State of the Blog, Three Months In

When I decided to start this blog, I had grand plans. I’ve spent years searching for and following the few blogs by working moms that are out there - and then, often, unfollowing them because they frustrated me so much. I was convinced that I could do it better, though I recognized that I didn’t have the time to devote to a blog that consistency demanded. And then, this past fall, I finally felt I did.

I bounced the idea off a few friends, all of whom were encouraging but, in hindsight, more realistic that I was. Rachel’s sensible response to these messages was:

“Yeah, that makes sense! I mean, there are so many options! And you can always change it up.”

Obviously, I took the blog public almost immediately. Even if I’m not promoting it and no one (or hardly anyone) is reading it, I write and edit better if there could be an audience out there.

And then, almost as immediately, I discovered that I couldn’t consistently meet my goals for the blog. I’d wanted to post three times a week: a meal plan on Mondays, something fashion/style-related on Wednesdays, and an essay about life or motherhood or work - or two of the three - on Fridays. But, despite my high hopes, I just didn’t have the time or energy to keep that up. Part of the issue was logistical; I’d forgotten what was required to take outfit photos and source links. The other part, unsurprisingly, was… mental, I guess. I had lots of ideas for essays but didn’t actually have the bandwidth to draft or refine them fully. (The meal plans made it through every week, of course!)

My sister has been a great sounding board as I navigated all of this and I’ve come back to this text repeatedly over the last three months.

As much as I’d like External Affairs Blog to be a resource for other working moms plus the friends I’ve picked up as @btransatlantic over the last decade, I just don’t have it in me to build the foundation needed to support a truly public blog. I don’t have it in me to build the connections needed to grow a following. And I don’t have it in me to push the consumerism (buy this to solve your problems!) or assume the authority (do what I do to solve your problems!) that seems to be needed to have a successful blog in this space.

Would I if I wanted to make money off of it? Maybe. But I don’t want that pressure, either.

So here we are. I’m going to delete the @externalaffairsblog handle on Instagram because, as Sarah predicted, two accounts and a blog is just too much. And I’ll share whatever does get published here on @btransatlantic, though I’m still toying with changing that name to something more personal. I’ll aspire to the original three-post-a-week schedule, but I’m sure there will be ebbs and flows to my success. At this point, I’m blogging for me like it’s 2012 and will just be thrilled if people engage!