You may even want to stop reading here. Yup now because I'm sure I'll be covering some recent posts that even my favorite bloggers have written.
I have a few pet peeves with blogging. I like to blog because I like to write. I actually like to write and not just share random pictures of bottles of liquor or a skirt that can be used for two different outfits. If people enjoy my writing, pictures, and anything else I share on here than that's awesome.
I blog because it's a lot of fun and I really, truly enjoy reading the stories of other people. But that being said, maybe I'm just not a cool kid. I've been blogging for over a year now and am so glad to have the readers that I do. I not only write for myself but on issues and things that I feel other people might care an ounce about. However bloggers, not excluding myself, care a lot about their self-appearance and branding themselves.
That's why it appears that some bloggers drink an obscene amount of alcohol and are in a constant haze of drunken stupor. My question is, are they constantly that drunk? *side-eye* I mean that's one helluva a trip on branding your blog.
This branding and levels of readership also quantifies absolute crap writing.
I talk about crappy writing a lot on this blog. I'm sorry, I'm a content snob.
I have been invited to participate in buy-in giveaways and I have seriously thought about it but I am still not comfortable with the idea. I don't care if you participate in buy-in giveaways because the prize is awesome and allows for people to discover different blogs.
It's just not for me.
I don't want people to follow my blog, Twitter or Instagram because I threw in money into a pot. I've also seriously started to dread sponsoring other blogs for this same reason. When I visit a blog, do I check out the sidebars...no. If a blog can speak for itself, I'll find it and if they have quality posts then I become a loyal follower. This week alone I found two blogs that I just love (A Beautiful Mess and Delightfully Tacky). I want more readers but part of feels like if I can't step up my writing and posts, then the readership is an actual reflection of that.
I'm at a stage where despite not having a "ton of readers," I do get e-mails. What does that mean? It means that I don't get free product, which is fine, but I get told about it. So yes, I know about that fun clothing company opportunity that costs like $50 a month. You don't need to go out and buy a new dress as long as you can subscribe to our dress rental membership.
NO
NO
NO
I am always polite and considerate to people who e-mail me. But I am not interested in an opportunity for you to overcharge me or my readers on a dress subscription service. If I'm going to put down anything over $30 on a dress or outfit, I'm probably going to buy it from KiKi LaRue because I have been wanting to purchase a dress from there (plus I follow the company on Instagram and they always have great customer service). There is no way on God's Green Earth that I am going to subscribe to rent a dress for the cost of a dress. What are you smoking?
So I think it's safe to say that you e-mailing because you felt that I would be interested in an overcharged service was you making a wrong assumption.
Speaking of sponsorships, I have consistently seen companies sending product to bloggers who have zero credibility for, like sending children's products for a blogger to review who doesn't have children or glasses to someone who doesn't wear glasses. Insert Mean Girls quote: she doesn't even go here. As someone who studied marketing and advertisement, I'm going to tell you this, I am not going to trust the opinion of someone who doesn't wear glasses or contacts. Why? Because they don't know the annoyance of finding a pair that does not consistently fall down the bridge of your nose or that the arms of the glasses go too far past your ears or that they look nice with the shape of your face. I could go on and on because I've had glasses since fourth grade and not just for a tripod photoshoot. The second "what are you smoking" moment.
Finally, assumptions made on bloggers. When a blogger says that married life is difficult is because it is and that's no joke. There are certain events of a young person's life that are difficult. We all have bills and eat a lot of Ramen. However, the difference is that you combine that with not just living with another person but being unified with that person. You are sharing the same bank account and as easy as it is to share that in a sentence, it's a whole different enchilada when it comes to applying that in real life. You share everything and not just an apartment space. So those big girl and big boy loans become a shared asset and insurance, taxes, mortgages, etc. all become shared. I did all of those adult style bills while being single and of course after I got married as well and I can tell you that it's significantly more difficult as a married person. So when someone says that marital life is completely different than handling singledom responsibilities, they are telling the truth. It's certainly not glitter and rainbows either way, but do not think that marriage is going to be this cake walk because you've got yourself a career and have doing the big girl thing for awhile now.
I already have a post up but I just wanted to rant. I needed to get this off my chest because despite trying to put out quality posts I see this nonsense up all of the time. I like a variety of bloggers and I don't think we should all be the same because we're not. However, somethings just don't make sense to me.
I'm not going to end this on a funky note though. I did participate in Bout of Books' Read-a-Thon with Twitter chats called TweetChats and it has been a blast. This has been a great way to discover different bloggers and people who just enjoy reading. If you like to read, need an excuse to sit down and read, or have a pile of books calling your name, check out Bout of Books. It was such a fun opportunity and that experience kind of showed me that I need to re-tailor my blogging experience.
