I sat across a young woman in the waiting room of the doctors office last week who recognized me from my blog and she came over after a few minutes of staring at me and asked if she could ask me some questions to which I replied "of course" she then went on to ask me about blogging, what it's really like?, if I am rich? (I giggled) how I made money from the blog? and if I could tell her how to get started and what to expect because she was afraid of putting herself out there for all to see. I answered most of her questions and since she isn't the first person to ask or email me about this I decided to take a minute and write about it.
On Being Judged
As a blogger we open ourselves up to being judged and we are going to get the good, the bad and the ugly from people. Everyday I get up to work a job that pays the bills and feeds my kids; I get dressed and before jumping in my car my husband takes pictures of me in whatever I am wearing that day and off I go. Bloggers deal with getting nasty or opinionated comments just like every other blogger who has a wide audience and most times it is best to just ignore it but let's be honest sometimes it is hurtful.
I prefer to empower and encourage women and being a blogger is and always has been a "personal experience" which means the blog is about me, my life and what I love to do. I don't offer look options unless it is a specific post so being asked to show something "different" or that I should post more winter looks doesn't work for me because I wear my clothes/looks for MY daily life, that's why it is authentic. So although we cant control what other people say and do we can control what we let into our spirit. For every bad moment, comment or nasty note you will get twice as many nice, positive and loving ones.
Time & Energy
Bloggers who do this everyday take this serious. It is not easy to keep up with a blog and no one is paying us millions to sit around and cut and paste pretty pics
(okay well some of do make money off of our blogs but..) I spend 20 Min's snapping pics, 30-40 Min's editing those pics, arranging those pics, writing about it and 20-30 Min's finding links in case the readers wants to buy something. I sometimes spend up to 2.5 hrs on a single post and then I have to work my day job get off and take care of my family.
Bloggers are not fictitious characters that have nothing to do but take pics of themselves in pretty clothes (okay some might be). The thing is, I sometimes want to just stop all together and go back to the days where this wasn't a part of my life but I love what I do and therefore I just keep going even when I don't feel like anyone cares or is reading.
Self Obsession + Staying Relevant
This one kills me because honestly if I could wake up everyday and do nothing but blog I would and if I had access to models to wear my clothes I might use them and if I had the ability to gather celebrities to come kick it on my blog and do guest posts I would have them and if I had someone who wanted to work for free as a writer to give you all sorts of different topics to read about I would hire them but I DON'T. I
am just a wife and mother who has to clean house and do laundry and wipe snot and vomit and scrap nasty stuff off the floor while trying to look pretty and feel like a woman who still has it and is not lost in the whirlwind life of being a mom and wife. I can only blog about my life because that is all I got. I can only show you pics of myself in the clothes because I am all I have. I can only show you my diy's because Martha Stewart is too busy to do a guest post, lol what else are "personal bloggers" supposed to show if not themselves? I cant afford red bottoms or to be draped in luxury designer brands but what I do have is a great sense of style that can be easily achieved on a budget. I can teach you how to wear it and I can teach you how to make it. That is all I have....Me ;-)
The "Business" of Blogging + The Truth!
Blogging is a business for some, especially when you cross a certain threshold. What I make off of my blog is not enough for me to ONLY blog, hell it may be just enough to get some new shoes every month and maybe a bag depending on that months stats (let's be real). The people who send me things to wear and post about are great and I appreciate having the ability to feature brands or that I have such amazing readers that support me but come on people think about it..... If a brand sends me a shirt that retails for $100 and I post about it and therefore the brands sells 100 shirts they just made $10,000 and I got a $100 shirt so you see it is NOT about the money! For me it is about having a place where I share brands I love, things I like and feel acknowledged aside from my mommy life; it gives me an avenue of expression that seems to reach people and motivate, inspire and encourages them. I get emails that melt my heart and make me thankful that my blog can help someone get outta bed and put on lipstick that day or go to the gym when they were going to skip it or buy themselves that pair of shoes that makes them smile because of something I posted or said that day.
Let me be completely honest here, I have never been the girl who has a lot of friends and is the life of the party because in actuality I am VERY shy. If I get put in a room full of people I don't know I am most likely to go stand in a corner by myself. I have always been that way and blogging lets me open up, share and engage with all of you!
I love the relationships I build with my readers and I feel responsible to you so I keep my blog as honest and "normal life" as I can. So please know that I do what I do because I LOVE it and I get joy from watching you guys make a pencil skirt or come out of your fashion boxes. I love getting your pics and comments and I certainly don't plan to stop but I think that many times we forget that the people behind those computers are real, breathing people.
Blogging has it's benefits and I enjoy those benefits. It excites me when someone recognizes me on the street or when I get asked to participate in something because of my blog, I am thankful and appreciative and like any woman I like the compliments I get and if I ever feel down you guys lift me up and for all those reasons blogging has been great for me. My biggest lesson from being a blogger has been to be kind to people, be honest and most of all to be thankful that good, bad or ugly I am still relevant.
Thank you to all of my readers and fellow bloggers!
xoxo
Mimi G
