Being A Blogger When Everyone Else Is One

It's a bit of a gloomy day here in Sri Lanka, but it's still beautiful. I can't start work yet due to technical difficulties, so I have time to relax. I'm looking out a beautiful lake with trees everywhere. The silence is calming, the only sounds I can here are the occasional birds flying by and cars at the road below. My house is high up, all I can really see is the lake. My dogs lay sound asleep outside, I wish I had their life sometimes. 

I'm taking time to collect my thoughts. What do I want from life? Since I graduated, I've been debating about what I really want. I have a freelance job already, which I'm fortunate to have but I'm deciding what the next steps are. I'm thinking about this blog. I haven't worked on it enough in a long time and I have all these ideas, I'm just unsure of how to execute them. 

I know the reason why. I'm trying to figure out how to differentiate myself from the sea of bloggers out there now. There is literally a blogger at every turn, which is not a bad thing. Have the easy and availability to voice your opinions or share your story is so important and a gift. I'm quite glad that I made my blog in the first place, but I find the struggle to make myself different.

I'm going to talk about the fashion, beauty and lifestyle bloggers here because that's where I want to sit in this realm. Many of us follow the same trends with similar styles and outfits on our blogs, Instagram and Twitter accounts. But what I love seeing is that every person styles them differently, based on their body type or personality. What becomes slightly draining is when everyone has similar outfits. And that's not our fault or the fashion industries fault, it's just the trends we like and want to add to our wardrobe. 

There are many bloggers that I follow and am drawn to on a daily basis. WeWoreWhat's Danielle Bernstein is a business woman extraordinaire. I absolutely love her. Not only is she a blogger but she's got various businesses such as Second Skin Overalls and The Archive Shoes. She's only launched those very recently and they are doing amazingly. Her main platform is definitely Instagram and she owns it. Danielle is a blogger I aspire to because of her individuality and her work ethic, and she's still having fun. 

Lydia Elise Millen has become one of my latest bloggers of choice to keep up with because of her straight up honesty on her YouTube videos. I love her 30 minute videos of just chatting away because that's something I would do. The quality of her work is insane and again, she works 24/7. Her style, like Danielle's, is similar to mine especially at the moment as I feel more girly but with an edge. She's also a L'Oreal ambassador, her hard work pays off. 

These are just two that I can speak about for now, I could keep going on and on because there's so many bloggers I admire - Pintsized Fashionistas, Danielle Peazer,  Em Sheldon, Negin Mirsaleh, Desi Perkins, Carli Bybel. Okay basically I could go on. 

But what I have noticed about all these beautiful women is that they have a great work ethic. They work hard, they put their mind to every single detail of what they do as a blogger. And this is where I learn a lesson. To be successful, I must put 150% effort into, no half-arsing it. You can't just call yourself a blogger and not do anything, you have to be dedicated and work hard. 

The second thing; find your individuality and own it. Everyone has their own style and sometimes you might be similar to someone else already out there, but who cares. Do you and don't stop doing it. I've recently realised that I was trying to conform to one type of style and it doesn't work, I love switching up and trying new things sometimes. But I've also found a style that for me will stand the test of time and now I'm going to explore that more and showcase that on my blog. So find yourself, either in style or personality and explore it. Broadcast that to the universe. 

Add something to your blogpost. Use that post with those beautiful new photos to say something. We have the power to omit our thoughts and words with what we have to share. Even if it's something short or a simple thought, just add it in. It'll give your post that little bit more. 

I think my last thought for this is just be you. You may not overtake the top bloggers out there or you might not be able to work on it all the time, but if you add something (even the smallest thing) as much as you can, I can guarantee that somebody will read you blog. I'm always willing and happy to explore new blogs or YouTube channels, so feel free to send them to me if you want a pair of eyes to add to your follower list. 

Now I'm thinking why is this important to say? I tell myself these things all the time, but for some reason I doubt. That may be my own problem, but I feel sometimes it can be this overwhelming need to compete in the blogging world. I know that a few people feel this way, after having had a chat on the subject over on Twitter when we were talking about how much people pay for shoots or expect to pay a photographer. There's a definite struggle, but it's something that we need to deal with and in time we can reach the points we want if we just strive for it and make the effort. Blogging shouldn't be a competition, it should purely be a passion. However sometimes that fact is taken away purely because of the need to be like others or get as many likes or views. 

Top - Topshop / Jeans - Lasula (bought a few sizes bigger to sit at the hips and be much baggier) / Watch - Michael Kors

I say disregard it. Push that competitiveness aside and just go for gold regardless. The world is diverse and the more we have giving an input to this blogosphere, personally I feel, the better. 

Yes it may be hard to begin with, but we'll all get to our goals in the end. Keep going, you've got this. 

Lots of love, 

Emily xx