I have been thinking, no smart remarks please, and why do you blog? I was speaking to a new acquaintance last week and was telling them how I sew and stuff and mentioned that I blog as well. She said according to a TV show blogging in terms of profit versus time spent is a really poor use of resource. It has stuck with me ever since. Is that the sole motivation - profit? Some of my favourite blogs don't even have anything for sale, Pigeon Pair, Thornberry, Potty Mouth Mama, Home Girl, Hugo and Elsa (though she will sell you cupcakes), Che an Fidel, The Nutrients of Life and that is just a few.
I find the most value is the support and input I receive and inspiration from reading about everyone else's adventures. I have managed to make friends with people I wouldn't normally been able to have the good fortune to meet. I am so grateful to everyone that takes time to share because I guess that what a community is.
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I blog because I am an egomaniac, and think my taste rocks. :p
Okay, no, I blog because I am NOT so much an egomaniac, and need OTHER people to tell me my taste rocks. Otherwise, I might not know, and could just be going through life completely clueless and showing it! :lol:
I started blogging as way of making a name for myself so as to increase sales. What sales? I haven't gotten there yet because I keep wanting to make things for friends. But seriously I have found blogging to be inspirational and helps me to keep active doing what i love best. I don't buy magazines or watch TV so I can't see that I waste more time than the average person would on these and I am incited to craft everyday. (doesn't mean I do but the love is there all the time!) Cherrie
Helloo.
I blog as a record of my own creative bits and bobs, it means I can actually see what I have achieved and motivates me to continue. I love to read blogs for inspiration, tips etc... and I'm making friends too! Nothing to do with money over here!
x
I blog to share the things I make, and to interact with other crafty types.
I quite agree with you. I don't intend to sell anything I blog about. I just love being able to keep a diary of my work and to take photos, which I really enjoy and put them to a good use. I love hearing from others who have the smae interests as me. We encourage each other, inspire and help others.
Not sure why I blog actually lol yes I do post things for sale but its not the main reason I blog. I use my blog to show people my art and hopefully help people if they have a question about coloured pencils. Because all of my family is in Canada it allows them to see pictures easily. I think the main reason I blog is so that I have a record of my life, no matter how boring :p
I started blogging as show-and-tell, to keep me motivated and on track with my sewing. I continue blogging because I have made friends, I love the sharing, it acts as a record of what I've made, and it keeps me motivated.
I started blogging because I wanted to show the world what I could make. It is also a record of the things I have done so for me on those days when I feel a bit down I can look at it and see that I really can do something if I set my mind to it. It is kind of a reminder to me not to feel like I can't achieve anything because it shows me all the things I have achieved.
started blogging because my family were sick to death of show and tell in the loungeroom. Now I show and tell to anyeone who wants to pop by the blog. I have made millions from my blog! Millions of crazy ideas, funny comments, friendly tips, helpful advice, happy thoughts, and brand new real life friends. My blog is a huge plus in my life!
I blog because I like chatting to people, all over the world and interacting with them. It's also a creative outlet and fun!
I have 2 blogs and I don't sell anything. Nada. One is a record of my daughter's milestones and serves to show relatives around the world what we've been up to. The other is like an online dairy where I share my thoughts and craftiness (when there's some to be had....) I love reading other people's blogs for inspiration, for advice and tutorials, and to know I'm not the only SAHM trying to find time to create!
I started blogging because it gave me something else to think about apart from doing piles of washing, ironing, cooking and cleaning! I continued because I really liked writing and blogging gave me the motivation to keep crafting. Now I do it because I love the community and friendship.
I might not have met you if it weren't for blogging!
I started blogging for sanity when I have to give up working. It has completely changed my life - I've met so many wonderful crafty people and made lots of new friends. I have started selling since, but that's definitely not the reason why I blog.
Once upon a time nobody blogged for profit, and I think everyone would have laughed at the notion. It's a weB-log - 'stuff I did', in other words. Now, we all know of high profile bloggers who either make money from selling advertising or product, and business blogging is becoming commonplace, but really, I think this is a tiny tiny fraction of bloggers, and most bloggers are still creating the 'stuff I did' kind of site. I blog because I want to remember stuff, and I have an atrocious memory! The bloggy-crafty-stitchy community interaction I get as a result is a very welcome bonus :)
How funny is muralimanohar!! Wow, if I blogged for profit then I would be in the poor house. I blog because I want to share, I want to communicate with like minded people and to feel part of a community. I have made terrific friends (like you) and I really get a huge kick out of opening up Google Reader and seeing who has posted and 'catching' up with them. I blog because I like it, it gives me confidence and inspiration.
There's 3 kinds of bloggers -
1. those who are trying to sell/make money
2. those who enjoy an online community and sharing knowlege, and
3. those who want both of these things.
I love blogging! I do it for the second reason, sharing the knowledge with like-minded people (people who love sewing!) that I would otherwise not have the chance to communicate with in the real world. I also love writing, storytelling and imagery so blogging is just the perfect combination. It takes time, but I treat it as a creative hobby, and therefore get something back from it in the form of creativity.
A nice, thought-provoking post, thank you! Now I'm going to read all the other comments :)
I love cruising craft blogs, many of which have contributed to teaching me how to sew in the last 12 months or so. Then I started feeling voyeuristic peeping into people's lives without them knowing, and started my own blog so at least I was "out there" too. I enjoy the show and tell element, especially since I don't have a lot of friends that are into craft/sewing in "non-blog land". I think I profit from blogging, but not in a monetary way (although sometimes it is certainly a time waster...)
I started the blog when I started selling on etsy. Yes, I mention my store in some blog posts, I have links to my stockists and I show some of my new designs. But if I was blogging for sales, I would have mnever told you about how unorganised I am and how messy the place is! I would have never shown a sleeping cat in my fabric...
I blog becuase I am inspired by the people I have met. I blog because I have become a part of a wonderful community that provided me with so much support during my saddest time.
And I am lucky that I have met some of these 'friends' out there in cyber space. How lucy I am.
While blogging does help market things that I sell, it certainly isn't the main reason why I do it.
For me, it's the amazing creative community I've met, it's for the feedback, the support on days when I really need it, for the inspiration I find on other people's blogs and the feeling of sharing.
I blog as an outlet. A chance to write down my true feelings being a proud Mum to a child with a physical disability. I blog to inspire, I blog to create, I blog to learn and I blog for new found friends who understand this part of my life that is little in some ways and all consuming in others.
Come and visit me if you like!
I blog for a wide variety of reasons - community, show and tell, community, and did I mention community! It sound naff, but it really is important to me. It's like we're all doing a show and tell, and then discussing afterwards. With hot chocolate. And Cake.
I blog because I love the sense of community and friendship. As a teenager I had lots of penfriends, and blogging kind of feels like that, sharing little snippets of our lives with each other. And yes, it is a bit of show and tell too! Plus I love to be inspired by the crafts I see on other people's blogs.
I've been thinking about this lately too...My blog serves lots of functions. It helps family stay up to date with us. It helps me record my daughter's homeschooling adventures which we need for our registration. It makes me pause and look at things we do and appreciate them. It drives me to keep making things and talk about them and sometimes sell them. It has introduced me to some lovely people! Nothing in my life is all about the money, so I'm happy to throw away some profit for the sake of the above rewards!
Hmmmm interesting! I guess a lot of people do blog because they sell stuff. But I sell stuff because I blog...if that makes sense. I still blog for my original reason - to foster my own creativity and to remind me to seek out the little things to marvel at and be grateful for. It was the blogging feedback that gave me the confidence to try actually selling the stuff I loved to make. But to blog for profit? No thanks. That would simply turn it into a chore. Even though I do now post some of the things that are for sale, it is more for feedback and sharing than as a marketing excercise. Anything that comes of it sales-wise is just an extra bonus. Actually, it has been nice to be reminded of my reasons for blogging. Another good excercise in practising gratefulness!! Thank-you :D
I'm still trying to fathom that one. And I certainly lurked a long time before I cut to the chase. The community thing is a big bonus. My blog also provides some sort of cathartic breathing space - enabling me to step back and appreciate the good stuff in my life while laughing a little/lot at the bad stuff.
cindy, i totally get you and find those kind of comments offensive or maybe just naivety to the www??
I started blogging kind of as an open diary to my life and since taking up sewing, enjoy the process of making and then sharing online.
I love making new friends online with similar interests and also love seeing the magnitude & multitude of sewing beauties that pop up on so many blogs that I stalk ;)
Funny you should pose this question, because I ask myself quite regularly.
But I blog as a sort of diary - as I am no good at writing in a journal. And also because I love writing, and otherwise had no outlet!
I guess anyone who has blogged at some point in time has asked themselves this question.
I started blogging for many different reasons (some already covered in all the comments above): a record of our some of my/our daily life, a means of sharing moments with far-flung family members, an break from the housework.
It has become more than that as I also use it now to record ideas that pop into my head, projects I start (& occasionally finish).
These are a few of the benefits I didn't expect when I started blogging:
Getting feedback from other bloggers and crafters (which inspires me to keep creating), the extra photos I now take (only a fraction of which ever end up on my blog), the inspiration I have found from reading other blogs I discover through comments on my blog.
While I do also sell stuff on Etsy & mention it occasionally on my blog I don't think I've ever had a sale where they mentioned finding me though my blog. I like to see if bloggers also sell stuff online but mostly I just like the glances I get into others family and crafting lives.
I guess I blog for lots of reasons & the reasons have changed over time.
I started blogging as a way to diarise a family holiday for family & friends & it just kinds of continued. In the beginning I blogged about my kids, but somewhere along the way I started sewing & blogged about that.
For me blogging motivates me to finish things & also to create in general. I am inspired by other people's blogs & I do enjoy the 'community' aspect as a stay at home mum.
I love getting feedback on things I make, & blogging provides an opportunity for that.
I guess that is why I blog...!
PS thanks, I'm glad you like my blog!
juicy topic! blogging is defo a lifeline for me. can feel so isolated being at home full time so its wonderful to reach out to and get feedback from others in a similar stiuation all over the world. i started the blog as a kind of bulletin board for far away friends and family when i embarked on my parenting adventure. since then it has changed to a more public, and me oriented space but my no 1 priority is still to create a record of my boy's early childhood that they can refer back to and understand a little about me and how much they were loved. hope it somehow survives! ace to meet u via blogging btw still want to meet up in the real world too, ceres wednesday? is it near you?
I blog as a way of reaching out to other like-minded people. It's given my confidence a boost and as a result my productiveness. I don't sell any more but I do love supporting others who do. LOVE those pants you made - gorgeous pocket detail!
i started my blog way before i started my papergoods etsy shop - i just loved connecting and sharing with like minded people and being part of a wonderful community!
i think now that I have an etsy shop i hardly have time to blog and comment on my favourite blogs - it zaps out a lot of spare time that I used to have and I miss visiting all my favourite blogs - for me now its all about balancing everything and it can get overwhelming!
For me, coming from a science background, I wanted to have a record for my crafty stuff, like a lab book for my creative endeavours. If other people wanted to join in and share their ideas and give me tips, or if they could learn from the mistakes I've made then that's an extra bonus. Hmmm.. "profit versus time spent is a really poor use of resource"... I guess if you think of 'profit' as only being $$$, then I think it is. But if you include happiness from community spirit and support, learning new ideas and staying sane from having a central place to store your ideas in your definition of "profit", then I think profit from blogging is high!
I blog because I love to share. It's really tough running a small business - and I blog because it's really a lovely escape from all that. It's about giving and documenting - and really nothing at all to do with making money at all.
If I didn't blog my head would explode - I need to get all the ideas and inspirations out - and I need to write every day. I need to know that I'm making other people smile from my little Mike's tower. And I blog because I need to connect with like minded people. Even if they hardly ever say anything back!
That's what blogging means to me. Luckily for me, my writing habits online lead to being published offline. A dream come true, really. But born out of consistency and passion and true blog love. I think if you don't blog from the heart, you soon tire of it and perhaps stop enjoying it.
I've done over 2000 posts on my blog, and I swear I could have done twice as many, but I felt sorry for my audience! Blogging is a lovely thing. It connects us all and brightens our day and teaches us things and trains us in all sorts of great habits. Blogging shows us how flawed we all are, and how wonderful we all are. I blog for love. And that's the truth. The love of sharing stuff.
I've really enjoyed reading all these wonderful comments Cindy. Thanks for posting such an interesting topic.
I started blogging to record special moments of my darlings' fleeting childhoods. But now it's turned into so much more. Blogging helps me look for the positive moments in my days which sometimes, can at times be quite crap when you're at home all day with little ones.
I'm so amazed, honored and chuffed that people take to the time read my blog, I love reading the wonderful comments people make, it really does make my day! And I think being a stay at home mum can be incredibly lonely at times, especially living in the country, so it's wonderful to have a network of like minded bloggy friends out there. Everyday they make me laugh, cry or inspire me in so many ways. I feel very lucky!
I haven't been blogging for long. After moving to a new city and being fairly isolated for much of a year I found blogging as a way of finding a community around the world, and in real life in my new city.
I am sharing some of the things I do for profit, but mostly I am motivated by my enjoyment of reading about the everyday trials and triumphs of people like me and I assume that I might have something to say that is both interesting and helpful to others. Perhaps statments made about blogs being a waste of time are also made about gossips around the water cooler or at the drop off in the school yard, and my experience has been that in fact this is where I find the most helpful hints and words of encouragment. I work at home and have teenagers so am not allowed to do the school drop off anymore, blogs are where I find my community.
I read some where a blogger who said that some of her friends treated her like she was crazy FOR crafting, instead of crazy ABOUT crafting. That goes for me too. I have friends who can not appreciate the time, love and thought that has gone into something handmade and laught at my 'Martha Stewart' ways. But I have bloggy friends who comment, appreciate, critique, and sympathise when I am having a hard time or my baby has an ear infection! My blog is my visual diary of my craft and pieces of everyday life. :)
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