I love blogs. Before there was Instagram, Pinterest, and the other favorite social media platforms we have today, there were blogs. I started a photography blog back in 2011 and quickly fell in love with the world of blogging. Now here we are 7 years later and blogging is still my fav.
About a year ago, I started doing weekly Instagram Live videos. I am a huge advocate for using Instagram Live (read why here), but soon I realized it just wasn’t enough. I needed more. I couldn’t stand watching all my hard work disappear after the 24 hour window went by and my video was gone. It was hard to put so much effort into every photo and caption, only to realize no one would ever go back to see it after a week or two went by. I was pouring myself into my work… only for it to feel disposable.
I realized what I needed to do. I needed to start a blog, and it all boiled down to a few reasons:
Content Lifespan
It takes a lot of work to create great content. Whether it’s an Instagram Live video or a stellar photo and caption for a post, you want to get the most out of your efforts. Blogging allowed me to take my content to the next level. It’s not that I had to come up with brand new ideas or take a ton of new photos… I just had to put in a little more effort to get the content I was already creating ready for a blog post. And guess what? That blog posts lives a LOT longer than my daily Instagram posts or even my weekly Instagram Lives.
My blog posts aren’t going away. You can reference them at any time. I can continue to share them with anyone, whether they’re on social media or not. It takes a little bit of extra effort, but your content has a much longer lifespan and that means it can reach, impact, and help more people for a lot longer.
Creative Freedom
Every social media platform has it’s own rules and limitations. While blogging isn’t a complete free-for-all, you have a lot more creative freedom. From the amount of words and photos you post to the formatting, YOU are in control. It’s a powerful thing to be able to get your thoughts out in a way that is all your own. Sometimes on social media, it feels like we’re all doing the same thing… but in the blogging space, you have control, which makes it a lot easier to be creative and differentiate yourself from the pack.
A Space of Your Own
My Instagram feels like my own little cozy corner of the internet. But my blog? That feels like I have the whole room to myself, not just the corner. My blog is a space of my own, which I can decorate however I want to. I can invite people in to serve them and help them. You don’t own your social media – it’s like renting an apartment versus owning a house. In an apartment, your landlord could waltz in tomorrow and paint your walls lime green. If you owned a home, you could paint the walls whatever color you liked and there would be no one to stop you.
The risk of owning a home (or your space of the internet), is that along with greater control and ownership, becomes more responsibility. But it is so worth it.
So What’s Next?
I’m going to be honest – starting a blog is a lot of work and it’s not always easy. But don’t fret! Next week, I’ll be peeling back the curtain to share exactly how I started my blog, the platforms I use, and some best practices for you as you start your own.
Have questions about starting a blog? Leave it in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them in my next post!