Each week we invite a different blogger to submit a guest post and tell us what’s on their mind, along with selecting their 10 favourite blog posts for our Friday Ten at Ten round-up.
This week our guest editor is Annwen, from Ramblings Of A Suburban Mummy (you can catch her as @suburban1mummy on Twitter). Annwen will be back on Friday with her Ten at Ten, but has been having some interesting thoughts this week on being a confident blogger, despite only having been blogging for 10 months;
I started blogging in June 2011, my youngest child was nearly 5 months old and it’s fair to say that I was a bit of low ebb. My pregnancy was a bit of a nightmare, and being signed off work at 23 weeks shook my confidence and by the time the blog came about my confidence in both my body and myself was at an all-time low. My body had let me down so badly during pregnancy and mentally that had stripped me of my confidence.
Blogging has given me confidence in ways I could never have dreamed. When you hit publish on a post and then people take the time to read and comment on it it’s empowering. It gives you a boost, and I never fail to get a rush of excitement when I realise someone has commented on something I have written.
Then came the blogging events. My first blogging event I was sure would be full of all these confident, successful women and that I would be the gibbering wreck in the background. I was surprised to find that a number of the ladies were quite shy and quiet; often in complete contrast to their online personas. Don’t ask me why, but that made me feel confident too. I realised that I wasn’t shy, or particularly quiet but I was ‘out of the game’ in terms of adult interaction. So I utilised those blogging events to my complete advantage, not just to improve my blog and its image but also to improve my confidence. Each event I attend gets just that little bit easier – I know that I can walk into a room full of bloggers and hold my own. That’s something I couldn’t do a few months ago.
At times blogging knocks that new found confidence, when my scores drop, or stats aren’t as high as I might like. I find myself slipping, sliding and falling back towards my unconfident self. But when I feel that happening I take a step back and remember why I do this and why I will keep on doing this (as long as people read and comment on my blog…).
How about you? Has blogging given you confidence in the ‘real world’? Is your online personality a simple reflection of who you really are? Or do you find it easier to be that confident, witty and entertaining person you know you are inside when there’s a screen between you and the person you’re talking to?
About Sally
Sally Whittle is founder of the Tots100, Foodies100, BlogSummit and the MAD Blog Awards. When she's not working, she can be found blogging at Who's the Mummy, or having fun with her 7 year old daughter, Flea.
I think I’m more myself, outgoing and fun in person than on my blog. I think not being able to see people’s reactions inhibits me a lot, and since I don’t necessarily get a lot of comments on my blog, it makes me worry I’m somehow offensive.
I like to judge a situation for myself, and online I find it harder to do. I love meeting new people, though, and I can’t wait to get a chance to hobnob at upcoming conferences.
It is harder to do online isn’t it? Sometimes tone of voice doesn’t come across in the way you hope/think it will
I started blogging around the same time as you, but I don’t feel that confident at it yet. I’m hoping I will get there as I do love it, and I totally agree with you about comments being empowering. I need to blog more and worry less I think! I haven’t written about myself since having a diary as a teenager and I still feel like I’m trying to find my writing style.
It’ll happen, the thing with your diary, you knew it was only for you and therefore it didn’t matter what you wrote, who you offended etc but in the public eye there is so much more to consider. You’ll get there
It’s funny isn’t it, that so much of our confidence comes from other people’s approval. If I’m honest, I know mine does. I’m a newish blogger and I love it. Sometimes I’m happy with what I’ve written, friends tell me it makes them laugh or cry, and I get a glow of confidence. But then I wonder if they’re just saying that because they know me, and my confidence ebbs. Then I get a comment from someone I don’t know – another glow. But when I check my ranking or googleanalytics, another ebb. I haven’t been to a blogging event yet, but I can imagine feel like the shy, new kid at school. Sometimes I wish I could just blog for the love of it, but I know part of the goal is approval. I’ll have to work on those ratings (:
Blogging for the love of it is something I try to do, stats do draw me in occasionally but I truly don’t focus on that now. I’m enjoying what I’m doing and for now that’s getting me through a tough time so it’s doing its job!
Thanks for sharing this, I thought it was just me! I am very new to blogging and sometimes when I click publish I suddenly have an attack of ‘what will other people think’? And have even been known to go back and change it lol! Hopefully I will get more confident, it’s more my friends and family that I am shy about sharing with.
I’ve always read my posts back and my husband tells me he likes that my blog sounds like when I tell a story so I guess it must be in my ‘voice’ , my worry is that my voice doesn’t translate to other people
My blog’s about the same age as yours and I love being able to write about exactly what I want. I love it when people comment because it gives me confidence that I’m on the right lines but then again when you don’t get comments it’s a bit of a worry. I find that the best way to blog is actually to read it to myself afterwards – and check that it sounds like my voice! Hopefully it mostly does.