Middle Aged Mama

Blogging about my Midlife Adventures

How I Started Blogging

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It’s no secret that I love blogging.

However, I don’t think I’ve ever actually shared just HOW I started blogging.

Ten Years Ago …

published work
Articles from when I was freelance writing for magazines

Flashback to 2007 – I’d been freelancing for magazines, and running a small magazine for Christian women called Footprints, for about 10 years.

While manning a stall for Footprints at a writer’s event, I met my first blogger – Kelly, from Be A Fun Mum, and was fascinated to learn more about her blog.

I can still remember saying to Kelly: “Maybe if blogging had been around when my kids were small, I would have done that instead of starting a magazine!”

Footprints magazine in 2007
NOT an actual magazine cover, I was just playing around!

Around the same time, Footprints launched a new website, and our webmaster thought it would be a good idea if I started a blog.  I was a bit like “Huh? what’s a blog?”! But she said it would be a great way to post updates about the magazine.

The Beginning of My Bloggy Adventures

So that’s how I started blogging.

I took to it like a duck to water, and before long began writing much more than just news and updates on the Footprints blog.

There was so much that I loved about blogging!

In particular, I relished the immediacy and the interaction of blogging. All I had to do was write something, add an image and hit publish. It was so different to writing for magazines. No longer did I have to wait months for a magazine article to be published – plus, now people could respond and comment on what I’d written!

By the beginning of 2012, I realised that there was a whole blogging community out there, and started reading other blogs. I began joining link up parties like I Blog On Tuesday (hosted by Essentially Jess back then) and I was away.

bloggy buddies
With some of my bloggy buddies at Problogger last year

Small wonder that when I was trying to rebuild my life after a redundancy five years ago, I decided to start a blog of my very own … and here we are.

Want to Read More of my Posts about Blogging?

Here’s a few from the archives which you might enjoy:

If you are new to blogging, thinking of starting a blog, or just want to meet some bloggy peeps – don’t forget I’m hosting a Pop Up Blog Event in Brisbane next month!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I remember those Footprints blogging days and some of your big reveals 🙂 You’ve helped a lot of people with your blog, Janet, and entertained us along the way. Thanks for sharing.

    • Hi Nola, to think you’ve been following on pretty much all of that time! I sometimes think about rehashing some of the “Friday Files” as they might help others – but I’ve kinda moved past all that. What do you think?!

      • Some of those Friday files were eye-openers that’s for sure 🙂 Maybe you could repackage some of them. I think they would help people going through similar things, and I know I really appreciated your honesty.

  2. I love your writing style Janet. It is so natural and flows and you make anything and everything interesting! Like you I remember that amazing light bulb moment when I realized there was another world out there in which I could exist, make friends, share and smile – the blogging world.

    • What a lovely compliment Jan, one that I will treasure … that I can “make anything and everything interesting”! xxx