Writing has been one of my strongest skills back to grade school, and it’s given me an outlet to process my thoughts, express myself and share my experiences. JASMINECTATE.com went live on April 13, 2016 after years of thinking, planning, creating and preparation.

It seems like it's been 25 years and at the same time a fraction of five. As I celebrate my five-year “bloggerversary” celebration, I have reflected on my journey as a blogger and share my experiences, lessons and more since I launched my website and blog below.

I discovered blogging and dreamed of launching my own during college, and the over-thinker and perfectionist in me delayed my start by many years. I first purchased my domain name a little over a week after graduating from college in December of 2013 but didn't launch until three years later a month before completing my grad school career. It took a few years for me to move from domain name to site launch so I'm sure you can imagine how long I thought and dreamed and planned what my blog would be called, what I would write about, how it would look, how it would impact others, what people would think of me and what I had to say.

It was a journey, and the journey continues. Five years later I've written hundreds of blogs here and JASMINECTATE.com has seen thousands of visitors. That is mind blowing to me. When I think about 15 people showing up to my little space on the internet to read words I’ve put together, it makes me excited. Having an audience of any size is also very humbling, especially as a perfectionist. I'm grateful for everyone who has read one of my posts and the excitement and fulfillment that I get when someone is impacted by my words as I share my experiences, lessons, feelings and more.

My Blogging Process

Blogging is not quick or easy no matter who you are or how long you’ve been a blogger. There are many steps from idea to publication including:

• Brainstorming

• Outlining

• Researching

• Writing

• Editing

• Creating photos and/or graphics for the blog and social media

• Collecting links

• Building the post

• Adding graphics/photos

• Adding captions or sources to graphics/photos

• Adding links

• Testing links

• Reading

• Editing

• Reading again

• Editing again

• Reading again :)

• Building search engine optimization into the post

• Creating captions for social media posts

• Drafting an email for my email subscribers

• Building the email for my subscribers

• Scheduling or publishing the blog

• Scheduling or publishing the email

• Scheduling or publishing social media posts

Time, compensation and rewards

I personally spend four hours for each post on average, and while I have received free products that I’ve reviewed, I have never been paid for content I’ve shared here. As a career communicator managing the blog outside of work has been even more challenging. In my current role I have more screentime than I ever have, and it is sometimes draining for me. Showing up online after being here 40 hours per week, at minimum, can be overwhelming. My transition from a full-time student to a full-time professional could have been amazing content for the blog, but I instead took a hiatus as I learned how to manage my schedule as a young professional in the real world my dad had always told me about.

Although I took a break from creating and posting new content, I never let my site die. It was a small gift I gave myself every year and a pretty inexpensive hobby. The fulfillment I mentioned earlier kept me from giving up on it. I love chronicling my journey on my public journal in the sea of websites and blogs on the internet and being able to share posts when I’m asked about a specific experience or topic even more. My blog has also been beneficial to me, as I reference posts often. When I read post from the past, I feel pride knowing that I’ve produced quality content and what’s helpful for me can also be and has been helpful for someone else. Impacting others in any way is my true passion, whether it’s inspiring a smile, sharing a useful tip or trick that leads to lifestyle transformation, making sense of something or providing a resource.

What’s Next?

As I look to the future, I plan to use this five-year milestone as a new launch into greater heights and taking my blog beyond a hobby into a source of secondary income. Although JASMINECTATE.com is a space I created from ideation to publication, it is for us, and I want you to be a part of it. Moving forward I want to continue to share my journey intentionally and will devote Mondays to post about my life and experiences in my journey and #RealWorldWednesdays will be dedicated to posts to help you navigate life in the real world with lessons, tips and resources I’ve gained and featured experts. I absolutely love connecting with others and telling their stories and want to open my platform to allow others to share their own stories with my audience. The latter has been one of the most rewarding elements of my career in nonprofit organizations and communications roles.

In my first post here, I invited you to be a part of my journey. Whether you’ve been along for the ride since the beginning or you just hopped in the passenger seat, thank you for being here. Although I’ll be doing the steering, God is our guide. We’re all in good hands!

Join my five-year bloggerversary celebration by connecting with me in the comments or on social media @JASMINECTATE. Please let me know if there are any questions or topics you would like me to discuss in the future, and share my content with someone who could benefit.

Hugs & Handshakes,

Jasmine C. Tate