Hello 2019!
Hi babes! If you’re new here, welcome! If you’re a long time reader, I’m glad you’re back :) Today I’m sharing a life chat all about my plans for the blog this year and what my mindset is like right now. To start, if you missed my 2019 goals blog post, you can read it here. I shared Rob & I’s goals for the year as well as a handful of goals I have for the blog. But let’s get into today’s post.
The blogging industry can be weird sometimes. It’s amazing in so many ways, i.e. creating community, inspiring others, sharing advice, etc.; but it’s becoming such an over saturated space. As a blogger, it can become exhausting feeling like I have to always be wearing a new outfit, sharing sales, curating my Instagram feed, growing my following, etc, etc. As a follower, I would imagine that it’s v hard to not feel like you have to keep up when there’s a constant flow of new, picture perfect content flooding your inbox & Instagram feed. And for some reason, all of the pressure and thoughts always comes back to Instagram.
While I do believe in curated content and pretty photos that are meant to inspire, it is so important to remember that Instagram is most definitely not reality. It’s simply a highlight reel of everyone’s best moments. With that said, don’t compare your behind the scenes to someone else’s highlight reel. You should never feel less than because of what someone else is posting on social media. There are plenty of girl bosses out there who you can follow for inspiration and also know that they are genuine humans, keep it real, and share their behind the scenes. (i.e., @daniellegervino, @whiskeyandlace, @morgbullard, @hernameissylvia, @bronwynbutler, @abigailmarygreen, @conveythemoment @littleblondebook .. I could keep going lol!)
With that said, one of my main goals for the blog this year is to be intentional when creating and sharing content. There’s so much meaning behind this. First, I want to share anything and everything that makes me happy. If it doesn’t “flow” with my Instagram, oh well. If it’s an item from a boutique I love but I can’t link it through liketoknow.it, that’s totally fine. If it means more life chats and real talk, I’m all about it. As long as I know that what I am posting is coming from my heart, that’s all that matters.
Second, my blog has always been my baby and I sometimes I feel like I neglect it because I’m so focused on Instagram. So this year means less focus on Instagram, more focus on my blog. There is SO much more I can share here on my blog as opposed to Instagram. I also know my blog will be here forever and Instagram certainly may not. Then I have moment where I think back to my vision when I started my blog. I wanted to create a place where I could share my outfits, favorite beauty finds, and life chats, all while fostering a genuine community for the every day girl to come and relate. I’ll admit, I lost sight of this vision because of the constant pressure of Instagram; however, this year I am going to truly focus on building blog content and showing up here consistently like I used to!
Third, my goal for my content is always quality over quantity; however, I do feel like the quality of my content has so much room for growth, so that is something I will be focusing on this year. I’ve struggled to find an editing style I absolutely love & honestly, I’m so over the entire preset trend. Everyone’s photos are starting to look the same. What’s so unique about that? Unless a photographer is making presets specifically for you, based on inspiration from feeds you like and the vibe you want to go for, I think it’s SUPER hard to just randomly buy presets and hope they work for your photos. I also understand that people prefer to see every day, in the moment iPhone shots on Instagram, which is fine for Instagram, but not for the blog.
In terms of quality, I’m going to be working with Jay from Twisted Oaks Studio (you probably know his name by now if you’ve been following for a while or saw my wedding photos). We are going to come up with an editing style that works for me. We’re also going to shoot a ton of content each month which I’m beyond excited about because he’s a bomb photographer and it will definitely help me plan my posts and be intentional.
When it comes to fashion, I will continue to share my fave items, when my fave retailers are having great sales, and all that good stuff. BUT, I want you to know, that is part of my job. I am here to share a variety of options, the best of the best, what’s new and items I love, that way you babes can pick and choose based on your needs and your budget. I never want any of you to feel like you have to buy everything I share and build this insane wardrobe with endless outfits. I know that is not everyone’s reality - it’s not even my reality, which all comes back to posting with intention. There is also SO much more to life than clothes. Seriously. So even though I will still share my personal style, I want you babes to know that there is so much more that defines me (and you!) than what you wear!
In terms of beauty related content, expect to see more! I have always been a beauty lover. Trying new products and sharing first impressions, reviews, and tutorials is what I enjoy the most! So, this year I want to be super consistent and share a ton more beauty content because I love it!!
Life updates and real talk will absolutely continue because you guys love them so much. I also want to incorporate more wellness content based on your requests! I have a bunch of ideas on how I am going to do this. I am hoping to launch a new wellness series during the second quarter of this year, so stay tuned!! I want to make sure everything about it is perfect and ready to go before I post anything! If you have any wellness related requests, please leave them in the comments of this post or send me an email so I can include them in my planning!
Home content is something that I know a lot of you want to see, and something that I definitely plan to start sharing more of. I share a lot on my Instagram stories, but our home is such a work in progress and that’s okay! We are taking things room by room and I will surely share before and afters here on the blog as the rooms are completed! One thing I’ve learned is that completing a room takes TIME (& money). I don’t want to settle for pieces I don’t love, so even though I may know exactly what I want, it may take some time to find the pieces I need to finish a space.
Last, if you want to stay connected, it would mean so much if you would subscribe at the bottom of this page! I am going to be launching a *weekend deals* newsletter in February, where I send an email every weekend full of the best sales that are going on! In addition, you will get an email every time there is a new blog post, and that’s it! <3 If you’ve made it this far, thanks so much for reading!! Without you, this blog would not be possible!
xoxo
