Before I know it, a year has already gone by since I published the very first post here. I had no idea it was gonna last this long. But with much help, we’ve been able to share so many thoughts and recommendations regarding anime, manga and everything in between (not to mention our obsession with Genshin).

It’s not my first time starting a blog at all, but this is the only one I wanted to continue and have been enjoying doing despite the challenges it threw at me, e.g., literally losing access to my admin login…

This site initially started as a project with two goals: to share my hobbies and to grow my professional skills. I wanted to know how to build a website, run it, and rank on search pages… the things that continue to drive me mad to this day.

I’ve learnt a lot in the past year, so I thought I’d share some of them here as a way to celebrate! You might find something useful if you’re looking to start your own (or relate to if you’re a fellow anime blogger).

Without further ado, here are some of the lessons I’ve learnt during Raving Otaku’s first year starting an anime blog.

1. SEO’s king (but it’s not everything)

For any bloggers or would-be bloggers, you’ll come across Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) sooner or later. Unless you’re just as active on social media sharing your posts, this is the most effective way for your articles to be found and read. Sadly, it’s also one of the most challenging tasks to do.

There are many strategies and best practices you can implement that will help you rank better on Google: keyword research, keyword stuffing, backlinking, internal linking… the list goes on. If you’re looking to monetise your site someday, this is an absolute must.

I was fairly ambitious on this and tried to find every which way to rank higher. But only focusing on this is exhausting. At the end of the day, people enjoy reading things that are relevant and speaks to them, not how it’s optimised for search engine crawlers. So, while SEO is very important for discoverability, it’s best to keep it at a balance with writing that resonates with you and your readers.

And even if many people might not discover or be interested in them, there are many things that we love sharing anyway in Raving Otaku.

2. Simple is best

When it comes to starting an anime blog, it can be easy to set a lot of goals and say you’d want to do this and that with your site. I think having goals are great in helping you stay motivated, especially if you’re committing to something new.

In my case, I ended up biting more than I can chew… I wanted to learn and do everything as mentioned above, which for any goal setter, is too overwhelming. It’s important to keep things simple and work up slowly towards creating the anime blog that you want.

3. Procrastination is your worst enemy

Keeping a blog means creating articles… with words. For some, writing comes naturally and easily. Words just flow out smoothly through their fingertips as they type. For others, it’s like scratching letters onto a stone tablet. That’s how I feel sometimes, especially when other life stuff gets in the way. On top of that, procrastination is the killer. Quite often, the longer I procrastinate, the harder it is for me to get writing.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any tips on battling procrastination, as I haven’t figured it out myself, but just wanted to let you know that it can definitely get in the way of your awesome anime blogging…

4. You’ll find a great community

One of the biggest hesitations I had when starting an anime blog is how I’ll be perceived online, especially within the anime community. I’ve seen how scary the toxic side of the community can be and being an introvert online and offline, I wouldn’t want to receive that type of heat. But I’m glad that didn’t stop me.

I’ve only had great interactions with fellow anime bloggers. Beforehand, I’ve only been a reader, never a participant and not even a commenter. But despite that, everyone has been helpful and understanding and I loved seeing this side of the community. That’s something I appreciated a lot since starting Raving Otaku.

5. The learning never stops (and neither the fun!)

Whether it’s about blog writing or the anime industry, you’ll continue to learn things along the way. Not only are you improving your writing skills, but also, you’re constantly deepening your knowledge of your interests.

For example, before anime blogging, I had little understanding of the different anime studios and their traits/reputations. But now I’m learning more about what makes great animation, stories, characters, etc. I’m far from being an expert but being able to identify what are the things you enjoy in your hobbies is very refreshing.

So, that’s all I’ve got from the first year. Thanks so much if you’ve read this far! We still have much more to rave about, so do look forward for more future posts!

If you’re an anime blogger, what are the lessons you’ve learnt since starting?