I thought I’d pop in and share a bit about how blogging is going since I’ve been doing it with dedication and a fair bit of regularity for the past few months now.
I’m all about the open book. I just believe in being honest and sharing. I don’t know why, but I don’t feel right about the whole ‘toiling in darkness’ thing. Why not share the journey as it goes along? I’m convinced that sometimes I feel so alone and like a loser on my writing journey because everything I read online is so sanitized and so ‘I have arrived’.
I don’t feel like that at all.
I’m still totally trying to figure things out.
All the things I read online is to just write from the heart and it will all come together. At my biggest moments, I believe them. I believe that I’ll be able to grow this little blog organically and that someday it will be as good as I dream it can be. At my low points, it feels like impossibly slow going. My business brain pops out and I try to calculate the return on the truly countless hours (countless because I refuse to count them!) I have invested in this space and I just feel a knot in the pit of my stomach for my vulnerability and my little kernel of a belief that it is all worth it.
So, I want to share the journey here with you all. Just so that you know what’s going into it and what’s coming out as we’re still in the truly baby stages of it all.
Four Highlights:
- By far, the absolute best part of writing here is the connection and community, especially as it relates to food. My friend Dani from college used my grandma’s recipe for Mexican Cornbread to cook food for her family. My friend Peaches was inspired to make French Onion Soup from my blog, which reminded her of a trip to Paris she took when she was in high school. When I feel discouraged, I think of those two examples and I feel all warm inside. There’s just no feeling like it.
- I made it to 3k total views on my blog! That feels like a big milestone to me. I started writing here in August 2014, so you do the math. The good news is that March was 226 total views and my biggest in at least the last two years, so things are heading in the right direction. It feels good to gain momentum.
- A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from Girlfriend Collective (affiliate link) saying that someone used my affiliate link in my review post to buy something! As a result, I got a free pair of leggings. It sounds really small, but it was massive for me. It proves that my idea of featuring businesses I believe in with non-spon content and writing in a way that is honest and true can work. Someone bought some great workout wear and I supported a company I believe in and I got a free pair of leggings. It’s a win/win/win!
- I am starting to find my voice for this space more and more. I’m trying to be brave and vulnerable and share from the heart. It’s scary, but I’m learning how to push through. Having the space to write here, especially about Covid-19 and my associated feelings, is helping me process what’s happening. I have referred to my Fear not Required and You’re Doing Amazing, Sweetie posts several times to get through the long days. I’m trying to write what I need to read. I hope you find it helpful.
Three Lowlights:
- I hate doing self-promotion. I don’t want to be the jackass constantly writing about their project on social media or talking about it to friends and family. I want people to read what I write, but I don’t want to want people to read what I write. I wish I could just be okay with writing into the void, but I guess I’m not there yet. I’m constantly thinking of ways to get my writing out there, yet I feel incredibly uncomfortable with overtly pursuing it so I’m constantly second-guessing myself.
- I’m a bit obsessed with it. It’s all I think about and mostly all I talk about. I’m afraid it’s making me narcissistic. It feels like the right purpose-driven thing for me to do, but it also feels embarrassing and self-important.
- It feels like I have homework all the time. If I’m not writing, I feel guilty. If I am writing, I feel like I’m being selfish for not paying enough attention to my family and my responsibilities. I think a lot of writers feel this way, so I am trying to be gentle through it, but to be honest, it really sucks sometimes.
I guess that’s all I have to say about the Biz of Blogging. All in all, it’s the most worthwhile thing I think I have ever done, but it doesn’t come without a heavy dose of vulnerability and second-guessing. The wins come just frequently enough to give me hope to keep moving forward. For that, I am super grateful.
Do you have a creative pursuit? I’d love to hear how it’s going for you.