My Life Long Journey As A Blogger: The Beginning Of Me

This post was inspired and sponsored by Domain.ME, the provider of the personal domains that end in .ME. As a company, they aim to promote thought leadership to the tech world. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It’s amazing how you can have a calling in life that’s made for you, even before you know it. People often ask me how long I’ve been blogging and what inspired me to do so.  Usually I say, I’ve been blogging since 2007. But, when I think about it I was a blogger long before I even know what blogging was lol. In 2007, I started blogging professionally on the blogger platform, but it only took me 2 weeks to know that platform wasn’t right for me. When I decided I wanted to make blogging a source of income, I knew I want it to be a blogazine format and help people. So… what inspired me? Let’s take this story back to when I was 16/17 years old. I actually had the idea to start an online magazine for women when I was about 17 years old. The only issue was I didn’t know how to code, so the idea failed. I’ve always been a writer so back when Myspace was a thing, I used to blog on there. I would say that Myspace blog was the first blog I had. I didn’t know back then that I was learning the necessary skills I would need to do what I love now!

My FIRST Vlog From 2008 lol

Let’s fast forward to 2007 again. I knew I wanted to start a blogazine so the first thing I did before moving my blog to WordPress, was decide what topics and categories I wanted to cover and how I wanted to structure my blog. Over the years I had learned that if I wanted to be successful, I needed to be organized and have a business plan. I researched information about SEO, HTML and monetization and then jumped in head first lol. With my first professional blog, I had a pretty good amount of success and that was something I wasn’t prepared for. I remember experiencing blogger burnout; blogging became daunting, I had no privacy, and my site lacked direction for growth. My first site was called “Da Vinci’s Blog Log” it wasn’t until later on that I realized I had branded it horribly, at one point I tried to rebrand as DVBL… still wasn’t what I wanted though.

My Da Vinci’s Blog Log Logo lol

After a lot of consideration, I decided I need to take a break and regroup. So in 2009/2010 I shutdown my site and found myself a bit. During the time off I had time to think about what I would want my blogging brand to stand for and it was then that Your Life After 25 was conceptualized. I launched Your Life After 25 in February of 2011 and here I am still running and loving what I do 5 years later!

Blogging is very much about authenticity whether it’s a blogazine or personal blog, people want to connect with you. When I finally came out of my shell, I was able to help people more and be authentic in my brand more. The beginning of me (Da Vinci) and my blogging journey may have started over a decade ago but I can honestly say that I continue to learn new things each and every day! While I wouldn’t trade those life experiences for the world, if I knew back then what I know now I may be a little richer LOL. If you’re a new blogger, influencer or just building and online reputation. I have a few snippets of advice to share.

1. Brand EVERYTHING

Get all the social media handles for your blog/brand and make sure you get a unique domain name. You can check out Domain.ME and grab your domain name now. .ME is uniquely positioned to provide you with the space you need to build your personal brand and create a captivating online persona that’s a direct reflection of you. .ME domains are great for personal websites, such as blogs, online portfolios, or aliases for social network profiles. And the best part is .MEs are not penalized when it comes to SEO. They have the same benefits as any .COM.

2. Create a blogging business plan

Ask yourself if this will be full time, part time, or hobby. As long as you make money from your blog/social media you need a business plan so you don’t get overwhelmed with it as it grows.

3. Be Organized

Put yourself on a schedule and create a content calendar. This will help you stay consistent and give you time to step away when you can.

4.  Set boundaries!

Not only is it important to allow yourself to have your own me time, it’s important to establish boundaries between you and your fans/readers/followers. If you don’t create your own personal space, it’s easy for this online world to suck you in and burn you out. What we do should still be fun!

I hope you’ve all enjoyed hearing about my #BeginningOfME! If you’re a new blogger or have been blogging for ages, I would love to hear your stories or questions you may have. Right now Domain.Me is doing a great campaign, which I felt inspired by. You can follow the #BeginningOfME hashtag to see what inspiration you can get from others around the web.

If this is the push you’ve been needing to get started on your own blog,

grab your .ME domain name Now!