I am not sure, but it does solve one existential dilemma.
While 2013 was a whirlwind of new opportunities and events, including the ‘Digitally Yours’ group I am a part of that promotes our views on what makes a good PR friendly blogger, and my speaking at the mSummit and being a ‘coach’ at the WIBN conference, I still found blogging hard.
Hard? Well frankly it felt like more work than it was truly worth. For sure I have been blessed with AMAZING opportunities (I could not have taken my family to Disneyland without being included in a media trip), and working with Proctor & Gamble has been really fun. But now there are a LOT of bloggers out there doing exactly what I do and being offered the exact same opportunities (reviews/events/giveaways) that I am and as the year wore on it just felt….off.
I found more and more that I was either ignoring PR requests or saying no to them based not on whether I like that PR company or brand or event but because frankly I didn’t want to have the exact same content on my site as everyone else did. This may seem ironic and hypocritical to those that view my site. It IS pretty generic. Do you know why? Because I made money from it. Not a lot. But enough to keep me on that path. So I said yes to sponsored posts and link ads and so on.
Sadly money is important to me. We are a single income family so any extra income that I can scrape up is gold. Monetization felt the best way to do that. It certainly supplemented my meager self employed income. But it still wasn’t working for me and my discontinuity with my blog has seen the numbers go down and the dollars disappear from it. And so have the opportunities – the events and stuff. It is January 6th and I have not had ONE email from a PR firm or brand yet.
Nothing. (amended: I just received a hello from P&G)
Despite my enthusiasm for blogging my blog has not kept up with the rest of the super stars of the mommy/review blogger world and I think my name has dropped off many lists to be replaced by fresh faces with bigger numbers.
So that sort of sucks. I sort of feel I let my blog down and myself down by not keeping up with the trends and styling of mom/review blogging that was being spewed across the social media channels. But the other part of me is well…meh over the whole situation.
I frankly need to practice what I preach…mainly if it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. I am not one for twitter parties and link building schemes or comment ‘luv’ and so on. I have found myself on Twitter less and less and more into the for fun conversations I was having on Facebook. I lost the enthusiasm for self promotion…..it felt tired. Especially when everyone else is doing it. It felt like too many people in my online social group were all yelling the same thing. It felt like noise instead of interaction and information.
So I have a feeling that Crunchy Carpets will be much more of a personal and un monetized blog for 2014. And that is okay. It is my blog….not a job and as much as I would have like it to have been a source of income, I can’t really be that sort of blogger or have that sort of blog because it just really isn’t my style. I need to go back and find MY style….MY brand. Back to what I want Crunchy Carpets to be and feel for ME.
Perhaps being more focused will bring more opportunities down the road. Sticking to your own voice and niche is an important part of blogging that I tell any and all who are interested. Being mindful of your brand (working on brand article) and the persona you are projecting is crucial to attracting readers and opportunities. I feel I have totally neglected that.
I do wonder how much longer it will all go on.
We have so many bloggers all aiming for the same things and all competing for the attention of PR and brands…..A fellow blogger at one of the Digitally Yours events said that she was reading less blogs because their content was all the same. Are we all losing our unique voices?
PR companies and brands jumped on bloggers for marketing because it was cheap and a great human way to reach out to people and connect. But what happens when people stop reading the blogs or pick just one because they are all offering the same giveaway or review? People will stick with their top choices when it comes to reading and sharing….so what happens to the rest of us?
I had planned on spending the holidays tinkering with Crunchy Carpets but instead I did what was more important and spent time with my crazy family and took some time for me. I read, I relaxed. I let it all go.
I often tell my kids that they need to stop and think ‘WHY’ before opening their mouths or reacting to something. I am going to take heed of this more (is that a resolution??) and really step back and prioritize what is important when it comes to life, business, income and my precious time.
I am not going to make blogging promises or life promises…except to myself, but we will see if I can maintain this attitude and perspective as the year progresses.
Cathy C says
I hear you Kerry it is so hard to figure out what you want the blog to be. I think it must be so nice for those who have figured it out. Some just want to review, others just write. I see the appeal to making some money off of the blog, but that really is hard work. It requires constant relationship building with brands, to even get the opportunities far less the really good ones. If if makes you feel better I have never gotten an email from a brand or PR firm LOL. You are still on my radar, little as it may be. Here is to 2014 being filled with all things good!
Melissa says
Amen. You voiced so many thoughts I have struggled with over the past year. I just said no to an opportunity because I didn’t want to have the same content as ten other bloggers in my little niche. It felt good. I read a lot of blogs in the food genre as part of my work and I can tell you this, when a fresh voice pops up, doing something new and different and fun… it sticks out like a great big flag. And it’s a joy to read them – even if they’re not necessarily my thing. I applaud that they had the guts and the creativity to do their own thing. As soon as we start to dumb ourselves down or make ourselves generic to fit what PR firms want, we lose the spark that drew all our readers in the first place. Best of luck with your blog in 2014!
Lee Ann says
Kerry, your post WAS refreshing and your honesty was very appreciated. I love that your actions and words reflected your truth. Your family & own well-being will definitely benefit 10-fold with your acknowledgement of the importance of being thoughtful, intentional and grateful in your decisions. Thank you for sharing that, I applaud your writing guts!