Two Year Anniversary-Building an Online Community

First, I want to say thank you so much for helping this blog and the community grow into what it is today! Your positive engagement has made every mistake I’ve made from building an online community worth it! I greatly appreciate you being a part of an ever-growing community. Every comment, share, subscription, and overall support means the world to me. Thank you from every pump of my heart.

This blog may have affiliate links. This means that, at no extra cost to you, if you so choose to participate in some of the learning opportunities here, we at Kyrabe Stories may receive a commission as gratitude from the partnering companies. Thank you sincerely for your support and for your desire to learn and grow! I hope you enjoy the blog! 

Cheers to scary beginnings.

Last year was such a freakin’ roller coaster ride that I almost forgot about our anniversary! That’s right. January 2^nd marks the two-year anniversary of the Kyrabe Stories blog being created. It was supposed to begin on January 1^st, 2019 as my New Year’s resolution, but I scared myself out of it because I felt like I wasn’t ready enough. I convinced myself that I needed to learn a lot more about blogging before I could officially begin. Sound familiar? 

If this has been you, know that one of the best ways to create an efficient personal blog is to start clueless and to figure it out as you go. Every blog is different, so what might work for someone else might not work the same for you, and that’s alright. It takes time to figure out what will work. It will be stressful and confusing. You will spend a lot of time fixing mistakes and asking, “OMG, why the heck did I do that!?” It’s all a part of the journey. 

Below are some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way from blogging and vlogging. I hope these lessons will help you on your blogging path as well. 

You will never feel completely “ready” for anything. 

The imposter syndrome did not stop after creating a Bluehost account for the blog. From figuring out WordPress to creating online courses, there’s always that little voice asking if what I’m doing is good enough. Still try. Many things have flopped, but they taught me valuable lessons to do it better then next time. 

Just do it scared and learn along the way. Be mindful that every mistake is a learning opportunity. No matter how much you try to study for something, the true experience comes when you finally decide to do it. 

Be social on social media.

I know this lesson might sound obvious, but when it comes to building an online community, it’s so easy to forget to respond to people when you’re on multiple platforms. It’s not necessary to be active on all of the social media platforms (save your sanity), but it is important to engage with people both on your page and on similar pages. Show off the human side of your brand and share your knowledge about your niche. This is how I was contacted on Twitter to be a part of a personal development podcast! 

Learn how to market yourself online. 

My first year of blogging was bombarded with, “Learn Affiliate Marketing! Learn Influencer Marketing! Learn Email Marketing! Make sure to also learn Content Marketing! And learn Social Media Marketing! Learn EVERYTHING!” Freakin’ yikes! I was still learning how to simply center an image in HTML! 

Although every single one of these have been beneficial to learn over the years, which one should you start off with first? That’s up to you, but let me narrow these down to one overall bundle: Learn Digital Marketing. 

What is Digital Marketing? According to HubSpot, “Digital marketing encompasses all marketing efforts that use an electronic device or the internet.”

There is a multitude of marketing strategies that fall under the term “Digital Marketing” and many courses do a great job at summarizing many of these sections that you can choose for yourself which one to start off with first. 

To learn more about marketing strategies, you can explore some courses on sites such as HubSpot Academy, Udemy, Skillshop, and LinkedIn Learning. 

Explore collaboration opportunities.

It can be a pain trying to get your brand and blog known, but one helpful way to get your name out across the internet is to collaborate on other projects such as guest posts, podcasts, videos, etc. One of my favorite sites to find collaborative opportunities is HARO, or Help A Reporter Out. You can select what topics interest you and receive writing prompts each week from other brands. If the topic interests you and the brand is similar to yours, the backlinks can help expand your audience from their site. 

Also consider checking out Facebook Groups or emailing brands that you admire if you can provide a guest post for them in exchange of backlinks to your blog. 

There will always be hateful people online. 

I’d say that the most stressful part of growing is the internet trolls. People will find any reason to throw negativity at you the more you grow. It’s frustrating how many people would rather tear other people down than to take the time to build themselves up. When this does happen, know that you have built up a community that cares about you and what you are doing. Like with our TikTok page, I’m super grateful for those who are helping to maintain an inclusive and diverse community. 

When you begin to experience these toxic individuals, know that these hateful interactions do not reflect the quality of your work. They reflect the wicked hearts of someone that refuses to do something productive for themselves. Focus on the ones that love you and want you to grow, and leave the haters to fuming at your continuous success.

Now let’s hear from you.

Everybody’s blogging journey will be different and building an online community isn’t easy, so what are some things that you have learned along the way? Are you just getting started? What are some questions or concerns you have about being a new Blogger? Please leave your story or inquiries in the comments below!

And if you would like the support the Kyrabe Stories page even more, please go check out our Amazon Storefront where we have a section for personal/professional books and another for home office supplies.

And as always, remember to live your life one story at a time!

Take care,

Kyndall Bennett from Kyrabe Stories

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