Blogging: The Bigger Picture!

Hey everyone!
Loads of people have asked me why i started blogging, why i love it so much and what inspired me to do beauty blogging, so i thought i would go on a novel sized rant... here we go!
So many people think that bloggers start blogging for the free PR samples and the fame that blogging can bring, but in reality, ive never ever met a blogger who started blogging for those reasons! For starters, in order to get free PR samples (which are beauty products, fashion or whatever the case may be) you need to raise enough stats to get the PR agencies interested in your blog in the first place. If you think for one minute these people are naive enough to send out samples to people for nothing, then think again! You need to have a unique readership and offer the public something the PR agencies are interested in. No-one who started a blog for free stuff is going to stick it out for long enough to gain that readership, you need to have a real reason to want to blog, so if you're thinking of starting a blog because you want some free stuff and a bit of fame, don't bother, the industry can see straight through you and you're not needed in the blog-osphere.
Why did i start blogging? well for starters, i love makeup, i love experimenting with different styles and new products, and i adore fashion aswell. Particularly plus size fashion because i am plus size. Makeup was always a way for me to escape both as a teenager and even now to an extent. People sometimes made fun of me for my weight, my glasses or my geeky personality (boohoo right?) and so i used to try and impress people with makeup to make them like me. I sound REALLY sad right now, but its the truth, and im pretty sure a lot of you will have done the same at some point. Im not a 'victim' or any of that yeehaw, i just had a rough time as a teenager like a lot of people did, im not whining, im just telling you about my relationship with makeup. Anyhoo... Instead of socialising like a normal 15 year old girl, i was in my room trying out foundation that was 3 shades too dark, blue eyeshadow and pink mascara. I failed miserably with all three things and i quickly started to learn from my mistakes, and as i matured, so did my makeup styles. I knew that i was never going to work in the makeup industry as a makeup artist or anything because i didn't really have the confidence and in all honesty, as a small town gal, there really isn't a huge demand for makeup artists - there's already too many in the area! So, a few years down the line and i decided to start a makeup blog.
I also started filming youtube videos with demonstrations on celebrity looks and reviewing different types and brands of makeup and other beauty products. The blog took about 6 months of daily blogging before i actually felt as though people were actually reading the junk i was writing LOL! but when i started to see my figures increase, i was really encouraged to continue blogging and filming for youtube.
Roughly 15 months on since i first started, I now have a much more professional setup from when i started, i have much better camera software, a good tripod, a better(ish) camera, a fully registered domain, blogging software, advertisers, PR agencies actively seek my blog, and im a fully registered business.
Nothing comes for free, you need to work hard, have patience and really believe in what you're doing.
Anyways, rant over!
Why did you start blogging?
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