What Does A Blogger Actually Do?

Write, photograph, edit, post, repeat. Welcome to the life of a blogger.

A lot of people underestimate what a blogger ACTUALLY does. We don't just write things and post them. There's so much work that goes into one single blog post and we barely get paid for it (well, some do), we do it because we love what we do and we love being part of this amazing blogging community. 

Like I said, people don't realise the full enormity of what goes into writing and creating content. It doesn't just happen overnight, the words just don't fall onto the blank draft on Blogger/WordPress. Photo's just don't show up on your camera/phone. Photo's don't just edit themselves ready at your disposal. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest don't just promote your posts whenever you publish something new. Emails don't just reply to brands for you. Disqus doesn't just reply to comments that have been kindly written by other blogger's. All this work is down to US. 

Blogging has been a part of my life for almost four years now. Before starting, I never fully comprehended of how much work needed to be put in. It's something I have had to learn over time. I'm still learning today even after four years. I wish people could understand that blogging is a genuine thing and that it can be a real success. 

Here is my current routine as a blogger:

CHECK  AND  REPLY  TO  BLOGGING  EMAILS

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This is the first thing I will always do when I sit down for a blogging hour. I hate not replying to emails straight away. If a brand has sent me an email, it's only right and courteous that I reply on the same day. I like to take my time with this so I can carefully read the email and make sure my response is correct and it gives the brand the correct information they need.  

COMMENT  ON  OTHER  BLOGS

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I love doing this. I love catching up on my favourite blogger's newest content. Not just the blogger's I follow, I love discovering new blogger's and reading their content. I always make the point of making a comment on posts after reading them. It shows that not only have you clicked on their website, it's the fact that you've taken the time to read their post. A comment on my posts makes my day, it certainly makes another blogger's day commenting on their posts.

REPLY  TO  COMMENTS  ON  MY  BLOG

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Time to reverse the role. After commenting on other blog posts, I look to my blog posts to catch up on the comments that other blogger's have taken time to make on mine. I have always made the time to reply to comments made on my blog. It's common courtesy in a way, I like to say thank you to them for taking the time to read and comment on my blog. 

PLAN  CONTENT  FOR  THE  WEEK  /  MONTH

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This is where my inner Monica Gellar comes into play. I'm trying to be a lot more organised with blogging now. Before lockdown, I used to plan one or even two posts a week. Now that I have so much time on my hands, I'm planning a whole MONTH'S content. Who even am I?!  Something I have never done until now. I look at when the best time a post should be published, especially one that is sort of trending in the news. 

WRITE  BLOG  POSTS 

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Seems quite an obvious thing to do really. But yes, I try and write something everyday if possible, especially ideas that pop into my head there and then. However, sometimes that's not always the case. If my brain turns to mush in terms of creativity, I don't try and write anything. I'd rather write when I have ideas rather than force content out. Forced content can be my worst content, no way would I publish it on my blog! 

GET  THE  CAMERA  OUT

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I still have a love/hate relationship with shooting photo's for my blog and Instagram. When I get a little creative inspo, there's no stopping with me with my Canon camera. I'm shooting and flatlaying and angling away! I never have a photo session with my camera if I don't feel in the mood to do so. I would definitely say that since I bought this camera, I have had more inspiration than ever before, probably because I'm always so eager to use my camera and try new things. A photo session can take about 1 or even 2 hours for me, depending on how much inspo I have or how much content I need to get photograph.

PROMOTE  POSTS  ON  SOCIAL  MEDIA

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This task can be a little time consuming but it's well worth it. Getting my posts out there means other blogger's can get to see the content I have poured blood, sweat and tears over to get it posted online. Well, not literally, but you know what I mean. I promote my blog posts on Twitter and Instagram on a daily basis. It's important for me to repost not just today's post, but past ones also. Just because I wrote them a long time ago, doesn't mean that they should be forgotten about!

There are other little jobs I do with blogging, but these are the main tasks I do on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Blogging has been like having a second job, but I wouldn't change a thing! 

Lucy