’s still fresh in my head), so that it can help a prospective blogger by providing new perspectives and blindsides.

We often hear success stories from established bloggers, but what about those failures, trials and tribulations of a young blog? I think it might be just as insightful to learn the struggles and to experience the learning curve of a blog right from the beginning!

So for next year, I planned to document all of the hits and misses of this blog in a quarterly update fashion (i.e. every three months starting in January 2020).

For the first quarterly update, I’ll be covering the five main lessons learned in the first few months of blogging. Here’s a preview:

  1. Fare-thee-well! Thou hast a new boss and its name is SEO
  2. Thou shall manage thy blog like a business and promote thy blog post like a product (the secret to become a UNICORN blogger)
  3. Don’t be fool! Setting up a blog is NOT just a few clicks away!
  4. The upfront (and hidden) costs thou should expect to start a lucrative blogging business (and how to do so legally)
  5. All about MARKETING: Digital marketing, affiliate marketing, content marketing, social media marketing, and the ’80/20 marketing rule.’

A main takeaway that I learned way before starting this blog is that self-hosting is a must if you want to take your blog to the next level. This is a standard practice as it would allow you to OWN your internet space, domain and contents rather than storing your hard work in a free platform.

Another important takeaway is that blogging, like investing, is a long-term game. You don’t NEED to have a high IQ to become a successful investor – just a mild intelligence with a rock solid temperament will do. Likewise, you don’t need to be the best writer to be a successful blogger. It hinges more on one’s stamina, consistency, and an infallible faith in one’s ability to make things happen.

With the aid of the fourth industrial revolution, blogging has become a powerful avenue to transform any passion into a career or business venture. (Marie Kondo, anyone?)

This blog aims to explore those transformations by uncovering ways to build new passive (or side) incomes. If you want to join this journey, stay tuned for new article every Monday with occasional bonus guest posts.

Please don’t forget to SHARE, comment, subscribe and support me on Facebook by smashing that like button (or just gently click).

I wish you all the best and see you next year!

Mama Bear Finance blog

What are some of the success or failure stories you heard about blogging? If you’re a blogger, what motivated you to start a blog? If you’re not a blogger, do you plan to become one or do you think it’s a waste of time?

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Reflection of the first three months of happily blogging and why I blog
Why I Blog and My Reflections of the First 3 Months of Blogging

44 thoughts on “Why I Blog: Reflections of My First 3 Months of Happily Blogging

  1. I have been in the blogging world since 2012, and like you, I’m in too deep to want to stop doing it. I loved reading about your three-month blogging adventure and your reasons why. I’m so glad you went on this journey. For someone who says she isn’t that good of a writer, I beg to differ! Your words flow well together. I’m a terrible poet, but definitely appreciate your talent for making poems.

    I can see you thriving well in the blogging world!

    1. Hi Crystal, thank you so much for the kind words. It’s also very humbling to get encouragement from a seasoned blogger like yourself; thanks so much for dropping by!

      I hope down the road, I’ll be able to look back and feel glad that I started this journey. Yes, we’re in too deep 🙂

  2. Great post. A wonderful and honest motivation to keep doing what you love. Looking at your writing I have a long way to go 🙂 I will definitely be following you blogging about your progress!

  3. Congrats on hitting the 3-month mark! I am at the beginning of my 3rd month and it is definitely an adventure. It can be quite overwhelming everything that is involved when it comes to blogging, but all you can do is take one step at a time. It can definitely be discouraging too when you feel like you are doing so much, but not really getting anything in return. The most important thing I have in regards to that is the only way you can fail is to quit. So whatever you do, don’t quit because in time you will get there! Happy New Year!

    1. Thank you for the encouragement! It’s so true that we put lots of effort in with little to (in my case) no monetary rewards! That’s why having other reasons for starting a blog besides views/$/other measuring stick is so important.

      Happy New Year to you and keep it up, too!

  4. Blogging is everyday learning and it’s neverending! Lovely post. Many will learn a lot from your experience. Thank you.

  5. Hi Mama Bear,

    Love this blog post. Thanks so much for sharing your blogging journey and your transparency. I’m glad you’re enjoying blogging. I’m a new blogger myself, only been blogging for seven months. And like you, and I’m sure many others, I’m not a unicorn blogger. Blogging is like getting a PhD and just when you think you got it all figured out, you suddenly feel like telling yourself, “but wait, there’s more!”

    You write really well and it’s nice to leave a legacy for your children, something they can look back upon and of which they can be proud of their mum.

    All the best for 2020, you got this!

    Cheers 🙂

    1. Thank you so much for the thoughtful feedback. It really is like “the more we know, the more we don’t know” haha. Best of luck to you too in the New Year and into the new decade!

  6. Don’t forget that one goal of blogging (in my humble opinion) is to have fun 🙂
    Congratulations on your 3 months blogversary. Keep it up!

    1. Thank you, Tamara! Haha.. thanks for the reminder. Writing actually became quite a fun activity for me but the site maintenance… oooooh boy!

      Happy New Year!

  7. Girl, to become financially independent would be amazing! It’s definitely one of the reasons that I’m in the blogging game for the long haul!

  8. Sounds like you’re off to a great start. Starting a new blog is definitely a learning experience in a thousand different ways!

  9. I feel like every time my schedule/lifestyle decides how many posts I can properly do, a month later everything changes and suddenly that number changes. My poor readers have gotten everything from 5 posts a week to 1 every other week over the last couple of years. But truly it’s ok. Whatever works for you in this season of life is all that matters. Overall it’s quality over quantity (and whatever baby boss says – I love that name haha!)

    1. Yes, so true. We go at our own pace. I find that by committing myself to writing one post a week, I build a habit for doing it. Plus, it’s what I find to be the most realistic figure thanks in part to Baby Boss lol.

  10. Wow! Great job on your page views! When I started my blog in May, I did not start it for money either. I still have only made $3.08 so I’m definitely not making bank, but I love what I do, and I hope my son can also look back on it one day!

  11. I love this post! I’m only in my second month now after wanting to blog for 5 years and never pulling the trigger. I left my job has a marketing analyst to stay home with my kids and this has given me a lot of what I missed about my work but at my own terms. Agree with you about the unicorn bloggers. It’s easy to get discouraged and think you’re doing it all wrong when you see those “I made $6,000) my first month statements. But I’ve been trying hard not to compare myself to others! Thanks for the reminder!

    1. Yay, glad you pulled the trigger! For me, I NEVER wanted to become a blogger lol. That steams from the fact that I never liked writing. But something came over me after I became a mom. I have these moments of racing thoughts (probably due to hormones), and I just realize my protective instincts got super high. Thus Mama Bear Finance was born – a place where I can let out my thoughts and process them slowly.

      Good luck with your blog! I love checking out new blogs so I’m going to stop by!

  12. So true! When I started blogging in 2009, it took me 3 years to earn $100 in ad revenue. I didn’t even know that you could earn money from blogging. I found out how though and I did it all on my own. I now coach other people to do the same. To get there quicker than 3 years. I wish I had someone helping me when I started. You’ll get there too. Good luck!

    Anne x

  13. Congrats on your first three months! It sounds like you are off to a fantastic start, and I couldn’t agree with you more about blogging. It truly takes so much time and effort, hard work and persistence. I think people tend to get discouraged when they don’t see their numbers skyrocket right away, like you see in those posts you mentioned. We are going to get there, and I think 2020 is going to be an amazing year!

    https://www.makelifemarvelous.com/

    1. Thank you. Yes, it’s fruitless to look at the numbers at the beginning when we should focus on our effort. While it’s fun to see how other bloggers made it big, it’s more fulfilling to chart out our own history. Wishing you great success in 2020!!

  14. I love the fact that you have accepted your strengths and weaknesses as a blogger and the fact that you have started working towards a separate stream of income to reach FI is something we all need to pay attention to. I hope the new year will make things better for you and all of us and we can all meet at some point with our financial successes.

  15. Great post! Blogging has a huge learning curve and I too find myself sighing wistfully every time I see one of those unicorn posts on Pinterest. I’m making money with my blog but the progress I’ve made and what I’ve learned so far outweighs it. Here’s to a great 2020 for us both!

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