Therealjlow

“We know that the blogging rule book says, be niched, be specific and write for a targeted audience but we are torn between the rules and the inner voice reminding us, we are multifaceted individuals who don’t wish to be hemmed in by one idea or profession”

If you have ever swotted up on the business of blogging or specifically upping readership you’ll read a lot of the same ideas and the same words; consistency, niche, direction, target audiences . . . It’s the same ideas over and over again and ultimately it’s become a machine.

Why do I have an issue with machine mentality? Doesn’t it make it easier to do when you have guidelines? It does, but I’ve also begun looking forward beyond what’s already been done. To the point that I’m questioning therealjlow and the content I share.

If blogging articles are to be believed I need consistency of content, of scheduling. I need to share content on lots of different platforms, perhaps invest in Adwords, go on my own self hosted site, encourage and engage with brands who I’ll alter content to for cash and ultimately I need to both offer unique insight whilst fitting perfectly within the machine. This is where you’ve lost me.

Ever since I left university I stopped being one dimensional. I was no longer just an events student, I was multidimensional. As I’ve aged it’s only gotten more diverse. I changed to be a marketing executive, a freelancer, a writer, a model, a creator … the list goes on and spans professional me and personal me and it gets to a point where no one role fits.

I’m juggling a lot of hats and as I look around at my friends I see the same reflected in our struggles. We are all dabbling in these many roles and ultimately if I know anything about therealjlow it’s that I want it to be reflective of that very statement at the top of this post.

We are more than a role or a box or a set of rules to success. Blogging may have gotten stale but our ideas haven’t. Our voices only add to the conversation and so why shouldn’t we embrace this in every aspect of our lives?

If I have to tie therealjlow down in 2016 it’s only to this, “therealjlow is reflective of real women across the globe. It is here to inspire our passions, develop our souls and to empower one another in our pursuit of the most creative, healthiest and happiest lives that we can imagine.”

I’ve grown to realise that the idea of specific content is irrelevant for now. The name alone allows me this opportunity and my internal refusal to play by the rules lets me take the risk that maybe I won’t pass the entrance to reward style any time soon but maybe I don’t want to be in the cool gang. Maybe like all of you reading this, I’m standing alone and I’m doing it my way and those blogging guidelines worked for some but they won’t hold me.

Until next time . . .