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Espresso and Ambition

A not-so-serious gal with some serious dreams.

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Some Thoughts on Blogging

June 30, 2017 by Taylor 3 Comments

Some Thoughts on Blogging - Espresso and Ambition

Comparatively, I’m pretty new to the blogging world. I’ve been running this thing for a little over 6 months, which isn’t much but has given me a decent glimpse into the crazy mess of blogs taking over the Internet. While I love blogging itself, I’ve definitely taken issue with the way parts of the blogging world work. And that’s what I’m about to get into.

Blogger Facebook groups/Instagram pods/goodness knows what else are a huge thing. I’m not going to act superior and say I’m too good for any of these or that I’m not involved at all, but I will say that I’ve been taking a major step back in my involvement with these types of groups. There’s nothing wrong with them on their face (they’re a great way to make blogger friends), but I also feel like they can generate inauthentic engagement. If you’re participating in threads where everyone who posts is required to like your Instagram picture, does the number of likes you receive really reflect the quality of what you’re posting? At that point, you lose a sense of whether or not people genuinely like your content or if they’re liking it because they have to. I think a majorly important part of producing good blog content is picking up on cues from readers on what posts get the most engagement and traffic, and if the bulk of your traffic is artificially created, you don’t get authentic feedback. If you’re going to participate in things like that, you should be participating in the kinds of groups that allow you to engage only with the content you enjoy and holds other members to the same standards.

Also, a ton of bloggers now advertise these “social media cheat sheets” and “blog post topics that get views” and “how to get this many views or this much money in your first few months of blogging” programs that they occasionally charge money for, and I’m going to be honest, I don’t think they work. They may be good in the short term, but not in the grand scheme of things. There’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to growing a blog, and so much of the fun aspects of blogging are utilizing your own creativity and building your own brand, and trying to mimic someone else’s footsteps really cuts into that. Do your own thing, girlfriend (or dude, I don’t know the gender distribution of who’s reading this right now).

And also, so much of social media (I’m looking at you, Facebook and Instagram) is trying to become pay-for-play, where these platforms try to make money by encouraging bloggers to advertise. And then there’s the whole concept of paying for thousands of Instagram followers who don’t do anything besides give you an impressive looking number. I don’t know about you, but I’m a college student who’s doing this for fun. I’m not about to drop my hard-earned money on Facebook ads that I could be buying food with. Also, it goes back to that inauthenticity thing. Bringing in readers organically is the best feeling, and it loses that joy when you feel like you’re paying for readers or followers.

Despite what other people and social media giants are trying to sell to new bloggers, it’s totally possible to generate engagement and monetize your blog organically. My most popular post, which has almost 20,000 engagements on Pinterest and 3,500 views on my blog (small numbers to some people, I know, but a big deal to me), involved no paid promotion or blogger group involvement whatsoever. It was just content people wanted to read. It’s this post, by the way. I’ve started working with various brands on collaborations without paying exorbitant funds for these blogger-run training courses. It’s totally possible, and these little wins feel amazing when I know that I’ve made them happen all on my own.

And one last thing: bloggers who get overly competitive with each other. I hate the idea that if one blogger is successful, you can’t be successful as well. It’s not a trade-off, and it’s totally possible to lift people up while still succeeding yourself. One of my all-time favorite phrases is “empowered women empower women,” and it’s totally applicable here. Lifting other people up is so important, and I promise you won’t suffer because of it. Let’s all just be nice to each other, mmkay? *inserts that one gif from Mean Girls about baking a cake of rainbows and butterflies right about now*

So yeah. That’s my thoughts on the weird and vaguely overwhelming world of blogging. I’m just going to keep doing my thing and enjoying the reasons I started this blog in the first place. To any other bloggers reading this right now, I hope you do the same. (But if not, you do you I guess. I’m not gonna tell you how to live your life.)

xo, Taylor

Some Thoughts on Blogging - Espresso and Ambition

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Filed Under: Etc., Thoughts

Comments

  1. Sydney says

    June 30, 2017 at 9:21 am

    Like most things, blogging can be very competitive. It’s where you have to remain genuine in your posting and brand!
    xo, Syd
    anchoredinthesouth.com

    Reply
  2. Abbey says

    July 3, 2017 at 2:52 pm

    Yes to so much of this. I totally agree that it’s important to stay genuine despite the pressure not to.

    Reply
  3. Diane says

    July 15, 2017 at 12:49 pm

    Hi there, not sure how I found myself here but love your dog. I have a Cavalier too. 😉

    Reply

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Meet Taylor

A real-life combination of Elle Woods and Hermione Granger. Recent graduate of the University of Georgia, currently living and working in DC. New blog posts every Monday, new YouTube videos every Thursday. Subscribe by clicking the link below for post updates and exclusive content!

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tayy_kay

📍 dc
🔥 nasm certified personal trainer
✨ self-love + balance
🎥 2 new workouts per week!

tayy_kay
without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little c without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little challenging to really feel like i’m working at my full potential on leg days 😶 enter: single-leg movements. since all the weight is in one leg, you’re putting way more emphasis on it than you do during two-leg movements - and you’ll definitely feel that 🔥 you also get some added bonuses in the form of ensuring you’re working each side of your body equally AND a balance challenge!!
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you can add in weights or bands to up the challenge level, or do it all bodyweight like i am here!
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1️⃣ 15 single-leg box squats per leg (use other leg as a kickstand for an easier modification!)
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2️⃣ 15 bulgarian split squats per leg
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3️⃣ 15 single-leg hip thrusts per leg
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4️⃣ 15 single-leg deadlifts per leg
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throw on at the end of a longer leg day workout or do it 3-4 times as a workout all on its own!!
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👚 @girlfriend 🎧 numb - neffex
🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time 🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time to be alive, and it’s more important now than ever to listen to your body and stop being so hard on yourself. motivation is a fickle thing and working out when you don’t have all the equipment you love is weird. give yourself permission to take a break when you need it. don’t beat yourself up for missing workouts - exercise should be something you do because it makes you happy, not because you feel like you have to punish yourself. if it doesn’t make you happy that day, that’s okay. give yourself a break, come back and try again tomorrow. 💪🏼
circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not kidding about how much i love this long resistance band, it’s so versatile! definitely worth getting your hands on one for home workouts 😊 (although almost all of these can be completely with dumbbells or heavy objects if that’s what you’ve got in hand)
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also please watch to the very end of the fourth video for quality footage of greg 😂
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1️⃣ 12 long band shoulder presses to standing chest presses
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2️⃣ 12 upright rows to bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 overhead triceps extensions per arm (the one leg stance is some bonus balance work!)
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4️⃣ 12 rear flies, featuring greg trying to fight my shadow
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5️⃣ 12 commandos
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6️⃣ 12 side-to-side pushups
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repeat 4x total!!
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👚 @underarmourwomen
🎧 best of me - neffex
giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, cra giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, crazy time in the world a little differently, and for me, it’s looked like a lot of establishing to and sticking to routines (seriously, sometimes it feels like my skincare routine and workout split are the only thing still giving meaning to days of the week, lol). my morning smoothies have been another important one - there’s a recipe in my story highlights and surprise surprise it uses this protein powder 😛
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anyways, onto the real reason you’re here! i’m giving away 25 $20 giftcards for @310nutrition with NO STRINGS ATTACHED 🤯 you hear that? you ain’t gotta do a thing to win - the first 25 people to use the code KAYGC20 on their order automatically win. get your hands on some fire plant-based protein powder, courtesy of me and 310 😋 (p.s. if you’re still seeing this caption, there are still giftcards available!!)
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#310gc20 #310shake
sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and hold a fake photo shoot just to prove to yourself that you’re still a real human
posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangen posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangentially topical. link in bio.
upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating towards circuit-style workouts lately, because they really work up a sweat and home workouts just don’t feel as legit to me unless i’m hardcore sweating 🤷🏼‍♀️ i don’t mind not breaking much of a sweat at the gym, but it feels weird not to when i’m working out at home - anyone else feel this or am i just weird?? 😅
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do all exercises back to back with no rest in between!
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1️⃣ 10 push-ups to renegade rows
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2️⃣ 12 alternating bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 diamond front raises
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4️⃣ 8 sets of 3 tricep pulses to this lil cross-body weight move that doesn’t have a name {keep your core tight to feel it on your obliques!}
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5️⃣ 15 bent-over rear delt rows
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6️⃣ finisher!! 🥵 10 burpees with 2 shoulder taps and 2 toe taps in the middle of each rep
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repeat 🔁 for a total of 3 rounds!!
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👚 top from @gymsharkwomen, shorts from @nike 🎧 dangerous - neffex
would be nice if both sides of my head could agree would be nice if both sides of my head could agree on whether my hair is wavy or straight, but apparently that’s a little too much to ask of it 😂
got a circuit-style leg workout for you today! 🥳 there are 3 sets of 3 exercises that you’ll complete back-to-back - once you’ve done those three moves, rest for 30 seconds before repeating them all over again 2 more times! rest for 1-2 minutes in between each circuit - keeping your heart rate up is the goal here, i was driiiiiiipping sweat by the end of this one 🥵
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circuit 1️⃣: 10 step-ups to reverse lunges per leg
10 reverse lunges to curtsy lunges per leg
20 lateral lunges
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circuit 2️⃣:
10 squats to surrenders (stop in a squat position before standing up at the end to really feel this one)
10 stagger-stance rdls
20 criss-cross squat jumps
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circuit 3️⃣:
15 leg lifts per side
10 single-leg glute bridges per side
15 frog pumps
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👚 top from @fabletics, joggers from @gymsharkwomen
🎧 watch me - neffex
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