Why I’m Proud To Be An Honest Blogger (And Always Will Be)

With all of the scandal surrounding bloggers and influencers buying followers and likes (have a scroll through here if you need to get up to scratch), it really got me thinking about my presence online and where my blog is today.

I’ve been blogging for four years now, and it’s still one of the things that I’m most proud of.

Ever since I started my site up in November 2013 during one of the hardest times of my life, my blog is one of the few things that has remained consistent over the past four years.

Like most bloggers (I’d imagine), I wish that I had a bigger following. I wish I had tens of thousands of page views every day, and the ability to get that damn ‘swipe up’ feature on Instagram.

Maybe one day I’ll reach those numbers (or maybe even higher), or maybe I won’t. But I can safely say that I’d rather have the number of authentic followers and readers I have now than a larger, fake audience

My following may not be huge, on any scale, but it’s mine. I didn’t pay someone (or something) for it, my followers and readers aren’t robots. They’re real people who choose to spend some of their precious time liking or commenting on my pictures, tweets and reading this post right now, like you are (thank you!).

In a world where the blogging community is as saturated as ever, it can feel disheartening to be among the ‘smaller’ bloggers. But small is just a perspective, isn’t it?

There are days when I compare myself to bloggers with 50k followers on Instagram and dozens of blogging awards – and if their following is authentic, fair play to them.

If it isn’t, they’re undermining those of us who work tirelessly to gain even one new follower or reader. But that’s their choice, and I’ll leave it to them.

I’m proud that when I started my blog all those years ago, I chose the path less travelled by. I didn’t sell myself for likes or followers. I’ve never scammed any accounts looking for likes or for them to follow me. I’ve never paid a penny for a view, like or follow.

I can honestly say that the only time I’ve put money behind my social media is on my blog’s Facebook page to help posts reach a wider audience, and the ‘sponsored’ tab on the post makes this clear to the reader. Even still, that audience is made up of real people and the process is legitimate. Nevertheless, shortly after discovering that Facebook has made their algorithm purposely shitty for businesses in order to make them pay for their posts to be seen, I haven’t promoted anything since.

As a reader, I suppose it’s never been harder to know who’s being honest and who isn’t. I even struggle to know myself sometimes. But I can assure you that everything I do and say in the world of WhatSheDoesNow is always my true opinion, and I never have any other motivation other than sharing things I love or what I’m thinking.

I’m not trying to say that I’m ‘better’ than anyone else, because I know I’m certainly not. I’ve a huge amount of respect for anyone who has the courage and dedication to start a blog, put themselves online and prepare for judgement every day.

But I am also so proud to have a little slice of internet cake that I can say I made myself. Whether I’ve 1,000 or 10,000 followers on Instagram or 100 or a million readers on my blog, what matters most to me is that my hard work and dedication to WhatSheDoesNow has created an audience of real, genuine and truly brilliant readers.

I may not reach all of my goals (or maybe I will), but I wouldn’t be anywhere without the people (you!) who have read my blog either since the beginning or have only discovered it now (if that’s the case, please stick around!)

So thank you for being so brilliant and for choosing to spend any amount of time and energy out of your day reading the words I write or looking at the pictures I take, it truly means the world.

Now who wants some cake?

If you’re unsure whether someone’s following is authentic, check Niamh’s post here with all of the information you need to know.