I've been blogging since 2012 and at first, I didn't have any idea what blogging was, never mind having a niche and writing for my audience! It was all about uploading a quick camera snap, with no editing and telling everyone what we'd bought on a trip to Superdrug/Boots! At least it was for me!
I cringe now when I look back at the old posts but like with everything in life, they're there to remind me of how I used to be.
Now the time has come for me to take a serious look at my little area of the internet and see which direction I would like to take this little blog of mine and the kind of content I want to be putting out there.
So, I joined Grow and Glo and here's what I've learnt so far!
Finding My Niche
This was one of the first activities when I joined Grow and Glow and let me tell you it's a tricky one! I've been in this happy little bubble for 7 years, just plodding along and thinking that everything that was fine despite the fact that my posts weren't getting the views I think they deserved!
I'm still making my way through the bundles and it's no surprise that this is the one area where most of my fellow G&Gers (myself included) have struggled, especially when a lot of us classed ourselves as lifestyle bloggers so didn't really know where to begin!
Thankfully with the help from Grow and Glow I've been able to define my niche more than I ever have before and it feels good to finally have some direction and be able to produce the content that my readers will want to digest and more importantly, take something away from!
So, my new focus is going to be mental health, midsize fashion, self-care routines and life as a vegan. So, you can expect plenty of posts with these topics in mind as well as something new for everyone to enjoy.
Writing My Elevator Pitch
This was another task in the first bundle which stumped me, just like trying to define my niche I felt like I couldn't do this until I'd done the other, so I was stuck! Basically, your elevator pitch is a short, succinct paragraph which you could deliver to someone whom you met in an elevator. (So American!)
It seems easy but trust me when I tell you that it's not! When you've been happily bumbling along for a good few years without any clear direction, when someone comes along, gives you a map and says you have to choose a certain path to find your way it can feel incredibly confusing!
I didn't find mine until I was writing my About Me page and all of a sudden, I was like, "what, I *think* I have my elevator pitch!", a real lightbulb moment actually!
To have clarity on a once muddied situation really helps give me direction and allow me to go forward with a clear vision about myself and my brand. I hope to attract new readers and give my current ones some new fresher content.
" Hi, I'm Sarah, a blogger from Harrogate who loves to share her life with you as a 30 something woman navigating life; with posts focusing on mental health, midsize fashion, self-care routines and my life a vegan "
Understanding my Brand
This is another area where I've struggled in the past as to be honest, I didn't think I WAS my brand! I got confused thinking that it had to be something separate the non-blogger me from the actual blogger me. But I've come to learn that when a PR reaches out to me, they're investing in me - SunshineSarahxo - so it makes sense to think of myself that way, wholly and completely.
To be consistent over all of my social media as well as my blog I am going to be *hopefully* developing some branding which will appear there as well as on my Media Kit (once I figure out to edit it of course!).
I hope that in time this branding will become synonymous with me, and that people will see it and associate it with me and my blog.
The Future of Sunshine Sarahxo
So, what does this mean for my blog going forward? Well in terms of content I am going to be breaking it down and focusing more on mental health, self-care, looking after your own well-being, mid-size fashion and my vegan lifestyle.
I'll be capturing more photographic content for you as I've found out that my followers enjoy seeing my mid-sized fashion content on my Instagram, so I think that's where I'll go with this. If I feel like something needs to be featured more heavily, or have a post written about then I'll be sure to create a post about it on here for you.
I'm going to start talking about my vegan journey more on here too, I've already done a couple of posts on it previously which have gone across well and veganism is just growing so much right now so it would be silly not to capitalise on it and share it with everyone.
I'll also keep doing the odd film review simply because I enjoy them but from my research, I know they're not as well-received as I would want them to be, so perhaps I'll phase them out eventually.
And as I'm a Yorkshire lass you can also expect to find posts about my favourite parts of Yorkshire, great places to visit and what's so great about living here. Again, this wasn't such a popular topic when I did my research and I understand that if you don't live in the UK, it may not be relevant to you but it's where I'm living now so I'll see how they perform and go from there.
Finding A Community
This is one area which I felt has been lacking lately. Despite making friends through blogging both in real life and online, it can be hard not only to find the time to meet up, talk about all things blogging, help each other out etc. etc.; the whole aspect of what a community is has gone which is really sad because in the beginning it was all blogging was about.
Finding others who were like you and could help you out if you were struggling, supporting you and just generally being friendly.
Nowadays a lot of the time all blogging seems to be about is who has the largest following, who can I collab with to draw in more followers or subscribers, which brand is going to land me the biggest deal....
But since joining Grow and Glow I can honestly say that I have found a whole bunch of ladies who are so friendly, helpful and just generally incredible to be around that it makes everything easier.
For this reason alone, I am so pleased I joined up!
Have you joined Grow and Glow yet? Are you interested? Just follow the link and see where it could take you!
Love, Sarah xoxoxo
