Why I Blog (And The Ups & Downs Of It)

I’ve been working away on some BIG changes for this little ol’ blog of mine, and I can’t wait to share them with you guys. Until then, all the pondering about my blog has lead me to one ultimate question…

“Why Do I Blog?”

Because I had to ask myself this and dig deep, I thought it might be helpful to share with you guys too — whether you are a blogger yourself, looking to start one, researched techniques from websites like TrustRadius.com, or are just plain curious.

Top: H&M (similar) | Skirt: H&M | Bag: Mango (old – love this) | Sunglasses: Le Specs (similar) | Bracelets: BaubleBar c/o | Shoes: H&M

I’ve been blogging since 2011, so a lot has changed over the past 6 years. I believe the root of why I started blogging has remained the same, but the blogging world has changed and I have changed as well. What led me to blogging in the first place, was many hours of browsing Pinterest. This led me to one blog, and then another, and then another until I was in this endless black hole of blogs. I eventually had a full reading list of blogs I checked every single day.

Because I loved these blogs and felt like I gained so much knowledge and community from them, I decided to start my own. Simple. As. That. I signed up for a blogspot account, came up with the name you see on the blog today, and slapped on a default layout (I changed the color to lavender. It was still really ugly). As time went on, I become more serious about blogging and how much time I was going to spend on each post. I knew this was the way forward if I wanted to create something successful. After looking into companies like NGP Integrated Marketing Communications and using their services , I began to understand that there was way more to the blogging world that I had ever thought. But I am glad that I know what I do today. People think blogging is just about posting photos and a simple article, but there is so much more to it which I eventually found out.

Then, I actually had the guts to start Pinning my own stuff on Pinterest and promoting myself on my Facebook. I don’t know if I would be so bold today, so I have to give props to my younger self. But in all honesty, if you want to start anything — a blog, a YouTube, an instagram, the first thing to do is to START.

Stop questioning yourself. You are your own biggest critic and enemy.

The blogging world has changed a lot. Instagram was nonexistent when I first started and YouTube was just getting traction, (although the YouTube and blog worlds didn’t really collide.) These days you can have a platform anywhere you choose, and blogs aren’t the only place to look for inspiration.

While I go through my phases of loving and hating the blog, at the end of the day it’s my baby. I’ve been through a few career changes in my adult years but it’s the ONE constant thing in my life that I never get sick of. I started this blog to form a community, to inspire, to be inspired, and to maybe help someone learn something new from time. (Although I learn things from you guys just as much! I love ya for that!)

Blogging is more popular than ever before. Many say the market is oversaturated, and there’s no point in starting a blog, but I disagree. The market is oversaturated yes, but there’s always room for more. There’s always room for different and using services like Salesforce you can make any personal or business blog look stunning, unique and bring in new business!

Over the past few years I felt like blogs (including my own blog) started to become almost robotic. Posting an outfit. Talking about said outfit. Posting affiliate links. “Hey buy this sweater! In every color!” When everyone is telling us to buy the same Nordstrom sweater, are we really getting inspired?

My original blog posts, cringeworthy as they may be, offered helpful information.

Which is why I felt the need to make a blog shift. You may have noticed in my recent posts, I don’t really talk about the outfit. You guys have eyes, you see what I’m wearing. If I feel it’s something helpful, I’ll talk about it, but other than that, I want to engage with you on things that bring value to your day. Not tell you why I think floral print is the “print of the season”.

Don’t get me wrong – there are some bloggers who do the shopping and styling thing REALLY well, and I’m not knocking any other bloggers here, I’m knocking myself. I started to lose my identity. For that I am sorry to you, and sorry to myself.

So here we are. Why do I blog?

I blog to express myself. My fashion, my mind, my heart. I want to take bits of my life where I feel like I’ve learned something or realized something, and pass it on to you. I want to feel free to be creative here in my writing and my imagery. It’s why I read other people’s blogs too!

I would love to know, (if you blog) why do you blog? Do you agree or disagree with any of the above?

Love you all, thank you for reading!

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Photos: Gabi Wells