Happy New Year babes! I can not believe it’s already 2018, seems like just yesterday it was the summer and I was moving to Ohio from Georgia. Crazy how fast a year can fly by when exciting things happen! If you follow me on Instagram then you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been asking a lot of questions on my stories lately. Well to put it simply, my blog has had an identity crisis.
When I started this blog a year ago my main purpose was to create an outlet filled with fashion & lifestyle topics. I wanted it to become a place where people would leave feeling better about themselves. A platform that showed women it is okay to love fashion, without it becoming your main focus. Instead, I became so engulfed with my blog and finding ways to make it profitable. I wanted this blog to become my main source of income so bad I lost sight of what my goal was. Instead I was trying to see how many outfits I could post in a day, how much commission I could generate and literally trying everything to grow my follower base.
Around the beginning of December I hit a mental wall.
I was about to post another outfit of the day on Instagram when I literally could not think of a single thing to write for the caption. I had nothing witty, personable or intelligent to say. This image was simply another way to try and generate sales before Christmas hit.
I wanted to delete my platform right then and there.
Instead of being a complete drama queen and deleting my Instagram account, I posted a photo of our Christmas tree, with my Bible in view. I put a simple caption, “Spending a quiet morning admiring the only clean part of our house. How are y’all spending today?” That simple photo was a turning point for me, was I still going to post outfits and link the items I was wearing? Of course. But I finally realized that I was missing a huge aspect throughout all of my blog posts and social media shares. I was not living out a Christ mentality or being humble. Instead every time I received a new follower I credited my great social media growth skills. WHAT A JOKE.
For some reason it was not clicking in my head that you could show your love for fashion and shopping, while still being a generous person. It wasn’t clicking because I was not living this life. I was focused on shopping the latest trends, and not giving in my community. Instead of trying to uplift and encourage people on a daily basis, I was shoving a new scarf down their throats.
This feeling of incompleteness really hit me after Christmas. I was scrolling through Instagram on December 26th and realized that Influencers were still pushing people to spend their money on sweaters. We had just received gifts the day before, and the next day everyone was back to pushing the next best sale. I understand that there are so many people who make their means to live off of through commissions from these sales. That showing people a new way to style a NYE look will generate money for them to continue to build and grow their brand. I respect the platforms people have built, I personally can not create a platform based solely on fashion. I tried and lost myself along the way.
Over the course of this past year I never once made enough to replace the income from my job. When I first decided to start this blog, that was not a thought in my head. I just loved writing, fashion and connecting with people; seemed like a no-brainer. But over time I because OBSESSED with hitting an end goal of sponsored posts and commission a week. So obsessed that I started to lose my love for this blog.
My obsession made me buy an additional sweater, just so I could post about it. Instead of being wise with my money, saving it and looking at ways to invest it into our future, I WAS BUYING SWEATERS. All because, “I’ll generate commission off of this item and it’ll ultimately pay for itself.”
Will there still be Fashion Tips/Outfits?
Yes, I will still post outfits on Instagram. But instead of having the outfit be the focus, real life topics will be the main reason behind the post.
Can I still buy Your Outfits?
Absolutely! I’ll still link the outfits I’m wearing through LIKE to KNOW.it app and website.
Will You still Write about Beauty & Wellness?
You better believe it! Taking care of our bodies is so important, and so is finding that healthy medium of caring about ourselves and obsessing over our beauty and health.
So What’s Really Changing?
Over 2018 you will notice a difference throughout my blog posts and vlogs. My pride will be taking a back seat. This upcoming year I will focus on how to be wise with your money. With a wedding and everything that comes with being a new homeowner, learning to save whenever possible has become so important. I’ll be tackling more mental issues when it comes to loving the way you look without becoming vain. The main difference is that I will start sharing my vulnerabilities with you all. Life is not perfect, and I do not want to overlook all of the imperfections just to create a social media feed.
I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. I really hope you all are as excited for this update as I am!
XOXO
Emily