On My Heart: The Business of Blogging
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This post has been on my heart and in my head for quite some time now. I have always found writing to be therapeutic and much easier than my socially awkward face-to-face communication style. So shortly after I got married I started blogging on a whim, and as a hobby.
Then I had a baby and it changed the way I looked at the world.
I began to learn about real foods, cooking, natural homemaking, and sustainability the way God intended. And so I shared these things on my blog. That was four years and three blogging platforms ago.
Over these years I have felt my way into what this blog is today: A collection of the things that I wish I had known five years ago and a space where I can explore the old paths.
I want to be transparent in saying that this blog has also become a source of income for our family. I am thankful to have found companies and products to promote that align with our desire for a simpler, more nourished life. These companies are in the ads to your right and on the resources page, they are in the giveaways and reviews I share with you, and can be seen in various affiliate links within posts.
I am trying to balance a desire for a life of simplicity and nonconsumerism with the promotion of resources that could be useful and nourishing in such a life.
I will not say that the monetary support from sponsors allows me to keep blogging. Without sponsors I would continue to blog, if the Lord willed. The dozens and dozens of emails that I have received from broken-hearted breastfeeding moms with stories far too similar to my own are enough reason to research and share as I do here.
I have cried with them. I have learned from you. And I know that I have gotten more from your words than you could ever get from mine.
So, I wanted to say thank you… for supporting this space and the sponsors who’ve joined us.
I value your transparency and honestly Shannon. Thank you.
@renee @ FIMBY, supposed to be “honesty”
Renee – Thanks for the kind words. They mean a lot coming from you.
“Then I had a baby and it changed the way I looked at the world.”
Exactly what happened to me!
Thanks, Shannon, for this post.
My mission in starting Real Food Media was two-fold: (1) To help connect real food bloggers with readers and spread the message of real food and sustainable farming, and (2) To help connect real food businesses with their customers.
I meet so many small business owners and farmers who are selling great products and they don’t know how to get the word out about their business. They don’t know how to get people to visit their website.
So, by supporting our sponsors, people are not just helping you to keep blogging, they’re also helping these small businesses and farmers to grow and reach more people.
@Ann Marie @ CHEESESLAVE,
Absolutely my point, Ann Marie, and I am really thankful for the connections that you have made from blogger to company.
Hi, Shannon,
I don’t really comment but I’ve read through your blog and use it as a resource as I learn to feed my family healthier foods. I’m thankful for bloggers out there like you who are willing to take the time to share your knowledge with the rest of us.
I’ve just started a blog and really enjoy it. It’s been a good outlet for me. I’m hoping to make enough money to cover the difference between our old diet and new (from Aldi to Whole Foods).
I’m also socially awkward too. I wonder how many bloggers are.
I really appreciate this post! Sometimes those of us that have a great deal of integrity have a hard time balancing the blog and making money with the blog. Although the food blogger network I started, The Foodie Blogroll is not as centered on Real Food blogs (I started it before I began my personal journey with Real Food and could not abandon the loyal bloggers in my network), I also started it as a way to get bloggers in touch with more artisan and gourmet foods, and think outside the “box and bag” of industrial foods, and to help those companies get their names out there to a targeted audience. I love when we can create win-win situations for everyone!
Jenn – There is such a line to toe isn’t there? I think you’re doing a fabulous job of it, btw.
Lovely, that’s all I can say and you certainly have my support as a blogger and I appreciate the things you promote on your blog. I always know I can use it for a good resource for myself and my own blog. I aspire to share the things you do with my own blog. The Lord is great and if you are following His will then you are certainly on the right track.
Blessings!
Therese – Thanks for the kind words!
I have always found your advertisement to be very tasteful. It does not jump off at the page to me and it is always products that you believe in. Your blog is a great resource and I am so glad to have found it. More than your blog though – YOU : )