How Writing for Money Hurt My Writing for Meaning
The moment I started writing for B2B companies, I let my voice fade away.
Writing used to come so easily to me. Sure, it might not have been super grammatically correct, or made lots of sense to other people (although I did gather a following on Medium), but it flowed for me. I wasn’t shy with my writing, I wasn’t second guessing every word, I was just happy to untangle the mess my mind was onto a piece of paper.
It truly was simple, and joyful for me.
However, after spending almost three years working as a content writer, I lost my personal voice. Sure, I found another one that seemed to work for the B2B world of content marketing, but I lost my blogger voice. I lost my creative voice. I lost the voice that paid me no dimes but made me shine and smile SO much.
Starting this Substack last year was my try at regaining that voice. However, it hasn’t been easy. Now, I am always asking, who cares? Who cares what a 30-something year old woman in Colombia has to say?
Believe it or not, I used to think people cared. I used to think my writing mattered. But, after being a content writer, I feel that if I don’t do full market research and know the exact keywords to use and fully describe the user personas that my blog is targeted to, there’s just no point in writing something.
RIDICULOUS! I KNOW!
But that’s truly what happens now when I write. And, I don’t know about you, but writing a personal blog with so much pressure is ridiculous and impossible. Because here’s the truth: personal blog writing can’t be about the reader. It has to be about the writer. It’s about letting our thoughts run free and our emotions jump through the page. Is about venting out, being vulnerable, opening up, day dreaming onto a white canvas, not about the value that it can bring to the reader.
However, reading someone else being vulnerable and uniquely themselves does bring us value, but it’s not by how grammatically perfect or structured a blog is, is not about key learnings or a TL;DR at the top, it’s just about witnessing another human bein—simply being.
That’s the value a personal blog has. It has nothing to do with how many ideas you discuss on the blog, or how succinct your conclusion is. It’s not about your intro or the hours of planning that you did. It’s not about whether or not you answered the questions your reader was looking for. It’s about simply being. To show yourself raw. To show yourself being true to your voice. To just show up.
So, this is my greatest comeback, from now on expect random thoughts, journal-like entries, and pure on Cris’ vibes—which if you come from Medium you should know by now it’s just cheesy galore. 🧀🧀🧀
Don’t be shy, and hit the like button so I know I’m not alone.
With MindfulMessy love,
Cris. 💌
I love this and resonate with this line so much “writing can’t be about the reader. It has to be about the writer.”
Cheers to sharing your thoughts, being vulnerable, and honing into your blogger voice again.