Five Year Blog Anniversary

On June 9, 2021, I celebrated my five year blog anniversary. It makes me sad that I hadn’t even realised it until today when I am writing this, June 19, 2021 since I’ve been so mentally caught up these past few weeks. But this blog? I love this thing! I’ve poured my heart and soul into it over the years. I have found contentment, joy, purpose, therapy, friends and connections.

The split second decision to post my very first blog post after pouring my heart out in the Notes app on my phone, has led us here. It wasn’t long, I had no audience prior, I honestly don’t even know whether SEO was a thing yet, but I do know I hadn’t know it existed. I didn’t spend a long time researching or thinking up a name.

I was five months pregnant and reflecting on the day I found out about my pregnancy, my husband had a soccer blog and I would edit his posts before he published them so I knew what WordPress was and a friend read my notes and said it sounded like a blog. Just like that, this space was born.

Opportunities

I have grown with it, learned from it and a myriad of other things I can only begin to name. it ha grown with me too, and from the very first day, offered me opportunity after opportunity to grow and learn. Most of all, it offered the opportunity to re-discover myself through something I love. Writing.

Memory Lane on the Blog Anniversary

2016

I blogged about my pregnancy and my still new marriage. It was all that was going at the time. I had lots of tie on my hands just incubating Lil Pepperseed, Baby Reid.

Just weeks after launching my blog, though, I began being approached to write for other people. The concept was foreign since like I said, I launched this baby as a complete novice. 

2017

Nonetheless, I learn quickly and on my feet, and quickly realized that guest blogging was a way to get my name out there and attract new readers. I did a few guest blogs and even entered writing competitions and won. I was shook.

I worked on few business writing projects and took a spin at being a freelance writer. That’s where I learned that the industry could be brutal. You’d be payed little to nothing (something literally when clients ghosted you for payment) to have your work passed off as someone else’s and quite literally have your work stolen. 

Moreover, I wanted to be interesting in what I was writing about. I could truly feel good about it and produce much better work. That’s when I knew freelance content writing wasn’t for me and hopped off that boat.

2018

I wised up and started my business writing service, but that opportunity came about from what started right here.

I shared my thoughts, but found myself doing something else I hadn’t done since I was a teenager and loving it. Writing short stories. By this time, the blog’s energy had slowed. I wasn’t posting as often and was primarily consumed with the novelty of motherhood. 

Then I got it in my head to post my stories. Just like that, the blog fired off again, expanding into more than just thoughts and experience sharing. The response was amazing, and before I knew it, I’d written, edited and self published a whole 43,000+ word novel.

I changed the domain name then to be more streamlined and started what I hadn’t been doing before. A mail list to launch my book.

Shandean Reid as an author was born. 

Three months later, I also published a non fiction guide as a content marketing piece. To date, the best decision I’ve made. As with life though, seasons change.

2019

The blog took a hit. Home life was strenuous with hubby starting his last leg of school, and with one laptop between us and doubles on the parenting shift, I didn’t produce as much content. I found out then being the mom of a baby and the mom of a toddler are different leagues of the mom life.

My focus was the family, creativity was low and the blog was a hobby, so updates were sparse. Sometimes weeks apart. Just how sparse, my readership views for the year was about 2000+ All eyes were on hubby finishing out his program in 2020, so we could have more balance. As we all know though, Covid had other ideas.

2020

Life screeched to a halt. And I found solace and therapy in my neglected baby. I write more, and even decided to participate in Blogmas. I tried out different types of content and the results threw me for a loop. That’s when I decided, to take my blog to the next level for 2021.

2021

I started the year out upgrading the blog left right an centre. Hosting plan, practicing SEO, updating old posts, design, topics, more deliberating schedules, monetising (affiliate marketing, ads, sponsored posts), etc.

This space has been the source of self actualisation, job offers, reference and opportunities and I am extremely grateful for it.

Ode to You My Readers on Five Year Blog Anniversary

Just this past week, I connected with someone who shared that she is a reader did a critique of my blog for a school assignment and shared it with me. The gesture and the critique really warmed my heart and renewed my faith when I noticed that her recommendation is one I am in the process of implementing; since. I am always trying to learn and improve my blog.

If you read this (you know who you are), you will notice your recommendation has been implemented. So again, thank you!

Thank you!

To be honest, life is picking up again and trying to get in the way. But I have renewed purpose and I’m after another five years, and another five and another five.

To all three thousand plus of you who are subscribed in some way, and to those that aren’t subscribed but read frequently, whether you’ve been with me from the start or came on board somewhere along the way. I want to thank you sincerely for sticking with me throughout this journey.

Thank you for patronising my content, for sharing, for connecting and supporting in every and anyway that you do. Truly!

Comment below and tell me when and how you found my blog. With thousands of hits per month, I would love to really connect more.

Xo, Shandean

Find me on;

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Pinterest