Late last night I read a blog post written by someone I consider a friend. She spoke of her recent struggle with the good, bad and the ugly of blogging. After seriously considering her words and sending her off a quick email, I went to bed thinking about the topic of blogging.
The most common question I get when I tell people that I have a blog is, “do you make money doing it”? I find myself trying to explain that while I might make a little (very little) money, that I am much more likely to be given something free from a sponsor. I am most likely to be working lots of hours for free! I try to explain that it is possible eventually to make “real money” but that it takes time and lots of work. “Well, then why do you do it?” is often the next question. I have no doubt that some people would like to tell me to get a real job and quit wasting my education. However, is the only reason we blog to make money? Obviously not.
Recently my local newspaper advertised for a freelance writer. What should have been my dream job, I ignored. You see my local newspaper has a definite political agenda that goes against everything I believe. I just couldn’t write for an organization like that. So for me, blogging for peanuts is better than writing for a paycheck if I can't write what I want to write.
When I started my blog 2 years ago this month, I had no idea what I was doing or what direction I would take it. My original goal was to offer some advice and hints that I had learned from over 30 years of marriage and from raising 2 kids. I love to cook, I have a few skills with flowers and entertaining and I like really nice things for a good price. So, my target audience was actually the 20-30 set. However, after 2 years of reading, writing and bonding over blogs…I now have readers of all ages and all skill levels. Some may learn from me, but I also learn from so many others.
Once I saw that a few people were actually going to read what I had to say, I decided I wanted to work very hard to make it grow. I wanted to be the next Pioneer Woman (she is getting a television show, how exciting). It didn’t take me long to realize that I was no Ree Drummond. I didn’t have the interesting lifestyle, the skill or the time to be the success that she is. Every time my stats started to grow quickly, we had a family emergency and I had to step back for a while. I knew that I would never be able to put the blog first and I also learned that when my life is stressful, creativity goes right out the window.
So, why do I blog? I blog because I love to write. I also love to share places, foods and creative ideas when I find something that I love. I blog because of the wonderful community of people who support me, inspire me and make me laugh. I haven’t looked at my numbers in several months. I didn’t want to know how bad it got when I stepped back to get through the last of our family losses. I haven’t written as often and I haven’t stuck with the “party of the day” as of late. I’ve just written what I want, when I want and tried to find time to visit blog friends when I can. Guess what? I’m still here and so is my blog. So, thank you for sticking with me. It means more than you will ever know.
Why do you blog?
