Wowowow a year has gone by so quickly!
The pandemic has really sucked, but honestly, it’s the only reason I was able to start this blog. I had always thought about making a “real” blog with a domain name and web hosting, but I didn’t think I had time. It’s been great to be able to devote serious time to researching website themes, blog security, SEO, and a bunch of other back-end stuff.
Several of my friends have said they’re impressed that I’ve been consistently posting on this blog. I wish that I could build habits that quickly, but that is not the case. While I didn’t buy the domain for livelybylaura.com until last year, I’ve been blogging for quite a while now, so y’all are actually seeing year #7.
Blogging combines my two favorite hobbies, writing and photography, and my dedicated fans know this is actually my second blog. I had a free WordPress site since high school that I never took too seriously, but I had fun filling it with my college and travel experiences. Several of my friends have blogs and I photographed plenty of bloggers and influencers, but always put off making my own blog. Then, in October 2020, I watched this YouTube video from Sophia Lee. It was what ultimately pushed me to go for it. She started a blog in college and started making thousands of dollars a month from it. While I am making about 40 cents a month from blogging, from my experience with my photography business, I know everyone has to start somewhere and hard work literally pays off.
However, I am also very aware that it would take a ton of time and effort to make this blog financially successful, which I just don’t have time for at the moment. For now, Lively by Laura will remain more of a passion project, and I’ll keep blogging even if no one else reads it. Overall, I’m so glad I created this site, and my only regret is not making it sooner! I think the only true failure is failing to start.
Just for my own interest, here are my 1-year blog stats:
- 101 blog posts
- 71 comments
- 6,000 pageviews
- Most popular posts:
1. 10 Easy Hikes Near Seattle
2. Wall Crawl: Most Instagrammable Walls in Los Angeles
3. Featuring: Madison Hanley, ZZ Lundburg, Sydney Smith & Ellie Vargas, Environmental Activists
Thanks for reading along, and I’m excited to share more food recs, travel guides, and more in this next year! If you have any suggestions, DM me on Instagram or let me know by filling out this contact form!
Stay lively,
Laura
