“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. Charles Dickens penned this quote in A Tale of Two Cities. Carrie Bradshaw believed Dickens was experiencing an affair with a married lover when he wrote it. I believe he’s describing a lifestyle blogger. Centuries ahead of the game, right?
Jokes aside, my blog has caused me aggravation, confronted my darkest thoughts and lifted me to kite-high freedom. Sometimes I’ve poured my heart out and shed a little tear, other times I’ve written pieces that have kept alive memories. Reading my experience in Ibiza and Barcelona, I can instantly witness the words play out the past.
Saying goodbye and hello
My old posts are photographs. Bad hair mistakes and clothing disasters, thoughts out-dated and beliefs still ingrained. Some say it’s just a blog. It’s a place you write and try to get others to read. And maybe so, depending on what you post. Mine is a memory trove. My ex best friend was my best friend when I started. We (I) tirelessly discussed colour schemes, lifestyle blogger categories and articles. I think she’d be surprised to see how far my writing has gone.
I didn’t think much of digital friends, at first. How close can one get? The answer is very. It’s incredible being able to chat with people across the world each day. Connecting on numerous levels. If your offline friends haven’t experienced your pain, confusion and heartache, you can bet your online ones have. Occasionally they disappear. Perhaps they stop reading and commenting, or they shut down their sites and social-media without a trace of past conversations.
I’ve learnt to not over think it. You can only continue to write and wait to connect with new people. The minute you start to plan blogging too meticulously, you begin to lose passion. As a business adventure for many, I understand the need to watch figures and check stats. But as a blog writer, you cannot let go of the reason you started. If you joined purely for materialism, you’ll often burn out quicker.
Conquering fears and emotions
Bloggers – particularly lifestyle bloggers, have possibility to reach their deepest vulnerability. It’s one thing to write in a hidden diary; another to post it online for anyone to see. I always felt frustrated with the pieces published in magazines. It felt too vague and typical. Watching Sex and the City, I thought about Carrie’s column. I thought, how did men date her knowing she’s writing such revealing information in a newspaper?
Then I thought, where do you go to find such raw writing? And not just about love but about life. That’s when I switched my categories and began voicing my opinion on every subject I felt tied towards. I never know how interesting a personal piece like this will be. I only know I’ll feel ten times better for sharing.
Motivational speaker Les Brown gave a speech on dreams. He said when he asks people if they’ve done everything they can, they often say no. Most people can’t see themselves past a certain thing. They cling to jobs and relationships because they’re comfortable. They don’t know what they want to do because they can’t see themselves achieving. Held back by fear, which does absolutely nothing. Instead of going at life head on knowing that goals are tough and setbacks are necessary. He said, you’re going to fail at points in life regardless, so you may as well fail doing something instead of fail while sitting.
Lifestyle blogger success and marketing
My blog keeps me doing something on days when I feel like sitting. Overall, I’m not a full-time lifestyle blogger though I’m earning income and using my site as a platform to try new things. I filmed my first YouTube video – awaiting editing before being official, and I’m excited to announce my first newsletter.
Melina recommended Mailerlite which is super easy and fun to use. MailChimp for me is quite stressful. I want my newsletter to be an email worth reading. If you’re blogger, you’ll relate to having to delete constant spam from gain follower accounts and companies who add you to their mailing list without permission. I want a newsletter that’s fun and interesting. Rather than – oh great, another email to delete, it’s ah, time to read.
The plan is to make it light and quicker to view than a blog post. It’s like taking all the good bits and putting them together, from tips and recommendations, to personal confessions, humorous stories and positive information I’ve researched. As a shameless plug, I’d love if you can sign up and add your email (on your phone you need to scroll down, and on a computer, you need to go to the right-side column to subscribe.
Do you call yourself a lifestyle blogger? What are your blogging ups and downs and how long have you been blogging? It’s always interesting to know.
I’ll be subscribed to both your email list and on wordpress! I don’t want to miss out on your newsletter! I’m so glad you liked mailerlite so much. I completely relate to this. This past January, I spent hours going through old posts. What I liked about my older posts, what I like about my newer posts. It was nice to see how far I come. It was also crazy to see who was in my life at the time, who isn’t in my life anymore, how much I’ve improved in terms of blogging. It’s honestly so crazy (for lack of a better word). Great post Laura xxx
Melina | http://www.melinaelisa.com
Thank you girl!! I began to appreciate blogging so much more. It’s the greatest kind of photo album. Sometimes when I’m bored I’ll just go through it on the train, and I see so many posts that I forgot about. xxx
same! It happens more often then you would think! I thought I would remember every post I’ve ever written, especially if they’re on the more personal side, but I’ve written so many posts, that more than a few have definitely slipped my mind. I love blogging 🙂 x
I like the lifestyle “category” of a blogger, it feels more real to me. I started to add a lot about make up, and then very slowly added a post here and there about living with POTS or about my wheelchair or something. It has gained me a follower or two, so I think it’s fun 🙂
It is. I think lifestyle means so much. Most assume you have to discuss your closet or fitness alone etc, but you can really discuss anything that’s either relatable, interesting or entertaining. It’s a fun category! 🙂
Ahh, can totally relate being a lifestyle blogger as well! I feel happy and important when I talk to my online and even blog friends since they all understand what I’m going through and we are so like-minded. I feel that I can connect with you and others on here compared to my real life friends which is a nice feeling 🙂 Yeah sometimes your views or engagements go down or some of your followers don’t read your posts as much but I totally agree that blogging is not about the materialistic things such as stats and followers and it’s all about just the happiness and the love that your readers give you when they read your work. As long as you enjoy what you’re doing and you’re working on your passions, that’s what really matters. I love blogging and the joy that it gives me and have made amazing friends on here that I would never leave!
Stats and followers are nothing without passion right! I have a very different connection to my online friends than I do to my offline. People talk often about the bad sides of blogging and social-media, but I see many good.
Thank you for reading and commenting girl!
Just signed up for your newsletter, can’t wait to read it!!
Thank you so much! You should be sent one automatically I wrote on Friday, which has a piece on Instagram, but the next one will feature more stuff. Let me know if there’s anything in particular you’d like to see. 🙂
I love the design of it and how user friendly it is without being too overwhelming to read. The piece on Instagram is something I’ve been pondering over myself, whether or not it’ll somehow reach its end.
Thank you! It means A LOT that you’ve taken the time to subscribe and share your thoughts. I think eventually Instagram will end or decline as most social apps do. I can imagine something eventually replacing it.
You’re most welcome!! I’ve been a huge fan of your blog and really enjoy the posts that you publish 🙂
Thank you!!!!