Hi, hi hi! Man, does it feel good to be here.
First of all, can I just say thank you for reading my blog?!
Over the years I have run the gamut of what it means to be a blogger. For a while, I blogged 3x a day because I was inspired to share all of my meals every day and loved the way other bloggers I followed did that (way back in 2013).
Then I toned it down to once a day, and at some point I started taking weekends off.
THENNN I started my clothing line (which iIno longer have, for other reasons), wrote my book, discovered writing FULL BLOG POSTS (hehe) in my Instagram captions, started teaching yoga, and most of all — started podcasting. With the development of each new project, blogging every day of the week became a little more unrealistic to maintain.
It was a lot of stuff!
It am not saying that any of the new projects replaces blogging. Quite the contrary, there is nothing like blogging. Writing a full blog post. A “pour your heart out,” fingers to the keys, type it all the F out and feel like a new human when you’re done, kind of post.
I feel that I will always be a writer at heart. I am a big “phase” kind of girl, and as much as I try to find things that I can stay 100% consistent with… that just ain’t me. And trying to make that me is just fighting who I really am.
So I hope you guys who have been following for a long time and remember the days that i used to blog 3x a day or even every day, are enjoying my podcast and the VAST amount of energy I am pouring into it, are following on social media and staying up to date on my behind the scenes life, and of course staying tuned for when new blog posts come out.
Photos by Tamara-Muth King, capturing me in my element as always!
I just had to say that — all of that — because with every passing day of NOT blogging, I feel funny about it. This blog has always been my baby and my bread and butter and my everything, but the truth is, over time LIFE evolves.
I also have my huddy baby now. I have my relationship with jonathan that i cherish so, so much. I have my role as a yoga teacher, and I am reallllyyyy enjoying drawing inward and diving DEEP into my spiritual practice which, eventually, will birth and shape my next book… which I am so freaking excited about.
I still blog as much as I can or WANT to… and right now I have a list of about 25 topics I am dying to cover and blog about, so you can expect a lot of fun to come. 😉
I wanted to give you guys that update because as my readers and supporters, you deserve to know what’s going on up in here. In my head. What I’m focusing on. What I’m excited about. All that jazz!
I would love to hear your thoughts on all of that!
Now let’s dive into the subject of today’s post… 5 Things You May Not Know About The Blogging World!
This idea came to me the other day when I was a) starting to get a little frustrated with people out there acting like they are experts on every single thing in existence, and b) I think it will answer a lot of questions about what it’s like to blog full-time!
Lettttt’s do it.
5 Things You May Not Know About The Blogging World //
1. A lot of non-experts act like experts, so follow along with that in mind! A lot of people, including myself, start a blog because they are passionate about a certain subject. I wound up getting my health coaching certification after I decided to wellness blog full-time because I wanted that legitimacy, and then I took my 500-hour yoga training, and right now I have some other programs and trainings in the works. That is not to say I had to do any of that to blog about wellness, yoga, fitness, etc. but I do think it’s important to have knowledge and a solid background in what you are sharing with people.
What I see all the time on social media and on blogs that I really can’t stand behind is people talking about certain wellness-related things as if they are total experts, when they just aren’t. It’s okay for them to give their opinions (we are all human and have that right, duh!) but when some bloggers jump from one health-related topic to the next, to the next, to the next and tell you their opinion and experience of it as if it should replace the word of your doctor / nutritionist / trainer… I don’t agree with that.
I add this point in because I think it’s important to listen to our own bodies above all else, and seek medical help when we need it. Let’s just say adaptogens and superfoods won’t cure everything, as much as we wish they could. 😉 So keep LEARNING and soaking in advice and tips from people you follow and love, but don’t get frustrated if you don’t have the same results as them. We are all so completely and entirely different!
2. A lot of followings are fake… the sad truth. I got an email a couple of days ago from an agency I work with frequently in NYC called Fohr Card. They ran the stats with some super tech savvy programming to figure out which influencers they work with have legitimate followings, and which do not.
In the email from them, they wrote, “There were thousands of influencers [we’ve worked with] whose followings didn’t get verified, and we hope this badge is another step towards adding transparency to the industry and rewarding those who have built real, authentic followings.”
Many of us in this industry have worked incredibly hard to get to where we are today, with established REAL followings and real engagement. It is absolutely heartbreaking to me how many people out there cheat the system and fake it, making our industry seem + feel so much less reliable and trustworthy. It makes it hard for brands to trust those of us who are legit, unless they follow us closely and personally.
For this reason, a lot of the brand deals I do these days come from someone working on the brand team who has followed me for years! They know that my audience is legit and that I only share what I love. It makes it a fun and authentic back and forth between us.
There are tons of other amazing bloggers that have built authentic followings over the years, and I think you’ll be able to decipher who they are quite easily. 🙂
3. Blogging is more than a full-time job, it’s a lifestyle. People ask me all the time whether blogging is a full-time job. Sometimes I laugh to myself as I say yes because I know it’s more than that, and other times I think, “Dayum, how in the hell did I get lucky enough for THIS to be my job?!?” And ultimately, I believe it’s more than a full-time job. It’s a lifestyle. If you’re not walking the walk that you’re sharing with people, then eventually your blog will not be able to maintain itself. Authenticity is huge in blogging.
But when its more of a lifestyle than a full-time job, it means that you can be incredibly flexible with your schedule. You can work from anywhere. You can go on long trips and actually work MORE on vacation than you do at home because there is so much content to capture.
So I always say it’s a lifestyle! I don’t work 9-5. I work different hours every day. Sometimes I can really get behind the Tim Ferriss notion of the “Four Hour Work Week” because some weeks I spend very, very, very little time behind a computer doing “work.” But that means I am researching and living the lifestyle I share, which is the most authentic, important and valuable to me.
4. Even when you have help, blogging is a one person job. But it is super social! I think it’s important to have at least someone in some area of your business helping you as a blogger because it all goes back to the reality that we can’t do EVERYTHING. When we spread ourselves too thin, we are actually hindering our creative potential because we just don’t have the time, space or energy to create from the heart and come up with new ideas.
I have had a lot of different types of help over the years from full-time and part-time assistants to full-time photographers and videographers to managers and agents to graphic designers and podcast editors to asking my MOM to do everything behind the scenes because sometimes I would crumble from the pressure I put on myself to do “everything” and to answer every single email and question that came my way.
Right now… I have a little bit of everything, and at the end of the day I know that as much help as I have, my blog can’t function without me and without the truth that it’s really a one-person job.
But I keep it simple.
My dad is my accountant. I have a brand manager, a literary agent, a podcast editing team (audio will never be my forte!), a few go-to photographers, a web designer, and I have my mom’s help with all sorts of things because she’s awesome like that.
More than anything, this post by Tash Oakley REALLY resonated with me. As entrepreneurs and one-woman shows we truly work our asses off and we give up a lot in order to do that. I LOVE my life but I wouldn’t call it normal in any way. In many cases most of my close friends don’t even think to ask me to join in on big group activities (and they haven’t in years!) because my answer for so long is always… I’m working.
And I am okay with that. It’s a choice I’ve made. We all have to find that balance that works for us (and trust me, I’ve gotten better with work-life balance because I re-prioritized it) but don’t ever mistake us bloggers as people who just got lucky or became successful enough to hire a lot of help. I feel like a complete one-woman show and I am HAPPY with that. I like feeling like a boss and handling it all.
Ultimately, blogging is a one-person job (unless you started your blog with someone else) and I feel more clear on that right now than I ever have before, after trying out a lot of different infrastructures out there.
5. It is absolutely pertinent to take time for yourself in order to come up with new ideas! As much as I say that blogging is a lifestyle, that also means that as a PART of that lifestyle you’ve gotta cool it sometimes and draw inward to tap into your creativity and new ideas! The more time I create for myself to sit in silence, stillness, meditation, listen to new podcasts, read, write, journal… the more I come up with inspiration to keep creating.
Blogging is the ultimate industry of creativity. From a blog, you can create anything you want. You cultivate an audience that likes the same topics as you! You can go to town creating from there, whether it be ebooks and programs, to online classes and trainings, to coaching or consulting, to events and books, to clothing lines or product lines, FOOD, makeup, whatever it may be.
So in order to let that full creative potential shine, you have to take that time to yourself. That’s just not for bloggers but for all entrepreneurs. It is crazy important.
AHHHH now that I’ve written this post I am re-inspired to blog all the time. It’s so much fun. I love connecting with you guys in this way.
See?! Endless things to focus on.
Also, check out my most recent Spotify playlist. It’s playing right now and I feel like you’ll enjoy. 🙂 XO
LOTS OF LOVE! Would love to hear your thoughts on this. xxxx