Why do you blog? My Top 6 Reasons + Mini Blog Revamp Tips

The other day, as I sat down for lunch with my husband, he asked me why I blogged – clearly, there’s no money in this blog and I doubt that it will ever break even, let alone turn a profit. Instagram and YouTube are much more profitable platforms for sure due to their higher visual appeal and little reliance on the written word.

I thought it was a great question to ask myself as well as, you, my audience, seeing as most of you run beauty blogs yourselves.

So yes, I do want to know from you: What inspired you to blog? What’s your niche, your personal take on the subject matters that you blog about? Let me know in the comments as I’d love to hear from you.

I also took the end of 2019 as an opportunity to overhaul the blog design slightly – it had become a little crowded and no longer suited my aesthetic.

Here’s what I did – perhaps it can help you too:

• Switched the blog design to a more minimalist, free design called Penscratch 2
• went for a funky yellow logo for the header banner and tab banner
• removed the header image to streamline the look
• added follow me buttons and email signup at the top right sidebar to make it easier for you to subscribe to updates

On to my reasons for blogging then.

1. Personally, I am experiencing consumer fatigue on social media. On YouTube, so-called influencers are trying to shove products down your throat, complete with discount codes and referrals. Aggregate review sites like Hwahae have disappointed me a lot as of late, I feel as though the ratings are bought, not honest. On Instagram, flatlays have become a lifestyle but all brands start to look the same in their aesthetics and visual choices. Everything is polished and sleek. Nothing is real. Everything is buy, buy, buy. The only place where I can get honest opinions are tiny beauty bloggers with small audiences like myself – they have nothing to lose and nothing to gain. This is why I trust bloggers more than influencers.
2. Many beauty products available locally have not been reviewed in English, so when I try to look them up online, I often come up empty handed. By reviewing in English, I hope to bridge a gap. There are lots of overseas K-beauty bloggers, however I don’t see many actually based in Korea (do correct me if I am wrong).
3. I want my readers to be able to make more informed, objective choices. We all have different skin types and different preferences, and I always want my readers to take my reviews with a grain of salt, which I hope shines through in my regular reviews as I try to think of why people might like or dislike the product on hand. At the same time, I consciously try to cut through the crap and through the hype that some brands try and build for themselves.
4. I just really love reading and writing. In my daily life, I devote most of my free time to reading and writing; it is what breathes life into me on a deep, spiritual level.
5. I teach primary school age children plus a few secondary schoolers. Most of them know their phonics and ABCs, however, talking to young learners whose first language is not English naturally limits the vocabulary, coherence, grammar skills and sentence structure that you can employ. Therefore, in an effort to not get dumber, I am using this blog in an effort to not get out of touch with my language skills because sometimes I feel as though I am becoming less eloquent as time goes by.
6. There are so many fantastic bloggers out there and I have learnt lots from them, my favourite being Malaysian beauty blogger Paris B of My Women Stuff. I have mentioned and linked to her blog many times, and she always has fantastically concrete, actionable tips and product recommendations, be it the moisture sandwich technique or the Hada Labo Premium Hyaluronic Acid lotion, which I can incorporate into my daily skincare regimen. I just want to pay the kindness of all of those bloggers forward by reviewing local Korean products and see if the reviews help anyone, much like other bloggers’ reviews have helped me reach skincare goals and stop wasting money on overpriced rubbish.

Final Thoughts

Again, I feel that to a certain point, I am perhaps screaming into the void… but it is cathartic and grounds me while giving my life an additional sliver of purpose-pie. If just a few reviews are helpful to you, I consider my job done.

Let me know what inspired you to blog and let’s have a conversation in the comments. 🖤

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