7 Things You Shouldn't Have To Feel Bad About When It Comes To Blogging
08:00
You may or may not have noticed things have been a little quiet from me the past month or so on my blog and over on my social media pages. I'm not going to go too much into why I have been so inactive because that's a story for another day. But when you have things going on in your offline life that are more than stressful, it can be hard to focus on anything but what it is going on and results in your blogging and online world becoming the least of your concerns.
Of course with this comes with the initial feelings of guilt and frustration that you aren't keeping up with posting regularly or being active on your social media channels, but we shouldn't have to feel bad about any of that. Most of the time the only person who is putting this pressure and shame on ourselves for not being consistent and on our social media game is us. We feel guilty and bad for not doing what we believe people expect from us. But we shouldn't make ourselves feel this way or even let anyone make us feel this way. At the end of the day, real life and health and all that offline stuff comes way before blogging and social media. Being in the present and getting through whatever you're going through is the most important thing. People will understand if you have to put that first over your blog! There is no rule book at the end of the day. You make the rules for you. So why can't we all be most understanding towards ourselves when our blog get's put on the back front?
Here are 7 things we shouldn't feel bad about when it comes to blogging:
1. Not posting/missing uploads - If you have a posting schedule you religiously stick to or prefer to post a certain amount of times each week, but find when you're going through something offline or for whatever haven't been able to post, why do make ourselves feel bad for it? So what if we haven't posted in a week or we've skipped a day or two? Does it really matter? Probably not. It's ok to take a much needed break or miss a post because you need to. Don't feel guilty for having to do that. People honestly will understand and won't be angry at you for not updating your blog recently. If you're really concerned, then let people know on your social media about it and that they can expect something new from you soon. No one should hassle you nor make you feel bad for not posting. We all take breaks from all sorts of things not just blogging. So it's totally okay!
2. Not doing what everyone else is doing - I think when you first start blogging because it is so new and exciting, you jump on the bandwagon of what everyone else is doing or talking about. But you really do not have to do that. Don't ever feel like you have to do something to fit in or please people. Of course there will be trends and cliches that people will be obsessed with. Yet this doesn't have to apply to you. You don't have to be interested in something just because everyone else is. Be you. Be who you want to be. You'll stand out better this way probably for all the right reasons. But then again don't feel bad if you do follow the trends. That's completely ok also. I'm a total rose gold, copper and marble obsessed kind of blogger too. And if you're not then that's completely ok too.
3. Not following certain tips/advice - Like in any kind of hobby or interest, there's thousands of tips and tricks floating around. Bloggers love to write blogging advice style posts (kind of like this one, haha) and share their experiences and tips with others to help them. But you shouldn't have to feel like you need to be reading every single post or trying out every single tip you've read about just to see form of result whether that be growing your followers or a particular photography style. It's only a rough guide and based on another's experience. What works for someone else might not even work for you. You're not going to miss out greatly if you don't read someones tips post. Remember that you can also teach yourself things from your own trial and error. Perhaps you'll end up writing your own tips post!
4. Abandoning your social media - Social media can sometimes become way too overwhelming and if you're not in the right head space, it can turn into something that can become quite addicting and damaging for you. If you need to take a break from it for any reason, whether personal or just wanting a detox from it all, then bloody go for it! Don't worry if you're not as active as you normally are. The real people who care will stay and be patient for your return. We all have those moments where we want to stay well clear of social media and it's totally ok to go away for a bit if you need to. There's definitely more to life than social media.
5. Not having all the fancy tech - In reality when it comes to blogging, you don't need anything other than internet access and some form of ideas to put together a piece of writing that you can then share. Of course if you want to make it more professional and advance your blog, you might want to have something that you can take photos on and other tools to help you. But you don't need to own all the fancy tech equipment to be a successful blogger or to even blog in general. Just because you don't own an Olympus Pen camera, a Macbook, an Ipad, a softbox or two, perhaps even have photoshop doesn't mean you can't have a wonderful blog. You don't need any of that. Sure it's helpful and I'd love to own an Olympus camera, but hey ho I don't have the money for it and would rather save money for something else. You can do it without all that!
6. If you do or say something that somewhere else dislikes - Blogging definitely has one of the biggest online communities I have ever come across. With this comes a hell load of opinions being thrown from every single corner and can sometimes leave you feeling a little nervous if you don't share the same opinion as someone else. Whilst I am all for people being entitled to having their own opinion and being ok with people sharing that, but you shouldn't be made to feel like or have anyone make you feel bad for disagreeing with their view.
The same applies for if you like something that someone else dislikes or if you dislike something everyone seems to like. That's totally ok. You're an individual with your own experiences and preferences. It would be so boring in the world if we all agreed on the same things and all had the same interests. It's great that there is individuality within the blogging world and that the community provides such a vast amount of different people from all walks of life. So don't be afraid to be yourself and say how you feel. Plus stop bashing other people for not agreeing with you or liking something that you happen to hate!!!! We're all individual and if it's not doing any harm to anyone else then why should it matter?
7. Doing sponsored posts - I don't know why but there seems to be some sort of 'judgement' when it comes to bloggers sharing ads or sponsored posts, either on their blogs or social media channels that it's completely not ok!! Like why the hell is that? Why are sponsored posts so shamed upon not only from other bloggers but their readers too?! Why?! I don't get it. I really don't. We should be celebrating with them that they've been able to have such a great opportunity to be paid for their hard work and be able to get this far with their blog. Show them support on their posts, leave them a genuine nice comment relating to what the post is about and share it around if you're feeling extra lovely.
Don't feel that you can't do sponsored work or share any PR samples you might have been given because you're worried what other people are going to think of you for accepting money or freebies for your blog efforts. Blogging for some provides us with an income, maybe not completely full time, but an extra bit of cash to put towards saving for a home or towards treating ourselves because we bloody well deserve it! There should be no problem with that. You wouldn't have a go at an accountant if they got a bonus at work and say they're working with money so they can get some extra pay. No, you wouldn't, would you? Exactly. So let's start supporting each other on sponsored content. We all deserve a reward for our work!
What things do you ever find yourself guilty of when it comes to blogging? Do you agree with any of these points?
Lauren x
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