We made it through year one! Fragrancearise.com launched in January, 2019. I had big dreams and stars in my eyes– anyone who knows me could tell you that whenever I start a project I’m excited about I aim for the clouds. It’s been an exciting year, and I’ve learned a lot about myself and about running a blog.
I’ve been writing Fragrance Arise since December 2011, but most of that time was sporadic, didn’t really have a target audience, and wasn’t well promoted. Plus, I wasn’t on my own domain. 2019 was my first “official” year trying to take blogging more seriously. I’m still a baby blogger in many ways, but having come through my first year I think I’ve definitely learned a few things and can go into year two a little wiser and more well balanced.
So since you’re on this journey with me, here are a few things I’ve learned and would want to tell another baby blogger (or myself a year ago).
1. Know Why You’re Writing
When I started to take Fragrance Arise a little more seriously around 2017 or so, my desire was for it to be a resource to strengthen the prayer movement. Phrased more fully, the mission of this blog is:
To equip and invite the church into the great Story that God is telling in the final chapter of history before Jesus’ return, especially as it relates to the global prayer movement.
Habakkuk 2:2 says, “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.” Having this clear vision in front of me allows me to run in a focused direction. It informs my content choices, and it reminds me why this matters on days I feel unmotivated.
For more about the vision of Fragrance Arise, especially the tagline “Jesus is beautiful. Love Him. Join Him,” check out my Behind the Blog page.
2. Know What’s Important to You
Some things are important to me; some are not. The vision is of utmost importance. Other things, like monetizing, are much less important. I won’t promise never to use affiliate links [update from 2022, I just became an Amazon affiliate], but so far I haven’t, because that’s not a priority to me. Nothing on this blog is making any money at all, and I’m not looking for ways to turn it into a cash cow. (I do have a Partner With Me page for anyone who wants to donate, though!)
Is that because I’m independently wealthy? Ha, NOPE! I’m a missionary who lives on whatever support I can raise, and side income is always welcome. But in keeping with #1, the vision of this blog to grow the prayer movement is paramount to me. The last thing I want is to clutter it up with ads, sponsored posts, and affiliate links. I want to maintain the purity of the message and the trust of my community.
3. Have a Plan, But Give Yourself Grace
When I launched last January, I had a pretty aggressive plan in place of posting twice a week with carefully planned series. I’ve done that properly only a few months since then. I definitely want to be more consistent, but I also need to recognize where my boundaries need to be. A while ago, God started speaking to me about guarding my prayer room time and not using so much of it to work on the blog. Yep, I probably lost face a bit with some of my readers, but connecting with Jesus is more important. I’m Mary of Bethany first before I’m a blogger.
Now, I’m experimenting with moving some of my content to my social media, which is easier to prep and publish (and might get more engagement anyway) and posting slightly less frequently on the blog. We’ll see what 2020 ends up looking like exactly… a solid content calendar is great, but I need to find a balance that keeps my heart healthy while still upholding the vision. I’m giving myself grace to find that balance. 🙂
4. Be Who You Are
Once upon a time, I would make sure my makeup was perfect before snapping a selfie or filming a quick promo for my blog insta. However, my daily makeup look is little-to-none, so why not just be authentic? The same philosophy holds true for how I write. I don’t want to try to be artificially polished or present myself as more spiritual than I am. I’m not afraid to be raw, because I believe that’s important.
5. Write What’s Burning
If something is burning on my heart, I need to write it! Usually these posts end up being the most powerful, even if they’re outside of the carefully structured content calendar. I can always save them for when I have a hole in my schedule.
6. Write What’s Not Burning
On the flip side, if I ONLY wait till I’m passionately motivated to write what’s “burning”, I will rarely write! I need to make lists, give myself assignments, and write what needs to be written. Usually I end up getting into a flow and find my passion along the way.
7. Connect With Readers
My favorite part of writing/promoting Fragrance Arise has been connecting with readers. I LOVE when people respond to my emails, and I love chatting with people on Instagram and Facebook too. It’s such a joy to see the same people regularly interact with my posts. I’ve discovered and started following different kinds of prayer ministries all over the world, and share their posts occasionally, so that I and the rest of my followers are all encouraged together!
8. Know Your Tools, But Don’t Do EVERYTHING
There are So. Many. Tools. available to help take your blog to the next level. I discovered a bunch in my research process, and I’ve spent the past year sorting through what would actually be helpful to me, and putting a few others on the back burner to use later once I grow into them a bit.
Awesome tools I use:
- Canva for creating all my images (Seriously, I CANNOT believe I went several months into doing this WITHOUT using Canva. I was an idiot. Now creating images takes all of about 5 minutes, and I can edit them anytime.)
- Unsplash for sourcing all my stock images (All 100% free and supplied by brilliant amateur photographers!)
- Hootsuite for scheduling social media posts (so far– I might switch to Later)
- Mailchimp for sending emails
- Linktree for my Instagram link in bio
Awesome tools I’m not currently using (or using to their full potential):
- Youtube
- Tailwind for scheduling Pinterest posts
- KingSumo for giveaways
- Trello for planning my content calendar
- Amazon Influencer or other affiliate programs [like I said above, I finally started doing this in 2022!]
- The premium version of anything
- An online store
- Online courses I could sell or provide for free
In Year Two..
In 2020, #3 especially is a goal in every area of my life. I want to be faithful and a good steward without allowing myself to fall into discouragement when I don’t meet my high ideals. So pray for me as I seek to find wisdom and balance in setting and meeting goals!
I have several fun things cooked up for this year on Fragrance Arise. A few more Tools for a Life of Prayer posts are on their way, and then after that I’ll be going into a completely different kind of series walking through the story of the Song of Solomon! Join my email list for freebies and updates as we go further up and further in!