Last evening I had the pleasure of meeting Sally from Sally's Baking Addiction. As I listened to her story I realized her story is very much atypical. The rise of her blogging fame was relatively short—a whole year or so. Most bloggers work for years and years before (or if ever) they can become a full-time blogger. Needless to say, Sally worked hard and she's very fortunate - she's talented and has a knack for writing cute and clear blog posts. Ahh..yes..she's almost smart...and got in on Pinterest in the beginning..and we all know how the gals love to pin stuff.
The room was filled with wannabe food bloggers, asking questions about baking and blogging. I sat there....probably the oldest fan in the room and wondered...how unique am I if all of these "women" want to do the same thing? The thing is...I'm not..we aren't...in a way... Yes, we all possess our own thoughts but we are all very similar. We have almost the same dreams. How can we make our blogs and ourselves stand out? My answer: Be ourselves. That's my plan. It may not be their plan but it's mine. I can't try to be something I am not and I will continue to post about the foods I like rather than the foods I think my audience will like. Granted....it's not much of an audience.
Among all of the smart and fun things Sally spoke about, I took away an interesting statement. She said, "I started treating my blog as a business." That struck me. I said to myself, "Hmmm...okay...I understand but do I want to do that." The answer is no, not at this time but maybe one day after some cooking classes and soul searching.
For now, I will blog and bake as a hobby. Who knows? Next week I may just start taking it seriously. I will stick to my day job and moonlight as a baker. I even bought a chef's hat...I feel official.
I need to mention that Sally was a flipping delight! She was so warm, welcoming, enigmatic, and treated her fans as if they were already friends. That gal has charisma and it explains why she's so successful.
Keep blogging ladies...your voices matter.
