I want to start a blog! // #WW4D

So you want to start a blog eh? I've been trying this blogging thing on and off for years now, but it wasn't until recently that I've had the time to really invest in this hobby of mine. My blog served as a creative outlet when music wasn't cutting it, but it never had any real direction. I just wanted to create. Thanks to one of my blogger besties, Arnelle of thisbeautifulife.com, I've been able to learn so much from her growing her own blog. She let me tag along on a few of the influencer/blogger events she's been invited to, with the Creator Deck event being the most impactful for me. It was an event about Influencer Marketing where bloggers and brands alike were able to learn from each other to bridge the gap between them. At the event, I introduced myself as an aspiring blogger, then I was constantly asked a question I was not prepared to answer...

WW4D? (What Would 4WDED Do?)

What would my blog be about? What would readers gain from visiting my site? I hadn't yet figured that out and realized how that was a huge factor of why I wasn't getting anywhere. If I didn't answer this question, how would people even find me? Once I was able to answer that question, the inspiration hasn't stopped flowing. To put it shortly, I came up with this - I wanted to create a lifestyle blog to give back and Pay It Forward by inspiring others. I wanted to share my own personal accounts in life in hopes that it might help those in similar situations. For the full story, click here. I have been such a heavy consumer of other blogs that I was inspired to start my own to contribute to a community that's helped me so much in my own life.

What really got me started was when I brainstormed all of the topics I wanted to write about.. I created a spreadsheet to keep track of all my ideas and I set aside time to actually write. It's one thing to want to start a blog, it's another to actually execute the ideas you have in your head. Not all my ideas worked. It took awhile for me to get content going because at first, I spent so much time (maybe a little too much time lol) on the aesthetic and design since that was really exciting for me. Until I realized, that's literally only a small and almost irrelevant part of the whole process. However, having a good looking platform is what inspired me to want to put content in it when it usually works the other way around.

Once I thought of ideas to write about, I started noticing patterns. Common themes that I seem to gravitate to. In seeing all these ideas laid out, I was able to organize even further to create segments. And you guys are reading the first one I came up with: #WW4D?

And voila! Here I am with a fresh new blog. I thought this would be the best way to start off my #WW4D segment because it is the most recent experience I am able to share with you guys. Moving forward, you can expect to read more personal stories on how I dealt with situations regarding love, life, relationships, career, etc. If there are any topics at all that you'd like me to cover, don't hesitate to ask me anything in the comments below! I'll be happy to let you know, what 4WDED would do or hopefully already did. ;)

In summary, if you want to start something, begin with the outcome. What do you want out of it? What is your purpose? Once you figure that out, and you invest the time and effort to do it, I promise you - it will all come together.