Every time I get introduced as a blogger, one of the first things people ask is, “HOW MANY FOLLOWERS DO YOU HAVE?”
“I don’t have much” compared to the typical standards. Then I get mixed reactions of ahhhs and ohhhs. As if there’s pressure to have big numbers.
When I started BOYDUBAI.COM the main idea was just to ‘document’ my life abroad – the struggles, the pain, and the small and big wins. It was a bonus when people started to discover my blog through Google.
During the early years, the thought of exerting bigger efforts to gain more followers crossed my mind. Because, why not? I think most bloggers delight in that too.
But the thing is, blogging is not the only thing I do. I have a different day job. Blogging is just an outlet for me to vent out my thoughts and my emotions on things around me. It also disrupts me positively from an otherwise stagnant home-work-home routine. Not to mention, I also have a growing family. And to build up a blog means I’ll have to take a chunk of time from my remaining personal time. I don’t want to do that.
So I committed to work on BOYDUBAI only when I get “extra spare time” – that’s the time left outside the family and rest time.
(Although I must admit, there were instances that this hobby tried to snatch more time than what I allotted on it.)
Long story short, I managed my expectations. I accepted the fact that my followers won’t grow to extreme highs because it is not my top priority. Though I love blogging so much, my hustle happens at work. And I spend more time with the family outside work. I basically learned to handle my priorities with intentionality. By the grace of God, my blog is getting by. And I appreciate ALL OF YOU, for staying with me kahit hindi ako consistent.
My blog may not be good enough in terms of number of followers, and that’s fine. What
I’m proud of is the healthy conversation under every story I share. Because of your intimate engagement, we continue to grow from an “anything-under-the-sun” blog into a platform for fearless yet responsible storytelling.
Darren Hardy says, “Success is something you attract by the person you become.”
It’s about how you grow through the journey, not through the numbers. Even if my blog is moving slow, my heart is contented. As they say, slow progress is still progress.
