My Blogging Journey, and Why I'm Posting Less
My last Life Lately (personal) post was in July, and boy was that a long time ago. I try to balance out my content here on Explore with Corinth, but sometimes, the need for extra $$$ becomes my priority. Making money wasn't really my ultimate goal when I started this blog. It just sort of kind of happened. It was one of those "I didn't realize I could make money off of this, but since I am already doing it, why not" type things. And it's crazy that as I am typing this, I realized that I've been blogging full time for almost two years already. TWO YEARS! In that time, I've learned a lot of things about myself, about this industry, about this job.
And this post is me sharing how it's been as a blogger, things I've learned and realized, and the things I will be changing up.
HOW HAS IT BEEN, CORINTH? WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED IN YOUR (FULL-TIME) BLOGGING YEARS?
I'm glad that you asked. 😂 Life as a blogger has been pretty exhausting lately. I'm not sure if you guys see or even feel the work I've been putting in, but I've been working pretty hard these past few months, and I actually really enjoy it. I don't think I talk about this too often here and on social media, but I'm actually so blessed to be able to call this my job. I've been doing my dream job for almost two years now, and I am so grateful for everything I have accomplished so far, and I'm very expectant for what's to come! BUT (this is a huge but).
I realized that within this period of me full-time blogging, I've placed an unrealistic expectation on myself and my work, that when I failed to follow through (my unrealistic tasks), I felt like a complete failure. I learned that when I fail to do one thing, I easily discredit all the other things I have actually done and accomplished, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. The moment I realized this about myself, I took a step back, breathed, and re-evaluated my work: website, social media accounts, and misc. And I heard myself say to myself, "hey, you're actually doing so much ⏤ too much work!" At that moment, I told myself that things will have to change if I want to keep doing this for the next 10 years.
WHAT WILL YOU BE CHANGING?
Two years ago, right when I moved from Canada to the US, Jorge gave me the chance to turn this blog into my "business" and full-time career, and that's when I began the "rebranding" of Explore with Corinth. This blog started as my emotional and creative outlet, and I had no idea it would turn into what it is now ⏤ a money-making outlet. I approached everything in a different mindset because my goal has changed. This blog and my social media accounts were no longer just an outlet for my feelings. I had to start thinking of different types of content that will help me pay bills. It was a tough road, and it still is, but I can say that living off of your blog is doable, if you do it right. I will be sharing how I started earning money from my blog soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that one!
Just a little back story on how I made the transition: I started following big fashion and beauty bloggers, I started growing my YouTube account, I briefly ventured into the world of vlogging, and I worked really hard to transition my Instagram account from this typical "PNW" feed, to a lifestyle blogger's feed. My move to the US really hurt my Instagram engagement, and it didn't help when Instagram changed their freaking algorithm, but I can definitely say that I'm past the awkward transition, and I happy with how my Instagram feed is doing right now. Anyway, with all of that said, all these changes and actions I've done have contributed to the growth of my business, and to answer the original question: "what will you be changing?" A one-word answer would be: APPROACH.
HOW WAS IT BEFORE?
Like I said earlier, the moment I knew I had to make money off of my blog, my main focus was to create content that will help me earn money and free stuff. I began applying for campaigns left and right, to the point that I was overwhelmed with both paid and unpaid work! I didn't see my worth as a content creator back then, so I accepted jobs that didn't really benefit me in the end. "Oh free stuff! I've made it! I'm legit! I'm like them big bloggers now! Blogger mail unboxing! Woohoo!" ⏤ Yes, free stuff is great! Free stuff is stuff I don't have to buy myself! But am I really going to get a lot of use out of these products? These free things won't pay our rent. Free things won't bring food to the table. Don't get me wrong. I'm not being ungrateful. I just recently learned the real value of my work, and I wish I had learned about it sooner.
Free things usually means free work for the brand, and that is one of the biggest things that robbed me of my creativity. I also used to think: "the more free stuff I get, the more content I'm able to create since consistency is key, right?" That's when it all went downhill for me. I was obsessed with keeping my content consistent: blog posts every other day, instagram posts everyday, youtube videos every week! I worked and gave too much and saw very little return, and that's when I learned that consistency doesn't always equal to growth and success. When I realized where I truly was as a blogger and content creator, I knew things had to change.
HOW WILL IT BE NOW?
Now that I know the real value of my work, I learned how to filter brand campaigns. I still say yes to some free stuff, but it has to be extremely worth my time and my energy. I decline job opportunities that don't fit my brand, which I've always done since the beginning, and I say yes to brands and collaborators that genuinely respect and value me and my work. I've learned to decline event invitations that have nothing to do with my line of work. Just because you were invited to it, doesn't mean you have to go it - that's how I look at it haha. And finally, I learned to start giving myself a more doable and more realistic workload.
From now on, I will be posting a maximum of two blog posts per week, and one YouTube video per week or two. I will still try to keep posting on my Instagram everyday, and my Twitter will remain to be my go-to sporadic share station. With this new approach, I know I'm able to schedule and plan out my content way more efficiently, and at the same time still be consistent on all my money-making platforms. If you guys check out my archives, you will see in my calendar the amount of blog posts I publish in a month, and how often I get my crash breaks. This new workload allows me to breathe, and I am really excited to see how this goes!
I didn't mean for this blog post to be this long, and I hope that it wasn't too confusing for you, but if you reached this far, you da real fam!♥️
Thanks for reading, and I hope you've learned a thing or two about my life as a blogger.
If you have any questions or blog requests, feel free to let me know in the comment box below. Reading your comments not only makes me feel good as a blogger (not gonna lie haha), it also allows me to have this personal connection with you! Let me know that you're there, and that you care! <3
