I wanted to sit down and have a little chat about content as it’s been at the forefront of my mind lately. Whenever a new feature pops up in the blogging world, it has me struck with that same sudden feeling of guilt. How will I stretch myself across another platform? What will I have to bring to his new avenue of social media that I haven’t already shared? Is it even necessary to be everywhere all at once?, or has blogging culture just turned into one big massive juggling act that nobody can really keep up with without an Instagram husband, two PA’s, and an expensive photographer?…
Instagram TV is the latest things to crop up, and of course, it does always make me feel as though I need to explore it. I’ve always said to myself that I’ll try anything once. If it doesn’t work for me creatively, then it’s not worth the input. There’s no point in me pushing content that doesn’t come natural to me, and this blog has very much been my safe place. I’m not a natural presenter – I’m awkward and I trip up over my words as soon as someone sticks a camera in front of my face (see Youtube for reference). I don’t even particularly like having my picture taken every week, but I do that because I love to share my outfits, and I love to write my thoughts down on here.
I often read a lot of threads on Twitter about people feeling intimidated by the rise of clickbait titles and forced personal posts – yes, I guess it can be frustrating when you see a trend for people getting engagement based off something that feels disingenuous, but that shouldn’t dishearten you if you have something genuine to add to the conversation. Personal/emotional style blog posts seem to be the trend recently, maybe it’s because people want something to relate to in a blogger/influencer heavy world of similar outfits and drone footage of the Maldives. No shade here, this girl would love to go to the Maldives, but you catch my drift – the blogosphere has changed massively from the handful of girls who were typing from their bedrooms and uploading blurry pictures from their imbalanced tripod attempts…
Blogging is now way more intense than ever before – it has to be, it wouldn’t be taken seriously as a full time job by brands if there wasn’t a certain level of skill and professionalism about it. The aftershock of this? A lot of people wondering where they stand, and what they have to offer readers/viewers that hasn’t been done a million times before. Personally, I watch people on Youtube and read their blogs because I just like them. I like their mannerisms, their outlook on life, and usually the clothes they wear. It doesn’t always matter to me that they have the most original ideas and the most consistent content. I just like people who are unapologetically themselves. I like people who don’t get too caught up in what they should be doing, and just create from the soul instead…
There’s so many amazing people doing vastly different things, so the pressure for us all to stretch ourselves in a million different directions is just silly. Creating something should be about what you personally feel is right, what you’re drawn to, and what keeps you full up on that constant excitement of trying to out do yourself. It’s also worth noting that everyone has different personalities – some will write more personal posts because it comes naturally, whereas others are extremely talented when it comes to discussing fashion. For me personally, I never really knew much about designers or the latest catwalk trends, I just knew what I liked to wear on a daily basis, and how it made me feel empowered somehow. Blogging stemmed from the simple notion of wanting to explore that.
Who knows how different blogging will be in a couple of years time, let alone ten. The thing I remind myself of constantly is to just share what I love. I get messages all the time about how to increase followers and the honest answer is that I really don’t know. My Instagram took off in what felt like a matter of weeks, and just snowballed out of nowhere – I then created my blog off the back of Instagram because I felt that I had more to say than Instagram captions accommodated. Here we are two years later and the contents of my blog hasn’t changed much – I pretty much share whatever I feel like each week, and that would be my advice to anyone starting out. Whether it’s personal thoughts, styling a new dress, or just sharing some music you like – your blog should be a reflection of you. It doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing, the people that matter will always return and check in on you…
Photographs by Adriana
Blouse – Nan In vintage
Skirt – Pixie Market
Slides – Zara
Bag – S.Joon
SHOP THE LOOK
I totally love this post! I love bloggers who are just unapologetically themselves too – people who aren’t trying to fit this new ‘luxury’ brand of blogger that’s been created.
It’s so hard to keep up, but I’d just rather keep doing ‘me’ I think! Xxx
Definitely! Designer bags are great and all, but I’d much prefer to spend that money on flights somewhere new or actual experiences xxx
Gorgeous outfit xx
https://www.flolavita.co.uk/2018/07/july-to-do-list.html
I always remind myself ‘quality over quantity’ when it comes to blogging. Juggling so many different platforms on your own is really difficult, so I think focusing your energy on the platforms you do enjoy working on, instead of forcing yourself to try new ones (or ones you don’t necessary like) is the best thing to do!
Love this outfit, that skirt is lovely!
Summer, http://www.thetwinswardrobe.com
Very true! This is how I feel about YouTube – I do enjoy it as a creative outlet now and then, but I’m never going to be someone who posts once a week xx
You are incredible! Thank you for being you!
Lucie xxx
Thank you! xx
I think it has gotten to that point as well: people follow people, not just “new” ideas… while originality is great, we have to understand that it’s impossible for every single person to do something out of the ordinary and original. There’s only so much you can do!
When I think of my own content, and I think of what people have told me, I know ways to make it more original and different from other bloggers…. but problem is: it wouldn’t be me at all ^^;
Sora | http://dangerouslyme.com/
Very true! There’s only so many topics that can be discussed, sometimes it can be exhausting trying to put your own spin on things. That’s why I never read other blogs when I’m feeling uninspired – I try to look at books or magazines, or watch a new TV show. Literally anything that will encourage an idea to come forward naturally. It’s difficult though, you just have to make the content you enjoy! xx
I always like how your words resonate to me. In fact, I never really thought about why I follow some people and not other. But yeah, it’s not because they do something original or different to other but because they are authentique, true to themselves and share their mind. For instance, I love coming on your blog and see your pretty pictures with and inspiring outfit, but mostly because of what you write. It’s like I’m reading the blog of a friend, you are very open on what you say.
Anyway, I guess we all try to find a way to not do the same thing as everyone but it’s even better when we do the things we want.
xx
Thank you! This means a lot to me, and I totally agree with you – people who are just themselves always stand out to me xx