This shot was taken during the opening keynote at the Problogger Training Event. During his talk, Darren asked the audience to think about what their biggest challenge or obstacle in blogging currently was. A word popped into my head by complete surprise, and you can imagine my even greater surprise when it flashed up onto the screen. This word is featured in the photo. Sustainability, for me, has never been an issue in an emotional sense: people ask me if I get tired of blogging after seven years, and the truth is no, I don’t. But increasingly I do think about it in monetary terms.
During the session on personal blogging and monetising, along with Clint, there was a lot of focus on sponsored posts. I tried to steer the conversation away from that into a broader money-making context, but the topic kept finding itself back in that territory. While I can understand this in some way – after all, sponsored posts can make a sizable amount in a short period of time, although they are a lot of work – I have always been an advocate for not ‘putting too many eggs in the one basket.’ Sponsored posts are not the only way. Neither are ads. Both help, sure. And if that’s as far as you want to take it, then okay. But there is so much more. While I champion the sentiment that we must never, ever undervalue ourselves, I also should’ve said that we should never, ever undervalue our potential.
Don’t be too scared to pitch an article; don’t be too scared to approach a brand or business; don’t wait for things to come to you.
Because let me share with you something: if you’re like me, when you write a sponsored post, you sweat. You worry. You think, maybe even over-think. You WORK. Now, usually this is done because someone came to you with an offer. It feels so much sweeter when you’re writing a post – be it sponsored or part of a larger partnership or sponsorship – that YOU were responsible for making possible.
If our session made people talk, or caused a ruffle (as I suspect it did), some might wonder if that is a negative, but I think the opposite. These conversations are important. They’re important because as personal bloggers, our stories matter. They’re changing lives. I’m not being hyperbolic, it’s the truth.
But what else did I take away from the weekend?
Courage
Darren said this during the opening keynote as well. I’ve always loved the word ‘wobbly’ – it has great onomatopoeic potential.
Purpose
Amusingly, I hired a car for the weekend. A few months ago when I did that I had great aspirations of taking off for mini-escapes so I might research a travel article (or two). Except it sat in the hotel carpark the entire time because I was too damn tired to drive anywhere. I only got down to the beach once.
Anyway, it wasn’t until the day before I was set to leave did I realise that my picking the absolute cheapest car I could find also meant that I was getting a manual, not an automatic. I rang to try and swap it over, but by then it was too late.
Now I can drive a manual. I learned to drive one when I was a teenager. (In fact, my first lessons were on a tractor. You can take the girl out of the country etc…) And in fact I was looking forward to the challenge. This was before I discovered the Gold Coast Highway has traffic lights at 50 metre intervals*
(*Yes, an exaggeration.)
In perpetual fear of stalling or bunny-hopping from one light to the next, I eventually arrived at the hotel in a beading sweat of anxiety and exhaustion. But it was fun.
That sense of driven (ha!) purpose, from getting A to B, and finally getting so damn happy to get there, is something I need to sustain in this game as well.
Clarity
Because I am a horrible note taker, I didn’t attribute to which speaker said this in what session, but I believe it was said by Bernadette Jiwa. Similar thoughts were expressed by others during the event, particularly those sessions that were business &/or branding focused, but it’s applicable to everyone. The business I’m in – which is that of blogging and books, primarily – needs to stay foremost in my mind.
Heart
I jumped out of my chair today on the plane to be the first off after arriving in Melbourne. To my surprise, the family were there waiting for me. Riley bounded over to me, hugged my waist, and didn’t let go until we reached the car.
“This blogging thing lets you do great stuff, doesn’t it mum?” he said proudly as we walked out.
It sure does.
These guys are my everything.
What’s your everything?
