What it takes to be a lifestyle blogger
I blogged off and on for a long time before I really decided it was a passion and not just a fun hobby, and I wanted to build a sustainable business from my fiction writing and blogging that would support my family.
To build a sustainable business you need to create a brand.
A trusted source people looked up too.
I’ve spent years in the business world {I have a Ph.D. in business and also try to inspire minds at the college level}, and I realized I wasn’t using that business mind of mine toward this business venture.
I’ve approached things willy-nilly over the years {very technical wording here} and without a business plan. I‘ve told business owners I’ve worked with who didn’t have a solid business plan that they consistently reviewed, revised and updated that they were cra-cra. So why didn’t I have one? I thought of my blog {and fiction writing} as the creative me and separate from the business me.
Silly, silly me right? Well, I may be slow, but I learn from my mistakes.
In a previous blog post, I talked about focus and how hard it can be to really define the niche we see ourselves in as bloggers. At least it has been for me. This week I thought I would talk about how I see myself as a lifestyle blogger.
Lifestyle blogger, what the heck does that mean anyway? Isn’t it kind of a catch-all for those who aren’t 100% food bloggers, or fashion bloggers, or tech bloggers? For a while, I almost felt guilty saying I was a lifestyle blogger because it felt so vague to me. Like I was trying to keep from taking a stand about who I was and what I stood for.
In my research, I found that many people defined a lifestyle blog as one that blogged more about life than products. And that's how I feel I am. Of course, I sell things, it is a business, but that's secondary.
I write about my life because I enjoy it. I don't want JUST to write about food, or fashion, or DIY (ok, I never write about that because that skill NOT in my wheelhouse). I have fun sharing with others what I’m doing, and I’m just lucky people like to read what I write. There are several lifestyle blogs I read daily for the same reason. I enjoy getting a small glimpse into their life and how they do things. I am a big believer that we can all learn from one another.
I want to write about what inspires me on that day.
But then I ran across this article that talked about how blogs were bad for women. Setting unrealistic expectations women tried to emulate. And that I don’t agree with. I’m a lifestyle blogger because I want to share. Not because I’m trying to create some crazy cult of women who want to be like me. I realize as a society we tend to want what others have or think someone else's life is better but it's not. We ALL have issues and problems. Trust me, you don't want to trade yours for mine because no matter how good the icing on the cake looks. It's all plain vanilla cake underneath.
The beauty of being human is that we’re all different. Do we all sometimes think the grass is greener and want to have someone else’s life…well, yeah. Of course, we have those moments. Do I think that women who read blogs are immediately drawn to try and be just like the person in the blog they are reading like a bunch of Stepford Wives?
No. They just want to be entertained or to maybe learn something new.
What do you think? Do we set up expectations that are unattainable with our blogs about how women should be?
