Rewind a few years back, and we all fell in love with the likes of Zoella, who appeared to be a quiet, shy, normal girl, that we could all relate to. Her channel give us introverts a form of media that wasn't full of hollywood stars who craved some camera time. It was a place to feel connected with others. And with the success of influencers like Zoe, came the rise of blogging.
For a lot of bloggers now they can call this their full time job, including myself. I work from home as my own boss, which means a large portion of my day is spent alone, writing, editing, photographing, and doing admin work. I don't have to talk to anyone if i don't want to. Most forms of communication are over email, social media etc.. An introverts dream right? But then why does it appear to only be the extroverted bloggers that thrive and 'make it big time' these days?
I wouldn't say I'm completed introverted, but I'm somewhere in the middle. I love being in others company, but for a limited time. I find being around people for lengthy periods of time sucks the energy out of me, and I'll often look forward to spending a couple of days to myself. In day to day life, this isn't a problem. People lead their own busy lives which means you don't really have to spend time with anyone for an uncomfortable length of time. But what about online?
I often feel like I need to shout twice as loud to be heard online. So many bloggers are active 24/7 on social media, whether it's taking part in blogger chats, posting on Instagam several times a day (including IG stories), sending updates via Twitter, or daily vlogging on Snapchat. And to be honest, I just can't keep up with all. It's essentially like spending every minute of the day with thousands of other people, and it all just gets a bit too much. In my post 'Why It's Okay to Take a Break', I briefly touched on how I feel like if you're not constantly pushing out content, you seem to fall off the radar. I want to engage with my audiences, but I don't want to be online 24/7.
It also means I suck at networking. Yes getting invited to press days and swanky events are fun. But I often feel a pressure to attend, when in reality sometimes I don't want to. The way I see it is, this is my full time job, which means I'm blogging/content creating all day. Once it hits 5pm I stop working to spend evenings with my family, friends and boyfriend. Sooo, sometimes I don't want to give up date night with my other half to go to an event. But then I feel guilty, and feel like I should be going to all these events to further my career and get my name out there! So where does that leave me in the blogging world? Between a rock and a hard place?
One thing I'm going to practice more of this year is BALANCE.
I'm going to plan ahead more, and dedicate more hours to content creating. Therefore I'm still able to get new posts etc published, whilst still having those vital moments to myself.
I'm also going to step outside of my comfort zone more and ace the networking aspect of blogging. That's not to say I won't still turn down events and opportunities, especially if they don't fit my brand or niche. But I'm willing to attend more in the hopes I will meet new people, and have fun.
A quote that always sat well with me is 'Chose a job you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life'. So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to have a whole new outlook on blogging. I'm going to stop seeing blogging as a job, and a task that I need to do and remove all pressures surrounding it. It's my passion. I love to write, photograph and share. By doing this, I won't see content creating as work, and won't feel the need to 'have alone time' away from working because I love my job. My hours alone will be spent creating and sharing content that I love and I'm proud of.
Do you feel any pressures when it comes to blogging?
*This post contains PR samples. All words & opinions are my own.
It also means I suck at networking. Yes getting invited to press days and swanky events are fun. But I often feel a pressure to attend, when in reality sometimes I don't want to. The way I see it is, this is my full time job, which means I'm blogging/content creating all day. Once it hits 5pm I stop working to spend evenings with my family, friends and boyfriend. Sooo, sometimes I don't want to give up date night with my other half to go to an event. But then I feel guilty, and feel like I should be going to all these events to further my career and get my name out there! So where does that leave me in the blogging world? Between a rock and a hard place?
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I'm going to plan ahead more, and dedicate more hours to content creating. Therefore I'm still able to get new posts etc published, whilst still having those vital moments to myself.
I'm also going to step outside of my comfort zone more and ace the networking aspect of blogging. That's not to say I won't still turn down events and opportunities, especially if they don't fit my brand or niche. But I'm willing to attend more in the hopes I will meet new people, and have fun.
A quote that always sat well with me is 'Chose a job you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life'. So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to have a whole new outlook on blogging. I'm going to stop seeing blogging as a job, and a task that I need to do and remove all pressures surrounding it. It's my passion. I love to write, photograph and share. By doing this, I won't see content creating as work, and won't feel the need to 'have alone time' away from working because I love my job. My hours alone will be spent creating and sharing content that I love and I'm proud of.
Do you feel any pressures when it comes to blogging?
*This post contains PR samples. All words & opinions are my own.