Many blog readers these days also happen to be blog writers. Some started reading blogs and then made the jump into writing, some needed a place to vent and found their way here, to blogging, themselves. Ultimately many of us have found some reason we stay… the community, our careers, free stuff… whatever it may be, it’s keeping us going and that’s great. Blogging can be a great way to put yourself out there, creating an outlet to pour some energy into.
But… sometimes, like with anything, the wind can change direction. We wake up one day trying to come up with something interesting to say about soap and say to ourselves, “what am I doing this for?” — although blogging can be a great tool in carving out success for ourselves, however we measure it, sometimes the soul we poured into it, the soulful that got us to this point, has drifted off.
I started blogging before I knew what blogging was. I liked the internet and I liked trying new things on the internet. Whenever I hear about a new network, popular website or cool new web trend, I check it out. I opened a LiveJournal account in high school, I created a Facebook account not long after. I started a business and found myself writing about it online. I was a writer without ever even realizing it and I blogged off and on for years. It wasn’t until my transition into motherhood came along that I saw the community behind blogging.
I started reading blogs. I started looking for people like me online. People who were Moms and wanted to learn more or meet people in the same boat. I met bloggers who got to try out free stuff in exchange for posts. That seemed like a cool idea, I figured out how I could do it, too!
Before I knew it the whole industry of blogging had opened up before my eyes. PR companies, Blogger Lists, Awards and Conferences, Oh my! Blogging wasn’t my hobby anymore, it was getting me jobs, moving me forward on my career path. Blogging wasn’t just my job, it became part of who I was. I didn’t sit down and blog anymore, I always had it hovering in the back of my mind.
Would this be good to blog about? I shouldn’t forget my camera! I could end up blogging about this.
What do my kids need for spring? I wonder if I can find some cool stuff to test for them.
I’m not going to write a blog post for this company unless they pay me at least fifty bucks, anything less is a waste of my time.
I am a professional blogger…
Where there is supply, there is demand. Instead of blogging because it was something that I loved to do, I was blogging because it was something I had to do.
If I’m not consistently putting out 2 or 3 posts a week then my traffic will suffer.
If my numbers dip then I’m less likely to get chosen for campaigns.
How many affiliate networks are too many?
Then, I stumbled across a post. A post where a blogging friend of mine, someone I know who loves blogging as much as I do, someone who loves the community and maybe in the past has felt like they’d lost their soul, too… he posted about something he saw online. Not because he wanted traffic or was being paid to do a campaign, but because he saw it online and thought it was awesome and wanted to share it. What he shared, just out of the need to share something great, inspired me to look at my blog differently for the first time in a long time.
I thought about my favourite bloggers. My truly favourite writers… the ones who write about their day and make it sound absolutely fascinating in its utter lack of anything interesting at all. The writers who don’t treat blogging like their business, but their art. Art can be a business, too… but you have to put the art first and the business second. The other way around and it becomes stale and unappealing. There are bloggers who manage to do both… to be their authentic selves and amazing storytellers while also earning income from their blogs… proof positive that it can be done.
So, every day instead of wondering how many affiliate networks I should join, I’ll be wondering: “Am I blogging with soul today?“
5 Comments
Well put! I notice a lot of bloggers who are following how-to advice which is obviously sucking the soul out of their blogs. Counterproductive, and so sad to read!
It really can be! I try to remain true to my own writing style and self first, if products come along that suit that and aren’t afraid to let me write in the way I want to, then it jives well together!
I needed that 🙂
You’re an amazing writer, Kyla. Don’t worry about it ever.
That was wonderful … and a great reminder to us all. It is easy to get caught up in the whole “business” of blogging. But in reviewing my favorite sites, they are the ones where the author blogs with soul. Thank you!