Blogging Behind The Scenes – Why Blog?

Welcome to the first post in the ‘Blogging Behind The Scenes’ series. Throughout the ‘Blogging Behind The Scenes’ series both myself and a group of bloggers will be sharing our experiences and advice upon a range of blogging related topics, this week we are focusing upon the all important question ‘Why Do You Blog?’.

Why Do I Blog?

A question I am often asked having told people that I am a blogger is ‘Why Do You Blog?’. There are many reasons why people first start blogging all of which are valid and unique.

I first began blogging using the LiveJournal platform back when I was a teenager. As you can imagine most of my posts were filled with hormone fuelled teenage angst. I wasn’t particularly talented at writing back then nor did I have a focus other than yet another teenage outburst which realistically who in their right mind would wish to read?  Thankfully I got real, deleted my Live Journal and grew up!

Following falling pregnant back in 2008 I began recording videos to keep a journal of sorts to look back upon family memories. I eventually plucked up the courage to upload my videos and created a YouTube channel which still exists on which I began Vlogging.

Over time I became a part of a community if you will, back then Vlogging was fairly new and frowned upon here in the UK and most of the Mums/ Moms that I met lived in America. After a while I decided to cut back on my videos and to start writing as it was a medium which I felt more comfortable with.

I first began ‘Mums Baby Magazine’ back in 2009 shortly after having our son. Being a first time Mum I felt overwhelmed at the huge amounts of information that were constantly being thrown my way. There was so much to learn, so many products available and quite frankly finding my parenting path felt much like navigating my way through a minefield.

For this reason I began sharing useful tips, information and honest product reviews through Mums Baby Magazine to pass on what I had learnt to other parents in hope that they may find it of use.

Mums Baby Magazine became really popular and over time I began being offered numerous products to review and to share. Soon enough I realised it was simply too much trying to juggle an online magazine with being a part-time working Mum. I therefore closed the site in 2014 shortly after having our second child.

Come late 2015 when I found I had a little more time on my hands I quickly realised that I felt something was missing. I loved writing, web design and all things technically orientated. With it being New Years Eve, I had consumed the best part of a bottle of Baileys and had decided to start afresh. I found myself signing up for a new domain and following tinkering and twiddling with logo design and such like I eventually launched my blog, ‘RachelSwirl‘.

I hoped to document the day-to-day of Motherhood, to once again share tips, tricks and to support other parents through their journey. Parenting is certainly no walk in the park, it can be damn right challenging, hugely overwhelming and at times utterly hilarious. I felt that I had to record my journey as a Mother in some way of another and so I once again became a blogger.

I love writing my blog, it’s massively cathartic and a fantastic way in which to record our memories as a family. I have once again become a part of a blogging community and have had the chance to meet many other bloggers and vloggers some of which have become close friends through conferences, social media and such like.

I am incredibly lucky to have been offered a range of opportunities such as product reviews as well as collaborative and sponsored work through my blog. This is something which I really enjoy but if I were to be totally honest it isn’t the reason why I blog.

I blog quite simply because it’s something which I greatly enjoy and which I can look back upon in years to come.

Why Do Bloggers Blog?

I asked a number of other bloggers why they first chose to start and write a blog, here are some of their responses:

“I started it as a journal to record what I did each day with my grandson, I look after him whilst his parents work. It has developed into much more than that. A place I can share what little I know or share my opinion on something.”

www.teddybearsandcardigans.com

“I was a 19-year-old student when I got pregnant. I was given the Emma’s Diary magazine and I couldn’t relate to it in the slightest. She was going to antenatal classes and whingeing about not being able to drink wine and eat cheese; I was doing a full-time drama degree, living in a room in a student house with my boyfriend and terrified. I started my blog as a more relatable “Emma’s Diary” for younger parents, and kept it going when people started getting in touch with me to say they found it useful. “

www.thespeedbump.co.uk

“I started blogging when I fell pregnant. I was increasingly working with and managing the guys in charge of social media at work and felt out of my depth so I decided it would be my ‘maternity project’. I also wanted to document our lives together as we became a family of three and it’s grown from there.

Now, I use it as a form of stress-relief; I love writing and finding it calming to sit down in the evening and get my thoughts and feelings out there. It’s also made me focus on taking nice photos which is an unexpected bonus, it means I’ve taken the time to document my child’s life really well which is giving us a lovely keepsake to look back on! Oh and I’m now a nightmare at work when it comes to social media, I actually understand what they’re trying to get away with!”

 https://devonmama.com

“I started as a way to test out my digital skills. Just before I found out I was pregnant, I’d applied on a whim to be social media manager for a big U.K. Wedding blog and was amazed to get interviewed. I didn’t get the job but once I fell pregnant, I liked the idea of perhaps doing digital freelance work post-baby that might allow for more working flexibility.

I started the blog initially just to see how well I could market it and ‘learn on the job’ and was amazed how much I fell in love with it. I enjoyed having something that I had complete control over (especially at a time when I felt at odds with my line manager at work, and my body was changing at an alarming rate). Now it’s a real source of joy for me. I love having a way to record and keep precious family memories, but I’m more grateful for all the things I’ve learned and how much I feel I’ve improved. It’s done wonders for my self-confidence.”

www.littlepicklesmom.com

“I felt really lonely when my baby was a few months old. I’d just moved house, my partner had started a new job with a 3 hour commute and I had no friends close by. I found it easier to write down how I was feeling because my partner was so stressed with his job and I could brag about my baby as much as I wanted online! I could also talk about how i was feeling about my previous miscarriage, despite having a baby in my arms, without judgement.”

www.Iamcrabstix.com

“After leaving teaching a few months back, blogging gave me a creative outlet to document my twins’ childhood. It’s also helping me learn new skills and gives me an excuse for spending too much time on social media.”

https://mummy2twindividuals.wordpress.com

“I started when I had my second daughter as I realised that time goes so quickly and I wanted to record all the little memories as much as I could so I wouldn’t forget. I also loved reading blogs and that inspired me to start my own.”

www.wemadethislife.com

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those bloggers involved within this post for their time and information.

Should you fancy being part of the series and sharing some of your own ideas or expertise then please feel free to join the ‘Blogging Behind The Scenes’ Facebook group’, we’d love to hear from you! Alternatively you can get in touch via email, drop me a message via social media or add your comments below.