I am going to share with you (for the first time ever) my learned skills and expertise in blogging, and social media management. It helped me earn the status of who I am today as a blogger and receiving my first major award in blogging last 2013 as Best Cebu Events and Entertainment Blogger of the Year by Best Cebu Blogs Awards.
But, until today, I always consider blogging as a hobby, an escape, and a stress reliever.
This is a series of posts on this blog where I am going to tell you many things and reasons why I started blogging and the tools I have used to maintain my website. I will also share some helpful tips along the way.
The Beginnings
I started blogging since 2006. During that time, I wasn’t that serious about how to go with my content and my audience. I just wanted to write anything that I like to write. It started with a Blogspot website for a Daniel Radcliffe Fansite.
Since I am an avid fan of the Harry Potter books and movies, I have decided to blog about the actor. Luckily, I was commissioned by Warner Bros. for the Harry Potter World Bloggers Forum, a community of online bloggers around the world that features everything Harry Potter related. My website is called “Beyond The Blue Eyes” and it is still active but unfortunately very outdated. You can visit the website here.
Episode 1: Why Blogging?
I decided to start to blog for three reasons:
– I want to venture into a new experience;
– I want to continue my passion in writing; and
– I want to utilize my acquired skills in Journalism (10 years at school).
In November 2008, I registered a domain name, cebufinest.com. The very first feature was a theater play from the University of San Carlos Theatre Guild. Then it became an online shop selling handmade fashion accessories and jewelry the next year. It became a partner with SheWalks, a Cebu-based manufacturer of native-inspired footwear for women.
Two years later, I was awarded Top 2 Most Liked Blog Entry on Best Cebu Blogs Awards Facebook Page, the first I entered a blogging competition. I became one of the Top 20 Finalists for Best Cebu Blogs Awards 2010.
The website was shut down in 2011 due to lack of post updates. However, I was still active on Facebook and on Twitter.
On June 12, 2012, I have a relaunching of Cebu Finest and I became a partner of ARIVA! Events Management, a training provider for businesses and professionals in Manila. I also partnered with Enjoy Philippines and Parkmall. I also started the advocacy to support UNICEF Philippines Champions for Children in September of that year.
My first banner exchange happened in 2013 with a radio station in Cebu City, y101FM. During the Bohol-Cebu earthquake last October, I was able to donate ₱5000 to Philippine Red Cross. The money came from the honorarium and fees I’ve earned from online advertising and sponsored posting.
In December 2013, I was nominated and received the Best Cebu Events and Entertainment Blogger of the Year by Best Cebu Blogs Awards 2013.
In 2014, the website was successfully accessed almost 6 Million times in January. Here’s the comparison of my page impressions from 2012 to 2014:
January 2012: 1,060,945
January 2013: 3,337,157
January 2014: 5,803,162
I started 2015 with 4,664,953 page impressions and I was able to reach the 1 Million Pageview mark. Because of the sudden increase of readers and viewers, Cebu Finest became one of the top 1000 most accessed websites in the Philippines.
With that same year, the website was nominated to #Bloggys2015 Philippine Blogging Awards under News and Events. I also became a finalist once again for Best Cebu Blogs Awards 2015, which I’ve won under the same category in 2013: the Best Cebu Events and Entertainment Blogger of the Year.
Advocacy to UNICEF Philippines
I signed up with UNICEF Philippines Champions for Children and pledged to donate ₱600 per month to assist Filipino children via the efforts of UNICEF Philippines. My term ended two years after and I was able to donate ₱14,400 to UNICEF Philippines.
However, I continued the advocacy to promote the efforts of UNICEF Philippines Champions for Children with a staggered donation.
Read the full detailed story on How I Became A Champion For Children.
For the next episode of Blogging 101 Series, I will talk about How To Start And Make Your Blog Grow (most probably from ground zero).
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Join me for more discussions on my Facebook Page and on Twitter.
You can also check my random photos on Instagram.