3 Lessons I Learned About Blogging from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

I am starting to miss posting on my lifestyle blog, Peace Love Sequins. I put it on the back burner to focus on Blog Me Lovely because I wanted to give it the attention it deserves while I really start this business. So I have decided to do something a little different for today’s post. I’ve realized that while the focus of this blog is to help you better your blog, that doesn’t mean I can’t pull some personality into it. In fact, I think inserting your personality into your business is SO important.

So today I am going to let you in on a secret. I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan. Okay, maybe that isn’t too much of a secret if you know me in person. But I recently bought a new set of books since it has been a couple of years since I have read the series – and my books are in storage and kind of falling apart.

This time I am reading them with a new thought in my mind – what can I learn about blogging from the books? I feel there are so many underlying messages in books that speak to much more than just the books itself.

So here are 3 lessons I learned about blogging from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

1. You can’t just dream, you need to live.

When Dumbledore found Harry looking at the Mirror of Erised again, he gave Harry some valuable advice:

“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that.”

The same can be said for blogging. You might have started blogging with the goal of quitting your job in mind or maybe it started as a passion project but you saw the potential and then started to dream, but somewhere along the lines, you got lost in the dreaming.

You kept reaching and reaching for more and more – more pageviews, more followers, a bigger email list, but you forget to stop and realize how much you have accomplished. Or worse, you have let your online reality interfere with you in real life reality.

[bctt tweet=”You kept reaching for more, but you forget to stop and realize how much you've accomplished.” username=”blogmelovely”]

Blogging is amazing and it can open up so many doors, but don’t forget to live along the way. Many get into blogging/online business to have more freedom to enjoy their life (myself included) but you actually need to go out and enjoy it!

2. You need to give honest feedback to your blogging besties.

You know how when your friend asks you if those jeans make her look fat, and in reality, they aren’t really that flattering but you don’t want to tell her and hurt her feelings so you say “oh of course not!” Well, the same thing can happen when your blogging bestie asks you for advice or feedback on a piece of content or social media graphics or her on-camera presence.

You want to tell them what they want to hear, but in reality that isn’t helping anyone.

Think about Neville. He thought that Harry, Ron and Hermione needed to stop sneaking out of the common room at night because they were costing Gryffindor points. Could you imagine how hard it was to be honest with his friends and voice his concerns? So difficult that even Dumbledore acknowledged it and gave Neville points toward the House Cup (which ended up pushing Gryffindor into the lead).

[bctt tweet=”Giving construction criticism can be hard, but sometimes it is the best thing you can do.” username=”blogmelovely”]

Next time your blogging bestie asks you for your opinion, be sure to be honest. She is asking you for a reason and trusts your advice and judgment. If the feedback is less than stellar, make sure it is constructive and helpful.

3. You can’t do it alone.

Blogging is like a team sport. It takes so many people to make it work.

Boyfriend = my biggest supporter. Max and Rocky = my little mascots. Brittany from Collectively Bee and Emily from Emily Finta = two of my blogging besties and supporters. And the list goes on.

Community and support is really what makes blogging amazing.

This is something that can easily be overlooked though. You might think you can go at it alone or do everything by yourself, but you will learn that it probably not the best way to do it.

Remember how Harry thought he was going to go after the Sorcerer’s Stone all by himself but Ron and Hermione basically called him out on it? They were his friends and they were not going to let him do it by himself. They had his back.

[bctt tweet=”You need to find your support system – your tribe. Trust me it makes blogging even more fun! ” username=”blogmelovely”]

I have been blogging since 2010 and this past year has been my favorite one yet because I really got out there and started making connections. There are two ladies that I talk to basically every single day and there are others who I regularly interact within Facebook groups. It really has made all the difference.

Final Thoughts

Who knew you could learn something about blogging from Harry Potter?!? I had fun reading the book through a different lens this time around. It really opened my eyes to how much you can learn about blogging from the outside world in general.

As bloggers, we tend to get sucked into our little blogging bubble and then think of everything in terms of blogging – oh hang on I need to snap a photo before I eat, or this outfit might not fully be me but would make an AMAZING outfit post, or even these items would be great for flat lays and styled Instagram posts.

[bctt tweet=”Take a step back and enjoy your other interests, you might come back with a fresh perspective.” username=”blogmelovely”]

What is your favorite book and what can it teach you about blogging?