Following the bombshell reactions to Essena O’Neill leaving social media (and prompted by this blogging e-course I’m taking via The Nectar Collective), I have really started to wonder, “Am I blogging for all the wrong reasons?”
Essena says she turned to social media looking for fame and approval. She says young girls want to be bloggers so they can “get free products and get invited to parties.” IS THIS TRUE? Because if so, I’m doing it all wrong.
I, for one, am not blogging for free stuff or parties. Free stuff? Sounds cool, but there’s always a catch. Always. And as far as parties are concerned, I would panic if invited! You mean, go out and interact with people? That’s really just not my scene. My scene, for the record, is my couch, in my salsa-encrusted sweatpants. Yum.
The e-course asks me, “What is your niche?” and “Why do you blog?” And I’m really concerned that I don’t have one. I mean, I’m fairly certain I’m a “lifestyle blogger.” Isn’t that a category anymore?
Back in my day, that was all there was: lifestyle bloggers. Good writers whose online diaries you liked to read. Funny people whose stories made you laugh. I want to be one of those! I think I’m one of those?
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These days, it feels like the lifestyle bloggers are extinct, while we have more “beauty bloggers,” “fashion bloggers,” “travel bloggers,” even the rare “food bloggers” still churning out recipes out there. More interesting, also, are the “blogging bloggers,” who blog exclusively about how to blog better, marketing tips for social media and ARRRGH!
I feel more and more like a white rhino. I do want to increase my audience! I do want to engage new readers! I do want to make money blogging!
But I don’t ever want to be something I’m not. Ultimately, I don’t care if this blog never makes me a dime in revenue. I don’t care if I never see a free bath bomb come in the mail, nice as that may sound. And those party invites? I’ll enjoy deleting those emails in my salsa-encrusted sweatpants on my couch, thanks very much!
Confession: I’ve been invited to album launches. I’ve been offered opportunities to be brand representative. I’ve been contacted by companies who don’t care to know or understand why I blog. I feel for Essena when she talks about how fake it all is. My stomach flips and I don’t like it. It makes me want to shut my laptop and curl up under the covers.
And then I get another comment. Or a new follower. And I remember why I blog! I blog to share stories. To make people laugh. And every comment I get that says “This is so true!” or “I totally agree!” or even simply “Haha funny!” I remember why I blog. It’s you. All of you. You’re the reason I want to blog: I want to hear about your day. I want to feel connected, entertained, educated, inspired. I write to be one of you, I hope I am one of you, I admire you all.
So how about you: Why do you blog?
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