As bloggers and influencers, we all want to become a better version of ourselves. Speaking for myself, 2020 is the year by which I promised myself I would be earning the equivalent of a very healthy full-time salary from my blog. Sure, I might have to push this back slighly to 2021. But I’m still pretty proud of how far I’ve come in the five years since I relaunched My Dreamality.
Improvement is continuous, of course, and one of the things I often have most trouble with is remaining true to my roots. This may sound cliche, but what I mean is that it’s hard as a blogger to truly focus on what you love to write about. This is especially true when you try to apply your blog life to also being a lifestyle influencer. The lure of earning easier money, for example by publishing pre-written content on topics you are’t really that bothered about, is always present. But we’ve all got bills to pay, at the end of the day!
I’m certainly not advocating saying no to well paid work that comes knocking on your door. As an influencer, I do think it’s important to be flexible and take things on that you wouldn’t if we were talking purely about our hobbies, for example. We do need to be aware of trends and tailor ourselves accordingly. Being a lifestyle influencer would be impossible without some give and take. But I also believe that what you do love to write about should never be relegated to last place. Trust me, your passion and quality will suffer if you allow this to happen.
So with this in mind, here are a few things that have helped me to keep my mind in the right place and better myself professionally these last few years.
Keep ideas flowing through a journal
Journals aren’t old school. They present you with a great way of ensuring you don’t forget any ideas that pop into your mind. After all, some of the best and biggest ideas are spontaneous. So keeping a journal on you at all times can really make a difference.
There are some popular posts I’ve written that have arisen from unexpected conversations I’ve had or things I’ve witnessed while out and about. And the quality of these posts have enabled me to then monetize further posts on similar topics by catching the eye of PR companies or SEO professionals. Being a lifestyle influencer requires a good eye and an even better ear. And trust me, typing ideas into a smartphone doesn’t capture the essence of your ideas as well as writing them down.
Enhance your communication skills
Communication is one of the most important aspects of being an influencer. As your career progresses, you’re going to meet many different people from diverse backgrounds. I’ve kept track of how many nationalities I’ve come across since I created my blog and started my career as an influencer. I’m currently on 42!
We all think about and approach our tasks in our own individual way. This is why it’s vital to communicate efficiently and effectively. Speaking for myself, improving my communication has helped me become more open about what I do and don’t like. It’s also helped me to better communicate what my professional do’s and don’ts are. By learning the right way to engage and the best words to use to be true to yourself, while remaining polite, you’ll enhance your reputation as someone who knows how to exert real influence.
Any popular brand can be marketed
This one probably speaks for itself but is still worth dissecting. For any influencer who started as a hobby blogger, like myself, the realization that the skills you’re learning can be applied to brand marketing is a big one. It may seem silly. But little could I have imagined that learning to express how much I liked a brand would then enable me to approach that brand in the future and get paid to write about it.
These days just abut any brand with a following can benefit hugely from influencer marketing. Brand endorsement is no longer just something for celebrities. Brands have cottoned onto the fact that “ordinary people” writing about their products is an extremely enticing marketing tool. So go ahead and pitch, pitch, pitch!
Take a training course to better yourself professionally
Of course, one of the best ways to develop yourself professionally is to take one of the main training courses that are available. It’s a good idea to look at something that is going to benefit you in many different elements of your career. For example, courses on social media provide skills can enable you to manage not only your own social media platforms, but those of your peers. In exchange for payment of course!
Create a good routine
This sounds a bit mundane, but believe me, it’s vital. You need to get your body adjusted to a specified time for waking up and a specific sleeping time. This will help you start and end tasks on time too. As a blogger and influencer it’s very easy to fall into the trap of thinking that because you don’t work in a 9-5 job, you don’t need to have a routine. Wrong. If your body clock is all over the place, you are going to struggle to work efficiently and stay focused. How many times did I work until 2 or 3 am before I learned this important lesson? Countless!
I hope these suggestions help you. Remember that success as a blogger and applying this success to being a lifestyle influencer is inextricably linked to confidence, efficiency, and love for the work you produce.
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