Personal blogging can be hard: any blogger who blogs about their life, be it in reference to parenting, lifestyle, memoir – you name it – could probably tell you that. It is also immensely rewarding, like when you might be able to help someone, or offer inspiration or food for thought. You can be entertaining and compelling. You are a storyteller and that is hard to do, let alone on a regular or semi-regular basis.
I also think, and this is where others might disagree, that personal blogging has on occasion been left on the sidelines when it comes to conference representation or inclusion, say. Media mentions have sometimes left me with a sense or taste of hidden agendas to polarise public opinion simply to garner more sales or bump traffic (with the subjects of monetisation or choosing to discuss family life or not, for example). Perhaps then it’s not hard to understand why we sometimes get defensive!
So I had this idea for a series to spotlight personal bloggers. I wanted to congratulate them for their contribution to the sphere thus far; we who’ve been or around for *cough cough* quite a few years. I want to share their stories, yes, but more importantly show the trajectory of this kind of blogging. Things change, life happens. A personal blog needs to adapt to these conditions and sometimes that’s hard. Not everyone does, for reasons of their choosing (or beyond, sometimes). Some blogs don’t make the distance.
It can take years to develop a large following, to cultivate a routine. Some of even make money or find opportunities beyond the blog itself. What we all have is this: a starting point. We all hit that publish button for the first time not quite knowing what was going to happen.
I’m looking forward to this coming week. Tune in each day to see more!
