5 Mistakes I Made In My Blogging Journey
I’ve been blogging for more than a decade now. Sometimes, I wish I can sit down with my younger self. She thought she’d figured it all out after writing her first post.
But the truth is, I’ve learned so much from the mistakes I made along the way. Each one shaped the way I blog, write, and see creativity today.
These are the lessons I wish I’d learned sooner — but I’m grateful I learned them at all.
Not promoting my blog
For the longest time, I believed that if I just kept posting, people would naturally find my blog. I imagined that quality alone would somehow draw an audience. But blogging doesn’t work like that — especially now. If you don’t talk about your work, no one will know it exists. Because I didn’t promote myself early on, I missed out on five or six years of growth. Those years should have been spent building my confidence, my readership, and even my income. Still, I don’t see it as wasted time anymore. It taught me that it’s okay to be proud of what you create. Sharing your work isn’t bragging. It’s believing in yourself enough to let people in.
Trying to stick to trends
When I first started blogging as a 20-year-old in community college, everyone was posting makeup reviews. So I did too — buying product after product, convinced that was the only way to “make it.” But I learned that you don’t need to chase trends to be relevant. The blogs that last aren’t the ones with the newest releases. They’re the ones that solve real problems. They tell real stories and make people feel seen. Now I write what I genuinely love: lifestyle, beauty, creativity, travel. The things that feel like me. And it’s made blogging feel joyful again — not like a race I can’t win.
Sticking to a good blog name from the start
If you’ve been around long enough, you’ve probably known me under a few different names. These include Blush and Peony, Hello It’s Winnie, and The Neurodivergent Minimalist. The list goes on. At one point, I even had a bilingual English-Dutch blog because of my long-distance relationship with a Dutch boyfriend. Each new name reflected a different era of my life — but also, another restart. Looking back, I wish I’d trusted my own name from the beginning. Now that I blog under Winnie Yong, everything feels aligned — like all the versions of me finally came home.
Spending all my money on my blog to fit in
This one’s hard to admit. I used to spend every spare dollar on makeup, clothes, and new “blog props.” I did this just to keep up with what other creators were posting. At the time, I didn’t realize how much my undiagnosed autism and ADHD influenced that impulse. I was chasing belonging in a world that felt fast and shiny. Now I know better. You don’t need to spend to be seen. You can create with what you have — your words, your creativity, your perspective. I’ve learned to “shop my stash,” to write from experience, and to remind myself that authenticity is free.
Not having multiple blogs for my niches
I used to believe I had to squeeze everything I loved — beauty, gaming, travel, photography — into one place.
But the truth is, trying to make one blog do everything just made me feel scattered.
Now I allow each side of me its own little space:
🌸 Lifestyle and beauty here on WinnieYong.com,
🎮 Personal musings and gaming over at HelloItsWinnie.com,
💌 Creative letters and soft reflections on SincerelyWinnie.com,
📷 And photography showcased through WinnieYongPhotography.com.
Having multiple blogs means I can create without confusion. Each one feels purposeful — like a different page in the same story.
Final Thoughts
If I were capable of going back, I wouldn’t erase any of these mistakes. They taught me patience, self-trust, and balance. I used to see them as failures. Now I see them as proof that I’ve grown. I’ve grown as a writer, as a creator, and as a person. Because sometimes, the best thing about blogging isn’t getting it right. It’s growing alongside the person you’re becoming.
What blogging regrets do you have?
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