I needed to take a break from blogging, one that was more unannounced and hype-free.

I was mostly feeling uninspired, and stressed and ill. Lots of external factors were adding up to the fact I really just wasn’t feeling it.

Honestly, I also felt like my hobby was just becoming boring to me and my readers.

Blogging is changing, and it’s sort of weirding me out a little bit.

What is blogging, really?

We need to be honest here. The majority of those who read blogs are bloggers. A world away from magazines, read by bloggers, mothers, sisters, students, nurses etc (you get my drift).

Your blog is also a sales tool for brands and PR companies.

Get over yourselves, and think like a copywriter.

Now yes, you’re writing your blog for you, and I’m sure that’s wonderful. You’re also writing your blog for your audience, as much as you don’t want to admit it.

Think like a professional copywriter, before you dive in, ask yourself:

How will this lipstick review benefit your readers?
Why should I stay in that hotel?
What made you cook that recipe? 
etc, etc, etc

I only say this, because I have seen beauty bloggers write about ‘air travel necessities’, and not mention the importance of hydration, I’ve seen articles written about hotels with nothing about the check in experience. If you’re education, then educate. Trying to inspire, don’t get caught off track.

Think about every single step an article might need.

The structure should always read, beginning, middle, end – it’s about creating that unique voice.

Remember YOUR OWN voice

We need to stop purging out articles for the sake of it, and remember why we were doing this in the first place.

Stop giving up your unique voice, stop and sounding like carbon copies of Estee or Anna or Lily. We’re becoming mirror images of those girls who inspired us to own a corner of the internet in the first place. Which yes, it’s flattering, but brands or readers don’t need 300 estees to sell products, they only need one.

These uber bloggers are lucky, and caught the tailwind at the exact right moment, but writing in the exact same style as them will NOT get you noticed. Having your own voice will.

It’s okay to be writing the 98th review of Tilbury’s Glastonbury, just be unique about it, that’s what makes me click on another page of your website.

Don’t let your pride and joy and hard work become another bounce rate statistic and just keep at it.

(apols for the negative-ness of this article, and to be fair I will be posting something ‘generic’ tomorrow, but I think I’m also going to put together some pdfs of copywriting basics to help newer bloggers…)

ANYWAY I AM ILL HOW ARE YOU ALL I HAVE MISSED YOU.