This morning, I was reading the 2018 reflections of my friend Renée over at Goblin Shark. You can check out her thoughtful post here. It inspired me to write my own (very brief) reflections, but also made me laugh – especially that she almost called her post: “My Year as an Instagram Influencer: All I Got Were Some Free Clothes and This Pesky Anxiety Disorder.”
I get that.
I had always wanted to start a blog and Instagram, but never really saw myself being the “influencer” type. Then, a weird thing happened in 2018. People started reading here – a lot. And liking it. They liked my Instagram even more. And I started to get free clothes.
It was fun and exciting at first, connecting with the responsible fashion community, posting my daily outfits and seeing my life unfold in neat little squares that somehow, people related to. But as with anything, being an Instagram influencer comes with its own expectations that I found I couldn’t always meet. And a lot of the time, all it did was make me feel really bad about myself.
The Wholehearted Wardrobe is going to look a bit different in 2019. I’ve been pretty sick over the holidays so I still have some work to finish up, but I’ve been reflecting upon how I delegate my time as it relates to blogging.
Overall, I’ve decided to spend significantly less time on Instagram, and more time here, on my own platform. I’ll still be sharing to Instagram a few times a week. But the amount of time I spent managing a page that, ultimately, proved to be an unhealthy space for me, isn’t how I intend to spend the next year of my life. I just can’t commit to posting an outfit every single day there, at least for now. So stay tuned for more features here on my blog, like weekly outfit roundups and other long-form content. You can make sure you don’t miss any of my posts by following me on Bloglovin’ and on Facebook. I’m also thinking about a little bit of a site redesign, so we will see how that progresses, too.
I’m also going to be reworking how I manage brand partnerships, instead focusing on long-term collaborations that bring more meaning to my readers. I’ll still feature new brands here, but less frequently. I think in doing so, I’ll be more effective at showing that you really do need fewer clothes.
All for now. Wishing you a very Happy New Year – see you in 2019.
xx
1
I definitely feel its always best to post on our own platform as you put it and limit Insta to a healthy amount (7 days a week never felt healthy to me but to each its own.)
Since I prefer long form content, I am keenly looking forward to reading more and more content here. Also super excited to hear about the long term view you are taking with brand partnerships. Hope to discover some interesting brands who are open to partnering in new ways (and I’m sure this mindfulness will reflect in their products too.)
Hi Madhur,
I would be lying if I said our conversations didn’t inspire some of the changes around the way I’ll be interacting with social media! Posting seven days a week (or even five) just became so draining, and I felt like I was getting dressed for Instagram and not for my actual life. I’ve always loved the way you put more focus on your blog, rather than Instagram, too. Thanks for the kind words. 🙂
Kellie
I am so excited for weekly round-up posts on your blog. I can definitely see where you are coming from. It gets so overwhelming to posting on Instagram and tracking your “stats”. I think the most important part about blogging and “influencing” is connecting with your audience (which you do a tremendous job at btw).
Excited to see more posts on here!
xo Logan
https://peculiarporter.com
Thanks Logan – you are too kind! Hope we can get together soon. xx