What kind of blogger do I want to be?

Something that I have noticed since I started blogging is that focus on blogging content does not seem to be a top priority. It is not the primary focus when I attend blogger events, it’s vague or not mentioned when I get emails, DMs, or likes from various IG “training” companies. And what I mean by that is, most emphasis is put on increasing followers, subscribers, or being IG famous. “How can I gain 200 followers a month” “How to win at the follow/unfollow method” “How to win at IG like I did” by some random lady offering a master class for a fee of $175 per person. There is rarely if ever a question about your purpose in blogging or the type of content you want to create or are creating. This is even reflected in “blogger resources”. I reached out to a popular blogger collective wanting to connect with more bloggers in my area and one of the main lines on the page for you to join asked if I wanted to be the next IG “It girl”. This made me pause because there is probably nothing I want less. I don’t really want to partner with bloggers who make this their main priority. “It girls” are here for a season or 2. I am in this for the long haul; so this made me think…

Why are people blogging? Is it because they want to share their point of view with others or is it to be insta-famous? Don’t get me wrong… of course, I want people to see my blog and follow me on social media, but does this mean I am willing to do anything to get it? What is the allure of being insta-famous these days? Has it occurred to people that the insta-famous are already at that status and due to Facebook changing IG rules for feeds the likelihood of you being able to be the next 2 million legit follower account has become harder than ever? So instead of trying to be someone else or the ideal of someone else, why wouldn’t I choose to be myself? Why have an account with 100k followers if you can’t even get 50 likes on your post. This to me is the worst thing about wanting something without really earning it. The bloggers I love have been doing this for a few years now. They have worked and built audiences and have devoted followers. While I may not buy everything they suggest or involve myself in each new venture they start, they have developed a blog that shows who they are. This means something to me.

When I first started blogging (like within weeks) I had a stranger come into my DMs on IG and tell me to delete a recent post (a magazine cover) and to tell me I should only post photos from a personal photo shoot if I wanted to be successful. While I’m sure she meant no harm, I LOVED the cover and wanted to share it with my followers, so I did. Who gets to make these rules of what I must post? Is there a shortage of lifestyle bloggers with photos of themselves looking at their MacBooks, or smiling into the distance, or holding their Starbucks cups in the air? I sincerely doubt it. You know what I don’t see? A lot of bloggers being themselves.

I started This Curvy Life to write about the things I love, traveling and style and my life. I don’t want this blog to reflect things that are not true to me. I want to share experiences that excite me and might be of interest to others. As time goes on and I gain more followers I hope they see the same me in posts that get thousands of views as they do in these posts now that get 30. I will keep this post as a reminder for myself because being me was the entire point and that is more important to me than all the #sponsored posts in the world.

xo Danie

 

[wpforms id=”158″ description=”true”]