So lately I keep seeing this crazy trend about adult coloring books on-line and in major retailers like Urban Outfitters, Target, and Michael’s. I kept thinking to myself, what the heck is the deal with adult coloring books? Then I started reading about all of the benefits of adult coloring books and became hooked when Bad Words Studios sent me one of theirs to try!
I actually ate grilled cheese all day (literally breakfast, lunch, and dinner) for 4 days straight a few months ago because I just couldn’t adult that week.
So lately I keep seeing this crazy trend about adult coloring books on-line and in major retailers like Urban Outfitters, Target, and Michael’s. I kept thinking to myself, what the heck is the deal with adult coloring books? Who actually would want to sit around and color pictures of the little mermaid like we are five years old again?
And then I saw this…
Seriously, could there be any more of a perfect adult coloring book? They sent me one to color and one to give away! So why the heck should you want an adult coloring book?
My master piece in progress!
1. Coloring actually de-stresses you! Seriously this is for real! Literally based on real science here: According to clinical psychology, Dr. Ben Michaelis, coloring is a “centering activity, the amygdala, which is the part of the brain that is involved with our fear response, actually gets a little bit of rest”.
2. Coloring is doctor prescribed! When I used to work as a therapist in treatment facilities, I always thought we had patients color mandala’s because we were understaffed or too tired to run a process group, turns out it’s actually backed by science! Apparently the father of analytical psychology, Carl Jung, used to prescribe it to patients and many doctors continue to prescribe it to help combat anxiety in patients! The counselor in me is totally geeking out over this!
3. You’ll be more organized, focused, and ready to problem solve! According to this Washington Times Article, Leslie Marshall, clinical counselor reports coloring opens up the frontal lobe of your brain, which is home to organization and problem solving – thus focusing the brain.
4. Boosts self awareness! As adults we’ve built up a lot of ways to protect ourselves from getting hurt by the big bad world. Coloring can actually be a sneaky peak into our own complex minds according to this Huffington Post article and psychologist Antoni Martínez, who says “We can use it to enter into a more creative, freer state,” he assures. We can also use it to connect with how we feel, since depending on our mood we choose different colors or intensity. “I myself have practiced that. I recommend it in a quiet environment, even with chill music. Let the color and the lines flow.” Which leads us too…
5. It’s self expression! Seriously you get to choose the rules! F*ck everybody and everything and do you!
In this vlog Sami Kattan of Nomad’s Land shares how he makes a living as a digital nomad. Sami share’s how he launched his business, the struggles of early entrepreneurship, and his advice to the multi-passionate millennial. Check out this week’s episode of The Confused Millennial’s vlog series, “Inspiring Millennials”.
(ARCHIVE POST): In honor of July 4th, TCM TV is taking a holiday today, so no new episode of the “Inspiring Millennials” Series. I decided to bring back one of our first episodes for you guys to enjoy! Happy Independence Day!
I am beyond excited for this interview! I met Sami while at the University of Florida. We used to bond over our love of cooking and community while hosting little dinner parties at my apartment.
After college we lost touch and then I stumbled upon him on Instagram and knew I needed to interview him! Since college, Sami has been traveling all over the world and building multiple businesses. He is a talented and skilled videographer and has worked to blend his creative self with his business mind (for any creativepreneurs out there you know that struggle is real!).
SPOILER ALERT: he got his start with videography after hitch hiking a ride on Craigslist to Mexico, where he lived in a hammock on the beach!
Seriously you have got to hear his story! He also gives a lot of great and relatable advice to budding entrepreneurs!
Quick PSA about e-mail etiquette. It’s one of those things that I really struggled to learn as an early twenty something, and often found myself crying and screaming at my inbox “come back, come back!” Whether its because I sounded dumb, for got something, or wrote something full of typos and emoji’s, I’ve probably made every e-mail mistake in the book! So here are 10 tips to perfect email etiquette for your twenties.
E-mail etiquette is something that has been on my mind a lot lately…
I decided I needed to do a quick PSA about e-mail etiquette. It’s one of those things that I really struggled to learn as an early twenty something, and often found myself crying and screaming:
I’ve totally thought about sleuthy plans to break into my bosses office and delete the e-mail’s too… whether its because I sounded dumb, forgot something, or wrote something full of typos and emoji’s, I’ve probably made every e-mail mistake in the book!
So a Quick E-mail etiquette PSA:
1. Proof read your e-mail, please for the love of whatever is holy on this earth! Make sure you’re words are spelled correctly (at least mostly: DAMN YOU AUTOCORRECT!), grammar is on point, and that you included whatever you said you would include (always double check those attachments!).
2. Be clear, concise, and thorough. Nothing drives me crazier when I get a really generic e-mail that is super vague and results in us having to go back and forth multiple times to get to the damn point! Whether you are e-mailing a boss, friends, or trying to pitch someone, please think to yourself “Is this the quickest and clearest way I can get my point across and convey all the relevant and necessary information?” IF you can’t quickly give me a “HELL YES!” then don’t hit send!
3. Make sure you have a signature. Nothing bothers me more when I can’t easily stalk you on your social media platforms or find your phone number for a quick question. Include your full name, website, relevant social media platforms, phone number, etc. I don’t want to waste my precious time stalking this information out, I will do it… but I will be cursing you the whole time.
4. If you are emailing a bunch of people, use BCC. Who here loves getting an e-mail with 50 people CC’ed and getting every single one of them replying with “cool!”, “got it!”, “thanks”? Not sure who? I’ll tell you: IT’S NO ONE. No one likes their emails clogged with useless or irrelevant emails. So if you are sending a blast out to everyone and they only need to respond to you then please us BCC and leave me and my inbox out of everybody’s replies.
5. Don’t send stupid chain emails. This isn’t AOL in the 90s or early 00’s. Read the previous statement in #4: Don’t clog people’s emails with useless or irrelevant crap. I don’t care that your first born will be taken by the cursed angel demon Damian if you don’t send this to five friends, because guess what, if you send me that, we aren’t really friends so you already F*’ed yourself!
6. DO Reply with a courteous “received” or “got it”. Just to double back to #4 where I talk about people responding “cool”, “got it”, or “thanks”…. I actually LOVE receiving these e-mails if I am the one sending the e-mail (In point #4, I hate it when I get those and I’m CC’ed). – But people have a lot of issues with e-mail being marked as spam (I’ve been one of them countless times because I use an masked dummy gmail), so PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOU RECEIVED MY EMAIL! Even if you aren’t responding in full at the time, just say “Great, thanks!” and I won’t keep pestering you.
7. Check your emotions. This is one of the toughest for me. I get really passionate when I write sometimes, and will actually have entire written arguments… who’s with me? I need to pause, take a breath, and check my emotions before sending most e-mails. When I was in the corporate world especially. I would even send them to my fiancee (screen shotted or copy and pasted into a text, never via company email!) to read it before sending to ensure I am being as diplomatic, professional, and polished as possible. This practice of proof reading one another’s emails has actually been really insightful and helpful. It’s taught us both about how people read tones and how to even clean up the email to be clearer and more concise (See #2). Maybe enlist an e-mail buddy or two? Just remember…
8. Don’t send stuff you don’t want seen or read via company e-mail! They own that ish! Seriously, your company is probably not reading every e-mail you send, but for safety sake, get into the mindset that they have an elf in the basement reading every e-mail waiting to tattle to master if you mess up (Yeah, I really just combined DJ Khaled and Harry Potter references in the same point… #WINNING!)
9. Choose an accurate subject life. If you are pitching someone, make it intriguing so they want to open it, if you are working with someone make sure it’s specific to the conversation. It should be memorable, as in “what key words would I search if I was trying to find this email?”
Examples:
Good subject line: “NYU Graduate, published author seeking content writer position”
Bad subject line: “Content writer position” (Where’s the intrigue? Why should I open this compared to all the others? How can I easily search this compared to all the others?)
Good subject line: “Summary notes from 6/15 Summit discussion”
Bad subject line: “Notes”
10. Set up a vacation auto-responder. If you are going away for more than 2 days, please use a vacation notification. Let me know that you won’t be responding to my emails, rather than me wondering if they are in spam or you’re ignoring me.
What are your email pet peeves or e-mail tips? Let me know in the comments!
Now that you’ve nailed e-mail etiquette, grab the guide to crafting your perfect 30 second elevator pitch!
How important is your personal brand to your professional goals? Should you develop a personal brand if you are a traditional employee? Will it really help with promotions? Or should you have a personal brand if you are starting a side hustle or self employed? What are the benefits of a personal brand and how do you create one? – The Confused Millennial
Over the last two weeks, the topic of personal branding has come up a lot for my audience. Whether you are seeking traditional employment, launching a side hustle, or taking the full leap into self employment a strong personal brand can be a major asset to reaching whatever your career goals are (whether it’s a promotion, your next client, or sale).
Some things to consider whether you are a traditional employee, side hustler, or self employed:
For the traditional career path: It’s not enough to have a twitter account that you only tweet about the Bachelorette (Seriously, is anyone else #TeamDerek this season? *UPDATE: I wrote this post before this weeks episode! He’s definitely going home next week)… but rather leverage social media platforms to brand yourself as an expert in a specific skill that your company craves. Are they looking for someone to unlock social media strategies? Are they looking for someone that can network like it’s nobodies business? Show them that you are that person! By developing a strong personal brand and becoming well known for that it can lead to promotions for you (because if that’s how you spending your free time, imagine what you could do if you were getting paid!), or it can lead to recruiters or other companies that take notice of your skills and want you! As millennials, we have way more potential than actual results in the workforce, so by showing employers that you have an innate skill that you are genuinely passionate about, they will take notice and have a deeper belief, trust, and respect in you and your ability to be that ideal employee.
For the side hustler: Okay, maybe you already have a career and don’t want to put it on blast that you are trying to break free from your 9-5… in that case, I would set up entirely new and branded social media platforms. You could set these up using either your name, maiden name, middle name, some sort of moniker or the name of your side hustle. Really take a moment to consider, if an employer Googled you, would they be able to find that this is connected to you? And if so, would you care? Keep in mind that you don’t want to do something so out of left field that if it grows you won’t be able to grow the brand with that name too. Then get to networking with your newly branded social media profiles! Build relationships, be present, and start building that “like, know, and trust” factor with your audience!
For the self employed: You are your brand when you’re self employed! You should have a strong personal brand (especially if your company or blog is under a different name), for added credibility down the road, increased visibility, and an overall safety net. So if I ever decide to shut down TCM, I always have Rachel Ritlop to fall back on. Rachel Ritlop is way more polished and professional than TCM, and if I ever decide to go work for a company again, it’ll be a lot easier for Gen X to understand than TCM. This “personal” brand showcases me as a career and business expert that gets written up in Forbes, Monster, and Fast Company…. that looks pretty serious to a potential employer! If I can get that kind of press for myself, imagine what I could do for a company? Plus, when I am working with larger company for independent contract work, they are more drawn to my polished personal brand, and most don’t know about my lifestyle blog, but my blog readers always find out about my professional self and coaching over on Rachel Ritlop.
How to brand yourself on social media: It’s actually really easy! Share relevant articles and up to date research, create your own weekly or bi-monthly Twitter chat, partake in Twitter chats, Periscopes, Facebook Lives, or Instagram Chats to showcase your expertise, join Facebook or Linkedin Groups and connect with others to build your social credibility and social proof (testimonials, references, praise, etc.), share people’s content that you want to build a relationship with and then cold e-mail them, oh many the list goes on and on! You can build a personal brand by spending 10 minutes a day on it or 10 hours a day on it! It solely depends on what you’re goals are, so make sure to get really clear on those before you start wasting time without a strategy!
Lastly, don’t forget about your other social media profiles just because you have a polished personal brand! What do I mean by that? I have a polished personal Twitter, but my Facebook is pretty private (it’s not even my real name!), people constantly find and friend me on that Facebook profile (even though I have a dummy account with my real name, they quickly realize that it’s not really my true Facebook). I can’t stress this enough: Facebook and other social media platforms are constantly updating their privacy settings. Privacy settings on social media are not something you “Set and forget” because they change and we ignore the little notice they send out! So ever 3-6 months check your privacy settings, make sure they are as private as possible. Consider unlisting your “real” personal pages from search engines, make sure only friends can see (not friends of friends), and even with good privacy settings, thing before you post! Once it’s out there, even after you delete it, it’s never really gone. So be smart!
Want to learn how to brand yourself on Instagram as an Influencer in your Industry? Join my 3 day e-mail course!
Twenty something struggling with this whole adult thing, trying to make sense of the world on this birthday, I share life lessons learned from this past year and hope to help other millennials adult a little easier today. The Confused Millennial, Gen Y advice.
Maybe because I realize that more adulting (by numbers) = more responsibility… ugh.
OR
Maybe because the last few birthdays have been kind of anti-climactic…
OR
because I love being in my twenties so much that I really hate that they keep passing by (I am turning 27 and accidentally forget and tell people I am still 25… Whoops, my bad! )
But today I reflect on this past year and the lessons I learned… while there are way more than 5 these are the most prominent and dominant 5:
1) Self care is top priority. This year has been beyond stressful in every area of my life, family, housing, business, friends… and my body and health have definitely experienced some negative consequences as a result of the stress. I am so grateful that Drops of Joy Jewelry sent me their oil diffuser necklace to try.
I get chronic headaches as some of you know, and with this necklace I can add a few drops of essential oil on the disc, put it in the locket, and let it diffuse into the air and clear up my tension headaches. How cool is that? Plus they have some adorable designs! I also got super nervous that I may eventually develop Fibromyalgia because my body is constantly tense (is that even how it works? Because that’s how I think it works and I keep freaking myself out), so I started getting regular massages and will get back into yoga this year.
2) The Facebook effect is much broader than just Facebook. I remember reading this article a couple of years ago about why Gen Y is unhappy and the American Psychology Association released their Annual Stress In America Survey for this year, which dubbed millennials as the most stressed generation. When I read the original article referenced in this point, I realized I was one of those entitle Gen Y “Yuppies” it talks about… I actually started teaching this article having groups read it while working as a counselor I found it to be so true…. But then I forgot about it.
While I’ve definitely lowered my expectations of life, I seem to have forgotten that the carefully crafted Facebook life, spans to a much broader reach than just Facebook…. It spreads to on-line personalities newsletters, website, webinars, testimonials, and their real life. This year I’ve had the pleasure to interact with high level coaches and realized they are living in fear that this carefully crafted persona will come crashing down… and that although they’ve built their businesses on hard work… they are now settling on entitlement to carry them through. I realize I don’t ever want to rest on my entitlement or “Facebook Effect” persona. I want people to know the struggle and hiccups, so they can connect and learn too… even if it means it takes a little longer to build my business and be seen as an expert. #Integrity4theWIN!
3) You can choose your family. Okay well I already knew this one and learned this lesson a long time ago, but to me, family is the person or people who show up, without strings attached, no matter what. They are the people that can respect where you are at and don’t punish you for taking care of yourself or being your own person. I am so grateful for the friends who have become family and my soon to be family (what?!? Am I really getting married in less than 4 months? This is starting to feel real!)
4) Just because someone writes about helping and supporting others doesn’t mean its true. My mind was blown when I learned that most testimonials on sites are people’s friends or family… Better yet… apparently it’s industry standards to blur the lines of those “praise” sections… Who knew?!? Maybe I am naive, but I really believed them when they had their picture, city, and name on there! Only after I learned this, I noticed if I read closely enough they are really a testimonial about the persons character, not services, seriously go read them. Even some of mine on rachelritlop.com fall into this… I really should update those.
5) Netflix isn’t the most important thing in my day. Last year, I think if you asked me how I spent my day, at least 8 hours of it was spent watching TV, literally, I am not exaggerating. This year, I buckled down and got way more serious about my business and nurturing relationships… proudly I can say Netflix is still my BFF, but we are only seeing each other 3-4 hours a day now.
Let’s get social! Join the Instagram Photo A Day Challenge
Adulting is hard. Growing up is difficult. We get a lot of advice that can lead to perfection paralysis or comparison, leaving us stuck or unfulfilled. Check out these tips on how to overcome unsolicited advice and still be a successful millennial.
I am a creative, but it took me a long time to realize and embrace this part of myself. When I was a little girl, I was constantly writing short stories and drawing. I loved it. Then fear kicked in and I stopped showing off my work. Fear has crippled me on and off for years. I would start painting, have a stack of finished or half finished work, that and decide to throw it away rather than display or show them off. I would start a blog, then stop after a month. I’ve been “working on” a book for the last nine years. I was terrified to have any of my work judged (heck if you go on The Confused Millennial’s Instagram page (formerly my personal page) you will barely see a single selfie out of fear of judgement!). Even in keeping up with this blog in it’s infancy, I am scared I will get writer’s block again and quit.
I think it’s normal to struggle with identifying as a creative when these spurts have happened so frequently (and infrequently) in my life.
I want to take a look at some of the best (and simultaneously worst) advice I have received (primarily for blogging and starting a business, but it holds true in most other areas of life as well):
Create a schedule and stick to it. This is some of the most common advice in life. Whether you are trying to start a business, job searching, or working out. In the blogging world, I often hear: “if you reader’s expect a new post every Monday, you better have one!” This advice actually stopped me from getting serious with blogging for years! It seemed like way too much pressure to commit to posting on certain days of the week forever. I was even more scared to commit to writing a “good” (read: perfect) post each week. I was so scared if there was a typo, or uninteresting topic, readers would never come back and that would be the end… This perfection paralysis ultimately led to insane writers block. It’s been over 2 years since my last attempt at starting a blog, and I think what has been so freeing with this blog, is that I am trying to embrace the typos (read the homepage disclaimer) and sub-par grammar at times. Sometimes I am so passionate about some of my posts, I barely get through an editing once-over before hitting “publish”… and that’s okay! I do agree with creating a schedule and sticking to it, but not every post needs to be pristine, today I challenge myself to get the post up, and if I need to edit it after, I do.
Know your audience. This is great advice whether you are launching a business or finding a career, but it can again, lead to perfection paralysis. I think part of the reason I’ve been attracted to working with millennials is that I understand the struggle, because it’s just as real for me, as it is for you. Sure, I know how to brand myself as an expert, but inside I don’t really feel any different than you… just figuring it out as I go trying to tame all my interests and passions. I think it’s important when starting a blog, or figuring out who your audience is, to know yourself above all else; otherwise you will get swallowed by the noise out there. When blogging, write to yourself. Would you be interested in the content you are putting out there? When job searching, look at your resume or interview responses and ask yourself “Would you be interested in the skill set you’re boasting to an employer?” Usually we have a lot in common with our target audience, it’s why we are drawn to them.
Be true to your voice. Again, great advice, but how the heck do I find this voice you speak of? We seem to need this voice in our careers, it’s often linked by to our “uniqueness” and our “creativity” (aka what makes us desirable to hire or work with). As someone who has been writing on and off since I was six years old, this is tough to find. I have tried copying and modeling myself after people I’ve looked up to, and always felt like part of me was missing from the work. Recently, I’ve had a few conversations with people who are struggling with finding their voice… I think the funny thing in adulting, is unlearning all the BS we learned in school and from society. My voice, is how I talk with my friends… it’s grammatically incorrect at times, I make up words, and I curse like a sailor… and that’s okay. Obviously there is a place and a time for different aspects of your voice, but too often people speak of this elusive voice without really helping anyone get to it, so let me re-write this even clearer for you:
you’re voice is how you talk with your closest friends.
That’s it. Think about it… that’s usually when you are your most creative and unique self. This is when your guard is down and you’re more comfortable and authentic. Don’t try to be more polished or more crude than you actually are. Do try to make your thoughts coherent and logical (if you’re prone to rants like me 😉). Don’t worry about appealing to that “ideal audience” if it’s not true to your voice, because even if you have that audience eating out of the palm of your hand, you will (probably) be miserable.
With love,
What advice has been great, but has you frozen with perfection paralysis? I would love for you to comment below or send me an e-mail!
Want some more inspiration? Download our list of photo-a-day prompts for June!
Is having a long engagement okay? Why should you have a long engagement? What are the pros and cons of a long engagement? The Confused Millennial, Rachel Ritlop, shares three reasons to have a long engagement.
How awesome are our wedding photographers? Thanks Brooke Images!
In case you didn’t know…
I’m getting married!
Haha I’ve actually been engaged for a really long time (November 9, 2014) and we are tying the knot in mid-October 2016…
When we got engaged we always knew we were going to have a long engagement… but I did not know how much society (and people) judged having a long engagement. Seriously, I turned on the TV one day and Wendy Williams was talking so much trash about people with two year engagements!
Apparently, it’s a pretty common stereotype that there are “issues” or something when a couple is engaged longer than a year (year and a half max.). We have had many people ask us “are you guys still even getting married?” or “is everything okay with you two?”
I think it’s so wrong to judge and assume that you know what’s going on in a persons life based on their wedding timeline.
The truth is, our engagement was so long, not because my fiancee and I were having issues, but because my mother and I have been on rocky terrain for years and I spent the first year of my engagement emotionally preparing myself that she wouldn’t come to my wedding. While all of the juicy details of that is probably an entirely different post… a blessing actually came from drawing out the wedding planning process: I have been relatively stress free!
That’s right! I have found wedding planning overall to be totally stress free.
Why do I love the two year engagement?
1. Narrows your guest list. Seriously, having a longer engagement narrows your guest list! You would be SHOCKED by how many people came out of the wood work trying to re-connect after we got engaged and wanted to “hear all about wedding planning” — only there was nothing really to tell other than we had no idea what was happening and we’re enjoying being engaged. I started hanging out with old friends who I had lost touch with and found myself thinking, “well we used to be great friends, maybe she will be in my wedding party!”.
Thanks Brooke Images!
Before inviting all my long lost girlfriends to be bridesmaids, I decided to wait and if we stayed re-connected (I once saw this story on the Today show where a study was done that found most couples were no longer in contact with their wedding party 15-20 years later — and all of the anchors said they do not talk to almost anyone who was in their wedding party anymore). This segment from the Today show always stood out to me… Maybe I am being idealistic, but I want to stay life long friends with my wedding party, I don’t want to pay a buttload of money to have people at my wedding who I don’t think will be there for the long haul.
And sure enough, the people who I lost touch with were only interested in wedding conversations and not actual re-kindled friendship. I started to feel like people were only interested in coming to the wedding than being a dependable friend. Needless to say when we first got engaged we thought our wedding would be around 150 people… and now that we are 5 months away its about 65 people.
Thanks Brooke Images!
2. Less money. Thats right, a longer engagement has meant a lower cost wedding! Aside from the smaller guest list, it’s really allowed us to not make impulsive or emotional decisions. We’ve had time to research, We’ve had time to not get caught up in trends or what other people are doing. We’ve really had the chance to decide, “Is this adding to our guests experience and to representing us as a couple?” – if there answer isn’t “HELL YES!” to both questions, then we are cutting it from the budget. This includes spending $200 on my wedding dress instead of $2,000!
Thanks Brooke Images!
3. No expectations. Because the engagement has been so long, family and friends don’t have that same wedding excitement and momentum that I hear/see in other couples. For so long there’s been “nothing to report” and when there is something to report, it’s usually small and pretty spread out from the next small “something to report” that it’s created a lot of space and distance from opinions and emotions (thankfully!) – which has really allowed the process to be about my fiancee and I and our wants, wishes, and needs as a couple.
Thanks Brooke Images!
Are you planning a wedding or trying to save some $$$? Download our checklist for saving on a tight budget!
Alyssa Coleman is a holistic nutritionist and yoga teacher. Alyssa shares her experience with school and starting a business in this weeks episode of “Inspiring Millennials”. Alyssa discusses what its like to start a business on-line as well as how to overcome common mistakes when launching a business. – The Confused Millennial with Rachel Ritlop
Happy Monday!
This weeks episode of the “Inspiring Millennials” vlog series is with Alyssa Coleman! Alyssa is a Holistic Nutritionist and yoga teacher. Alyssa is the founder of Alyssa Coleman Wellness and creator of the “anti-diet protocol”.
During the vlog Alyssa shares her experience in switching career paths, launching a business and the mistakes she made, and how she transitioned to having a successful on-line business. Alyssa gives actionable advice on business and self-care during the interview. I absolutely fell in love with her outlook, honesty, humility, and positivity vibe during the interview. She completely embodies her business in how she lives her life and its so inspiring to watch!
During the interview Alyssa talks about finding your audience on social media, make sure to download our guide to Instagram tools and stay tuned for our upcoming e-course, “Insta-groan to Insta-GAME!”
WOOHOO! Got the first “Ask Rachel…” Question! I am (HOPING!) to make a weekly feature of “Ask Rachel…” where I answer reader’s questions (on ANY topic!) and give some advice (FO FREE!). Submit your questions here!
Alright let’s jump into it!
Hello! I am a struggling twenty-something working on starting my own lifestyle/life fails blog. Do you have any advice for me as a launch into this new endeavor? I have written some practice posts to get those”first post” jitters and to be sure that it is something I actually want to take on. I am currently working on design layout, etc. but am very nervous to officially “launch.”
I’d love any advice, encouragement, etc that you have for me. Thank you!
Ahh thank you for the question! I can totally relate to being at that point of “Is this something I actually want to take on” when I first started blogging.
Some back story for you: I have been blogging on and off since high school (What up LiveJournal days! Who else remembers those?? Drop me a comment!). I would go through spurts where I posted multiple times a day to not at all. I’ve had a public blog, a private blog, and an anonymous blog over the years. I have constantly struggled with this pressure I put on myself to create the “perfect post” or “perfect content schedule” … I would obsess for hours over what other bloggers were doing and constantly compare myself…
…Which reminds me of episode 4 in Girls season 5 where Jessa tells Hannah she spends too much time reading articles and content on-line that it’s actually made her stupid and is the culprit of her writers block…
As bitchy as Jessa was in this scene, there’s some serious truth to it… I digress…
I actually put so much pressure on myself that I stopped enjoying it and would ultimately stop writing.
So the first point of advice: Limit how much content you are consuming on-line!
Seriously this is so important, I found that if I spend hours reading other peoples work, I lose my voice completely. I do like to read 3 bloggers regularly for inspiration, education, and fun, but any more than that I have found to actually be harmful.
Which leads me to my next question/piece of advice: Why are you blogging? What is your blog’s mission?
Write that shit down! Seriously, WRITE IT DOWN. Cherish this. Never lose this. As your blog grows you will have challenges that may pull you away from your original mission or purpose, so stay connected to your “Why” – as in “why you are starting this adventure”. Click here for more tips on how to write a mission statement.
Whether your are blogging for money, fame, or fun – just remember to let go of the fear.
Seriously, let it go. In the blogging world they say that your first “hate” comment or e-mail means you’ve made it. So really the only thing to feel “concerned” about is apathy… but at the end of the day if you are clear and focused about your blog’s mission, it will connect with someone (because emotions are universal, and nobody is so unique that they don’t have a tribe out there).
3 Big mistakes I see with new bloggers include (there’s more I just won’t get into all of them in this post):
They filter. They filter their thoughts and words so much that we never really get to know them or their personality.
They try to please everybody, and end up connecting with nobody.
They have a really ugly/crowded layout that makes it impossible to stay on their site or finish an article.
They are afraid to self promote (because people need to know you are out there!).
Ready to kick your blogging up a notch?
Grab the goal setting guide to reach all of your blogging goals!
tcmdisqus 
Jul 21, 2016
Blogging 101, Entrepreneurship, RR
instagram, social media, entrepreneurship, college, career
Rachel Ritlop
Comment
Jul 21, 2016
Blogging 101, Entrepreneurship, RR
instagram, social media, entrepreneurship, college, career
Rachel Ritlop
Comment
Jul 21, 2016
Blogging 101, Entrepreneurship, RR
instagram, social media, entrepreneurship, college, career
Rachel Ritlop
Comment
Jul 21, 2016
Blogging 101, Entrepreneurship, RR
instagram, social media, entrepreneurship, college, career
Rachel Ritlop
Comment
Jul 21, 2016
Blogging 101, Entrepreneurship, RR
instagram, social media, entrepreneurship, college, career
Rachel Ritlop
Comment
Jul 21, 2016
Blogging 101, Entrepreneurship, RR
instagram, social media, entrepreneurship, college, career
Rachel Ritlop
Comment