Why do you blog?
A question I've been asked a few times in my day to day life is 'why do you blog?' and it sometimes I'm left a little lost for words because there are so many reasons. When I first started From Roses I had no idea what would happen with it, I didn't have any goals in mind I just did it because I absolutely loved the idea of blogging and I still do now. Sitting down and opening up blogger and typing away is one of my favourite things, almost second nature in a lot of ways and the possibilities are endless.
Blogging has changed so much since when I first started, a lot of blogs that I read back then are now business models and I think that is incredible. As an industry, blogging is still so incredibly young and not really well respected in my opinion, the girls that are behind the blogs that we all know and love are full blown business women. Many think that blogging isn't a job and scoff at the thought of these girls & guys sat with their laptops typing away, whilst I don't believe simply having a blog is a 'job' I think what people do with their online spaces is what can easily turn them into a career and that's awesome.
Like I said when I started doing this three years a go I never ever thought it would have evolved into the space it is now. I think there is something really beautiful about the online community, when essentially we are a bunch of strangers the sheer of love and support people have for one another is such a nice thing to be a part of. It really is what makes blogging for me, I'm so grateful to have such an amazing readership it blows my mind on a daily basis. There is so much more to blogging than beauty products, it can be so easy to get caught up it in all and for it to become a world of stats and PR samples but for me it is about the people behind the blogs.
The past year has seen a huge rise of conversations on how to get PR samples or how to grow your blog and have 1000+ Bloglovin followers and it makes me so sad. I've always had the mantra of doing something because you love it, not for a free lipstick or skincare item. It just doesn't seem right to me and even though this isn't a new trend I still can't wrap my head around it all. If you start a blog shouldn't it be because you enjoy it not because you want to add to your beauty stash? Something else I've noticed an increase of is comments like this 'check out my blog everyone', when people are kind enough to take the time to leave comments I always like to see a link so I can look at their blog but just promoting yourself on someone else's space isn't cool. It is like going to a gig and standing there and singing your own songs, it wouldn't be ok to do that would it? I know as a new blogger it can seem impossible to think you will get any readers but putting the time in and more importantly being yourself really does pay off, everybody starts somewhere and that is something that is so important to remember.
Last month I had a little wobble with blogging, something just didn't feel right and I had a few other things going on in my life. From Roses has always been my happy place and it just didn't feel like that anymore, I've made a shift in my content to make it feel more like me again and now I feel like everything has slotted back into place. I'm so lucky to have a large audience I want to make sure I always feel connected to the people who read my ramblings on a daily basis. Although I write for me because it makes me happy I always like to bear my audience in mind. It makes me push myself a lot more and I never want my content to become stagnant or dull so that I can continue to grow with my blog. My reasons for blogging have never changed throughout the past few years I do it because I love it, blogging is one of my favourite things in the entire world. It makes me push myself creatively and learn something new everyday, this year I've really worked really hard at putting together more lifestyle content and I've loved doing this. It has reminded me that there are no restrictions within blogging and I feel like I've fallen in love with it all over again.
Why do you blog?
