My First Year As A Blogger
My First Year As A Blogger
Dipping my toe into the world of blogging
It was whilst we were camping at the Moreton Camping and Caravanning Site in August last year that I began mulling over in my mind that I'd quite like to start writing a blog about the fun that we get up to when we're camping. The thought had previously crossed my mind, but there were so many other thoughts that had also accompanied it. My first thought was would I be good enough? (I'm still trying to decide on this one a year later!) My other thoughts included, would anyone want to read it, will I find enough to write about, how do I go about setting up a blog and how do I direct people to my blog? Let's just say that, the first few months were a very steep learning curve and I wouldn't have even been able to start writing my blog if it wasn't for my very supportive husband and son! But let's go back to the very beginning! Apparently, it's a very good place to start!
For years, I have felt that I wanted to be doing something creative. I love spending time with my hubby and our son, and I also sometimes enjoy spending time with our wider family! I really enjoy my work in a local Primary school and I love nothing more than camping trips away with my husband and son. But I just felt that there was something that I was missing. I had thought about taking up a hobby, maybe something that in the future I could turn into a little business on the side. It seemed to me that it was all very well taking up a hobby, but what I needed was for that hobby to feel purposeful! And that being able to turn that hobby into a little business would mean that it was purposeful and I would have goals, a bigger reason to do it.
When I studied for my degree, apart from feelings of self-doubt, that my work wasn't good enough, I did enjoy writing. (Oh and I did pass my degree, so I guess that my assignments must have been good enough!) The process of getting words to make sense and create a bigger picture had always been satisfying. So, I had thought about writing before. I had even started writing a story, but again felt that my storyline wasn't good enough. Being a regular Pinterest user, I had of course seen plenty of Pinterest articles about blogging. Pinterest is very much about the aspirations of a better way of life and so I guess I had picked up the dream of being a blogger somewhere in the Pinterest universe. Looking back now, I think that a combination of that little Pinterest dream, combined with enjoying the writing process, the need for a productive hobby and not being ready for our last camping holiday of the summer to end spurred me on. I remember feeling rather embarrassed as I told my husband that I was thinking about writing a blog. I mean, how could little old me write anything that anyone would want to read?
To be honest, the next few weeks were rather a blur as the summer holidays ended and my son and I returned to the routine of school. Life almost returned to normal, except that I now had a burning desire to start writing a blog! I need to point out here that I am the least technologically minded person in our family! So I was very reliant on those around me to help set everything up. My brother-in-law had set up a blog for his church and he recommended that we use Blogger/Blog Spot for my blog. I'm so pleased that he did as it is a very easy platform to use, especially for someone like me that has very limited technological experience. Then, the next thing that I needed to do was think of a name. I had already bought a nice, sturdy notebook that I could write all my ideas in, so my son and I began brainstorming. We wrote down all the names that we could think of and eventually settled on The Chaotic Campervaners! This name rather suited us as we are rather chaotic, we're always running late (apart from for school) and we seem to live in a constant state of disorganisation, however hard I try to be organised! So we were The Chaotic Campervaners! We deliberately left out the second 'n' partly because it seemed to suit our chaotic nature!
So, The Chaotic Campervaners were born! And along with our 1973 classic VW T2 Devon Conversion Campervan who we call Reo The Speedwagon, I felt that I had somewhere to start. I decided that the first blogs that I would release would be about our 2 camping trips that summer and a 'Meet The Team' post. Because Blogger is so easy to use, I very quickly worked out how to use it, how to add links and photos etc. But how was I going to get any readers? The obvious and most straightforward choice is to use social media to advertise each post. But the only social media platform that I currently used was Pinterest. I had previously used Facebook, but for a number of reasons I had deactivated it some years before. So, I set up a new Facebook account and set up accounts on Instagram and Twitter. And then the Queen died!... I felt that it was rather disrespectful to release my blog and start shouting about it on social media when such a sombre historical event was happening! So, I sat quietly waiting for the right time.
I finally released my first blog post on 21st September.
About a month after releasing my first blog post, at the end of October I happened to notice a tweet asking for people who might be interested in being in a collaboration group of like-minded campervan, caravan and motorhome owners. I had absolutely no idea what this entailed, but contacted the people who had posted the tweet saying that I was a newbie to all this, but that if they were happy with a newbie joining then I was up for it. Oh and asking what this would entail! Having then been added to the collaboration group chat, I was soon to find out that the plan was to release monthly videos (or vlogs) on YouTube. At this realisation, I had a quiet panic to myself! I really didn't have the first idea where to start! The idea of a YouTube collaboration group is that you all release vlogs on a particular date about a pre-agreed subject. This means that by adding the vlogs to a collaboration playlist and also by promoting on social media, you can 'drive more traffic' to your vlogs.
My son (being much more technologically minded than me) decided to show me how to release a 'short' on YouTube. I still had absolutely no idea what I was doing! So, needing to work out how to make videos, I researched a couple of editing apps before finally settling on Splice. Splice seemed to me to be fairly straightforward and didn't need too much computer memory to work. To say that I had no idea what I was doing while I was making my first video is an understatement! I seemed to stumble through the process working out how (or being given a helping hand) to put it together! Firstly, I decided that I really needed to release a video for my own channel before I released my first collaboration vlog. So I put together a vlog about our camping trip to Moreton. I released this video on 10th November 2022. I then somehow managed to put together another vlog for the collaboration. I was so nervous! When I decided to start writing a blog, it hadn't even crossed my mind that I would venture into the world of YouTube! My first collaboration vlog was released on 11th November. I really wasn't happy with my first collaboration vlog and very quickly found that by using photos and videos, I could produce vlogs that were a bit more interesting than the style of my first collaboration vlog.
What I have forgotten to tell you is that when I first started to think about writing a blog, I had decided that I wanted to tell as few people as possible about it. There was a number of reasons why, but one of the main reasons was that I wasn't sure that I was up to the task! I really didn't want to tell people about it to then find that I didn't enjoy it or that I found it all too difficult! But by releasing YouTube videos it became a little more difficult to continue with our anonymity. I had to find a way to make videos without sitting facing the camera. This is why I decided to use photos and videos for the viewer to look at whilst we are talking.
I soon got into the routine of producing monthly vlogs with the collaboration, which we had decided to call Vanother Collective. I love being part of the collaboration, we're all very supportive of each other and it's great to have people to bounce ideas of off. About this time, I also began contacting relevant companies to see if I could find anyone that would put their faith in me and agree to work with me. I was extremely lucky and hugely grateful when a fantastic little family company who produce the most amazing and beautiful picnic blankets (which are made in Great Britain) agreed to work with me. Thank you Rubbastuff! Check out their full range of lightweight, compact, waterproof, washable and durable PACMAT picnic blankets here. They really are very special and by using our discount code: ChaoticCVS at checkout, you can get a very generous 12% discount on any PACMATs that you buy. This discount code is for PACMATs only and does not apply to any accessories.
Since we started our blog, we have been amazingly lucky to have met, linked up with and collaborated with so many amazing people, many of whom we're proud to now call friends. A MASSIVE THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us, worked with us and trusted us over the past year we really couldn't have done it without you. A special thank you to Volkswagen Camper Adventures, my buddy who always knows the answers to the questions!
Thanks to Rubbastuff, Vanother Collective, the success of our blogs and vlogs and all the lovely, supportive people that I was connecting with on social media, I suddenly felt that I was starting to succeed in my little dream! On 7th September this year, exactly one year after posting my first photo on Instagram, I reached 1,040 followers! What a year! It really has been an amazing journey so far!
So what have I learnt this past year? I have certainly learnt a lot of new skills! My husband is constantly amazed at how much I have learnt with regards to technology. I have learnt that sometimes the fear of doing something, taking that leap, is often far worse than the reality! But most of all, I have learnt that if you want to do something, have some faith in yourself, give it a go and 'dip that toe'. You never know, it might be one of the best decisions that you ever make!
So, where do I go from here? Well, I want to grow my social media accounts, increase my amount of YouTube subscribers and produce more content. But I also have other plans! I am continuing my work (which I am really enjoying) with Rubbastuff and I do also hope to soon find other companies that will be willing to work with me. Other than that? I am enjoying collaborating on vlogs with Vanother Collective, collaborating on blogs with our friends over at Volkswagen Camper Adventures and I do possibly have a couple of other little projects in the pipeline. But whatever the future holds, I will continue to be extremely grateful to the people that have supported me, helped me, read my blogs and watched my vlogs and most of all, believed in me in my first year. I really couldn't have done it without them!
Please be aware that I have been gifted my PACMAT free of charge by Rubbastuff for the purpose of reviewing and promoting it. However, please note that all opinions expressed by me are my own personal views and have not been influenced by this in any way.
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