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When you’re faced with several changes all at once, there’s two things you can do: 1) break down or 2) take control.
I chose 1 and 2.
It wasn’t the easiest, but blogging has really helped me face a lot of my fears. It does help that much of what I do today relates to what I did back when I worked for a small digital publishing company in New Jersey.
Yes, You Can!
I’ve never considered myself to be the best writer, yet some of my family and friends have always told me how great I write. Because there’s always room for improvement, I picked up “Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content” by Ann Handley. Her book is a guide for anyone who is looking to focus on writing for an audience, or even for themselves.
I’ve connected with Ann in the past for a content marketing event we put together at my previous job. Standing next to Ann made me feel like a teenager seeing one of her favorite boy bands. I didn’t need her autograph because I had something better at the time. I had read several of her posts on ways to improve my content. I was young and eager to learn more.
Since launching Motherhood Through My Eyes, I’ve been my biggest critic, but not in a bad way. I’ve always believed a good book can take you anywhere, and many of the points Ann mentions in hers has led me to create one of the best types of content for brands.
It’s been less than two months since I got my laptop back, and I’m so thankful. For almost a year I managed my blog from my iPhone, and unless I told you about it, you wouldn’t know the difference. It’s amazing how much you can do from your smartphone these days!
During the time that I was using my iPhone, I reached out to a lot of companies through social media. I was a lot more focused and strategic about everything. Whenever the kids were down, I was up working on my next piece. This often meant I had to wake up at 4am and clock out by 10pm. I was overwhelmed, but it paid off.
Just as I was feeling overworked with managing a household and a blog, a fellow blogger had published a book. It wasn’t her first, nor will it be her last, but this one resonated with me.
When you use your blog for business you have to learn how to hustle. I spoke with Jeff recently about some ideas I came up with for a brand I was pitching. He laughed and said I was becoming a salesperson. He knows how much I really hate selling, but like my good friend Sarah from ND Consulting says, “Bloggers are in the business of sales.”
Creating a set schedule allowed me to build meaningful relationships, not only with brands but other bloggers as well. Monday through Friday, like a typical work week, I write, create and publish. Oh, and we can’t forget promo! That’s something that happens on an on-going basis.
By giving myself time to work on my blog, I avoid cutting into family time to answer an email. This was a huge problem I had to overcome. My blogging friends have really helped me in the transition.
Want to purchase any of the three books I’ve mentioned? Click on any of the links below: