10 Lessons From Our First Year Of Blogging Collaboratively

Time does fly fast when you are having fun. One thing we can tell you is that it has been one great adventure from the time we sat down, made the decision to share our thoughts, experiences and life with the world together. Everyday we find so much inspiration and encouragement from people who have been engaging with us over the past year.

We are asked frequently by friends and family about how we got started and how we overcame challenges, especially since we both live in different states. To us it was never a hindrance. Thanks to technology we are able to continually communicate, not just to grow the blog, but also to keep encouraging and supporting each other. There are so many lessons that we have learned and we want to share them here to be a source of inspiration and information to both those new to blogging as well as experienced bloggers.

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1. Talk less and do more NOW 

“You will never win if you never begin.” – Helen Rowland 

 We love this quote from Helen Rowland. Careful planning in the beginning is crucial to any successful endevour. Over planning can become a problem when you just keep on planning and planning without acting on those plans. Only when you dive in with both feet and start will you truly know the meaning of success.

2. Don’t let the fear of failure hold you back 

“Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They maybe beaten, but they may start a winning game.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 We know what it’s like to be afraid to fail and we know a lot of people feel the same way. Success is not guaranteed but if you just work hard and keep on trying, success will always be within your grasp.

3. You are not in competition with each other 

“No problem is insurmountable. With a little courage, teamwork and determination a person can overcome anything” – Author Unknown

As partners we always work together. There will always be some times when we may not agree on everything but we talk about it and make it a point to communicate and collaborate. We also never think of other bloggers as competitors. We think of them as part of a wonderful community. We learn from other bloggers and we hope they learn from us too.

4. Tell a story, your story 

“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen” – Brene Brown

As bloggers you should always make it a point to tell a story, YOUR story. Bring your point of view to your readers. Never copy other people’s blog content or style, Use it as an inspiration. Take into consideration how your content touches your readers. Does it entertain? Is it helpful? These are just some of the questions you may want to ask yourself before hitting the publish button.

5. Live your passion 

“Life is an adventure of passion, risk, danger, laughter, beauty, love; a burning curiosity to go with the action to see what it is all about, to go search for a pattern of meaning, to burn one’s bridges because you’re never going to go back anyway, and to live to the end.” – Saul D. Alinsky

 We often give this advice to new bloggers. Write about things that you are passionate about. You will see that you will never run out of ideas.

6. You have the choice to surround yourself with people you like and trust 

“There are some people you like immediately, some whom you think you might learn to like in the fullness of time, and some that you simply want to push away from you with a sharp stick.” – Douglas Adams

 Blogging is fun but takes a lot of work. Having amazing people in your life who support you will always make things easier. We are truly thankful for everyone who supports us.

7. Don’t be afraid to experiment 

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.” – Maya Angelou

The beauty of blogging is that there are so many ways you can express your thoughts and feelings for a particular subject. Don’t be afraid to experiment. It took us a lot of time and we made a lots of mistakes, but we try to look at them as an opportunity to learn and be better with our craft.

8. Continue building relationships 

“Strength is the willingness to take risks in a relationship, to disclose yourself with the intention of building a better relationship.” – David Johnson

Building relationships are important to us. As mentioned in number 6 above, we surround ourselves with people who lift us up. We encourage you to go out and meet people. We have been doing this over the past year and we enjoy the encounters. You create a deeper bond with people you connect with online if you meet with them offline.

9. It’s not all about you 

“Along your pathway of life you will observe that you are not the only traveler. There are others who need your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save.” – Thomas S. Monson

As we venture into our second year, we have agreed to make it a point to build up others and continue to create content that will help our readers. Sometimes, one is tempted to talk about themselves and forget that the only way your blog can grow is to also support other’s work. We are, after all, a community.

10. Never stop learning 

“A journey takes time. And the lessons we learn best, they come from the journey, not the destination.” – Jordan Dane

You should never stop learning. Whether you are 9 years old or 89 years old. When someone says he or she already knows everything, that’s when they start to check out of life. Only when we are open to new ideas are we guaranteed to grow in whatever we do.

There you go the ten things we have learned during the past year of working collaboratively. In the video below, we talk more about these ten lessons and includes some of the out takes and bloopers we encountered during the past year of creating videos for PodJam.tv. We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we have enjoyed putting it together.

Did we miss anything? Maybe you have some tips that our readers will enjoy learning from, share it here by leaving us a comment, we would love to hear your thoughts.

Image Credit: Marty McPadden

About the authors:

Marty McPadden founder and host of PodJamTv is a professional photographer, videographer, blogger, apple geek and a Production Supervisor at ESPN one of the largest sports network in the world. His vast knowledge in the above mentioned field will allow you our readers to tap into tools, apps, reviews and tips that he has learned and mastered over the years. How to’s and hacks that will allow you to have a richer online experience.

Misty Belardo co host and co writer of PodJamTv is a blogger, designer and a self proclaimed Twitter-holic and an avid Facebook user. Her experience with writing, designing, SEO and brand and advertising strategy will give readers a point of view of what happens behind the scenes in the digital sphere.

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