A slightly more personal post today but something I guess I really wanted to share. A couple of weeks ago I was approached by the Editor of a Regional newspaper The Times and So Magazines. I was asked if I would be involved in their relaunch issue where they were to feature various local bloggers and businesses. My first thought was wow, why me? There are other local people going great guns on Instagram and my blog has only really been live for a year. I then thought about some of the negativity I had received a while back from local people and it made it all the more scary. Why would I put myself out there? On Instagram it feels different, a local paper just seemed a step too far.
I asked for the content that they were looking for and had a list of questions sent over to me. It seemed fairly straight forward and after chatting with Jamie who as a man is obviously rather straight talking and black and white he convinced me to go for it. It was actually quite funny because I think I spent at least two hours drafting my answers and then changing them. Three coffees later (I contemplated wine at one point) I sent it all over to Jamie to read. All the time panicking…was I saying the right thing? How did I come across? Was I covering, saying everything I wanted to say? Ridiculous to be honest but I am such a worrier! After tweaking a few things I sent it over and kept everything crossed it was what they were looking for.
Then came the shoot! Now as you know if you follow me on Instagram from time to time I use a local photographer Mollie Manning for sponsored content. Mollie has been so helpful and lovely to me, making me feel so at ease and happy with what I am doing. Again, an actual shoot is very different from taking a picture in your own home or asking one of the children to do it! It can be intimidating and embarrassing if you are out in public and it takes a while to feel completely confident. I am getting better each time and last week Mollie and I shot some great pictures that I will be using over the coming weeks.
So I met the Art Director and photographer who were on a strict time schedule. It was pouring with rain so we quickly had to find an alternative location. They guided me and directed everything. It was absolutely fine and actually quite fun. I am not really sure what I was worried about!
The Photographer Craig Matthews was happy for me to use the pictures after the issue came out but I had no control over which ones they used. Again with Instagram and on here I have total control. As Jamie would tell you I am sure I am a slight control freak so this certainly wasn’t easy!
So Last Wednesday I took my lovely mum to London to see The Waitress. We were running slightly late for our train but I was determined to find an issue as I remembered it was launch day! I grabbed it sat down on the train feeling both excited and nervous. Now this may seem completely mad to some of you reading this. You may be thinking what is the big deal? Why write this post? So many other people with amazing stories, careers, families are featured every day in the press! Well for me being painfully shy as a child and really having work on my confidence as an adult it was a big deal.
The article was good. I was pleased with how I came across and the way they had added to the feature. I love where I live and it was very much about promoting small local businesses which as you know is really important to me along side working with larger brands. I have received some lovely feedback and have a couple of meetings lined up that i am really excited about
I guess what I am saying with all of this is sometimes we must try new things. Bite the bullet and just do it!
Instagram is an illusion. We only post what we want people to see, the good bits. We all of course know this and I think this is why Instagram stories are so great now. People can show the real them , flaws and all! More about their lives, pets, home and just the real unedited stuff! Instagram can be hard work. It can make you feel high one minute and low the next. When the same people are constantly ‘shouting’ each other out it can be deflating. Brands often use the same Influencers, invite the same people to events and I often wonder why they don’t sometimes broaden their reach with other people and opinions.
Maybe the paragraph above was a little ‘vent’ on my part… What I will say is exactly what I said in the article. Instagram and now the blog have given me some great opportunities. Allowed me to meet inspiring and fabulous people. Helped businesses make sales and most importantly helped me become more confident.
All the time I love doing it I will carry on. Be brave and try something new. It is not easy and believe me I have a very long way to go……
Thank you for reading
Love
Jane
x