Recently I shared my thoughts on blogging in an Instagram caption and I really valued reading your thoughts on it - where you stand and what you think about blogs and blogging in general. I think most of us are currently in blogging limbo having previously started out in this industry with thanks to blogs and now watching them fizzle out, or at least becoming less popular than they once were. With that said, my blog is one of my favourite platforms and it's also my own - it's not owned by Facebook (like Instagram is) nor owned by Google (like YouTube is) - it's my own platform, on my own terms so I want to get to a happy place with my blog once again and I'm really going to strive to make that happen. Starting now - I hope to share more in depth posts, still relating to fashion, beauty, lifestyle and travel as those are topics I love but I want these posts to offer you more than just the outfit details that you can get easily on my Instagram for example.
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Blogs have evolved so much since they first popped up on the internet, there's been so much change; so, since I first started my blog in 2014 things have changed considerably. It's hard to keep up with something that is still so new but constantly changing, there's no comfortable position when this is your full-time job, or even your hobby, there's always more that can be done. Once you've ticked off signing up to 90% of social media platforms you then need to actually update those regularly, comment on your peers' content whilst working on your own and actually living your life alongside that.
I regularly say that I miss the old blogging, where a blog post would consist of an outfit I put together and some ramblings about why I decided to pair these trousers with this Tshirt. This changed when I realised that this was no longer enough and that when I shared a new outfit I needed to have a compelling story to go alongside it - it didn't matter if it was completely unrelated to the images I'm sharing - but it needed to be something captivating, something that draws you to my blog rather than simply scrolling through my Instagram or liketoknow.it feed to find out about what I'm wearing.
Admittedly, I've never been the most creative person; I love fashion, personal style and putting outfits together - that's why I started my blog to have a platform to be able to share this with other like-minded people - but when I felt like it had become a creative writing contest, my blog has suffered because quite frankly, I don't feel like my content is good enough anymore. Finding the perfect balance in blogging is hard, I've noticed quite a few bloggers are currently focussing on other platforms more than blogs and I would say I'm in that boat too. I'm enjoying Instagram which can be a pain in the ass but equally addictive. I love how quick and easy it is to share a mini (or maxi) life update or simply talk about what I ate in the morning and if I feel like only talking about what I'm wearing then I can do that too!
What I think I'm trying to say is that putting a huge pressure on yourself to conform will only lead to unhappiness. It's important to always remember why. Why did you start blogging? Why do you blog?
I haven't felt a desire to upload new content on here for a few different reasons, I'm unhappy with my photo quality at the moment but I think that's down to my camera (a Canon 700D) being almost 5 years old now and probably due an upgrade. But I've also just struggled when it comes to what to write - I'm sure this isn't the first time I've mentioned this but for some reason I always end up feeling the need to conform to this new age of blogging of sharing tips, blogging hacks, life lessons and more. Don't get me wrong, at times I do feel like I want to write a bit more in depth about how I'm feeling or a particular topic that has caught my eye recently but other times I just want to dwell about how the weather has been awful and talk about my new purchases which have put a smile on my face.
I haven't felt a desire to upload new content on here for a few different reasons, I'm unhappy with my photo quality at the moment but I think that's down to my camera (a Canon 700D) being almost 5 years old now and probably due an upgrade. But I've also just struggled when it comes to what to write - I'm sure this isn't the first time I've mentioned this but for some reason I always end up feeling the need to conform to this new age of blogging of sharing tips, blogging hacks, life lessons and more. Don't get me wrong, at times I do feel like I want to write a bit more in depth about how I'm feeling or a particular topic that has caught my eye recently but other times I just want to dwell about how the weather has been awful and talk about my new purchases which have put a smile on my face.
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From now on, I want to share more in-depth fashion/personal style posts on my blog where I can offer you styling tips and various outfit ideas. I want to share more than just my outfit and outfit details but equally don't want to force myself to create an amazingly written piece every time as I've never been the most gifted when it comes to writing and often I struggle with think pieces which have become so popular. I want to continue talking about fashion and beauty because those are two topics I love and offer a bit of an escape when it comes to the real world and all the craziness going on within. Equally, I want to be able to talk about lifestyle every now and again as well as share my travels with you when I get to explore new places. Finding a happy medium is what I'm striving for at the moment, a decent amount of blog posts throughout the week/month and content that I am happy to be sharing with you.
The tricky part is finding the right balance between what to focus on and where to spend time, blogging is a 24/7 job contrary to popular belief. You simply can't upload a blog post and then leave it to fizzle out on the internet - you need to actively share it across social media (Twitter, Instagram etc.) so your job is never really done, even once you've hit publish. Not to mention all the work that goes on beforehand too. This applies to Instagram photos and YouTube videos too, and anything else you work on for instance newsletters and/or podcasts. It's incredible to see just how much we can branch out when calling ourselves bloggers, this ever-expanding notion is the reason terms like influencer have come about because we aren't just limited to blogs and blogging - there is so much more we can do within the industry so finding the right balance can be challenging. Not forgetting the fact that we have lives in the real world too, it's not all sunshine and roses as it may seem.
The tricky part is finding the right balance between what to focus on and where to spend time, blogging is a 24/7 job contrary to popular belief. You simply can't upload a blog post and then leave it to fizzle out on the internet - you need to actively share it across social media (Twitter, Instagram etc.) so your job is never really done, even once you've hit publish. Not to mention all the work that goes on beforehand too. This applies to Instagram photos and YouTube videos too, and anything else you work on for instance newsletters and/or podcasts. It's incredible to see just how much we can branch out when calling ourselves bloggers, this ever-expanding notion is the reason terms like influencer have come about because we aren't just limited to blogs and blogging - there is so much more we can do within the industry so finding the right balance can be challenging. Not forgetting the fact that we have lives in the real world too, it's not all sunshine and roses as it may seem.
There is no right or wrong way to run your blog, just because another blogger is doing something in a particular way it doesn't mean you need to conform. Right now I want to focus more time on my blog and try to get it back to being a platform I love and want to spend my time on. Rather than trying to take on more work and see this as a chore, I'm cutting down on the number of YouTube videos I post monthly (previously I was uploading twice weekly, but I've decided to post every Sunday and fortnightly on Wednesday's - I always find this hard to explain so I hope that makes sense!) in a bid to spend more time on my blog. Something has got to give in my opinion, it's silly to overwork yourself and try to produce bucket loads of content because in the end, it just won't be content you're proud of and that's the most important. Like I said, it's all about finding a happy medium!
A lot of the time I hear people talking about how easy blogging is and anyone could be a blogger - which I guess is partially true, anyone can start a blog but in order to make it a successful one you need to put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes.
Whilst I work on my own blog, I also want to start paying more attention to other blogs too. I'm thinking about sharing my favourite blogs in a mini roundup at the end of the month perhaps. Would you like to see that? I'll share some of my favourite bloggers over the past month as well as new found blogs - and I'll try to do a mini write up about blog posts I've read and loved. Sharing the love can be so rewarding and I think it's one of the best ways to support each other in this industry.
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Shaggy cardigan - New Look
Slogan Tshirt - New Look
Check trousers - (c/o) Next
Converse - (c/o) Debenhams
Circle bag - New Look
[Photos taken by Maria]
Shaggy cardigan - New Look
Slogan Tshirt - New Look
Check trousers - (c/o) Next
Converse - (c/o) Debenhams
Circle bag - New Look
[Photos taken by Maria]
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