A few days ago, I realised that I have been blogging on and off for over ten years! How time flies! My first blog, Fashion, Love and Life, launched in 2009. I ran that blog for about three years before I called it a day. One of my biggest achievements with the blog was definitely LOOK Magazine’s AW11 blogging competition.
Back in 2011, blogging was the pastime du jour and LOOK was one of the biggest fashion magazines in the country. 4,000 bloggers entered the competition and Fashion, Love and Life was one of the 20 blogs that was shortlisted. It didn’t make the top ten unfortunately, but I was happy to see the blog being recognised by a major publication.
At that time, I was using Blogger and I knew nothing about layouts and how to make a blog look fancy. I was strictly all about the content.
My second foray into blogging was Kelle’s Space, which has just turned three. For the longest time, I’d talked myself out of returning to blogging because I didn’t know how I was going to set myself apart from the rest of the bloggers out there. After getting tired of going through the same old reasons-why-I-shouldn’t-do-this speech in my head, I set up a WordPress account and the rest was history…
Going back to the title of this post, we all have our reasons for joining what I like to call ‘the blogosphere’. I’d love to know yours, so do let me know in the comments.
Here are some of mine:
I love to write – Writing has always been a part of my life. When I was a little girl, my mother used to buy me a lot of books. I was that kid who was running to WHSmith every World Book Day to spend the £5 voucher. I’m not sure how my fascination with books came about, but I’m guessing that I was one of those children that spent a lot of time in the book corner in their early years. When I was in primary school, I used to receive a fair amount of reading and writing awards. I just loved a good book. At this point, I had also begun to write my own stories and poems. Jacqueline Wilson and Roald Dahl were my biggest inspirations.
A few months after I started secondary school, an opportunity to contribute to a magazine for young people who were creative writers presented itself. The magazine was delivered to my home on a monthly basis and in one issue, they said they were looking for young writers to write poems that would feature in a book. I submitted a poem that was published. I think I was 13 at the time. A few years later, a diary extract I had written was published in another book. The books were called Scribbler and Wordsmith – Two Of A Kind and Poetry In Motion (North and East London).
One of my biggest regrets was not pursuing English or an English-related subject at college and university. I developed an interest in Business and decided to go down that route instead. In my second year at uni, I knew I needed a creative outlet and that’s when Fashion, Love and Life was born. So, to cut a very long story short, writing has always been a part of my life. It’s something I have always loved to do.
I wanted to tell my story and share my thoughts – Fashion, Love and Life opened a number of doors for me (the LOOK Magazine Blogging competition being one), but over time, the excitement of having a fashion and entertainment blog wore thin. The blog was doing well, I was posting regularly and even going to events and parties (as you do in this industry anyway), but I felt like what I was doing lacked purpose and I decided to call it a day. I walked away from blogging and didn’t even give it a second thought. It wasn’t until one day when I found myself ranting on Twitter about something that I decided I needed a space to share my thoughts.
Falling into the trap of ‘meaningless blogging’ was a concern, but I knew that it was something I had to do. That’s when Kelle’s Space was born. KS was born out of my desire to educate, inspire and empower millennial women. There is so much we don’t know about life, love and everything in between, so I knew that this platform would have somewhat of an impact. In recent years, I’ve overcome quite a bit personally and professionally, so I don’t shy away from talking about some of the things I’ve been through so whoever reads this blog (that may be going through something similar) will know that they are not alone.
I wanted to expand my skill set – When I started Kelle’s Space, I told my friends that I wanted to write for digital publications because it’s something I had imagined myself doing. I didn’t know how, I just knew that I had what it took to have my work featured in major publications. 2020 was the year that my vision became a reality. I wrote articles for POPSUGAR, BYRDIE, Stylist and Brown Beauty Talk. I also wrote a press release and website biography for a former colleague of mine who has a haircare business. Kelle’s Space has allowed me to ‘level up’ when it comes to my writing. I’m really looking forward to what 2021 has in store for me in this area.
Blogging has also given me the opportunity to improve my social media skills.
I know how to promote content on the blog and I’ve also learnt a little about design as well.
Professionally, I have played to my strengths in my 9-5 job (yes, I’m one of those bloggers who has a 9-5). I’ve drafted copy for colleagues that has been used in a variety of communication mediums including social media, company newsletters, the company website and e-shots (email newsletters). If you blog, then I’d definitely recommend finding a way to use the skills you’ve learned from blogging in your day job (if you can). Blogging has also ignited my interest in design. I’m no pro but I am Canva proficient. Also, I can visualise how I want things to look on the blog which is helpful for when I want to make little updates.
To round up, writing means so much to me. I couldn’t imagine my life without it as an outlet.
Both of my blogging experiences have enriched my life on so many levels. I’m definitely manifesting more content and more fabulous writing opportunities for the year ahead.
Since Kelle’s Space launched, I’ve written a few articles about blogging which you can find below:
The Skills You Need To Succeed As A Blogger
Choosing The Right Theme For Your Blog
What Bloggers Should Know Before They Collaborate With A Brand
Improving Your Blog Writing Skills
Content Creation Tips For Your Blog
Let me know why you started blogging in the comments xo
Loved it! Keep going!
Thank you!