My blog came to be in a somewhat unique way. Three and a half years ago, I made a Tumblr account (which I named classy-kate, now you know where the name comes from if you didn't already) and started posting photos of my daily outfits. What started off as me nonchalantly posting these OOTDs became so much more important to me when people started asking me questions and interacting with me on Tumblr. People would ask me anything from what they should wear on a college tour to how to cope with getting dumped by their boyfriend of four years. I ended up getting such high volumes of questions (when Tumblr was at its peak) that I would spend up to hours each day answering them. It was very time consuming but I loved it so much and it was all worth it when someone would message me saying they looked up to me or I helped them through a tough time. This, right here, is exactly what has inspired all of my social media efforts for the past three years. I ended up making an official blog platform after a year and a half of having my Tumblr account. No lie, this was partially a business move as I did want to monetize my "brand" that I created and gain more company collaborations. However, my main intent was to help and inspire people. I do post a lot of outfit posts on my blog because I love photography, editing the photos and styling outfits –basically the entire process of creating an outfit post. But, the posts I feel the most proud of and always get the best reception are the ones that I was really inspired to make and put a lot of effort into. For instance, my Fashion Institute of Technology FAQ and my 8 Tips For Incoming College Freshmen posts –basically, the ones that involve more writing and are advice based.
It is really hard to not get sucked up into obsessing over followers and monetizing your blog. Instagram is a huge platform for bloggers and has always been a more superficial platform, however, it has recently become so much worse in that sense. Massive giveaways, robot likers/commenters and purchasing followers in a desperate attempt to gain an audience in a painfully oversaturated market is rampant nowadays. I've noticed it grow exponentially within the past several months due to Instagram "cleaning up" spam accounts and trying to make more money for itself. I'm not bashing people who do this stuff in any way (I've done giveaways before and probably will in the future), I completely understand wanting to monetize a hobby that you are passionate about and grow it into a business. I understand how difficult it is to gain a following in the blogging world nowadays. Personally, though, I feel that it can become the equivalent of speaking to an empty room when taken to extremes. If monetizing your blog is all you care about and these methods are working for you, that is great! I'm not shaming you at all. But if I were in that position, I would personally have no motivation to keep blogging. I feel the most inspired to write a post when someone asks me a question or tells me I helped them (even if it is something as simple as helping them find a dress to wear to a wedding!). As long as I know that someone is actually hearing what I am saying and wants to hear what I am saying, I will continue to blog. Tumblr is dying as a platform and I don't get even a fraction of the questions that I used to. When I get an occasional message from someone telling me they love my blog or I've helped them out, it warms my heart and reminds me why I started pouring myself into my blog in the first place. I've screenshotted all of the nicest/most impactful messages I've gotten over the years and look back through them whenever I feel uninspired or start focusing too much on followers and money.
I would love to hear y'all's thoughts on this post or on this topic in general –leave a comment or shoot me an Intagram/Tumblr message!
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