Blogger Recognition Award: Essential Tips for New Bloggers February 21, 2019
Are you a new blogger or a seasoned blogger looking to enhance your site? Read my response to the Blogger Recognition Award to learn about why I write, as well as discover essential tips for new bloggers.
I am embarrassingly behind on blogger tags considering that I’m still working my way through tags from 2018. BUT better late than never, right?
Whether I’ve been tagged in a fun challenge or nominated for a blogger-to-blogger award, I’m always so grateful to be a part of this community. I feel such a sense of joy that I’ll get to nominate other bloggers and share my tips for new bloggers.
Thank you to Beckie for this nomination. 🙂 Beckie is a dedicated Episcopal Reverand, a published author, a talented blogger, and a champion for diversity in books and disability awareness. Please click here to read Beckie’s Blogger Recognition Award post and click here to read more about her.
Rules of the Blogger Recognition Award
- Thank the blogger that nominated you
- Write a post to show your award
- Give a brief story of how your blog started
- Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers
- Select 15 bloggers to whom you want to give this award
- Let each Blogger know that you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created.
How I started The Newbury Girl
False Start
Before settling on The Newbury Girl, I went through several iterations of my blog. I started blogging on WordPress during the summer of 2016 as Lash Night (a now deleted blog). I was craving a creative outlet and wanted to share my passion for the beauty industry with others.
Unlike my current blog, Lash Night was designed to solely focus on the beauty industry. Ultimately, I found that my self-imposed restrictions (and blog name) stifled my creativity. As a result, I struggled to regularly post content. The restrictions, combined with serious personal and professional struggles, caused me to slowly lose my passion for blogging. Eventually, I stopped posting altogether.
Take Two: SustainingU
By February of 2017, I found myself yearning to write again. I felt healthier, both physically and mentally. Also, I was working somewhere new. Moreover, I felt like I could finally breathe again. Finally, I felt that creative fire burning. But what to do?
Unfortunately, my old blog felt tainted by the painful times I was going through when I first started writing. Knowing I needed to leave the past behind me, I made the decision to start fresh. Also, I recognized that (1) my old blog restrictions stifled my passion and that (2) beauty is far more than skin deep. As a result, I expanded the focus of my content to beauty, wellness, and sustainability. Thus, SustainingU was born.
At the time “SustainingU” felt like the perfect name. Not only was my blog going to encompass elements of sustainability, and self-care (both mentally and physically), but “SustainingU” was a play on words. For example, I wanted my posts to inspire or “educate” others as if I were a university professor. However, after a few months of blogging, I felt like this name didn’t quite fit me either. Also, feelings of self-doubt crept in as I began to compare myself to other bloggers.
The Evolution of the Newbury Girl
To refocus myself, I rebranded my blog in July to what is now The Newbury Girl. At this time that I finally created social media accounts tied to my blog, too. However, I didn’t start using social media to promote myself or to connect with other bloggers until September. While my content wasn’t changing, the new name breathed new life into my blog. I felt like it incorporated more of who I am.
If you are unfamiliar with Boston, then you should know that Newbury Street is one of the premier shopping destinations in the city. Locals and tourists flock to Newbury Street to find everything from affordable, mainstream fashion brands and luxury jewelry shops to the best eats and workout destinations. As a multi-dimensional person and blogger, and a proud Bostonian, The Newbury Girl felt like a better fit for describing all that I am and the topics I wanted to write about.
And here I am, one year in (almost to the day). I couldn’t be happier with how my blog has grown. Also, I can’t believe how I’ve been able to connect with so many other talented members of this community.
Essential Tips for New Bloggers
Plan Ahead
As someone who has gone through many phases of designing my blog, I want to point out that you are in no way chained to your blog’s name or its content focus. Your blog can and should evolve with you. That being said, I’ve found that I am the most successful with my blog when I take the time to plan ahead of time.
By planning ahead, I’m better able to stick to a consistent posting schedule and I’ve been able to go from posting once a week to posting two times a week. Also, by planning out my posts, I’m able to cover a more diverse range of topics without neglecting another aspect of my blog. For example, I’m able to better sprinkle wellness and marketing-related posts into my blog, without losing my beauty focus.

Ready to Take on 2019
Whether you use an online application, a spreadsheet, or a physical planner (that you’ve purchased or created yourself), planning for the future sets you up for success.
Get Social
Developing relationships with other bloggers is essential. While I was able to develop some blogger friendships through WordPress, social media further helped me to develop relationships with bloggers from around the world! And on days I’ve felt inadequate or felt like giving up, it was the support from these inspiring ladies that encouraged me to keep going. Spoiler alert: many of these women I’ve nominated below. 🙂
In addition to social media being essential to developing friendships, I can say with complete authority that your blog will go nowhere or will grow incredibly slowly without using social media for promotion. As a marketer, anytime I’ve worked with a blogger, content creator, or influencer, social media has been essential to driving traffic to long-form content (blog post or YouTube video). Think about it logically: social media enables you to connect with more of the general public. Even the largest beauty influencers on YouTube alert their fans to new videos via Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram.

I started using social media to promote my blog and connect with others in the Fall. Can you tell?
My suggestion is to start with one platform at a time. I highly suggest that new bloggers start with Twitter because people are much more relaxed and willing to connect with newbies. Moreover, there are countless blogger retweet accounts that make it even easier to connect with other bloggers.
My nominations for the Blogger Recognition Award
- Jennifer @ The Tar Heel Reader
- Jenni @ Housewife Hustle
- Laura @ Palette of Thoughts
- Molly @ Mind of Molly
- Alex @ California Pollution
- Christine @ Glamour with Christine
- Kat @ Femenish
- Sarah @ Life It Or Not
- Abby, Lauren, & Jordan @ My Lifelines
- Jess @ Midnight Wink
- Kate @ Kate Days a Week
- Rifat @ The Beauty Wonk
- Emma @ Emma Kernstein
- Tayler @ Tayler’s Edit
As always, I know that not all of you will write this post – but I am so excited to be nominating you. Not only are you incredibly gifted bloggers, but you actively inspire and support others in the community. I’m so grateful to have met you this past year and if nothing else, I hope that this nomination brings a smile to your faces.
Let’s connect on social media: Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin’
What bloggers inspire you? What are your essential tips for new bloggers? What are your top tips for new bloggers? Let me know in the comments below.
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What a great story! It’s so interesting how your blog has grown and changed. I’m sk behind on my blogging tags as well. I really enjoyed reading your post!
Thank you for the nomination Beckie! 💜 I’m finally at a place where I’m happy with what I’m putting out there and am feeling so inspired.
I enjoyed hearing about how your blog and brand evolved, LP. I first followed you under SustainingU, but I remember the switchover happened pretty quickly thereafter. Such a great post and wonderful, personal share. Thank you for the nomination and for inspiring me. ♥️
Thank you, Jennifer!! 💜 Your support over this past year has meant so much to me. You truly are a gem and an extremely hardworking & talented blogger!
PS I know I am SO behind with commenting on posts, so please forgive the delayed comments from me (here and on your posts). I’ve been trying to catch up over this week after being MIA for a while. 💜
♥️ No worries at all, LP! Don’t feel like you have to catch up on all of it- blogs are always here.
I loved hearing the backstory! I’m also really grateful to be nominated! I’ll be taking a break for about a week after tomorrow, but I will get to it as soon as I get some much needed rest. Thanks so much!
Thanks girl! 💜 I hope you are enjoying your break and are able to comeback totally refreshed!
Thanks! It’s been nice, and I’m looking forward to this week off.
Ahh, love you, gal! And love Beckie, too! Every time I come back from an unintentional break, I feel like a new blogger again. Tips and tricks like these always help!
💜💜💜 Always appreciate you, girl! Breaks are SO SO necessary for mental health (and creative inspo too)!
I loved your story/history! You showed that it is okay to rethink and change, if something is not working. You should be extremely proud of where you are right now because I am. Keep it up! And by the way, thank you for the nomination! You are always my cheerleader and I am so thankful. I will be writing mine up eventually! Hahaha! I got away from planning my posts since the house was being worked on but now it’s done and I’m procrastinating. But it’ll happen!
Love ya chick!
Christine xx
Aw thank you, girl! 💜 I love the constant positivity you put out there & I’ll be excited to read your post whenever you have time. I’m glad everything with your home is now all set!!
Thank so much for the nomination! I can’t wait to do this! I’m going to work on it tomorrow. It’s so interesting reading how your blog went through it’s changes and how you changed your blogs goals etc!! It’s so amazing how social media can have such an impact. I started blogging in 2013 and my blogs have been so different each time!! It’s also such good advice to socialise with other bloggers. That’s one of my favourite things to do – meeting new bloggers!
Wow I’m so impressed that you’ve been blogging for so long! Can’t wait to read your whole blog story! ❤️
Haha my original blog was soooooo bad. I recently deleted it because I was so embarrassed by it 😂😂
Also, it looks like I have the day off today! So I might be able to get started on the blog post this afternoon 😁
Great advice! Congrats on the nomination!
-Morgan @ http://www.mommyaboveall.com
Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for the nomination! It really means so much. I love this post and learning about how you started blogging and finally found a name and style that was truly you, so glad you didn’t give up and that I got to connect with you!! xx
Thanks, girl! 💜 I’m glad I didn’t up, too!! And I’m excited to read more about you!!!
My HEARRRRRT!! Thank you so much for the nomination – I appreciate your support and genuineness more than you know! I loved reading this and learning more about how you got started! I will definitely write a post as well! 🙂
Thank you, girl! 💜 Excited to read your post.