Slow Growth Is Still Growth
Sometimes I write posts like this because I need the reminder myself. Lately, I’ve been sitting with the feeling that everything online moves so fast, and that if you’re not going viral, you’re invisible. It’s hard not to feel discouraged after spending hours on something you care about, only for it to reach a tiny handful of readers.
Some days it feels like screaming into the abyss, waiting for an echo that never comes. But this post isn’t about chasing noise. It’s a soft reminder, to myself and anyone else who needs it, to keep showing up anyway. One day, the abyss might just call back.
When Growth Feels Too Slow
It’s so easy to compare myself to others online and feel like I’m falling behind. Sometimes all it takes is a quick scroll and suddenly I’m wondering if I’m doing anything right. Instead of collapsing under that pressure, I try to remind myself that a following doesn’t appear overnight.
The people I compare myself to might have been creating for years, or maybe they just caught their viral moment. Either way, I’ll never really know, and I have to make peace with that. The truth is, online growth takes time, persistence, and a lot of patience. There’s no shortcut, no magic number, no set timeline.
What Slow Growth Really Looks Like
Lately, slow growth for me has meant refining my personal tone. It’s so easy to get lost in picking colours and visuals that I forget the deeper work of figuring out how I actually want to show up online. When that progress feels too quiet to notice, I remind myself of something my dad always says when he gets caught up in details: “Don’t lose sight of the forest while you’re looking at the trees.” It’s my cue to zoom out and see how far things have come.
When I need patience, I think of my plants. New leaves don’t unfurl overnight. You can stare all day and see nothing, but if you give it a week, suddenly there’s something vibrant and new reaching toward the light.
Redefining Progress and Success
An important part of SEO is paying attention to numbers, but when it comes to creativity, data only tells part of the story. There’s no chart that can measure how much someone has grown as a writer, designer, or creator. Once I stopped focusing on the metrics and started thinking about how much I’ve learned since launching my brand, everything shifted. My progress might not be tangible, but it’s there. Real progress now feels like looking back and realizing how much I didn’t know before. Success isn’t about analytics or views anymore. Success is a feeling; knowing that if even one person reads what I’ve made and learns something from it, then I’ve done what I set out to do.
Keep Tending Your Corner of the Internet
Slow growth doesn’t mean standing still. It means letting things take the time they need. Like my plants, creative work grows best when you give it space. You can’t rush new leaves to unfurl, and you can’t force your work to bloom faster than it’s meant to. All you can do is keep tending to it, one small care-filled day at a time.
Whether your growth looks like a spreadsheet or a slowly unfolding leaf, it still counts. Keep posting, keep creating, and keep nurturing your little corner of the internet. The algorithm might be slow, but it always notices eventually.
A little patience, a lot of light, and steady growth.
If you’re more of a visual learner, you might like @seobutcute on Instagram for more cozy SEO moments.
For soft, cozy encouragement, check out my journal post Growing in Public, a reflection on showing up gently, even when things feel uncertain.
