It’s hard to believe, but last week I celebrated 13 years of blogging!
The landscape of blogging has evolved so much, but one thing has always remained the same for me: I LOVE having a platform and community that I can share things with. Growing up, I wanted to be Samantha Brown. She had her own travel show that would take her around the world and introduce her and her audience to so many different people and cultures. While travel is only a small part of this blog, I always admired the manner in which she shared things overall on the show.
Through all of the different iterations of the show, she always remained herself. Authenticity stayed at the forefront, and I strive to do the same with my own platform.
Influencer marketing has completely changed the landscape of blogging. Some people used their blogs to just share what they loved, but influencer marketing allowed them to also make an income from it after a while. The ability to monetize something that you’d do naturally is a gift, but it can also be a curse. So many people have gotten into blogging (or influencing) because of the potential income that could come from it, and like anything that involves money, you have to take the bitter with the sweet. The industry became extremely competitive, and in some ways, the content became very redundant. Everyone’s looking for that secret formula that will take their post viral and earn them millions, but in reality, that is an exception and not a rule.
BLOGGING. IS. HARD. WORK.
It’s also very nuanced-there are people that can love your content today and then never interact with you after that. You can be a brand darling and secure tons of sponsorships one month, and then 6 months later you can’t even get a gifted tooth brush. It’s just par for the course, and if you’re smart you won’t take it personally, nor let it stop you from creating. Because THAT is the actual secret sauce for longevity-creating and sharing from the heart and not for the money. There are bloggers I follow who have been doing this for years and are just now securing partnerships with their dream brands. Even through the slow periods of growth and engagement, they still continued to do the work that they love and create content that they were excited to share.
I say all of this to say, I can’t imagine ever not having a blog. Even if my posting cadence slows down, or I never secure another brand partnership, I will still continue to create on here for the love of it. I have a cool community, and having this space ultimately helped me develop my career. I may not be Samantha Brown (yet), but I’m enjoying the journey it takes to get there.
If you’ve ever read, liked, or shared a post or clicked a link, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I truly do appreciate it. There’s so much more that I have to share.
Cheers to 13- I can’t wait to see what the next 12 months has in store!
