I have a full-time job I enjoy and I’m not after free sh*t or fame…so what keeps me blogging?
It’s been 5 long years since I reserved my first blog URL way back in Sixth Form College. My motivations back then were simple; I had a lot of thoughts about clothes and makeup that I wanted to share.
Growing up in a small town, there wasn’t really much to ‘do’ with my interest in fashion. With sport you can join a team, but fashion is an odd one. For some time before I actually started a blog I used to ‘analogue blog’ as I like to call it. I’d keep a physical diary of my outfits accompanied by magazine mood boards of my inspirations. It was only a matter of time before I transitioned to digital.
As I’ve progressed on my blogging journey, my motivations to blog have evolved in ways I’d never have thought of back then. My blog’s been right there with me through university, studying abroad and now the first few years of my professional life.
By day, I work full time in marketing for a pretty corporate, B2B company. Being in marketing, my 9-5 isn’t a world away from what I do here, but it’s certainly not flatlays and fashion shots. I like my day job, it pays my bills and it’s in my desired field of choice. So what keeps me coming back to my laptop each day to work on this little corner of the internet?
1. It’s my creative playground
Sure, there’s a certain amount of creativity involved in my day job, but here I can really let loose. With my blog there’s no corporate colours, targets to meet or tight deadlines (aside from those that I set myself of course!). Blogging is my safe space to try new ideas, whether that’s writing about new topics, experimenting with photo editing or testing various social media tactics.
2. It relates to my profession
There’s so many professions that blogging can compliment, but for marketing it’s an especially good match. There’s digital marketing skills I use everyday that I’d be clueless about if it weren’t for blogging; from HTML to social media, Photoshop to SEO and more. I’ve introduced so many of the free online tools I’ve discovered through blogging at work to great success! I also find that having a blog helps keep my finger on the pulse of what’s trending, whether that be in terms of digital marketing or the hottest brands of the moment. If Instagram’s rolling out a new feature, you can bet I’ll know about it – and that’s all thanks to being a blogger!
3. It’s mine.
As I’ve said; I enjoy my job, the people I work with, the projects I’ve worked on and the opportunities it’s brought, but nothing comes close to that feeling of pride I get from my blog. When a piece of content comes out well, a post gets a good response or a brand gets in touch to work with me, I still find it so crazy that these things can happen from something I built. It’s hard work putting in the hours, but I’ve truly fallen in love with the process of it all. As with other bloggers out there, no one teaches you these things; a lot of blogging is networking, researching and innovating. It’s given me a taste for entrepreneurship and helped me realise that someday I’d like to have my own business.
4. It keeps me inspired and fuels my fire.
I’ll let you into a little secret – I’m not very good at switching off. I’m an incredibly fidgety gal at the best of times and thrive when I’m busy. Yes, sometimes after a long day at work I’d love to kick back and do nothing and sometimes I can’t help but feel that blogging is just an unnecessary ball in the juggling act of life. But those apprehensions never last long. I honestly couldn’t imagine life without my blog (and often catch myself wondering what people who don’t have blogs do with their time????). There’s always something to work on; to plan, to edit, to photograph, to read up on and that’s just so exciting to me.
5. It’s been like a dating app for friendships, but without the creepiness
You know those friendship dating apps that seem to appear in sponsored Instagram posts like, all the time? I can’t vouch for their effectiveness, but if dating apps are anything to go by, I think they’re best left alone. Thanks to blogging however, I’ve met some absolutely wonderful, inspiring and creative beings (one of them being Aneela, who took these photos for me!). Some of them are merely fellow bloggers in my Twitter and Instagram feeds, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love seeing what’s going on in their worlds any less than I would IRL friends.
STYLE CREDITS
pinafore dress – French Connection via LoveTheSales.com* // shirt with flare tie sleeves – M&S // beret – old // tassell earrings – ebay // ankle boots – TK Maxx
*One or more items in this post have been gifted to me, however all opinions are my own.
Photos by Aneela.
