It sure wasn’t easy, but it’s true what they say; hard work pays off.
My work space has improved so much since I started my blog in December of 2015. I’m going to be honest; It has taken a lot of financial investment, time, and effort, but it couldn’t be more worth it. Every time I created a recipe, photographed it, edited it, and posted it gave me a creative outlet at a time when I desperately needed it.
It has taken so many mistakes and lessons learned to get to where I am. It’s really hard to believe that I’ve learned as much as I have. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a pro, nor do I consider myself a super successful food blogger, but my blog has grown exponentially since its creation. My photography skills have definitely improved the most from what I have learned over these past few years. It took lots of research, reading, failures, and successes to get to where I am.
I cannot stress enough how much social media has allowed me to grow my blog. Most bloggers find their success through Pinterest. All it takes is one viral photo and your blog can become crazy popular overnight. I have found some success on Pinterest, but most of my blog growth has come from Instagram. I have had so much fun reaching new readers by sharing my everyday meals and creations with my Instagram followers.
Taking photos is definitely my favorite part of food blogging, but you may have noticed that I have been posting more and more videos of my recipes lately. This is largely because recipe videos have been taking over Facebook over the past year and meeting the demand for those videos has been at the top of my list lately. I have been having so much fun growing my YouTube channel. I have learned so much about video editing and you will definitely be able to see that by comparing my first videos to my most recent ones.
The reason I wanted to share all of this with you guys is because I just did my first sponsored post a few weeks ago. It was such an amazing learning experience and I feel privileged to work with a company as big and successful as Driscoll’s Berries. The post was aimed at promoting their berry together sweepstakes and I couldn’t have been happier to share that opportunity with my readers, friends, and family.
A few days ago, I moved into my dorm at Hamline University and my blog has come up in conversations a lot. I feel proud of my blog and what it has become. I especially feel privileged to have a group of amazing people supporting me and rooting for me as I continue to grow and improve. I appreciate everyone who has encouraged and supported me thus far and I cannot wait to see what Wake Up to Waffles can become.
