To be honest, I stumbled upon blogging by chance. It was a former officemate and friend who introduced me to it 14 years ago. Back then, I was not really aware of the reach and scope of a blog. I thought I was just keeping my own personal journal. That time, my sole purpose for blogging was to chronicle my son’s growing-up milestones, all for posterity’s sake.
Not long after publishing my first blog post, I met a group of mommy bloggers who, like me, were also doting on their own little bundles of joy on their websites. Being a first-time mom who knew nothing about raising a son, my online community became my lifeline. I learned from other moms’ experiences from reading their blogs when I began joining weekly memes and blog comment exchanges.
Soon enough, brands started noticing my blog and began inviting me to their product or campaign launches, store openings, and blogger events. I started receiving ex-deal offers or compensation for doing product reviews, too. I also began earning from sponsored posts I got from online platforms I joined and from local and international advertisers who contacted me through my blogs.
That was when I realized that I could do so much more from blogging than simply writing down my son’s growing-up years. I can talk about any topic under the son on my blog, share inspiring stories and valuable information to my readers, influence their decision-making with my honest reviews of the products I have tried, and score writing gigs.
However, I still have a long way to go to become a full-fledged influencer. First, I need to grow the follower base of my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter sites. I also need to have more engagement on my Social Media accounts. Brands these days usually require a certain number of followers and ask for social media insights for bloggers and influencers to qualify for their campaigns.
I have been keenly observing and asking seasoned bloggers and influencers for tips on how to increase my blog and social media followers. One very helpful pointer I received was to share relatable posts on my Social Media Sites. These are helpful in engaging the readers who will eventually become likers and/or followers of my social media sites.
Regularly posting fresh content also helps a lot. The traffic to my blogs and Social Media Accounts increases when I have new posts on my blogs and Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages. Sponsoring giveaways can also help spread word about my blogs and social media accounts and help create interest in them. They are also my way of giving back to my loyal followers.
Overall, my 14 years of blogging has been pretty exciting and rewarding. But there are so many things I still need to accomplish, posts I still need to pen, and “magic” I still need to create to finally become an influencer, and I am working on it really hard. I am not ashamed to admit that I am still a work in progress.
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