Blogging- I still get a little awkward telling people I have a blog. I do not identify as a “blogger” yet. Maybe someday I’ll wear that title proudly.
I am going to share my personal pros and cons of having a blog, and blogging. I am sure these will all evolve and change as I continue this Kari Miller Blog adventure. However, this is how I feel today.
Also, if you have never read WHY I started blogging, please push pause on this blog entry and go read that first.
Okay- here we go.
PROS OF BLOGGING
Feeling Understood
In the real world, I often felt misunderstood. I felt like people would put me in certain boxes. I am a very optimistic person, this often was mistaken for flaky and didn’t really care about things. And that just isn’t true. This blog has given me a platform to share things that are important to me.
New Purpose
I started this blog because the Holy Spirit was urging me to shine my light more. I feel like there is so much darkness in our world and on the internet. I love creating a corner of the internet that is LIGHT- a place others can come to and feel joy, lightness, hope, and happiness. I feel like this blog is one of my life purposes. I have no idea how long I will do this for, but I feel content that I am doing what the Lord wants me to do now.
Connecting with New and Old Friends
I have found that people I have never met are finding my blog. I love when they send messages of what a certain blog post meant to them. Those words of affirmation are fuel to my soul. I also have reconnected with old friends. I am so thankful for that. It is fun to see what they are up to- I say this all the time, but I wish every single one of my friends had a blog. I’d love to feel more connected to their lives and their thoughts.
Learning New Things
I came into blogging knowing NOTHING. I have watched lots of youtube instructional videos, read books, and listened to podcasts. I have learned so much, and I know I have WAY MORE to still learn. It is very fulfilling to have a “hobby” that you can work on and continue to improve.
Living Scrapbook
I am so excited to have this blog as documentation of our lives in this exact chapter. Life is so sweet right now. I am looking forward to looking back on these posts one, five, twenty years from now. I hope that this will be a gift to my kids as well.
Being Creative
I love that this blog gives me space to create! I love brainstorming ideas, making visuals on Canva, and putting it all together for a post!
CONS OF BLOGGING
Time Consuming
Blogging does take time and energy. I have enjoyed it, but it is a big commitment. Luckily, I have a very supportive husband that allows me to take the time to do it. I have also been forced to reevaluate how I spend my “free” time. I can’t do too many “waste time” activities anymore.
No Money
I am making $0 dollars blogging. I didn’t get into blogging to make money, but knowing that some bloggers do make money can mess with me some, if I am being completely honest. I check myself daily. I have to remind myself that this blog is for God’s Kingdom, not Kari’s kingdom.
Defining Boundaries
I am sharing a lot about myself and sometimes my kids. Martin and I have talked about this. I want to be authentic, that is huge for me. But to be frank, there are areas of my life that are OFF LIMITS to share. I want to continue to be more mindful of those topics, especially as my kids get older.
Swinging and Missing
There are some blog posts that are home runs. My thoughts are completely understood and others connected to my thoughts. This is the goal- YAY! I also have some post ideas that just fall FLAT on their face, a swing and big ole miss. That is hard on my pride. I say this knowing not everyone will like or enjoy what I post. I have to remember, God can use my words, but He can’t use them if I never write them.
Awkward Encounters
When you share about your life on a blog you have no way of knowing who is reading it. So when I see you in real life, I start talking about something I already wrote about, then I think… “Did they already read that?” So, if you read my blog, please feel free to talk to me about it! It is so much better than avoiding the “elephant blog in the room.”
Thanks for reading about my PROS and CONS of blogging. I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon, so please keep coming back! Your support means everything to me!
See you tomorrow for a look into my workouts lately!
There are definitely pros and cons to blogging! I don’t know that I would add anything. I had a personal blog as a “living scrapbook” as you called it, but because there were parts of life that were off limits (and especially as my kids got older and didn’t like having ANYTHING about them online), I closed my personal blog (and stuck with tangible, hand-held scrapbooks) about 10 years ago. I still blog for my business and as a way of educating people about memory-keeping (articles, tutorials, etc.) but I, too, make $0 from blogging. In my perspective, monetizing a blog results in distracting pop-ups. I love a cleaner look that focuses on content. (I love yours!) And you make a good point that it’s time-consuming, but making connections and learning (and, in my case, I hope also to teach) and making new online friends is great! 🙂 Visiting from Talking About it Tuesday.
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