Anjali Kay is a blogger and blog coach, based in Auckland and working with women worldwide to start and grow their blogs. And do it with confidence. When she’s not writing for This Splendid Shambles or helping women with their blogs, you can find her curled up with a book, planning her next overseas travel, or getting out the sewing machine for her latest project.

When I started my blog in 2009, I really didn’t a) know what I was doing and b) actually grasp the full extent of what that blog could become.

It was actually a friend’s comment one day, after he recognised my love of writing and photography, that got me started. He said, “You should start a blog”, and I didn’t know what that was back then, but I looked into it, and here we are, over 15 years later.

And it’s been a bit of a wild ride, that’s for sure. There have been ups, downs, and average days that are neither up nor down; they just are.

Times have changed, blogging has changed (like, a lot!), and I’ve changed, too.

But there’s one thing that has remained consistent over the years (other than my blog posts😉): I’m always learning things.

Always.

Today, I’m a blog coach over at This Splendid Shambles, and I’ve been doing that since 2020, after realising I could be taking all the knowledge that I’ve accumulated over the years and funnel that into something good for other women in blogging and business.

Even though I’ve had my business for a few years now, and I’ve been blogging for a hot minute … I’m still learning things every single day.

Here are a few big things I’ve learnt about myself, my business and my blog in 2025.

I probably don’t need to do MORE

I run a blogging membership, called The Blogging Room, and I love it so much. Think She Owns It, but specifically for blogging.

It’s for women in blogging and business, and every month we look at a different blogging topic or something adjacent (eg email marketing, branding, Pinterest etc).

There’s a rhythm to each month, things that they can expect, including a live masterclass taught by either me or another expert in their field.

This year, I found myself coming up with MORE things I could add to that membership.

I wrote down a whole list of things that would make it ‘better’ … and then had to pause and take a moment and remind myself that some of the comments have been …

“I love the community”

“I've learned so many different things and my traffic has grown so much!”
“I am blown away by how much value is in there.”

They are already learning from someone who is a few chapters ahead of them. They don’t need MORE ‘stuff’ in there.

A consistent presence and support network, a safe place to ask blog questions, to seek advice, to get the help they need when they need it … That’s worth so much more than another resource.

I don’t need to do more or add more.

A realisation which was actually a big relief for me and my business this year.

Sometimes things will be a bit of a flop, and that’s okay

I launched a product this year, and it was one I had launched before (twice, actually), and it did okay. Not amazingly, but okay. This year, I wanted to sell double what I did last year.

And I just didn’t. Three people bought what I thought was such a great offer.

There could be different reasons for this so-called ‘flop’ - perhaps I didn’t talk about it enough, or I didn’t warm people up for long enough before, or I didn’t share testimonies … perhaps a mixture of all of the above.

And it’s gutting when things appear to flop. But actually? It’s shown me that I need to either rethink the whole thing or maybe park it. And that those three people who scored it … really did score it. They’re going to benefit a lot from it (hopefully!).

It’s a learning moment. And that’s good for Future Me.

It’s okay to end things

My first proper course that I offered was called Blogging with Confidence. And it was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.

It taught bloggers, especially newbies, how to start a blog and the ‘what next’. It was live for about three years, with a big update about the year-in mark.

But this year, I decided to discontinue it.

Why? Well, the answer I’ve been telling most people is that there’s a time for everything … and it was time to move on from BwC.

But actually? I think it was more that I didn’t feel like I had enough headspace or energy to give it the love and huge update that it needed.

Times have changed in the blogging world, even in the past few years, and the course needed a big update and a lot of focus and love that I just didn’t have to give.

And that was okay.

So I gave people a last chance to grab it before shutting the doors.

It’s okay for things to end, to shift, to move. Not everything is for every time. The closing of one door might mean the opening of another.

While I’ve yet to find that door, I know that my current business endeavours are my main focus right now. And that’s a good thing.

So what now?

I’m coming to the end of another year in business and blogging, and I’m taking these learnings with me into next year.

Because, at the end of the day, next year has enough going on that I have yet to discover, and if I haven’t fully grasped these learnings and logged them in my noggin, then I’m going to be spending even more mental time away from the things that I really want to be doing, from the people I really want to be helping.

So, here’s to 2026. And all the learnings it will bring!

Follow Anjali here: https://thissplendidshambles.com/ or here: https://www.facebook.com/ThisSplendidShambles