Getting back to blogging

If you had asked me back in 2014 or similar time if I ever thought I would lose that buzz for blogging I’d have probably laughed in your face. However, as the years went on and a lot of things about the online world changed I found my passion for blogging became a little lacklustre. At the same time I can’t ever say that passion ‘moved’ to the new space of Instagram. For me, social media channels (all of them) were always meant to be signposts to the blog as my ‘main’ thing. But I feel like I got caught up in it all and lost my place a little. I wasn’t blogging as regularly but I never felt ‘at home’ on Instagram. Still don’t.

Post images feature gifted/PR product

Then life got in the way a bit. My freelance work and family life kept me busy. Plus a pregnancy (never mind a pandemic) that drained my energy I felt I ran out of steam. I’d have this little sparks in my head where I knew I wanted to get back to sitting down and tapping out thoughts into a blog post. I find it really cathartic to write and I like to share longer information that I feel adds some sort of useful value to anyone reading.

The way the blog/internet world has moved and changed since I first started posting back in 2009 is so huge. At times it’s been easy to roll with the changes, other times I’ve wanted to dig my heels in and say no this isn’t for me. It can be fun to just get swept up in the new but then I think there’s a strength in recognising what is or isn’t for me. You won’t find me dancing on TikTok anytime soon, for example. I much prefer still photography over video and I love a long winded blog post or caption over the short and snappy.

For years now there’s been that big question of ‘but does anyone even read blogs anymore’, for that I have a couple of thoughts. One, does it matter? Two, yes they are. They might just not realise it. I’ve always said/argued that there are two types of blog. There are those that are faced by individuals that people resonate with and are ‘fans’ of – they read because they want to know more about that person. Then there are those that are maybe a little more faceless and share information that you might be searching for. You may click to read without having even the smallest clue who the person writing is and what their life is about. But you might want to know what Jane Blogs (i.e. just any other human) thinks of X hotel in X destination, or the new collection from X beauty brand and what it looks like.

As suspected, I have waded into ramble territory with this one. It wasn’t supposed to get all profound or anything at all. But I guess the whole process of having a baby leaves room for a bit of self-reflection. For me part of that is considering what I want to be doing day to day (in the windows not taken up by nappies, feeding & laundry) and ultimately what I want my life to look like.

One big decision I made last year was that I didn’t want my Instagram to be tied to my job in the way it had become. So I moved towards turning down paid partnerships/ad posts, choosing to just focus on posting the content I wanted to. With that comes a little more freedom and just taking it less seriously. I’m not going to sit here and say I am free of any self-doubt/comparison because of it but it has helped create a bit more of a line between my ‘work’ (Social Media Consultant’ and a hobby I truly love (beauty & creating content).

Now I just want to try and get back to a more regular rhythm of trying products, taking quality photos that give me a creative outlet and sharing my thoughts – mostly beauty but the odd bit of personal sharing too.

I thought I’d kick things off with a little self-portrait type shoot to go along with these words. Capturing my new Daisy Jewellery necklace – and a rare moment of red lipstick in the baby bubble. Can’t lie, it felt pretty great to have a little time to feel like me in both the playing with makeup and taking the photos. I’m looking forward to taking more of those moments!

To see more of the jewellery available: Daisy Jewellery