This week’s Tuesdays on the Run Linkup asks what your price limit is for a race. Since this week is a special anniversary for this blog AND I’m celebrating 10 years since I ran my first half and full marathons, I’m going to stray from the topic a bit:
How are you different now from when you started blogging?
It was officially the 8th anniversary of this blog on January 22. Check out that very first blog post (if you can call it that) here.
I started my blog as a journal of my training for the 2009 Boston Marathon. It was called Running Off at the Mouth back then and each post was typically nothing more than a paragraph or two, no pics, sometimes not even a title and certainly no attention whatsoever to SEO (not that there’s much effort being made on that now).
I didn’t know (yet) that other running blogs existed back then and went months without a single comment. It did not occur to me that anyone else would care to read my blog (pretty much nobody did). I wrote it purely for myself. I had no clue about things like page views, nor did I care. Ignorance is bliss.
As far as content goes, looking back I was consumed with my training and laser-focused on pace. Every workout had a purpose and I was essentially a pace-nailing machine. Because the kids were little, all of my weekday training was done on the mill when it was too cold for the jog stroller.
One of the first pictures ever posted on my blog. Note the mini size.
Let’s fast forward 8 years
Over the years, my focus shifted from finish times and BQs to fun and adventure. I’ve seen many bloggers and brands come and go. I cherish the personal and professional relationships I’ve fostered here on the blog as well as all the products, races and travels I’ve had the privilege to enjoy. As far as performance goes, nowadays I save that for the athletes I coach. Many people ask why I’ve continued to blog for such a long time and the answer is I simply love “seeing” new runners discover what they’re capable of. As a coach I love helping people along on that journey.
But how do you make money?
If I had a dollar for each time I’ve been asked this question, I’d be off on a private island somewhere. Certainly there is money to be made blogging and I do make some. That said, if money is your primary motivation, there are far better ways to earn an income. My blog is a labor of love and income is secondary. In order to make a significant amount of income, your best bet is to sell something beyond sponsored blog posts and ads, whether that’s coaching, books, appearances or something else.
I’ll leave you with some final nuggets I’ve learned over these past 8 years:
- Write about what you know and enjoy rather than what you think people want to read about
- Foster relationships
- Be authentic. There’s value in your unique voice
- Have integrity. There’s so much manipulation of followers these days by bloggers and brands alike.
- Be consistent. You don’t have to write every day. Find a schedule that works for you
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PREACH IT LADY PREACH I think in all things, Integrity is paramount.
I think being consistent is key. There are bloggers that only write on certain days of the week and that is fine. I think quality out weighs quantity.
Happy blogiversary! I’ve been blogging since 2010. And also very much for me. I haven’t reread some of my oldest posts in a while. 🙂
Consistency is key. There are some bloggers that only blog a few times a week and that is ok. I think quality outweighs quantity.
Oh my, that first post was a hoot!
Blogging isn’t easy, as pretty much anyone who dips their toe in the blogosphere soon learns. I knew that, having blogged before — some successful, some not. So I dithered about whether or not I wanted to try again for a long time. I’m so glad that I did!
And I couldn’t agree with your tips more (even if I’m still a baby blog).
I have you and Debbie Woodruff to thank for all the blogging guidance over the past 3 years! Thanks for setting the bar high and for showing us how a good blogger does it. <3
Wow! Doesn’t eight years seem like forever and terms of blogging years? I don’t know if I have a price limit for a race. I don’t like spending a lot of money, but I typically don’t look at the price point as the main thing
I didn’t realize you started blogging that long ago! I remember your transition to this blog and it’s fun to watch the changes in blogs and realize how we grow in different ways.
Happy blogiversary! I started my blog to talk about my getting back to running after being injured…it’s funny to look back at the old entries. Congrats on all your accomplishments these past 8-10 years!
Fostering relationships is something I need to do more of! I feel so spread out between writing content, developing my YouTube channel and other social media sites that I don’t spend enough time doing the things that could best help our blog. So that’s a big goal for me this year. Plus being more consistent!
Thanks for the tips! 🙂
I also started my blog as a way to track my workouts, but also because I enjoyed reading other blogs and realized I could start one too. There are days when I don’t have much to say, and that’s OK. I won’t post anything until I have a solid post, but the link-ups help, and they’re fun.
I got a huge kick out of your first blog post! I’m a long time blogger as well (started in 2006!) and am sometimes surprised at how much blogging has changed over the years. It seems like there is much more of a community now (at least when it comes to fitness/running; I can’t really comment outside of this niche), which is awesome! Back in the day, we didn’t focus on page views and analytics, but no one did. lol. Or maybe that’s just my perception because I didn’t either. lol.
Congrats on 8 years of hard work – blogging & running!
Wow, this is actually really encouraging to me, because I’ve often struggled between wanting to write for readers, but also wanting to write directly from the heart and really hope and pray that it helps people. I’ve found that I can’t write about things I’m not passionate about, because the content just isn’t as good. Thanks for the reminder!
And yes, I remember you back when….
I started around the same time. My posts were short and had no pics. They were only about my training too.
As they say “We’ve come a long way, Baby!”
Glad you’re still out there blogging. Love reading it and am glad that I even got to meet you. Hope it’s not the last time.
Happy 8 years!!!
Hmmmm….I know we must have connected in 2009 via this blog (as that’s the same year I started also), but we didn’t know one another really well until 2010. THAT was a fun Boston Marathon, yes?? Bahahah. Ahhh, reading your recap was really awesome and really got me choked up. I’m going to have to go back and read mine. I’m sure it’s lame and most likely whiny (though I had a great race…aside from mile 22 when I threw up ;)).
I know the blog means a lot to you and I am so happy that you stuck with it….lord knows the rest of us haven’t. But I love popping over here and catching up with you.
And more so, I cherish the dear friendship we made through this thing.
Keep on bloggin’!!
xoxo
Wow, 8 years is freaking awesome.
I will hit 5 years soon and yes – those first posts are funny to look back on.
I definitely agree with your tips! Its so important to be authentic and make connections. Happy 8 years!
Your first blog post!!!!!!!!!! So cute!!!! 🙂
I love that pic with your girls 🙂
I go through phases with blogging, I have yet to even run a race comped, so obviously, I have no skill there, but I so struggle with consistency to post. Sometimes I feel like i want to get out all out there!! and sometimes I go for weeks not really wanting to write a thing. I am on break now…I am just too overloaded at work and I hate top sit on the computer all evening when I go all 8 hours on it.
I am going to read your first post!!!
Happy Blogiversary! I have loved following your blog from the beginning- funny how people will naturally find each other! The blogging tips are great! It is a labor of love and if you don’t enjoy it, why do it- I think it will come across in what you write 🙂
Happy Blogiversary! I have gained about 34 lbs since I started blogging 9 ish years ago… I don’t know what that means or says about me. What I do know is that life changes and we must change with it as well. Old tricks don’t always work and it’s all about finding something new that works 🙂
Happy Blogaversary!!!! Yours was one of the first I started reading through my sister. 🙂
Happy blogoversary!!! Love that first post – pure awesomeness 🙂
Congratulations on 8 years, that is really incredible and shows how much you love it! I rarely find bloggers who make it over the 3-year mark anymore so 8 years really says a lot!
My blog has changed so much, I used to only post marathon travel race recaps, then for a short while I decided I’d rather be a book review blogger, LOL Now I am a fair accumulation of things I have done in the past but still very different. It’s fun to look back at where we have been and where we are now.
Sometimes I think blogs that are as you put it a labor of love on top of any financial profit they make are some of the best blogs out there! Congrats again on the anniversary!
8 years?! Wow! Happy Blogoversary! Yours was one of the first blogs I started reading – so glad you’re still at it 🙂
Happy blog-i-versary! It’s always interesting to look back at how blogs evolve over time.
Wow 8 years is a long time! I totally agree that being yourself is the way to go. Either people read it or they don’t.
I’m loving ALL of this!!!!! I have been totally buried at work this week (no one had “time” to cover any of my stuff the two days I was gone…so I came back to 100+ emails/orders/tasks impatiently awaiting my attention), and have had a nasty overload of mucus and phlegm fighting for the limited real estate within the tiny confines of my head….so…well, I am. A couple days late….. Anyways, I think your blog is spot-on with all things running, fitness, life, and reality. I”m glad I got to meet the author in person! (but—face palm—we totally forgot to talk MIL stuff).
Gah 8 years, we’re so old!!! Crazy to think I’ve ‘known’ you and the other original-running-bloggers (most of whom are offline now) for so long. I’ve thought about you from time to time when I think about how I slacked off on blogging and you didn’t – and look where you are now! So famous 🙂 Happy Blogiversary! And as for races I prefer $20-30 5k (if 30 is the “late fee” haha), 40 or less 10k, and for halfs/fulls it depends – obviously I’ve shelled out $300 for NYC/Boston/Disney. I’m not big on the swag though (I never do anything with the medal), so higher prices for the “swag” aren’t justified to me. I realize I’m in the minority on that.
Have integrity! Isn’t that the truth of what we all need these days, and not just bloggers. Eight years, wow! I’ve been blogging for five. How I’ve changed: back then I was a homeschooling mom, now mine are all in college or beyond. At the time I thought I would do more with the blogging, now I just do it a little and enjoy the relationships and the process of creation.