Two distinctive experiences this weekend caused me to seriously think about why I blog, where I’m going with my blog, and what my readers should expect from this blog.
First, I decided to try my hand at a simple menu bar and add disclosure and privacy policies. I then sent an email to a retailer asking if they’d like to participate in a review and giveaway. They’re response stung a bit: they said they only participate with non-profit groups and would continue to rely on PR and word of mouth. This stopped me in my tracks because I thought, “What is my blog if it is not PR and word of mouth?”
Secondly, I read a post on my friend Rosemary’s blog. She is someone I know from high school, but we are now two very different people from those days, but in some good ways the same, happily reconnecting. Her blog is heartfelt, honest, heart wrenching, lovely, and so clearly represents who she is. Her latest post inspired me to want to take a few more chances again and make sure The Inquisitive Mom remains true to me.
With these two things in mind, I wanted to articulate for myself (and my readers) what I plan to focus on with The Inquisitive Mom:
1.My Family Life: I tried my hand at two blogs and felt like neither was whole. My first purpose in blogging was to share our family’s life with distant friends and family and this still holds true. Sharing our triumphs, challenges, and daily experiences is a huge part of my blogging life! I love featuring photos, tidbits, and milestones related to my little ones and I hope you enjoy them too.
2. My Thoughts/Ideas/Experiences/Musings: I hope The Inquisitive Mom is a place where you get a feel for the “real” me. I will never be an entirely casual writer – I never have been – but I promise to be honest, sincere, and to try to take more risks. I want to worry less about not offending or not getting it right and focus more on saying things of value and connecting with others. Maybe I’ll even occasionally say something funny or poignant.This is what keeps me coming back to my favorite blogs.
3. My “Work” Life: I like to say I have 3 jobs – I’m primarily a stay-at-home-mom, but I also write part-time for a local weekly paper, and I’m a Scentsy consultant to support my life as a SAHM. I haven’t posted much about this, but I hope to share more about my struggle for balance, my educational and professional dreams, and my decision to be a SAHM.
4. My Faith: The Source recently asked me to write about my faith (I will post a link when it is available online) and it felt freeing. My faith as a Latter-day Saint is a huge part of my life and I want to share all of my experiences as, once again, my favorite blogs do.
5. Reviews and Giveaways: I was first motivated to expand my blog by other bloggers who reviewed products and helped me understand the world of cloth diapers. I’ve always been one of those people who loves trying out new things and telling people about them – products, books, ideas, etc. While receiving product is great, my true goal in reviewing products is to help my family and yours discover products that will bring value to our lives. I also love featuring products that help us to support small businesses, SAHM, and eco-friendly companies. I promise to blog with integrity and hope that my reviews and giveaways will help you discover products that will make a positive difference in your life. To this end, I amended my disclosure policy to indicate that I am non-profit and a great place for word of mouth marketing.
I can’t thank you enough for joining me on my blog. Your presence here – reading, commenting, participating – means a great deal to me. I hope you’ll continue to visit – to share thoughts, agree, respectively disagree, join giveaways, and to lead me to your own blog.
Warmly,
Mindy
Great ideas, Mindy! I need to figure out where I’m going too, but you’ve summed it up quite well for me, LOL!
Hubs and I got into it a bit over the weekend about my blog. There are some things he doesn’t want me to blog about (i.e. my recent bout of depression). I say that it’s my blog and my space, and I’m always very honest and open. I don’t want to hide who I am. It’s not like I’m blogging about our sex life, you know? I’m frustrated. And due to the depression have not been feeling very inspired with intelligent and interesting things to say…..
Thanks for sharing these reasons why you blog. I think they are all great reasons. And I look forward to keeping up with you.
Thanks for sharing. I think all bloggers struggle at some point with the direction of their blogs. Blogs become members of our family, or extensions of ourselves. My blog about my family and my thoughts but tend to hold back because I worry what people will think of me…silly, huh? I guess all we can strive for is to be ourselves. Our true selves free of the front we show others in person.