Tri color bangle ℅ Chelsea Charles
Asos coat, sold out (similar); ℅ Burnt Russet Numph top, via Surfdome; H&M skirt, similar; Steve Madden boots; Legacy Fleece tights; Ray-ban sunglasses.
I had an an epiphany of sorts a couple of weeks ago. I’m a keeping track of my blog stats kind of girl, recording things in graphs and charts and analyzing how and why it works. I love digging into my stats and seeing what works, what doesn’t, and trying to make it better. However, I realized something while doing this. Some of the posts I LOVED writing didn’t always get the best response, or truthfully, the response I was looking for. I felt great writing them out, and hitting publish made me feel all warm inside, yet the “numbers” were different than I had anticipated.
This was a problem for me. It made me feel less and like I was missing something. Until I bought these Lara Casey Power Sheets and began writing out my goals and what made me happy, versus what was bringing me down. I thought to myself, “isn’t this MY blog, a place for ME to write what I want, post what I want and make MYSELF happy?” While it’s great to be smart about growing your blog (there’s definitely a balance of writing for you and for the business), and running the business side of things is weirdly enjoyable for me as well, I need to pay attention to the real truth of this space. Instead of wondering why my page views may not be as huge as other blogs some days, I still have amazing people that show up every day to read what I have to stay. I am building relationships and truly value how I can engage with those that comment and email me. I am HONORED to have anyone read what I write and take the time to comment.
I run this blog as a business, it is something I wish to build into a true career for myself, and it’s on it’s way. I can stay at home with my babies and WRITE and wear CUTE STUFF and get paid for it. That is amazing stuff. In doing this it is easy to get caught up with doing what needs to be done for business sakes, but I sat down a week or so ago and really narrowed down what I like best about this space. I found that I LIKE TO WRITE. To be able to label myself a writer, an online publisher, someone who’s words affect those around me in a positive way. This has nothing to do with my stats and how many page views I get. Does this mean I don’t pay attention to my stats? Of course not. I check them multiple times a day, analyze what is being read and what is popular, but I’m no longer linking my blog post’s SELF WORTH by these numbers. If writing a certain piece makes me happy, creates meaning for those that read it and adds USEFULNESS to those around me? That’s what counts.
I choose carefully what I share here. Often it is deeply personal and introspective, sometimes it is frivolous and funny, and sometimes it is something I love and get paid for and I want to share it with you. Nothing posted is fly by night, or not thought over carefully before publishing. I hope you know that. I hope you know that whether I have 1 page view or a thousand, I value you and thank you for showing up. You are helping me live my dream and I’m grateful.
