Redefining What A Blog Means To You
I spend my days surrounded by blogs. Whether I’m working on my own, coaching my clients with theirs, or reading my favourite blogs from around the web, you’d think I’d have completely firmly found my feet in this young industry by now. But it’s exactly that, a young industry, and one of the things I love so much about blogging is how much creative space there is to grow, learn, and evolve along the way.
I’ve been blogging for two years now, which is a relatively short time but I’ve learned so much along the way and I’ve recently found myself itching to leap into a brand new chapter and explore a fresh approach to what blogging means to me. I want to share with you today a little insight into my thought process as of late, and some jumping off points for anyone else who is ready to think bigger and bolder with their online presence.
Start with intention: For me, approaching blogging from a place of intention changed everything. Letting my purpose and creative values guide me has allowed me to not only find more fulfilment with my online presence, but also be challenged more by the work I produce and create. Intentions and values change over time, and this couldn’t be more true for myself and my own journey with this blog. It started as a creative outlet and an escape from my day-to-day life, whereas now it exists as so much more than that.
For me, my core intentions for running this blog can be broken down into three main areas. First and foremost, this is a space where I want to connect with and support, inspire, and encourage fellow bloggers and creatives. On a more personal level, it’s also an outlet for me to nurture and challenge my own creativity. In recent months, this blog has also become a huge outlet for me to do the work I feel inspired to do, and ultimately grow my creative business. These three intentions guide me in everything I do over here, and is at its core what Jennypurr is ultimately about. I go back to these intentions time and time again and I let them show me the way and be my anchor as I leap into new challenges, new pursuits, and new ways to share and express myself online.
Think bigger: I’ve found myself feeling frustrated recently in my own blogging process. I want to do more and be more and I feel like I’ve limited myself along the way. Blogging is way more than just what we see everyone else doing - it’s an outlet that in so many ways has no boundaries, and allowing ourselves to redefine what it means to us can open ourselves up to so many bigger and better things. We’re all working so hard to be what we think our audience wants that we can forget the magic in sharing with people what they didn’t know they wanted yet.
Thinking big comes with its own pitfalls. It’s scary - I can’t tell you how many nights I’ve spent recently talking with Alex about my bigger vision for my online presence and then talking myself out of taking that next step due to the sheer fear I have of just not being up to the task. But working through that fear and those anxious thoughts is so fulfilling as I start to find the courage that comes with taking risks. More than anything, when I'm being brave I really start to become the person and the creative I want to be.
A new approach to sharing content: For a long time a huge focus of mine has been to share engaging and useful content as often as I can throughout the week. I’ve found so much of my identity as a blogger from sharing on such a frequent basis, so this voice I’ve had in my head telling me that there’s a bigger and better approach for me and my audience has been one I’ve been avoiding for a while.
Content is whatever we want it to be. It’s blog posts, but also so much more than that, and right now my creativity is sparked by the idea of sharing what it is I want to share with you guys in bigger and more varied formats than just blog posts alone. So you’re going to see less posts here now throughout the week - still 3-4 with a Weekly Letter for Bloggers & Creatives every weekend - as I want to make space for some other formats of content that I'm working on for you.
Allowing myself to be brave and take a leap into a new approach to sharing content has been quite an emotional process for me - there’s no denying how overly attached I am to my blog and my process over here. But I know in my gut that this is going to be a better way to serve you, and challenge and nurture my own creativity along the way too.
Being of service to your audience: Jennypurr exists as an online creative resource for bloggers and creatives, and at the heart of everything I do is a desire to help, inspire, and support you as much as I can. Being of service to my audience and my community is what drives me in everything I do - from both the free content I already create and the free content I’m working on behind the scenes, to my paid for coaching services and soon to be launched digital products. While going on this journey of redefining what a blog means to me, I’ve let myself be guided first and foremost by how best I can be of service to you and your needs as bloggers and creatives.
My gut has been telling me for a while now that you don’t need me checking in five to six times a week with blogging and creativity advice. You’re all doing seriously awesome jobs yourselves, and I want to be here as inspiration, information, and jumping off points, not something that ultimately will overwhelm you or burn you out. So I know I can serve you best with less weekly content but more in-depth, more focused, and more intentional larger (free) resources that I am honestly so excited to share with you in the coming months.
It’s the hub but not the centre: Ultimately, this is the mindset shift that has changed everything for me. My blog is the hub of my online presence, but it’s not the centre. I am the centre. I am the ideas, the work, and the motivation behind everything that is created under the Jennypurr brand and to make my blog the centre is to make myself small and limited. My work could and should be able to exist outside of the walls of this blog, yet this is where I choose to create and this is where I want to be. By giving myself permission to redefine what this blog means to me, and by allowing myself to explore the bigger vision I have for my online presence, I now feel both challenged and excited by the future of what Jennypurr can be and how I can evolve with it along the way.
Here's my question to you: what does your blog mean to you? I would love to know more about your process, your intentions, and your own approach to creating and sharing content. Have you ever had a similar experience to me where you completely start to redefine what your blog and blogging means to you?
How We Can Work Together
I work with bloggers & creatives to help them feel focused and find confidence in their blogging process. Whether you want to increase your impact and reach, connect with your ideal readers, launch your blog from scratch, or transition your online presence into a business, I'm here to help you make it happen. Find out more here.
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