When I started blogging in 2008, there weren’t very many faces that looked like me in this space. So I started out as a “Mom Blogger”. Also, there weren’t many mothers who stayed at home that looked like me.
Imagine trying to navigate in this newfound internet space with seemingly no limits, but limited in visibility and representation. I had to filter through a lot of content that wasn’t necessarily structured for me or my voice or audience.
I learned a lot from the other blogs and groups that I followed and all of the many blog hops, forums, influencer groups, blog conferences, etc. You name it I signed up for it. I was hungry to fit in and eager to learn and engage.
For the longest time I modeled my blogging style after what I thought was important and what other people wanted to see. Then I wondered why it didn’t work for me. Why was everyone else so successful and I am over here struggling to be accepted and fit in. I used to be super consistent and I wasn’t getting any engagement, not like everyone else was receiving. I tried monetizing my blog (all the other bloggers were making a full-time income-blogging part-time) and they all started after me. I begin to wonder if this was a space for me and then I became discouraged, felt defeated, my voice diminished and I became absent for short periods of time.
I always returned to blogging, because I am extremely passionate about it. I thought that if I changed the look of the site (I changed several times), all with the hopes that it would bring in the right audience, I tried giveaways (that worked for a short time, until the giveaway ended), then they all unfollowed after it was over. I tried so many times just to get in the game, I would sign up for women groups, affiliate marketing, blogger groups, I tried it all!!! Still I saw a lack of diversity across multiple platforms, I wanted to start my own because I wanted to collaborate with a diverse group of women that represented me (raising children and homeschooling for years), didn’t allow for the extra time to manage running a group. commenting and engaging.
I learned in my years of searching and feeling the need to fit in – to just be myself, to speak my truth, know that I have value, my voice is important and needs to be heard and to simply be authentic with my audience. I realize that I was also very guarded on a lot of issues for fear of backlash and unsolicited comments. So, I remained silent about certain things or certain issues. Just because I didn’t post about it, did not mean that I wasn’t impacted by it, or disregarded it, or ignored it. I chose to focus on the positive aspect of things and to encourage those who were hurting.
Fast-forward to the present, I consider myself a micro-influencer, lifestyle blogger, advocate for marriage, family and relationship success, inspirational and empowerment blogger through my faith and relationship with Christ. I will continue to use my voice to be a vehicle for positivity and impact individuals for change. I will continue to encourage and uplift and be a light to those who know and follow me in person and online.
I spoke out about a lot of issues on my podcast over the last several years, you can listen to those episodes on Faith-Family-Lifestyle Podcast. I host a Sunday Morning Inspiration segment in Stories on Instagram with inspirational and encouraging words and music. Stay tuned for new episodes!
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Until next time Be Blessed!
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