10 Things I Learned About Blogging

Off-the-Shoulder Top – SheIn // Boyfriend Jeans – Marshall’s // Heeled Booties – Vince // Bag – Le Chateau

I’ve been blogging for as long as I can remember – before The Lust Listt even began. It started off with simple HTML coding on Piczo (hands up to all the 90’s babies that had their own Piczo page), which then grew into vector design on FreeWebs. Man those were the times. Not including any strange coding on Myspace, I’ve probably been involved with the world of digital content for over 10 years. Wow, putting that all into perspective makes me feel ancient.

It’s safe to say that I’ve learned a lot about the blogging world as I involved myself watching it evolve. For the general public, everyone’s opinion seems to be quite divided: you either think that blogging is a glamorous and easy thing to do and that bloggers get tons of free things and get the opportunity to attend fun parties, or you think that blogging is a joke, a waste of time and superficial.

So today I wanted to take the time to demystify any false beliefs and to hopefully share some insight into the life of a blogger.

Know Your Worth

People will constantly reach out to you and ask you to work for free. The minute you develop any sort of klout, you will be taken advantage of. The offer may appear as thinly veiled exchanges of goods for services, and you may initially be blinded by the aspect of “recognition”, but don’t let that cloud the truth that you are being asked to work for free.

I will be blatlantly honest. There definitely have been times when I’ve accepted a free pair of shoes – but only because they’re a pair of shoes that I would willingly purchase myself. Don’t become blinded by the free products – know your worth. It requires time out of your day to create, so don’t go accepting every single free offer that comes your way.

Consistency is Key

I won’t be the first person to tell you this, but the key is in consistency. Your followers come back to read your content everyday for a reason – because they like it, and they want more. If you truly want to grow your platform, it’s important constantly create, produce, and develop more content.

It’s All About the Blood, Sweat, and Tears

That being said, blogging is hard work. No one said it was easy, and I can confirm that it’s not. It’s important to not go into it thinking that you’re going to make it big, because that won’t help you succeed. It’s important to go into blogging because you love creating content. Because the work is hard, and you won’t be able to push through it and work towards constantly improving if you don’t put in that time and effort.

It takes time to grow your blog, so don’t expect it to soar to the stars overnight. You’ll spend years investing your own time and money into it before you begin to see any returns, and it’s definitely not an easy path. But when you get there, boy is it satisfying.

You’re Always “On”

When it comes to this digital age and the presence of social media, you’ll constantly be “on”. Sure, all of the events and parties may seem like fun and games, but you’re always still working even when you’re attending an event. You’re mainly invited in the hopes of possibly sharing the event later on on your blog or social platforms, so your eyes is always on the prize – the perfect photo.

Realistically it’s only the +1’s that really, and truly enjoy the parties, because as an invitee, you’re constantly playing the game of shooting content.

There Will be Down Days

There definitely have been days where I’ve felt that I’m done with it all. I’ve wanted to be able to live a normal life again – to have my weekends back to spend with my friends. To not constantly be location scouting when I’m out and thinking of the next time I’ll have the opportunity to shoot there. There are also those days when I don’t feel inspired and can’t create content that I’m happy with for the life of me.

But then I think about and remember how much I love what I do, and that it’s rare that people get to pick a job that they truly enjoy. So I take the day off and have a rethink. But it happens and it’s perfectly normal.

Embrace Your Community

Beneath the superficial glitz and glam of having “blogger friends”, there truly is a strong community of kinship in the industry. Some may reject the friendship, but it’s important to embrace the community regardless of your stance. It may be a large, but tight night community so you never want to burn any bridges.

Okay enough of the negatives, let’s focus a little bit on the positives. Blogging can definitely be tough, but there have been some amazing things that I could have never expected to happen.

Partnerships, Parties, Presents – Oh My!

Behind all of the hard work is definitely some glitz and glam. Never in my wildest dreams had I not started blogging would I have had the opportunity to partner with some of the brands that I’ve worked with.

And if you’re a drinker then you’re in for a treat – because the alcohol is free-flowing and you’ll definitely have a good time.

Oh the Places You’ll Go

One of my favourite aspects about the industry is having access to cool and interesting places that the general public would never experience. Partied in an abandonned power plant? Check. Enjoy an intimate dinner catered by an award-winning chef on a private island? Check. Gone shopping at night once the stores have closed to public? Check. All of these experiences could definitely not have been experienced had I never dabbled in blogging.

And the People You’ll Meet

But even though all of that seems like fun and glamorous, I constantly remind myself that it’s momentary. Because what I cherist the most, is the people that I’ve had the chance to meet. I’ve met so many phenomenally creative and hardworking individuals who are in it purely for the art and for loving what they do. And it’s the fact that I get the chance to resonate with these people that truly makes the whole experiene of blogging so rewarding. It’s not the free gifts, the delicious food, the fun trips or the exciting partnerships – but the beautiful friendships that I’ve developed over the years of being involved in this industry.

So what are you waiting for? Go out there and get blogging. The world is waiting for you!