LIFESTYLE | Why I Started Blogging

Hello Royalty.

Welcome to that time of the week – the weekend!

Today’s post stems from me recently having thoughts that this blog is actually going to be 2 years old on December 1st (you bet that’s a bigger giveaway coming your way)! And while I’m having these thoughts, I decided to do a little history post on why I started blogging, coupled with the questions that fly in my DMs or through personal contact about why I have a blog, why I like to write and post on the blog etc. etc.

My blogging story has been a you-should-give-up-on-this-thing kind of story, but every time, I am super thankful that I did not. This site that you are on right now is my fourth website. Yes, you read that right. Sometime in 2012/13, I was eager to share my writings online because I did a lot of scribbling here and there – in my school books, my church notes, writing at the back of my novels with pencils, you name it. When I wasn’t with my poetry book, I wrote it anywhere I could lay my hands upon. Speaking of poetry, in the coming week, I’ll be sharing some oldie poems with you. P.S: most of them are love poems (I had a crush) and when I read them now, I cannot even believe myself! I’m sure you would be able to relate. Back to the blogging story, I started my first site on blogger.com. It was titled “Literary Hearts” and all I wanted to do was share poems and write about literature. Along the line, after a post or three, I lost my mojo. I couldn’t keep up. I was very concerned that I had posts with no views at all. If at all, maybe three people viewed it. I was seriously sad, so I deleted the site. 

Next, I surfed the internet and found out that most of the popular blogs in Nigeria were gossip blogs. So, even though gossip, entertainment news and the like have never been my thing to talk about, I started a new blog focused on that. It was titled “GLOBE TRUTH”. Fam, Globe Truth had a shorter life span than Literary Hearts! The lesson I learnt from that stage of my life was “don’t do it because every one is doing it”. Do your own thing!

It took me about a year and half to think about blogging again. I didn’t really know many bloggers like I do now (thanks to better social media engagement), so I just thought I was having an impossible dream and would never be the next Linda Ikeji. However, when I had the drive to blog again, I started first by posting on other people’s blogs. I remember sharing my writing loves with a friend, David Adeleke, who had a blog at the time. So he posted some of my articles on his blog and gave me feedback. I gained better courage and I went on to start a new blog. This time, it was titled, “CRAFTED NOTES” and if you have been reading my blog for over a year, then you know this one. It’s the blog that this current one migrated from, except that Crafted Notes was just a blog but Alexandra Zion is a site and a blog. My first post on Crafted Notes was on December 1, 2015 and I wouldn’t say I haven’t been this close to giving up, but it has been better…way better! I have had opportunities to meet and speak with different writers and bloggers, to learn from them, to rub minds with them and I have also had the privilege to have you reading this right now plus every other blog post you have read. It’s honestly all love from here! Even when I had less than 10 views on Crafted Notes, I wasn’t bothered and now, post views range between 60 and 250 on the average. Highest number of views on one post is 800+, during the salvation story month (You can look up salvation story in the search bar). So yes, the story has been different and lovely and I am grateful, plus, I’m just getting started!

Among many things, blogging has taught me that it’s better to try and fail, rather than not try at all. My last post was based on this lesson. Please read it here if you haven’t.

Thank you for reading up till this point! My newsletter hits your inbox this Sunday (exclusive to subscribers only). See you on Monday!

Goodbye Royalty,

With Overflowing Love,

Alexandra Zion.

 

About the author
Christocentric. Academic. Writer. Poet

10 Comments

  1. You have just encouraged me sef?, I will continue my writing and fail with all joy! Thank you ?

  2. Hi Alex.
    It’s my first time on your blog and I totally love it.
    I can relate to a whole lot of things especially the scribbling behind class notes and “trial and error” blogs. I also got discouraged at a point and kind of left the blog for like 3 months(being my 2nd website, the first was deleted) but I learnt how to be better after feedback. We are all still growing.
    + I love your pictures and I need help with growing a blogging community and getting traffic. Can you help with that?

    Roses of Life
    http://www.cerielss.wordpress.com

Comments are closed.

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