Be original, they say.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Blogging is a tricky business. Everyday, more and more blogs are created, adding to an already over-saturated and overflowing market, making it even harder for us bloggers to get recognised. We're told that originality is key, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to come up with original ideas, especially in such a new type of media where copyright hasn't quite been established. So, how can originality be achieved when there are a million-and-one others out there like you, aiming for the same thing?
When I first started Isobel Rose just over 3 years ago, I kept things simple - makeup looks, haul posts, and the all important 'reviews'. However, as I've grown both as a blogger and a person, I've learnt that thinking outside of the box is so, so important, and although it can be insanely difficult and often frustrating to do, it's important to try and put your own spin on things. I feel like anyone can write a review about a pink lipgloss, and there are about 10,000 posts out there to prove it, but it takes a bit more effort and imagination to take that pink lipgloss and make it part of something bigger, something more exciting and interesting to read about. I, more than anyone, understand how easy it is to fall into the routine of doing 'standard beauty blogger posts' - favourites, reviews, 'edits' - but we have to get out of this rut and produce content that we are truly proud of. Of course, I'm not saying that you shouldn't write these types of posts - after all, they're popular for a reason - but mixing it up never hurt anybody. Personally, I go through stages of pure creativity and then others of complete lack of motivation. I am in no way claiming to be a master of originality, in fact I'm often finding myself lacking in that area, but I'm trying to constantly push myself to think bigger and better, so that I can say that I am happy with the content I produce, and how it reflects on me as an individual.
I've never been the best at anything; art, photography or writing, so I always end up putting myself down, and blaming my lack of strength in these areas - that are so important to blogging - for my less-than inspirational/interesting blog posts. However, I've now made the conscious decision to stop being hard on myself for what I can't do, and start to focus on what I can do (once I've figured that out, that is). After all, we are all different, so why aren't we all utilising our strengths to make our work more original? I mean, what could be more original than being yourself? From now on I plan to inject little snippets of my life and my personality into my work, and hopefully that will shine through for you all to see, and perhaps even enjoy. As I said, writing isn't my strength, so I'm probably going to cut this short here, but do let me know what your thoughts are on the 'originality' debate, and how you'd like to see it effect my blog posts. Be original, they say. But how many different ways can you talk about a pink lipgloss? You tell me.
Isobel x
