Do Your Own Blogging Thing

I’ve always been pretty independent. When I was in grammar school I would do homework during recess instead of playing (#nerd and proud of it) and in high school I wasn’t afraid to be obsessed with different books and movies and music than my peers. Yet when it comes to blogging, more often than not, I find myself wanting to follow the pack and I’ve come to realize this is the exact opposite of what you should do!

There is so, so, so much pressure to “brand” your blog, turn it into a business, be a “creative” with digital products, etc. There are endless posts and advice about how to do more with your blog and use it as a platform to launch your empire in an oversaturated market. Even though some bloggers will tell you that there is room for everyone to be a big deal, I don’t know if I buy that. We know that there is ruthless competition in every industry and we also know that not every venture is a huge success; why would we expect blogging to be any different?

As a woman who puts a ton of pressure on herself to be the absolute best at whatever I decide to, it can become very difficult to accept and embrace doing something just because I like it instead of doing it to be at the top. Recently I have been overextending myself with blogging, coupled with my other commitments, and losing the joy of crafting posts by being bogged down with promotion and networks and guest posting and toying with the idea of creating digital products and all the nine yards. At a point I felt like more of my energy was spent stressing about my blogging to-do list rather than enjoying creating.

When blogging is not your livelihood, you have to be able to understand that your reach and analytics won’t be like bloggers who do have a business. As exciting as it is, you can’t take every opportunity that comes your way, else all of your work will suffer.

Now, in the words of Alice (from the musical theater version of Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland) “I give myself very good advice but I very seldom follow it. That explains the trouble that I’m always in.” I know what I should do to make my life easier and blogging more enjoyable, but actually taking those actions is another story. Wish me luck with this!

How do you do your own blogging thing? Any suggestions for following your own advice?