I really enjoy blogging. I don’t love all the trappings of “how to be successful with blogging.” I’m a bad blogger, and I like it that way.
I made the decision a while ago that I didn’t want to monetize my blog. I don’t have anything against blogs that are monetized, but it just isn’t for me. I don’t have any sponsored posts, and I don’t earn any commission from any links, sites or brands mentioned here.
For all intents and purposes of being a successful blogger, I’m absolutely terrible. I don’t post consistently. My images are a mess. I don’t share posts multiple times on all my social media accounts. I don’t use many, if any, hashtags on Instagram. Most of the time, I don’t know how to categorize or tag my posts. I don’t really care about SEO. The list goes on and on.
I used to try to do all these things, and then it all got so exhausting. I was trying so hard (and failing) to fit the mold of what I thought I should be doing to be successful. And then I realized I don’t care about any of that $#!*. I just don’t. Blogging became a chore, and so I kept putting off posts or not even trying to write anything.
I haven’t posted in about a month because I got overwhelmed with all the steps I was following: writing a post, making sure the readability and SEO were both good to go, making two sizes of images for each post (one for my blog and one for Pinterest), figuring out when and where to share the post on social media, etc.
I want my posts to be real, helpful and honest. I’d like to be able to reach a variety of people, but if that doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. I still want to be able to share things and be open and chronicle my self-love journey. So here’s to blogging for the fun of it, for the joy of it and for the process as a whole. I can’t promise this blog, my posts and social media accounts are going to be perfect. In fact, I’m sure they never will be. I’m a real person with flaws, insecurities, good days, bad days, struggles, successes and more. I also can’t promise how often I will be posting on here. I know I want to continue posting and sharing, but I’ve learned I can’t commit to posting a certain amount a times a week or a month.
I’m sure I’ll make changes here and there, as always. But I’ll be here, open and honest and ready for whatever comes next. I’m taking a self-love/self-care course right now, and even though I’m only on day two, I can tell this is going to change my life. I know I need to be honest with myself and what I’m actually capable of, and part of that is admitting when something needs to change.
Stick around. This space may not be perfect, but I promise it won’t be boring.
Are you a bad blogger, too? Here’s to not letting perfectionism get in the way of doing what we really want to do.
