What’s My Niche Again?

All right you guys…

I have spent Little Fish’s entire nap time trying to figure this out. I am writing this post because today marks TWO weeks since my first post on this blog. So I thought I would write a little bit about my experience.

First off, let me say that I have been reading about blogging for a long time.  I stay up late on Pinterest reading all those dang “Start a blog in five minutes” or “Make a gajillion dollars a month blogging” posts. And now that I have actually STARTED the blog, I stay up even later.

Here is what I have learned:

1. BLOGGING IS HARD.

I have a newfound respect for people who do this as a living. The learning curve is a lot sharper than I ever imagined. Once I think I have one thing figured out, there is something new to learn. I have read articles, listened to podcasts, watched videos, and I STILL feel like I know nothing. I am John Snow reincarnated… er… re-re-incarnated.

2. MOMMY BLOGGING IS EXTRA HARD.

So anybody that knows anything about being a parent understands that as soon as Mom wants to do anything even remotely “Me Time Related,” a little bell goes off and causes the baby to cry. Or in my case seeing as I have a toddler, commence climbing as close to the top of my head as humanly possible and holding on for dear life and asking for all the things.

The first post I wrote two weeks ago was actually deleted by Little Fish as I neared the end in some ninja flash-of-light baby coding move that I still don’t understand. I even selected undo and it was completely blank. Even with the auto-save. Now I do everything on Word first. A little extra respect for the mama bloggers out there. Or daddies. Whatevs.

3. WHO AM I AND WHAT DO I HAVE TO OFFER??

… Still working on that one.

Starting a blog has almost caused me to have a mini crisis of self. I actually sat on the idea for months psyching myself out of ever possibly having any original thought. If I came up with an idea, I would immediately Google it to see if it has been done before, which of course it has. I finally bit the bullet and decided that great minds think alike and I can still write about the same general ‘ish in my own way.

4. NO REALLY… WHO AM I?

I have so many interests, and I know what I love. But what does that look like, and how do I pull it all together so that people look at my site, and go, “Oh Yeah, sure. I know her.” Aside from trying to figure out what kind of content I would write about, it took me some serious reading and reflection to realize I need a brand. This has taken some serious time and I am still figuring it out.

I have already gone back and started from scratch, and it is still evolving. I suppose it always will be. I guess that is what I realized is:

5. I NEEDED THIS.

As a former teacher turned stay at home mom, in the last two weeks I have discovered that learning about blogging has been really good for me. It is giving me a creative outlet and I am actually REALLY into it. Anybody else feel that way?

I really hope that I can continue to learn and grow my blog as well as find a way to help others in the process. If you are a new blogger and you are reading this: play around with Pic Monkey. It is a free and simple photo editing platform to help you discover what your brand will look like.

ALSO! Follow Lindsay Ostrom’s advice from Pinch of YUM to study inspiring blogs OUTSIDE of your niche, and stop looking too hard at blogs in your own niche because they will PSYCH YOU OUT. This totally happened to me. Lesson learned. Check out her link on avoiding blogger burnout HERE.

In short,  JUST BE YOU. Let your light shine through.

Also go outside and get some fresh air, because that is who I am and what I am about. At least that much I know…I think. Mostly. For now.

Stay tuned for my future posts on blogging as I learn new lessons along the way.

Love,

The Open Air Mom