Oh blogging, the topic never gets old. That is unless you don’t blog and in which case the topic is old before it even got brought up. However, for all of you who have a space of your own on the interwebs, I think you can agree that the art of talking about blogging can be a fascinating hobby and somehow never seems to get old. Similar to my thoughts on staring at Channing Tatum for hours on end.
If you step back and dissect the act of blogging it can be so simple yet so hard, so satisfying yet so frustrating, so high and then so low, basically it’s like a fourteen year old getting her period for the first time. SO MANY EMOTIONS. One minute we think we have it all figured out and the next minute we see somebody else who has it truly all figured out (or so we think). We question why things work for them but not for me, we question why others don’t do things the way we do, basically we question everything that doesn’t even need to be turned into a question because we are women and that is what we do. With all that being said though, there is one thing that I have picked up on when it comes to blogging (and life in general) that will never steer you in the wrong direction and can take you to greater blogging heights: genuineness. That’s right. Something as simple (and not so simple) as that. The art of being grateful, showing appreciation, and accepting gratitude. I’ll be the first to admit that one or more of the above don’t always come easy to me, and it’s not because I am not grateful, it’s because I am not always intentional with showing it. I absolutely love hearing from you readers, but I don’t always do a great job of showing that to you by corresponding back or leaving you a nice little note out of the blue. It’s one of those things that I think we as bloggers undervalue and quickly deem either “not me” or “me”. However, if you want to start analyzing page views, comments, overall communication with readers, it’s something that we have to focus on. Genuine gratitude breeds genuine readers which breeds a better blog for both you and for them.
Basically all of this came to my mind when I was thinking about a certain blogger who excels in this area. Not only does she show me love on a regular basis, she shows MANY (many) people love on the daily, and the best part of all–she means it. Helene is the real deal and as jealous as I can get about wishing I had more of her genuine abilities, she teaches me things. She is a true gem in this online world which I can assure you means she is also a gem in the “real” world. I think all of us bloggers could learn a thing or two from Helene when it comes to being a presence here on the internet. In case you don’t know who I am referring to, allow me:
Founder and creator of LIY, Erin turned her dream of a hobby blog into a full-time career which she now runs alongside the LIY team! When not in front of her computer screen [with a La Croix or wine in hand] or in front of a mirror taking mirror selfies, you can find Erin spending time on the water, cuddled up with her two pups and husband most likely watching the latest Shark Tank episode, or getting lost in an easy beach read.
