Lessons learned from 13 years of blogging

I published my first post on October 30, 2011. When I started, I had no idea that anyone outside of my poker group would read a word I wrote. The Deal Mommy was simply a way to avoid repeating the same stuff over and over again. A few months later, Kathy from Will Run for Miles found a deal I had posted. We got to chatting about how we were drowning in 14 cent Propel water. She led me to Chicago Seminars and the rest is history. 

I’m dipping my toe back in the blogging pool on TheDiaAdams.com a lot older a a little bit wiser than the first time. Here’s what I have learned about the business of blogging and the business of life.

Lessons Learned: Blogging

• If you are in it for the money, get out. This is even more true now that Google has entirely flipped the script. Write because you want to. It’s the only way you’ll get any fulfillment out of it.
• If you have nothing to say, don’t get a bot to say it. The internet is full of garbage. Please don’t add to the pile. Same goes for social media. I understand chasing the algo but one good post a week is so much better than six crap posts a day.
• If you are spending more time staging your life than actually living it, reconsider your priorities.  I’m not gonna focus on my “brand” this go-round.  I’m not going to take six tries to get the “candid” shot of me contemplating some beautiful scene or the perfect dinner pic. I’ll share stuff that I find interesting.  If you wanna follow me, great. But the games influencers play to up their numbers?  I’m over it. 
• Authenticity is important. Colonoscopy? TMI. When I started blogging, I tried being anonymous. It just didn’t work for me. “The Deal Mommy” and “Dia” are one and the same…to a point. After thirteen years, that blogger/real life line is still a moving target. It became more so when the kids were old enough to read what I wrote. And even more once their friends started following me on Instagram. I’ve gotten their permission to post old photos now that they’re adults and can consent. I don’t love the fact that I posted them earlier without it.  
• I like writing and helping people. I hate “influencing”.  I’ve drowned in swag. I’ve been to enough “resorts” in random places I only visited because they gave me a free stay. I don’t mean this as a #humblebrag but once you get to a certain level, it’s just easier and less stressful to travel as you wish, especially when you add miles and points to the mix. I’ll still work with companies I love, but I’m not gonna represent stuff here that doesn’t excite me. 
• You own your time and your voice. Use them wisely. 
• Daily outrage is a lonely endeavor. 
• You have no idea what might go viral: I can take credit for creating the term Vendoming. I can not take credit for its entry into the travel hacking glossary. I had no idea how many people shared my opinion that the blogs had gone cray-cray. Vendoming just gave voice to the bubbling frustration.
• People want honest opinions, not advertorial: The Deal Mommy’s most popular post (by a mile)? The one where I told people which Disney World resorts I don’t like. My skeptical review of Beaches Turks and Caicos showed up on page one of Google for a decade- much to their chagrin. Readers understand that when everything is awesome, nothing is. 
• There’s no need to shout: I’m embarrassed by the volume of ALL CAPS AND EXCLAMATION POINTS in my early posts. Dude, take a chill pill. Let your writing do the talking.
• Some people will not get you. That’s OK: This may be the most important lesson blogging has taught me. I am simply not some readers’ cup of tea. While I fail to understand why they continue reading, I also have learned whose opinion matters and whose doesn’t.
• For every troll, ten of you have let me know something I wrote affected you in a positive way: That is why I’ve decided to keep (moderated) contents open on the new blog. This decision is a moving target.
• I will never, ever, sell pee pads. 

Lessons Learned: Life

• Embrace the pivot. Sometimes life pivots in your favor. In 2011 or even 2019 did I think I’d be a senior editor at a mainline publication? Of course not. Sometimes life pivots decidedly not in your favor. Did I think I’d be a cancer survivor in my early 50s? Of course not. Either way what happened, happened, whether I chose to fight it or not. Might as well attempt to enjoy the ride as much as possible. (No worries, I’m three years cancer-free.)
• You may have accomplished one of your life goals without even realizing it. Only when I attended a talk about publishing did I realize I’d already written a book about Disney World, it just wasn’t in book form. Now “Amazon bestselling author” can go on my tombstone. Give yourself credit for what you’ve already done and see how it might be a step towards what you want to do. 
• Find your tribe(s): At Chicago Seminars back in 2012 I had a moment I hope you have had at least once in your life: the realization that you are not alone and that this might be your tribe. I’ve since found my travel hacking tribe, my writing tribe, and my mom tribe. At times they overlap, but not often.
• If you haven’t yet found your tribe, make one: Your life will be so much richer for it. The first time I attended Chicago Seminars even though we had much in common, the miles/points community was 90% male and single. I was begging for more family content, but it was falling on deaf ears. This year I was one of many parent speakers. I credit that to #FT4RL. 
• Karma will catch up to you: For both good and ill. Everyone knows who the gum on the community shoe is. Be nice.
• Did I mention that I will never, ever, sell pee pads?

Thank You for sticking with me in my little corner of the internet. I love hearing about your adventures. They motivate me more than I can ever say.

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