5 things I'd do differently if I were to start my blog again

I feel like I've been blogging a lot longer than I actually have, as I only started by blog in 2012, however blogging has changed a lot in that space of time.

When I began working I kind of let my blog fall to the bottom of my to do list, and it's only recently I've been interested in picking it back up and really putting my effort into it again. I know I'm never going to be a 'big' blogger, but I also know that there are actually people who read it (thank you) and I enjoy doing it. I love to write, and this blog gives me an outlet to do it.

So with all that in mind, this post is kind of a 'tips for beginners' and kind of a reflective post for me too. The things I'd do differently if I were to start my blog again.

1) Choose a better URL: I'm actually still quite proud of my blog's name, I love a good pun and play on words, however I don't like my URL. Just Call of Beauty was taken so I did what was call in the late noughties and went all hyphen and Gossip Girly with xo. It's so annoying as I'd love to just give a clear snappy URL to someone who asked me for it. One thing I can't see me doing however is paying for a custom domain. Ain't nobody got time (or cash) for that.

2) Utilise social media sooner: It didn't occur to me for a long time that it would be a good idea to create separate social media accounts for my blog from my personal life, and because I wanted to keep this side of my life away from friends (it's a lot easier to be open/honest/carefree when people you know aren't reading/judging, plus I kinda got to pretend to be Hannah Montana) I didn't interact with other bloggers. Once I created my own accounts it was a lot easier to interact, and helped promote my blog. I still feel like I could utilise it more efficiently, but that's probably a different post.

3) Create a backlog of posts and get used to scheduling: One thing I used to do is just write posts on a whim and get them up when I could, which is fine, but I find it a lot easier and more consistent for my blog having a schedule and planning posts for certain times. A backlog is also good if you're a new blog as it gives people something to read for longer, staying on your site for longer and getting more of a gist of who you are as a blogger.

4) Getting a decent layout: I still struggle with finding a blog layout I love. I'm always changing little bits here and there, however I wish I'd put more thought into it when I started. Most people give your blog one look and that's it. It needs to be something to pull them in, especially if you're new to the blogging game, surrounded by so much competition.

5) Get a separate email address before you start: I realised quite soon into blogging that it would be useful for have a separate email address for my blog, however I didn't realise you can't change the email address for Blogger so I have multiple email addresses in use for different aspects of my blog. Creating an email address before hand could save you a lot of time and faff later.

What would you do differently if you were to start your blog again?