Celebrate with me please. I’ve officially passed the 6 month mark on this blogging journey and things are finally starting to make sense! As a newbie blogger, it was definitely a steep learning curve that I will never forget. Learning how to create a pretty site, identify my target audience, understand SEO, choose a social media platform to promote my blog, etc… it was a lot!
If you have just started out, don’t feel overwhelmed. We have all been there and know just how hard those first few months are. What is amazing is the rewarding feeling of getting it right and learning new skills. Here are some of the things that changed in my first six months as a blogger.

Social media for the blog
Most advice will warn bloggers to avoid using all social media platforms and just focus on one or two. As a millennial who has a few years of experience using social media under my belt, this advice flew right over my head. I thought I was going to be Captain Marvel in the blogging sphere by taking everything on! Everyone was shouting praises about Pinterest, so that was the platform I chose to dedicate most of my time to. After 3 months of tirelessly creating Pinterest-worthy covers and shamelessly promoting my Pinterest account, I came to the realisation that this just wasn’t for me.
Was that a gasp I heard? A newbie blogger choosing to step away from Pinterest? Yes, that is exactly what I did and I’ll tell you why. Pinterest is a very visual site that people usually refer to for inspiration. If your posts are mainly about mental health, the likelihood of someone looking for emotional support on Pinterest isn’t quite high. Given my target audience, interacting with readers on twitter and instagram seemed to be a better and more enjoyable fit. So if you want to see the social side of GWS, let’s hang out there!
WordPress plans
When GWS first went live, I was obviously on a free account to see if this blogging thing was really for me. However, within the first week of going live, I quickly moved to the Personal plan. This was probably the best option given the little amount of experience and viewers I had at the time. Funny enough, due to some personal misstep, I accidentally moved onto the Premium plan. You know that tiny line at the bottom of the plans that says you can get a refund if you request it within 30 days? Yeah, I completely missed that and ended up using the plan for the first 6 months.
Since the Premium plan gives you the option to display ads on your page, I figured I could make up the difference and console myself for the extra expenditure. What a joke! The CPM was nowhere near what I had expected it to be but it was too late to turn back. With a measly $0.63 in ad revenue, you can only imagine my hesitation to upgrade even further in month six. I took the leap anyway and here we are with a business plan for a non-business blog. I’ll let you in on that experience on another day because that deserves a post of its own.
My blog niche
When you first start something new, it is only normal that you explore a little before settling down. This was no different for GWS – I knew I wanted to write, I just wasn’t sure what to write about. Six months later, this blog has gone through almost every colour in the rainbow and finally settled into one. If you followed my site hoping to, well, ‘grow with Spawn’, then you’re probably aware that she hasn’t been making many appearances. I’ve written a post about why I decided to stop sharenting and I daresay it was the best decision for the blog.
Focusing on one niche can be limiting if you aren’t an expert , or if you choose to hold back. With mommy blogs, it is too easy to go into hyper sharing mode then fall into regret. That is something I tried to avoid from day one, but it was too exhausting. By the same token, it was also important to share relevant and useful information to my readers. So as much as I love my baby girl, I don’t see what the point of having her on the internet really is! Having transitioned to a lifestyle blog, this journey has become more enjoyable and less restricting.
Blogging strategy
Even if a blog is a hobby, there still needs to be structure around it. This is something that I had to learn the hard way, but am truly glad to have learnt. In late May, I remember writing a few blog posts and being in a rush to publish them because the blog just had to go live. I was excited, okay! What that meant was that a lot of the posts were not edited or SEO friendly at all! Looking back, I should’ve taken the time to really edit every post before posting. That being said, I am proud of the passion that was evident in the writing and would not change that for the world.
What I have learnt from these past six months is that being a blogger, you really only have one chance to leave an impression before you lose readers’ interest – especially if you hope to grow a decent following. Not many people are keen on reading posts with grammatical errors or sentence structures that don’t make sense. Nowadays, I take the time out to make sure my posts are logical and relevant, before they get published. This means that more time is spent perfecting, selecting images and making them SEO friendly for a wider reach.

I have also become besties with the scheduler because life will always come first but shouldn’t impact the blog. So even though many of my posts are ready in the same week, they can be scheduled as far out as a month! Many bloggers post every day, or at least more frequently than I do and see great results from it. Unfortunately, I do not have as much time so three times a week is a happy medium. This means that even though I have close to forty drafts, they will still go through the scheduler for consistency. It’s kind of like passing through airport security, you know? If you don’t schedule your posts, I would highly recommend it!
SEO
I’ve mentioned this a few times in this post, but do we all know just how important it is? SEO, or search engine optimisation, is the key to getting your blog found through a simple Google search. I’ve searched for some of my posts before but lost hope after reaching page twenty-something and still not finding them. For anyone with a blog, you know that it’s a horrible feeling knowing that your hard work will never be found even after all of the research and passion that went into your craft. While I haven’t made it to page 1 of Google yet, my knowledge of SEO has improved quite a bit. So while I have not mastered the craft, I know what not to do. It’s definitely a start!
If you have noticed that there is a little more structure now than in the earlier posts, SEO is the reason. My passion for writing has not changed, but as GWS grows, so must my approach.
If you’re a blogger too, what have you learnt during your online journey?

Congratulations on 6 months Shelly. I loved reading about your blogging journey and even took a look back at your earlier blogs and it shows what an amazing growth/development Growing With Spawn has been. Looking forward to many more blogs and watching your blog grow <3
Thanks so much hun! I find it so funny to look back at my first stuff. It’ll be interesting to see it in 10 years!
Yes Shelly —here’s so 10 more!!
🥳🥳🥳🥳 😁
Congratulations 🎉
Congratulations – I’m here for the journey with you! 🙂
Awww thanks a bunch hun 🥺💖💖
Thanks for sharing!! While I agree with your points, I have to disagree with the pinterest. I personally like to go on pinterest to be inspired, to be motivated, and to find things to improve my mental health. In fact, I have a pinterest board for that topic. But I do agree that twitter and instagram are definitely a better fit for engaging with your followers & getting to know them.
I sympathize with the ad. I have ads on my blog and the wordads don’t generate much income, unless you have like a million views or so. There are other ad programs out there. Have you tried any others? I know there is mediavine which is supposed to be really good but you need like 25K visitors a month ..
Also I am glad that your blog has evolved from parenting/mommy blog to a mental health/lifestyle blog. Also even though your blog isn’t about parenting, I still love your blog name ‘growing with spawn.’ It’s different and unique and memorable, which is an important criteria for a blog name.
Thanks Helen, I really appreciate your feedback 😊 So glad we’re connected and I get to enjoy your blog too!
Geez what is it about Pinterest that I’m doing wrong? I basically get negative views from there 😅
As for the ad programmes, I tried media. Net and it wasn’t too bad. Then I tried Adsense and fell in love.
Thanks I’m glad that I found your blog. I enjoy reading it.
I’m no pinterest expert and I don’t get a lot of views from there. I might get one or two a day every once in awhile. I’ve heard that with pinterest it does take time — even 3-4 months until you start seeing results. Another blogger (can’t remember) told me to just be patient and that the results will come in the long term…
But I think as long as you create attractive looking pins, use hashtags, create at least 5 per post, and are actively using the site, then eventually you should get some views. But that is my hope at the moment as I haven’t had a tremendous amount of success yet.
As for the ads, I will look into media.net and adsense.
Do you use or have you used multiple ad platforms at the same time?
Thanks for sharing! I’ll give it another go but with a scheduling app because there is no way I’m gonna create pins every day!!
As for the ads, yep. Over blogmas there was a week or so that I had Adsense, Wordads and media .net ads on there all at one. It was messy but I was experimenting to see which would bring the best results (dumb way to try it) and Adsense won. I’ve temporarily removed all ads from my page though 😂
Awesome, good to know, thank you for sharing. I will give adsense a try.
Yeah it’s a lot of work to create pins. At one point I was spending a few hours trying to create 5 pins or so but it’s a lot. Now I’m lucky if I can create just one pin a day 🙂
Congratulations Shelly! And thanks for sharing your experience!
Thanks Poorwa! 🥰
This was such an interesting read, you’ve done well to learn so much in such a small space of time. I only discovered SEO last year which was 2 years into my blogging journey! 🙈 Thank you for sharing ❤️
Thanks Calluna 💖 Better late than never 😉 doesn’t it make such a big difference?
It does! I feel like it adds more structure to my blog posts too 😄 ❤️
Big Big Congratulations Shelly ❤️
I always love to read your blog.
I wish you many more successful years ahead☺️
Good luck dear ❤️
Thanks Manisha 🥰 I appreciate it!
You are welcome Shelly ❤️
Congratulations ❤️🌸
Thanks hun 🥰
You made it 🥳 some really good advice in there Shelly. You’re so spot on with all of your points, and they are all things I feel like we have learnt together on your blogging journey. So proud of you and your blog and the work you put into it whilst balancing everything else in life.
GO GIRL💖
Thanks hun! You’re a huge part of a lot of the things I learnt, so thank you 💖💖💖
Congrats on 6 months!
Thank you!
I have learned so much. I think the thing I’m proudest of is what I’ve learned about design from using Canva. I’ve made some really cool printables and images that I would never have thought possible.
I have stuck with Pinterest and definitely see traffic from it. More than Twitter and Instagram combined honestly. I’ll stick with Twitter because it’s how I engage with the blogging community. Seriously considering dropping Insta because I get little engagement and virtually no traffic.
That’s awesome! I’m half it’s working for you. What’s the secret with that red devil? It just frustrates me so much.
In August, I committed to creating 3 pins a day. Pinterest seems to like consistency. I also pin other relevant content to my boards. Not sure I have figured out the secret to Pinterest. If I ever do figure it it out, it’s likely to change. LOL
I’m gonna give it another go and try your strategy. It just really messes with my ego 🙈 and as a hobby blogger it’s so easy to throw in the towel 😅
Yes I know what you mean. It’s easy to just give up.
Cheers to 6 months of blogging! I look forward to the next 6 months and many more after that 😀 I love that your blog is relatable and real. You are awesome-keep on rockin it!
Wait!!! Send me a bottle of something so I can toast to it with you 🙈 we’ve been banned from buying stuff during the lockdown. Thanks for being so awesome and ever so supportive!
That’s crazy that there’s a purchase ban. Do you like bubbly or flat drinks? We could do a zoom toast 😀
Yes!!!! I keep saying we should, but let’s actually make it happen 😍😍😍 I’ll toast in a kiddie’s cup with juice since that’s what I’ve been reduced to. I’m a bubbly gal 😅 G&T or sparkling wine! You?
I’m a weirdo-can’t stand bubbly 😄 But you already knew that I am strange 😜 I’m a total girly girl drinker: sangria, rum & pineapple juice, mudslide, or orange crush.🍹I typically only drink on vacation and since G and I usually vacation somewhere tropical my beverages of choice reflect that 😄
Oh yes Sangria! I’m with you on that and all the girly drinks too! 😅
Thanks dearest! You’ve been rubbing off your awesomeness on me I guess 😉😘
Lol! You flatter me 😊💕
I’ve learned to be more creative and wanting to learn more💕
That’s awesome! It’s always important to keep learning new things even if they aren’t technical
That’s right🙂
Congrats Shelly💫
Thanks babe 🥰
Thanks hun 💖 I really appreciate your support!
Congratulations love!
Thank you 🥰🥰🥰
Thanks Nic! 🥰🥰
First of all —Congratulations my darling on this 6 months journey✨💕
I love the way you share the little tips and tricks you picked up along the blogging journey, it’s truly helpful. Besides, you have learned so much about blogging in 6 months than I have done in 3 years🙈🙈😬
I am still figuring out SEO —God help me!
Haha thanks hun! I’m sure you know a whole lot more from your 3 year journey. SEO is actually not such a big monster, it’s just not common sense. That’s the part that shocked me actually 😅 What are you struggling about?
Everything😂But it mostly because I created this idea for SEO and I can’t seem undo it. I feel I should research properly and stop procrastinating. xx
Great job reaching 6 months, here’s to many more!
One thing I’ve learned with my first 4 months now is that you can implement all of the advice you get and still it takes a long time to grow. I hate it 😅
Thanks so much Ang! And yes, you’re right. Unfortunately each of our paths is different, and it can be very frustrating at times. I joke about it in my posts but it really gets to me too! Just stick with it. I’ll support you 😉
Thanks girlie! 💜
Congrats. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Thank you! 😊
You made a lot of good points. Thank you. It is overwhelming when you receive emails from others you follow and people start following you and contribute comments. It was so moving to me to see so many good people around the world communicate with one another through comments and connecting through awards and partnerships. I really needed to see that in 2020. I actually prefer commenting to posting, which was totally unexpected. Take care and be safe.
Wow that actually speaks heaps about your character! You definitely have a big heart 😊 thanks for joining in and spreading the love!
Congrats on 6 months!! It has been so lovely to connect with you. I am looking forward to following on your continued journey here 🤍
Thanks hun 💖 I appreciate the support!
Congratulations! It feels longer than six months, doesn’t it? Thank you for sharing your reflections on growth and the future. Will be cheering for you as you go on!
It really does!!! Thanks so much 🥰 I’ll be cheering you guys on too!
Congratulations on 6 months 😍☺️
Thank you 🥳🥳🥳💖
Your welcome ❤️
Am so glad I found your blog
Truly inspiring indeed. Well done on your celebratory of 6months in to blogging. Keep thefore burning.
We are taking hints from you daily
Thanks so much for reading! 😊 it’s been such a fun journey and I’m glad we can be a part of each other’s journeys going forward 😊
I agree
It’s nice reading about your blogging journey and insights within. Congrats for making it to 6 months.🎉 I look forward to reading a lot more of your posts. 😊
Thanks hun! 😊 It has not been an easy road, but was definitely fun!
Who know blogging would become such a big part of our lives. It is definitely a challenging yet rewarding experience. 😊
My blogging journey has been 2 years with the free .wordpress.com site because my student budget didn’t give me any wiggle room to purchase a plan, then just before I started working I chose a premium theme, which served me for 2 years. Now, I’m in the process of switching to .org to be able to monetize further, take SEO more seriously etc. It seems every 2 years is when I make blog changes, ha.
4 years of blogging? That’s definitely impressive! Have you had a chance to work with companies?
So far my blog is mostly for personal/hobby blogging, but I have been approached a few times and accepted offers that seemed worth the effort. Usually it’s free stays at places in exchange for a review, I did a paid project once too
I can definitely relate since all these things have changed for my blog as well over time. Congratulations on six months of blogging and this may just be me being selfish because I love your posts but I hope you keep blogging for a very long time!
Congrats on 6 months!! 😊
I’m with you, Pinterest was not for me. I actually hate making pins. I’ll just go on there for my own personal use. Can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for you and your blog 💕🙌🏻
Thanks hun 💖 Pinterest is a beast! Ugh
I fully agree with you about Pinterest, especially is your niche is different.
I love Pinterest, I’m doing my best with the Pins , but today is more easy to get more likes and followers
Love reading honest thoughts from bloggers further down the road. Thank you for this post!
Thanks for reading Kathy! I hope it helped a bit.
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I am not really a Pinterest fan as well. Just a note of caution on the Business Plan – if you choose to downgrade, your blog will revert back to the day you upgraded. All your posts will be there, but any customization will be lost. And things also get a little weird. I just did this and after a few years on the Business Plan, I downgraded back to Premium. The $300 a year wasn’t worth it when I was basically just using it for the plug-ins like Yoast. I’m still finding weird links and old posts that had been redirected. So make sure you want to keep the business plan before making a lot of changes with it.
Oh gosh that’s horrible! You’re the second person who has told me that and now I’m worried 😖 I guess I’ll switch from business to self hosted when I’m tired of this plan 🙈
Thanks for sharing! 💖
That’s a good plan! If I had known it would be such a pain, I’d have just made the move to self-hosted instead of downgrading. I was trying to avoid all the hassle and got it anyway lol.