Figuring Out Who I Am in the Blogging World

AD – This post is a paid advertorial with Femme Luxe but all thoughts are my own

I’ve been blogging for a long-ass time. Every month that goes by, there’s a small part of me that can’t quite believe I’m STILL doing this. Throughout school, I was notorious for giving something a go and giving up on it within a year. Even jobs pre-blogging didn’t stick around for very long. I was always after something else. Something different. Something more.

So I’m going to take a second to pat myself on the back for sticking with this for almost a decade. A lot has changed along the way but the fact is, I’m still here. I’m still writing. I’m still enjoying it. And that’s something worth celebrating.

But I’m never one to beat around the bush and sugar coat things. Figuring out who I am in this blogging / internet / online / influencer world has been tough. Borderline impossible at times. And here I am, almost a decade later, still pretty unsure of where I stand.

I don’t often post a ramble, a word-vomit or a personal piece but this is certainly something that’s been on my mind for some times. Some days I don’t think about it. Other days, it consumes me. But writing always helps me in some small way. It allows me to breathe through the confusion – even just for 10 minutes.

Before I continue with my ramble, I just want to share the latest pieces from Femme Luxe that I picked up. The first one being this Black PU Faux Leather Long Sleeve Blazer, which is SO FAR from anything I’d usually wear or pick up in a shop but I actually proper love it.

It’s really comfortable and fits like a dream. I’m a sucker for a blazer or a jacket, so this is a great one to add to my collection and there will certainly be a lot of outfits that I could jazz up with a jacket like this! The second thing, is this Rust Ribbed Midi V Neck Jumper Dress.

This dress is a great option for Autumn and Winter. It’ll keep you a bit warmer than a regular dress so would be a great piece for going out and about outdoors in the colder months! I love the colour – again, very Autumnal. It’s super soft and comfortable too. I usually go for black dresses or even denim shorts with tights and boots in the Autumn but a jumper dress is a nice alternative

So anyway, this blogging journey of mine has been on a rollercoaster ride. Starting as a book blogger in 2013, starting my own book touring business, quitting that because I well and truly fell out of love with it and going full-time with my blog instead. Going from reviewing books every day, to talking about lifestyle based topics, to where I am now, with a predominant focus on self-care, personal growth and wellness.

I’ve struggled with the whole niché question. I went from being a book blogger through and through, to writing a little bit of everything, only to be told that you NEED to niché down in order to get anywhere. Well, I managed to get somewhere without doing that. So that was advice I didn’t need to follow.

I did course after course, spend hundreds and hundreds of pounds to learn from others in the industry about what I should be doing. Instead of just following my heart and doing what was right.

I was struggling to know what I should be. Or who I even was.

I then went down the route of “blogging guru” and excuse me whilst I vomit into my hands. I never proclaimed to be an expert – I’m REALLY REALLY not – but I thought establishing myself as a blogger who writes about blogging, helps bloggers with blogging and talks about blogging 24/7 was what I wanted.

And it was, for a while. Until I ended up resenting that too. I:

Wrote 2 eBooks about blogging (you can find them here), which I enjoyed at first but don’t promote anymore. I also spent months writing an eBook about pitching to brands, which I actually kinda liked but it didn’t end up doing as well as I’d hoped. I think this was partially me, not having the tools and motivation to give it a proper launch.

And partially because this “blogging guru” niché was growing rapidly by the day. Before long, everyone started talking about blogging. There was so much advice out there, it was impossible to know where to look. The niché was already saturated.

I spent MONTHS creating my Blogging Mindset Mastery course, which I ended up closing after just a few months. I felt like a fraud, I couldn’t keep up with the promotion. I was scared of failing. I quit. Again.

I also started to create a Patreon – which I gave up on – and a free workshop in preparation for a new course I was going to build. I gave up on that too.

Earlier this year, I spend hundreds of pounds on a business course, only to realise that I didn’t want to start a new business. I didn’t want to create a course. I don’t want to do loads of workshops. I just don’t want to.

Oh and don’t get me STARTED on the monumental failure which was my book, Finding Your Way Back To You, which was supposed to be published in 2020 before I (and all the authors) got spectacularly fucked over by the publisher.

Writing all that out, it feels like a lot of failure. It sounds like a girl who has absolutely NO IDEA what she wants from this career or where she wants to go next. And even 10 years on, I still don’t really know. I still feel like I’m rolling with the punches.

So will I ever find my place in the blogging world?

Will I ever niché down?

Will I ever start a community that I can actually be motivated to keep up with?

Will I start a business or release a course?

Will I ever truly, truly find the place where I fit in this industry? Because as of right now, I don’t think I ever will. And I’m not sure how I feel about that.

I wrote about how I don’t think this job is my purpose in my blog post titled Maybe I Don’t Have a Purpose. And for that reason, I don’t feel under too much pressure to find my place.

At this rate, I’ve kind of just carved out my own place for myself. Hovering in the middle of nichés, not quite here but not quite there. Passionate about blogging but not quite enough. Growing through the phases only to find myself in a brand new and equally as confusing phase.

I’m not sure where else I’m going with this. But before I wrap up this monumental ramble, I just want to say that if you can relate to this, if you’re struggling to find your place in the blogging industry – whether you blog for a job like me, or as a hobby – it’s okay. Trust me, it’s okay.

It’s not life or death. It’s not make or break. It’s not the difference between success and failure. You can succeed. You don’t NEED to follow the crowd. You don’t need to write eBooks just because everyone else is. You don’t NEED to start a business because that’s what seems to be the thing to do right now.

Although sometimes it’s hard feeling like you’re not sure who you are in this industry, take comfort in that from this place right here, you can do and be absolutely anything you want and need to be.