Hello and welcome back to my Buy Me A Coffee Account! Today I have a Q&A for you, I asked my friends on Twitter and they delivered! So, grab a cuppa, get cosy and settle in!
Billie Geena had a few questions:
'How do you juggle your time between blogging and business? Do you have any time management tools you use?'
Well, I no longer work for myself so this makes it slightly easier! I ran my own business for 7 years straight out of university, before closing it and backpacking around Australia for 2 years! I had just started my blog before I left but didn't touch it until I got back where I changed a lot about it and started seriously creating content for it.
'What is your favourite thing you have written?'
There are quite a few posts that I've been really proud of actually. It's a good feeling when you read something back and think 'that's a really good article, one I am proud to share on my blog'. Getting positive feedback from my readers always makes the hours spent creating the content worth it and if I've managed to help someone with my words, then that's my favourite post.
'Do you have any blogging advice that you wish someone had given you when you first started?'
This is a good one! I guess it would be everything I know now! That having my own domain really helps when it comes to working with brands - I did this when I came back from Australia actually and of course I wrote a (now deleted) post about it! I would have loved to have known about SEO in the early days too, this didn't really seem to be something that mattered in the early days! Also, that taking pictures in natural daylight will ALWAYS do better!
Kayleigh Zara - 'Is there any content you've produced that you're not proud of?'
Looking back at the posts I've written (almost 500!) there are of course some in the early days which I'm either going to straight delete or not bring over from Blogger to my Wix. This is one positive of having to manually bring over each post to my new site, I can handpick the best ones and leave anything I'm not proud of behind!
The Very Busy Isy - 'If you could go back and give a newbie advice, what would it be?'
I would say, above all else, write for yourself rather than the public. One of my favourite quotes is 'Better to write for yourself and have no public than write for the public and have no self'. If you create content which you are proud of, this will shine through and the right people will come to you.
Lynn Mumbing Mejia also had a few questions:
'Is there something in your daily/weekly routines that you think is essential to your productivity?'
Well, I don't really have a routine with blogging so perhaps I should get one? At the moment, as I'm on furlough, I have a lot of time to be able to devote to creating content. As I've recently moved to Wix this means there's a lot going on behind the scenes to ensure it's running smoothly. Thankfully I have a wonderful website creator who takes care of most of the technical side of things for me so I can concentrate on ensuring it gets seen!
'What do you do when you feel like you're in a rut or have a creative block?'
This can happen at the oddest of times and can sometimes be incredibly frustrating when you're wanting to write about something exciting! When it does though I try to step away and focus on other things I enjoy and perhaps read other people's content to hopefully re-ignite the spark. Don't try to worry about it too much though, it'll come back when you least expect it.
'What was it like juggling blogging and your own business?'
At the beginning I was only running my business before I started my blog in 2012 so it didn't affect it so much and Then I went to Australia for 2 years where I didn't touch it at all. It's only been in the last few years that I've had to balance working whilst running my blog side by side. It's not easy and sometimes it can seem overwhelming but it's easy when I enjoy what I'm writing about!
'What do you see in store for you (online) in the next 5 years?'
Well, hopefully I'll still be blogging and creating content that people will continue to love reading! For me, it's less about the numbers and more about creating a space online where people come to be uplifted. Like I say on this page, I'm here to bring the sunshine and I hope I can continue to do that.
'What are your top 3 inspirations for content?'
This differs depending on the type of content I'm writing but usually it comes from my everyday life, situations I've been in or activities I'm doing. Currently I'm writing a series on my blog documenting my journey with the Couch to 5K training plan. It's my first time using it so I thought writing about it would help others who may want to give it a go themselves. It's proven quite popular so far which encourages me to continue with it.
Jacqeline of All Trades - 'Was there one moment when everything just clicked for you to go full time?'
Like I said previously, I haven't gone full time with my blog as I want to be financially stable and able to pay my bills. That's not to say that being a full time content creator doesn't pay, it's more that my job ensures that I can pay out everything I need to and still have the flexibility to be able to turn down sponsored opportunities if they don't align with me and my blog. Being full time with it could mean that I compromise to be able to pay my bills and that's something that I'm just not happy with doing, at least at the moment anyway!
So there, you have it, I hope you've enjoyed learning a little more about me and my history with blogging and creating content online. Please do leave any questions in the comments and perhaps I'll do a part 2!
Sarah xoxo