It’s been five years since I started this blog, and I couldn’t be more grateful for this incredible journey and all the amazing people I have met because of it. I don’t usually post much about my blogging journey—keeping it mostly focused on reviews—but I think it’s important to take a moment to reflect. To remember why I started, where I am now, and where I am headed.

Lessons Learned

1. Becoming a One-Person Team

To quote Taylor Swift, “You’re on your own, kid. You always have been.” I used to think blogging didn’t require much time or effort. Not to sound braggy, but I do consider myself an expert in digital media and marketing (it’s my profession and life’s calling). But even with a decade of professional experience, I can confidently say—it’s not easy doing it all alone.

There will be nights when you’re stuck trying to fix the most basic technical error, endlessly testing and tweaking until something finally clicks. As a blogger, you’re not just a writer—you’re the marketer, the graphic designer, the social media manager, the amateur full-stack developer, the IT support, and the finance manager all rolled into one. Unless you’re starting the blog with a partner or hiring others to help, you have to be your own team and figure it all out yourself. But honestly, there is a strange kind of satisfaction in figuring it all out—realizing how even one minor mistake can undo hours of hard work and how to avoid making that mistake again.

2. Invest in Your Peace of Mind

Everything you need to start a blog is available for free on the internet—but just because the resources are free doesn’t mean they don’t come with drawbacks. For instance, if you’re blogging on a social media platform, your content will always be at the mercy of the platform’s algorithm, policies, and updates. You never know when the billionaire who owns the platform might decide to sell your data or train their AI on it (which is already happening). Everything is unpredictable unless you have some control over it—and you get that control by investing.

Until three years ago, my blog was hosted on WordPress. It wasn’t free, but it was relatively affordable. WordPress is an incredible platform with unmatched flexibility and the best plugins. But even with all its features, I found myself spending more time dealing with things I wanted to forget about—mainly the technical stuff. As my readership grew, so did the security threats. For an entire year, I would get emails from my blog’s security plugin saying someone was trying to log in. No matter how strict I made my blog’s security, the attempts only increased. It got to the point where I became a ball of anxiety, waking up in the middle of the night to check if my site was still running.

You are going to invest somehow—if not with money, then with your time and peace of mind. So if you can, invest in your peace of mind. Don’t waste money on fancy tools and random services. Instead, invest in things that take the pressure off you, especially, if you are a one-person team. For me, that meant finding a platform that could handle security so I didn’t have to.

3. Prioritise and Stay Consistent

This is a lifelong lesson and a big goal for me. If you have endless time and a large team behind you, by all means, leverage the reach of social media. But if not, narrow your focus to just one platform. Sure, you can share your content across multiple platforms, but when it comes to creating content specifically for social media, pick one platform and make it your priority—ideally, where your audience already engages. Consistency is what helps you grow and stay visible in the algorithm.

Blogging Goals

I am honestly a little nervous to post this here, but it’ll be cool to look back one day and see how far I have come.

  1. Write at least 30 articles this year. I know it’s not a big number, but for someone whose day job takes up most of their time and energy, it feels like a big milestone. Every big win starts small, right?
  2. 300 blog subscribers. Reaching this number will feel like a turning point—like there’s only growth from here.
  3. Start monthly newsletter and stay consistent.
  4. Finish the big secret project. (Will add it here if I end up doing it.)
  5. Work towards making kdramaomo community a success.
  6. Make My Blog Pay for Itself. (Because Hosting Isn’t Cheap!) I would love to see if I can monetize my blog—and maybe finally stop feeling guilty about the cost of keeping it alive.
  7. Have fun blogging. Be less of a perfectionist and finally hit publish on the ridiculous number of articles sitting in my drafts.

My Top 5 Favorite Articles

Thank You, Dear Reader.

In the past five years, I have received so much love and so many kind messages and comments. I keep them all in my heart and look at them whenever I need a reason to keep going. Sometimes I check my blog analytics and can’t believe that people across the world are actually reading and enjoying my little corner of the internet. This blog is a part of me, and I truly can’t thank you enough for taking a moment out of your life to spend it here. I am beyond grateful. 💖

If for some reason you read this entire article and are not yet subscribed? Why don't you stay and become my bff?

Here’s to five years—and hopefully many more to come!