When I was a personal blogger (ie. blogging about my life and treating my blog as an online diary), I kept my blog private from everyone I knew in real life. People knew I had a blog, but not necessarily how to access it – I think. It wasn’t because I used my platform to spew hate, or that I would be embarrassed for my friends to read my thoughts and feelings. I was more embarrassed that blogging is one of my oldest and strongest passions. I love blogging but I always felt people thought this hobby was cringe or lame, so I shield myself from those assumptions by keeping my hobby secretive.
When I quit personal blogging for good and rebranded to a lifestyle blog (the blog you’re reading now!), I became more active on social media again – including creating an Instagram and TikTok page for my blog where I share fashion reels and mini daily life vlogs. Although I’m not garnering millions of views on my platforms, I was “out there” every time I hit publish.
As someone who kept their passion for blogging secretive for more than a decade, imagine my mind when I saw a notification that one of my friends followed my IG page (which is linked to all my other platforms)! Instantly, my mind started running with negative thoughts, even though this friend has always been supportive of everyone’s passions and interests for as long as I’ve known them. I even contemplated re-editing my existing posts – but for what?
Just in the nick of time, I stumbled across one of Erin Moriarty’s IG posts where she shared some pictures with the caption “Post it. Haters are gonna hate anyways.”
And that was all I needed.
I can’t be the only one with intrusive thoughts like this…
“Her content isn’t even that good.”
“Why is she posting like an influencer?”
“Who does she think she is writing about this?”
“Who even reads this stuff?”
“This is so cringe.”
But, the more I put myself out there, the more I became confident about filming in public, taking photos, and shamelessly plugging my blog. Blogging/content creation has improved my life in many ways:
- Continuously improving my writing.
- Keeps my creativity flowing.
- Keeps me learning about everything and anything when I read and work on blogs.
- Increases my confidence.
- Gets me out of my comfort zone.
- Continuously improve my speaking.
- Working with brands.
- Making money off my content.
- Improved work ethics.
If I let those intrusive thoughts prevent me from content creation, where would I be right now?
I’d be reading blogs and looking at IG profiles wishing I could do that. Wishing for a nice side hustle. Wishing I had that level of confidence. But all those things I listed above? They don’t come from wishing. They don’t come from letting the negative thoughts and whispers win.
If you have haters, it’s true – they’ll still hate. So, just post it. Just do it. Create that blog! Create that Instagram/TikTok page! It’s easier to talk negatively about someone than it is to put yourself out there. I can guarantee you that anyone who thinks negatively about your page, most likely wouldn’t have the drive or confidence to create something similar.
I’ve been following this finance influencer named Kristy Nguyen for a while. She was an unknown creator but kept going at it. She shared her experience where her co-workers found out about the page and mocked her for it. But fast forward to 6 months. She purchased her own house at 23 years old, makes $7-10k in social media, and gets invited to brand events. All while her previous colleagues are most likely watching her page wishing that could be them.
(Not all of us are on social media to make money. This is just an example of someone ignoring the hate and working on their content).
So yes, even though my pictures aren’t professionally done, and my blog doesn’t garner a million views, I’m still going to create content until I call it quits. Whether you’re creating your platform to make a little side hustle, or you want to create a community to share your interests, you never know what your blog/platform can lead you to! So, it’s better to ignore the negativity, take that first step, and put yourself out there if you’ve been wanting to create content for a while. As Nike said, just do it.
This post is so relatable! For the first six months, I think the only person in my real life who knew I had a blog was my mom, but like you I stopped worrying so much about what people might say after a point and just focused on writing because I enjoy it. I tell nearly everyone about my blog now lol. Thanks for sharing!
Awwe, so cute your mom knew about your blog early on! I’m glad you’re able to relate to this post. Isn’t it so much better to be open about our blogs, now? 🙂
Thanks for reading!