Five years blogging and a leap into the unknown

This time five years ago I took a leap into the unknown and published my first blog post. I remember thinking about it for ages. I’d thought about a blog name, what I wanted my blog to look like, what kind of stuff I’d write about. I cringe to admit this to you now, as to admit that you put this much thought into anything is all a tad uncool, you know? It should be effortless, easy, off the cuff.

I’d never really come across blogging as a “thing” before, except that I had written a blog for the radio station I worked for at the time. Parenting blogs, or lifestyle blogs, or any other type of blogs just hadn’t really crossed my radar. The only ones I knew about were the political or newsy ones. I had no idea that there were millions of people around the world publishing personal thoughts, feelings, recipes, fashion tips – and everything else in between – online.

When I took that leap into the unknown I had a clear idea of what I wanted to achieve from it: find a space to write about all the stuff about new mum life that went through my brain every day; see if I still had the ability to string two sentences together; give myself a platform to build a portfolio (most of my web writing before this hadn’t had a byline as I’d been writing as a journalist for news sites) and maybe, just maybe, give myself a new opportunity to go freelance and work for myself.

All that happened and more. Over the years I met some amazing people – many of whom are now proper “IRL” friends who I regularly see for weekends and holidays away, chat to on the phone and consider a huge part of my life. Eventually I started to get work writing for other people – I think the regular action of writing on my blog helped to grow my confidence to pitch to editors just as much as it helped editors find me. And, further down the line, this blog became a little source of income in its own right.

The thing about blogging is that it can be a very isolating experience. You’re effectively sitting on your own like a billy no mates writing stuff on your computer, trying to get your voice heard amongst a sea of voices. If you don’t live in a big city then you miss out on regular meet-ups (hi London bloggers!) and it can feel like you’re on the outside, looking in. There can be times when it feels like you’re writing just to yourself, which is a bit weird and makes you think you may as well just delete the blog and start a diary instead. And then, at other times, you can feel like you’re top of your game, everyone loves you, the world is your oyster. Swings and roundabouts, innit.

Perhaps the biggest challenge for me as a blogger has been taking that leap into the unknown, trying not to worry what people might think about what I was writing or sharing online, facing the fear. When real life friends discovered my blog I felt a bit silly, exposed even. What a weird thing to do – write stuff on the internet! It’s not a *proper* job is it? (PS. Remember when everyone put * in front of words? Is that so 2012? It’s all about the emojis now, huh?).

Over the past five years I’ve seen blogging buddies grow their sites in awe-inspiring ways. Instagram followers, Twitter followers, incredible PR opportunities and brand relationships. I love that. I love that so many of my friends are seeing success out of the hard work they’ve put into honing their own personal brands and creating a relationship with their readers.

For me, this blog has always been a place for me to share personal thoughts, recommendations, memories. It’s never been my sole source of income (and nor have I wanted it to be). It’s a platform, a voice, a chance to connect with other people and a place to vent, get creative, do whatever takes my fancy on any given day.

But over the past couple of years I’ve felt stuck in a bit of a rut, blogging wise. As much as I love this online space of mine, I felt ready to take on something new, something that reflected a bit more of my working life. I love interiors, homes, the spaces that people live in. I’m genuinely fascinated by the importance of the home. I write mainly for interiors magazines these days and find a beautiful sense of escapism in looking at stylish spaces, finding solutions to making rooms look better, feel more comfortable, be a place to feel safe, loved and truly “at home”. I spent so much time looking at all these gorgeous sites and blogs online that I had this idea, an idea that took me a few months of courage to act upon.

Last summer I bit the bullet and emailed a couple of other bloggers I admired and thought might be up for it, about my idea. I wanted to create a collaborative blog dedicated completely to stylish family living. A place to escape to during a baby nap time, a source of inspirational ideas for other parents who want their homes to look lovely but accept that little people and their sticky fingers don’t always share this dream. I wanted to create an online space that didn’t discriminate in terms of budget or taste, but had one thing in common: it was for interiors loving families.

Over the months, that idea extended to a YouTube channel, a curated shop and – later in this year – more spin-off projects. It got bigger and bigger and sucked more and more of my time. I taught myself a bit of web design, spent hours pouring over bits of code I didn’t understand, emailed potential people who might be interested in being involved in the growing project. And suffered more than one major crisis of confidence.

I have no idea why it felt like such a big deal to hit “publish” on the site today, but it did. I was genuinely more nervous than when I took my driving test at the age of 18, and that’s saying something. I felt naked, like I was putting myself out there all over again, except this time I wasn’t just some newbie blogger on the internet who barely even knew what blogging was. There was no excuse for it to be shit, quite frankly.

And so, here it is. A new leap into the unknown. Happy blog birthday Mother’s Always Right. And happy blog born day Roost.

Welcome to Roost. I hope you like it.

 

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