IN RETURN FOR A FREE PRODUCT

Blogging as a career is pretty new, blogging in general however isn't, people have been writing online since online existed, it's only now with the rising popularity of social media that companies see the worth and influence that people online can have. I love this being my job, it's truly one of the best choices I made, but it doesn't come without it's pitfalls and annoyances, just like every other career. For me and I'd put a lot of money on it being an issue for many other bloggers too, is people and brands acting dismissive of your worth, it's not that they don't know because they do - that's why they're contacting you, but it's simply having the ignorance to think you wont realise what they're trying to do. Free products. If I had a tenner for every time I'm asked if I can do something 'in return for a free XYZ' it drives me up the wall, the statement itself is so incredibly contradictory yet it's somehow still probably one of the most common amongst my inbox.

WHAT I WISH I'D KNOW ABOUT BLOGGING

When you start blogging it's so difficult to wade through all of the should's and should not's to find exactly what you need to focus on. If you're looking to make money from this, then that's a whole other kettle of fish. I think a lot of bloggers that are fortunate enough to use blogging as a means of income today didn't really start out for that reason, we didn't know the career possibilities and thus it's all been a bit of a learning curve. Things are a little different now, with the blogging market becoming more and more saturated with each day, it's definitely harder than ever to be seen, though I'm sure that will only continue as more realise you can make money in what a lot of us define as a hobby.

THE BLOGGING MISCONCEPTION

Although blogging has been around since the dawn of time, in a variety of forms, it's still incredibly new in terms of careers. Bloggers are forging new ways and setting new standards every single day and it can be really difficult for anyone outside of blogging to actually understand what it is we do. I couldn't tell you the amount of times I've heard 'So you just get sent free stuff to write about?' I'm not exactly great at responding to it, I usually just agree because most of the time, people aren't actually demeaning what I do, they just don't understand it. Who can blame them, the world wide web hasn't even been around for thirty years so it's an extremely new path.

A YEAR GONE BY

It feels like the cliche statement to make as we get closer to the end of the year but my oh my has twenty eighteen flown by. It truly feels like moments ago we were in the depths of winter with crazy snow that never seemed to go away, and yet here we are headed straight for the colder months again, seemingly in the blink of an eye. I've found myself looking back this week on photos, very much giving my own take on Facebooks 'this time last year' pop up, and I can't quite believe the difference. Sure it doesn't feel like a hot minute since we were donning woolly hats and wellies, but the photos show me just how much life has changed it that time period. My boys are most definitely boys now and really shaking away the last elements of babyhood - it's bittersweet but I just love reflecting back and seeing how much they've grown.

BLOGS ARE DYING? I DON'T THINK SO

This month, more than any previously, I've seen the debate on whether blogs are dying and losing their value, constantly. It's across social media, magazines are declaring it and almost every other form of printed news. As a blogger, I'm obviously from a biased standpoint no matter how rationale I try to be about the situation and can't give a fully unclouded view. Would I be wrong to suggest this may be an age thing, that people of older generation aren't turning towards online because they were reared in a world in which it didn't exist for so long? I have to say that I think newspapers and magazines have vested interests by trying to play down how influential bloggers are now. Millennials undoubtedly turn towards online activity to get the fix that print once provided and I do think that the written publications are threatened by this, it's a scary thought for them. They can't provide the raw honesty that bloggers can and it's something that I think sets us above them by a large mile.

WHAT NICHE ARE YOU ANYWAY?

It's really easy in the blogosphere to lose sight of your worth as a blogger. I certainly did, I took quite a big knock a few months back when an email landed in my inbox and told me something that I'm sure had they known the power behind the words, probably wouldn't have said it. 'You're not really part of any niche, maybe you should work on that'. It felt stabby and a little back handed, even though I know deep down the words were meant as constructive criticism, I just saw criticism, which if I'm totally honest isn't something I've had to deal with too many times as a blogger. I know that I'm in a minority and I should take it on the chin, but I let it affect me, I let myself feel completely defined by these words, words that were essentially just the opinion of a stranger.

I JUST PREFER TO BE BEHIND THE CAMERA

I've tried really hard lately, to put myself in pictures more, as one of my 2018 goals I feel like I've done quite well. Though I rarely show the photos, whenever I have my camera and I'm snapping away pictures of the boys, I try my best to grab a couple with myself in the frame even when I really don't want to. To be honest the whole being in front of the camera lark isn't my cup of tea, though I love photography and scrolling aimlessly through social media to see what my favourite families have been up to through their inspiring images, I certainly don't enjoy being the focal point. And I think, that's ok.

BLOG TIPS: HOW TO GET BLOG WORK

Everyone's first question when they realise blogging can be a career is 'How do you earn money?'. Realistically nobody is paying me to sit here and write my inner thoughts every day, as lovely as that would be. I don't have a set wage and the money I earn completely varies dependant on an unlimited amount of things, but the point is still there, bloggers do get paid. At least the those who are making a job of it. The question remains the same, how? How do bloggers earn money, how do you find paid work, does paid work find you?

'BLOGGING ISN'T A JOB'

If you were anywhere near social media last month, you will have seen, or experienced the ripples of the whole blogger vs hotel fiasco. It blew up, and while I felt absolute outrage on behalf of the influencer Elle Darby, it raised a big point - blogging truly isn't seen as a career option. I've known this deep down for some time, the odd comment here and there, but honestly it's generally from a generation that I don't feel grasp the concept of modern technology. How can I explain to my 70 year old Nan, who grew up in an era where the nearest phone was three streets away in a box - that suddenly I can ring somebody across the world on a computer? Never mind the fact I'm earning an income from what she essentially see's as 'doing nothing'. It's easy to assume that someone who sits on a computer at home, is doing what the other 99% of the population who sit at computers in their homes do - mess around, play games, chat on social and other general nothingness. Usually when someone heads to work, it's a specific zone, whether it's your office, a supermarket floor, in a lorry, there's a designated area in which you need to be, to be seen as working. Blogging doesn't fit that criteria, I can work from my phone on the go, my laptop in a coffee shop, or even head out to an 'event' and it look like a total jolly. It's all still work, just as it would be if I was scanning items on a conveyor belt - yet, still, it's completely unrecognised.

SOMETIMES BLOGGING SUCKS

I love being a blogger, it was a complete hobby move and the reality that it's now turned into an income is still astonishing to me. It's never something I'm complacent about and I'm more than aware that the income stream could slip away at any point - that's one of the downsides of being a blogger. One of many, just like any other job there are things that happen that I really, really wish didn't and in those jobs you generally just have to keep quiet and plod on as to not put your workplace into disrepute. However with blogging it works a little different doesn't it? I can quite openly express every little thing that really grinds my gears in the word of blog and I'm sure I wont be the first or last to encounter these issues.

MY BLOGGING ADVICE

Today I'm sharing six tips that I wish I had known when I started blogging. The blogging world has changed a lot in the last four years, but I feel if I had known some of these tips then life could have been a lot easier over that time. Blogging is constantly evolving,  I'm still learning vast amounts each day and I thought if I could write down some tips that I thought would have been invaluable to me over the course of my time with a blog then it might be helpful to someone else. Of course these are all circumstantial to me and other people will have different views and opinions.

FINDING TIME TO BLOG

I think one of my most asked questions, is How do you manage to blog with two Children? And if I'm honest it's not something that just clicked into place, I have times when it's a piece of cake and there are other days when it's seriously difficult to get anything done or be productive - it's always worth remembering just how unpredictable life and definitely children can be, so you do need to be organised. Let's also be realistic here, blogging is not my job so it doesn't really come near to the top of my priorities, but it's something I do enjoy and have started to make an income from so there are times when I just have to focus and get on with things. Enough rambling, I wanted to make this post to detail a few things that I found helped when learning to juggle two children, a household and a blog.

'Good Exposure'