Why start a blog?
For me it is something that I’ve wanted to do for, oh, about the last 5 years. Embarrassing but true. I love to read blogs, on all sorts of subjects – style, food, personal finance and many more topics. I like that feeling of getting to know the person behind the blog. It’s like having an extra friend that shares ideas and information and wisdom and I can carry it in my bag on my phone or my laptop!
At first I thought a style blog would be my great contribution to the blogosphere. I love clothes and fashion, and I love to read blogs and magazines on the topic, so it was a no brainer. But when I started writing posts and taking photos I realised that my passion for personal style wasn’t broad or deep enough to fuel a blog long term. It’s not a big enough part of my life. And more importantly I didn’t really want to make it a bigger part of my reality. I still follow my favourite style bloggers and Instagram lovelies and enjoy every moment of it. But it wasn’t the topic that I could get my teeth into and commit to regular writing and research.
If you’ve read my previous post How to make your life plan then you know that 2017 was the first year I sat down and made a plan of what I want to achieve in the next 5 years. One of the things that made it onto the list was starting a blog. There were no wild goals of 1000 subscribers or anything like that. Just starting a blog was my goal. 5 years of thinking about it and not doing it made me just want to take that first step.
And here we are.
So what’s the motivation?
There’s a lot of information out there about how blogging can be a business, or bloggers who make millions. But that’s not what appealed to me. It was that feeling of sharing, of having pen pals, of writing for a purpose and for my own enjoyment. Keeping a record of my thoughts and ideas, and being able to look back on them. All of this is what motivates me.
So when I decided to start One Belle Life, I chose to name it a lifestyle blog. Because that’s as close a description as I can get for what I want to explore. All of the joys and struggles that I encounter in life and the ways I navigate them. And I want to share my stories with you, in the way you would share with friends over brunch. Or even over pizza and tears when it’s a disaster. We all sometimes need that bit of external input and I hope that this blog finds you and informs you, reassures you, and inspires you to tackle your problems, embrace your successes, and create a beautiful life for yourself.
Who inspired me?
Jordanna Rowan used to run a blog called House of Muses which I discovered through Pinterest and fell in love with – I was really inspired by her 5 Minute 5 Year Plan and I explore my interpretation of that in my post How to Make a Life Plan. Jordanna has now moved to Wolf & Wild Designs which is full of brilliant articles about blogging, business, and mindset. She is an incredibly resourceful, wise, and likeable writer – you just want to be her friend! Jordanna really inspired me to open my mind up to the fact that I could be capable of creating a blog, and is full of excellent advice about starting any new venture and how your mindset can make or break you.
A lot of people in the blogosphere (especially in the fashion and personal style area) know of Jane Aldrige’s Sea of Shoes. I started following this blog as a 17 year old and fell in love with Jane’s vivid personal style, and the way that blogging was her way of sharing her love of vintage and shoes with the world. Seeing how Jane has maintained her passion for style, and the way that she has stayed true to her voice inspired me to follow my interest and passions and stay true to my own vision and bring my perspective to be shared.
I discovered Adriene Mishler when I was browsing Youtube for some easy yoga videos to follow along with at home. (I was not ready for face planting while trying to do a handstand). And then I found Yoga With Adriene videos and I realised I’d hit the jackpot! At this point I now also follow Adriene on Instagram and on her website, and her beautiful weekly emails that she rightly calls ‘love letters’. Yoga with Adriene is a website and blog which promotes Adriene’s philosophy of finding what feels good. Her generous contribution of weekly free yoga classes to Youtube as well as sharing her wonderful wisdom via email and Instagram, are completely inspiring. This aspect of serving your community by sharing your wisdom and your experiences to hopefully raise others up and inform them is what has been critical for me in making the leap to start this blog.
What’s the goal?
My goals are two-fold.
- I want to achieve this for myself, its something I’ve day dreamed about doing for years. I love to write and this is a way for me to develop my voice, my skill, and my passion for writing.
- But I also want to achieve this in order to share with you. I believe we all have important stories and wisdom to share with each other. And this is my place to offer up my ideas, my thoughts and my experiences to (hopefully) inspire you, inform you, and make you feel like you have a friend here ready to give you the support you need to succeed.
What about you?
If you have ever thought of starting a blog then these are the questions you need to ask yourself in order to start something that inspires you, that you love, and that you can sustain!
1.Why do I want to start a blog?
– You’ve got to get clear with yourself about why you want to start a blog in order to be able to pick what you want to write about, who you want to write for, and how you want to write!
2.What is my motivation?
– Do you want to show off a talent? Teach people a skill you know? Make money? Get honest about your motivation and you’ll be able to make a plan accordingly.
3.Who inspired me?
– Even if your inspirations aren’t bloggers in your genre, or even if they aren’t bloggers at all! This is where you pin down the things that draw you to a blog, that you want to make part of what you offer. This could be a writing style, a subject matter, or even just an atmosphere or vibe that you want to develop.
4.What’s the goal?
– Figuring out what you want to achieve at the beginning is the best way to set yourself up for success. Obviously your goals will develop and change (hopefully as you achieve them!) but starting out with a bit of vision will mean you’re already ahead before you start!
Tell me what you think!
How many of you are fellow bloggers? What was your thinking process when you started blogging? I’d be delighted to hear your blogging stories, I know I’ll be inspired!
You can always comment or contact me privately to ask any questions or suggest further blog posts!
Love, Isobel x
