Why I Started Blogging

If you’ve read my blogging goals posts for July and August, you’ll know that my blog is growing faster than I expected and I’m really pleased with how it’s going so far.

So, I wanted to start talking a bit more about blogging and “anything goes” Sunday seems like the best time to do it!

So why did I start blogging?

1. To help myself
2. To help others
3. To help my family

To help myself

I have always loved writing. I’ve kept diaries and journals for as long as I can remember – long before I started blogging. I just never thought anyone would be interested in reading anything I had to say.

When we were going through our IVF journey, I wrote everything down. It was like therapy for me, when I felt like I didn’t have anyone to talk to. And when I was really struggling with my mental health, writing was a release of emotion that I couldn’t get elsewhere.

It wasn’t the first time I’d struggled with depression, but it was the hardest. Infertility sucks. The whole IVF process is really hard and I found it impossible not to blame myself. I was a depressed, anxious mess and I was feeling the stigma of both infertility and mental health all at the same time.

Back then, I didn’t really know anything about blogging, so I set up a free WordPress blog and I published my journal entries. Nobody read them. Not because they didn’t want to… but because nobody knew they existed. I didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t promote them. At all. I didn’t know anything about SEO or how to drive traffic to my site. I eventually did share those posts, and then they later became posts on this blog. You can start reading them here, if you’d like to.

That was when I started thinking that I wanted to speak more publically about things that don’t get spoken about often enough.

To help other people

When I was going through IVF, I spent a lot of time reading various internet forums, full of women going through a similar journey. One thing that really struck me, was that so many of them felt the same way I did – that they couldn’t talk about it outside of those forums. And that got me thinking. Why? Why do so many people feel like they can’t talk openly about something that they have no control over?

The sheer number of people on those forums shows that infertility is more common than anyone thinks, but everyone just hides away and keeps it to themselves. And that’s OK, if that’s what they want to do, but I realised I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to write about it. I wanted other women to know that they weren’t alone and they infertility was nothing to be ashamed of or hide away from the world.

And you know what sucks? It’s the same with mental health. Which, FYI, is also something people have no control over. No one chooses to have a mental illness, anymore than people choose to be diabetic. I decided I wanted help other people who felt like I did – to tell them that they don’t have to suffer in silence. It’s OK to talk about what they’re going through and to ask for help, if they need it.

I started by being open about my journey with my friends and family and on social media, but it wasn’t enough.

To help my family

Who knew it was possible to make an income from blogging? If someone had told me that 3 years ago, maybe I would have started blogging sooner.

Blogging is not a get rich quick scheme (if you are looking for online money-making ideas, you might find this post over on The Geeks Club to have some useful ideas), but I’m hoping that I can eventually start making a bit of an income from it, to pay for holidays and treats for the twins. I’m also hoping I never have to work in an office again, because I really struggle with my anxiety in that environment. The dream is to work from home, despite the many distractions that get in the way of work, and that’s why I started blogging – because I’m hoping that blogging will allow me to achieve that dream.

 

When I started blogging, I didn’t feel brave enough to talk exclusively about mental health. I can talk about my kids until I’m blue in the face, though, which is how Becca Blogs It Out started primarily as a parenting blog. But the more I write about mental health, the more I want to write about mental health. That’s what motivates me to drive traffic to my blog. It’s important for people to see that it’s OK to be honest about what you’re going through.

I also love writing about my kids and parenting and I love that I don’t have to choose. This is my blog. I can write about whatever I like, and – weirdly – people seem to enjoy reading about it.

If you’ve been thinking about starting a blog, but you’re not sure whether anyone will read it… go for it. You won’t know until you try. And you might just help someone, as well as yourself.

And if you want to give yourself the best start

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