EDITOR'S NOTE
Let's continue this conversation,shall we?
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.misspretorius.wordpress.com
Facebook: Miss_Pretorius
Instagram: @miss_pretorius_ and @rhose_in_bloom
Writing has always been my passion and blogging seemed like the logical next step. What no one tells you about blogging is that it’s draining. It requires creativity that often doesn’t come when needed, it’s unlike a tap you can turn on when needed. It’s a piece of yourself that you share with a world of strangers, it leaves your vulnerable and susceptible to critique, critique you might not be immune to. It makes you feel like you’re never enough when you see other bloggers “living the life”, it leaves you in despair when you see the products they receive, sponsored trips they take etc. If the latter sounds like you, you’re blogging for the wrong reasons. Blogging, to me, isn’t about what I get out of it; it’s about what I have to offer. It’s about sharing a part of yourself with the brands and your readers. It’s about being authentically you.
I posed the question to a few bloggers, “How do you feel about blogger/brand relationships in SA? Does it measure up to the rest of the world?” I personally feel there’s still a lot to be achieved in the blogger/brand relationship dynamics. Firstly, for both parties, establish if it’s a good fit. Often bloggers are so elated at being approach and money offered that they often don’t consider how the relationship affect or fit them as a brand. Your brand should be important to you as that’s what people think of when your name comes to mind. Do we measure up? I feel we shouldn’t compare ourselves to the rest of the world. It’s the same as every 31 year old comparing themselves to Rihanna and her success, which will inevitably lead to you feeling that you don’t measure up, that you’ve wasted your life somehow.
The bloggers featured this month have one thing in common, authenticity. They’ve remained true to who they are despite everything thrown at them in this industry.
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